South Korea has been hit hard by trade frictions between the United States and China, Seoul’s financial regulator said Monday, calling for efforts to revamp export industries and nurture new growth engines.

Kim Yong-beom, vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, made the remarks in a lecture hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul.

“South Korea is effectively at ground zero after being directly impacted by global trade disputes,” Kim said, pointing to the South Korea economy’s close linkage to the Chinese manufacturing and foreign exchange markets.

Warning that the current trade disputes could escalate into an all-out war for global economic hegemony, he stressed that South Korea would be one of the most affected nations by such a development and face major economic challenges.

“Thorough preparations are a must to get through the difficulties … Priorities should be on pushing for the structural reform of key industries and exploring new growth engines,” he noted. (Yonhap)