Bank of Korea(BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol has assessed that South Korea's currency swap accord with Canada is the most significant deal since its agreement with the U.S. in 2008.
 
After signing the agreement with the Bank of Canada in Ottawa on Thursday, Lee told Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency that the BOK has secured a safety net to respond to financial instability.
 
Lee said that as there is no expiration to the agreement, the two sides wouldn't have to be concerned about extending the deal.
 
The bank chief stressed that the Canadian dollar is a key currency that is dealt with in international financial markets without any risks.
 
Lee said six countries that have key currencies, including Canada and the U.S., have currency swap arrangements to maintain an international monetary system, adding that Canada applied the same conditions to South Korea that it had applied to other currency swap partners.
 
The only other developing country that Canada had a currency swap deal with was China.
 
This year, the BOK extended its currency swap deals with Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia. Last month, the central bank extended a 56-billion-dollar currency swap accord with China.