President Moon Jae-in presided over a special meeting with the country's finance minister and central bank chief on Friday to discuss countermeasures amid a panic in the domestic and global financial markets triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

The meeting came as the country's stock market continued its nosedive, forcing the stock exchange to temporarily halt morning trading on both the main KOSPI bourse and the tech-heavy KOSDAQ.

The officials reportedly reviewed various stabilization measures and financial support for businesses and small business owners.

A possible increase in the government's eleven-point-seven-trillion-won extra budget bill submitted to the National Assembly to fight the virus and minimize the economic fallout is also expected to have been discussed.

The Bank of Korea, meanwhile, is considering whether to hold an emergency session to cut its benchmark rate.