The government has decided to swiftly inject a combined five trillion won to buy back treasury bonds amid growing volatility in South Korea’s financial markets. 

The Ministry of Economy and Finance on Wednesday announced a decision to carry out an emergency buy-back worth two trillion won on Friday in response to a recent surge in state bond yields. 

The Bank of Korea(BOK) also said it will buy three trillion won worth of government bonds this week. 

The back-to-back moves by the ministry and the central bank came amid a spike in bond yields, which move inversely to bond prices, and are aimed at lowering the yields by adjusting supply. 

The government also held a meeting involving senior officials from the ministry, the BOK, as well as financial watchdogs including the Financial Services Commission to check on the current market situation. 

During the meeting, first vice finance minister Bang Ki-sun called for “special vigilance” and urged related ministries and institutions to be fully ready for market fluctuations through close coordination. 

The nation’s benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index(KOSPI) closed on Wednesday below two-thousand-200 for the first time in over two years, while the local currency hit the one-thousand-440 won mark against the U.S. dollar, its weakest level since March of 2009, before closing slightly below the threshold.