INCHEON, South Korea, Sept 19 (Reuters) - South Korea's central bank chief was sceptical that Japan will succeed in stemming the yen's strength without coordination with authorities in other major currency issuers.
"When it comes to Japan, there's no doubt it can't be achieved through a single country's effort," Bank of Korea Governor Kim Choong-soo told reporters on Friday, asking for his comments to be published on Sunday.
Japan sold around 1.8 trillion yen ($20.98 billion) on Wednesday in the country's first currency market intervention in six years to stem the yen's strength, but the unilateral move has drawn criticism from around the world.
"Policy coordination is necessary between countries, such as between China and Japan," said Kim, who was a scholar-turned diplomat before taking up the current post, without explaining what China can do on the yen's value.
South Korean Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun also said on Wednesday that Japan had not contacted his ministry for possible coordination on Tokyo's intervention.
Remarks by South Korean officials are drawing more attention from investors partly because the country will host the November summit of leaders from the Group of 20 developed and leading emerging economies. (Reporting by Kim Yeon-hee; Editing by Yoo Choonsik)