South Korea warns it may tighten capital flow controls

SEOUL Jan 30 (Reuters) - South Korea warned speculative investors against betting on the won rising fast on Wednesday and said it would consider new measures similar to the Tobin Tax, or a levy on financial transactions, if needed in the future.

The government will tell public firms to refrain from borrowing abroad and then will further tighten rules on banks' currency derivatives trading to ease market volatility, Deputy Finance Minister Choi Jong-ku said in a prepared speech for a seminar.

South Korea may also increase the weighting of non-deliverable forward (NDF) positions when calculating the total amount of derivatives subject to the derivatives rules, he said.

Choi added that the country was opposed to adopting a policy of imposing an outright levy on financial transactions but would consider similar measures should the speculation on the won intensify over time. (Reporting by Christine Kim and Se Young Lee; Editing by Choonsik Yoo and Richard Borsuk)