BOK chief stresses independence in rate decision

SEOUL, The chief of South Korea's central bank on Tuesday emphasized the bank's independence in setting the key rate as some lawmakers and the presidential office appear to be putting pressure on it to cut the rate. Last month, the BOK's seven-member monetary policy committee, led by Gov. Rhee Chang-yong, decided to hold the benchmark rate at 3.5 percent for the 11th straight time. The BOK has continued to stand pat following rate freezes since February last year after delivering seven consecutive rate hikes from April 2022 to January 2023. "The BOK's monetary board members will independently decide after hearing various opinions," Rhee said in a press conference. The BOK chief said the country's inflation has been moving along the central bank's inflation trajectory, but there are various opinions over whether the current level of inflation has completely converged on the target. Earlier this week, Sung Tae-yoon, the presidential chief of staff for policy, said that conditions are ripening for rate cuts . Last week, Rhee stressed the importance of a timely shift toward a monetary easing policy as inflation in Asia's fourth-largest economy still runs high. He said the central bank needs to keep its current restrictive policy until it is assured that inflation is moving toward the central bank's inflation target. Earlier, Rhee said the central bank may consider a potential rate cut if inflation cools down to around 2.3 percent to 2.4 percent. The central bank's inflation target is set at 2 percent. Source: Yonhap News Agency