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Bank of Korea Governor Lee Chang-yong announced on the 25th that the base interest rate will be lowered 1-2 more times this year. At a press conference following the Monetary Policy Committee meeting, Governor Lee said, "The market's expectation that interest rates will be lowered 1-2 more times this year is not significantly different from our assumptions."

On this day, the Monetary Policy Committee lowered the base rate from 3.0% per annum to 2.75% per annum. This decision was unanimous among the committee members. Regarding the interest rate outlook three months from now, Governor Lee said, "Four out of six Monetary Policy Committee members believe that the base rate is likely to be maintained at 2.75% per annum within three months." He added, "The remaining two members believe that the possibility of lowering it below 2.75% should also be kept open."

Governor Lee explained, "The four members expressed concerns about the rapid depletion of room for additional rate cuts in a situation of high uncertainty in domestic and foreign policy conditions." He further added, "The remaining two members were of the opinion that, considering the downward pressure on the economy, it would be good to keep the possibility of additional cuts open and make judgments according to changing conditions."

Governor Lee added, "However, all six members agreed that monetary policy is in a rate-cutting phase, and they agreed to decide on the timing of cuts while monitoring future data."

Reporter Kang Jin-kyu josep@hankyung.com