BOK Governor: 'Must Curb Core Inflation by Maintaining Rate Hike Stance'

Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song stated today (the 29th) that "I believe the most reasonable approach is to curb core inflation increases by maintaining the key interest rate hike stance."

Governor Shin made the remark during a work report to the National Assembly's Strategy and Finance Committee in response to a question from Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Yoon Ho-duck asking whether there are plans to raise the benchmark interest rate one or two more times within the year.

He added, "As for the timing of the hikes and how aggressively we will respond, we will monitor incoming data and economic conditions."

In response to lawmaker Yoon's question asking whether the annual consumer inflation rate could stabilize within 3 percent, Governor Shin answered, "Due to short-term shocks, the inflation rate rose to 3.2 percent in June." He continued, "We are placing more importance on core inflation, and the core inflation rate rose to 2.5 percent in May."

He further noted, "While there is inflation driven by cost-push channels, there are also ongoing demand-side price pressures stemming from a robust economic growth trend driven by an economic boom."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.