Lee Chang-yong Reveals in New Year’s Speech,
Lee Chang-yong, Governor of the Bank of Korea. Photo provided by the Bank of Korea,
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, ‘Lee Chang-yong, Governor of the Bank of Korea, stated on the 2nd that “Acting President Choi Sang-mok made a difficult yet unavoidable decision by prioritizing the economy over politics to prevent a decline in international credibility and a governance vacuum.”’,
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, ‘In his New Year’s speech at the Bank of Korea’s headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, on this morning, Governor Lee said, “This will serve as a starting point to demonstrate both domestically and internationally that our economic system will function independently from the political process.” Previously, Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, who is also the Minister of Economy and Finance, exercised the veto against the so-called ‘Dual Special Prosecutor Law’ (State Rebellion and Kim Kun-hee Special Prosecutor Law) and appointed two constitutional judges (Jung Gye-seon and Cho Han-chang candidates) on December 31.’,
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, ‘Governor Lee emphasized, “The international community’s attention has expanded from financial and foreign exchange market instability to whether the national control tower will stabilize,” adding that “If political conflicts cause a prolonged governance void, it will negatively affect international credibility and could directly or indirectly impact the overall economy, so maintaining a stable governance leadership is crucial.” He further added, “The Bank of Korea will also play its role as a breakwater by maintaining its composure amidst the storm and advising the government policies while safeguarding international credibility.”’,
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, ‘Regarding the growth rate, Governor Lee noted, “Although we projected a growth rate of 1.9% for this year, the downside risk has indeed increased,” explaining that “while historically low, it is similar to the Bank of Korea’s potential growth rate (2%) and the average growth rate forecast (1.8%) of 26 countries with a per capita GDP exceeding $30,000.” He added, “Interpreting the current crisis as akin to the Asian Financial Crisis, the Global Financial Crisis, or the COVID-19 crisis is somewhat exaggerated.”’,
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, ‘On monetary policy this year, he stated, “Conflicts between policy variables, including inflation, growth, exchange rates, and household debt, will widen,” and “we will flexibly determine the pace of interest rate cuts by monitoring the trends of domestic and international risk factors and changes in economic flows.”’,
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