South Korea’s key rate is below neutral rate: board member – 27 Sep 2017

• South Korea’s key rate is below neutral levels, a monetary board member said on 27 Sep 17, in the latest signal that the country’s central bank could move to raise interest rates going forward.
• Shin In-seok, a member of the BOK monetary policy board, made the assessment in a meeting with reporters, noting that the BOK’s monetary policy is accommodative.
• Earlier in Sep 17, BOK Deputy Governor Jeon Seung-cheol also made similar comments at an international conference in Seoul.
• In Aug 17, the BOK kept its policy rate at an all-time low of 1.25%, though it has said that it may take a monetary tightening stance if the economy shows signs of robust recovery, a comment widely seen as signalling a rate hike by the central bank over the long haul.
• Shin also voiced concerns about the increased economic uncertainty over North Korea risks and economic fallouts from a diplomatic row between South Korea and China.
• Tensions have heightened on the Korean Peninsula as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump traded a war of words over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.

External Link :
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2017/09/27/0502000000AEN20170927010200320.html