The Bank of Korea is set to make its monthly decision on target interest rate next Thursday.
And, all of a sudden this morning we hear words from the presidential office of Cheong
Wa Dae an official there, of course first expressing hopes for rate cut and then denying
the possibility of undermining the independence of the central bank independence.
What is going on?
Let's bring in Dr. Kim Byoung-joo, Head of KL&P Consulting and a longtime commentator
here on our newscast.
Hello, Dr. Kim.
Hello.
So, what is going on?
But, the rate cut this
time will not make BOK look good, will it?
For one thing, we know BOK has not fully shared the economic outlook that the government presented?
So, potentially we can see the possibility where critics accuse the government for forcing
the
central bank move into politically motivated direction of monetary policy?
When the economic policy direction
was announced last Thursday, BOK governor was
not there, being on a foreign trip.
This, some speculators argued, reflected the tension between the government and the central
bank?
What
can
we
expect
in next Thursday’s rate decision.
And, in
the long run, the relationship between
the government and BOK?