All BOK policymakers agree to May rate freeze

By Park Bo-ram
SEOUL, June 23 (Yonhap) -- Policymakers at South Korea's central bank unanimously
agreed to keep its benchmark interest rate steady at 2 percent in May to help
prop up the weak economy, according to the bank's minutes released Tuesday.
The seven members, led by Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Lee Seong-tae, voted to freeze
the seven-day repurchase rate in a monthly rate-setting meeting on May 12, citing
potential economic downward pressures, the minutes showed.
The BOK's monetary policy committee froze the rate for a third consecutive month
after cutting a total of 3.25 percentage points between October and February in a
bid to bolster an economic turnaround.
The central bank again held the rate unchanged in June, saying economic
uncertainties still persist although the decline has come to an end.
The South Korean economy narrowly averted a technical recession in the first
quarter by growing 0.1 percent from three months earlier.
The BOK predicted that the local economy will shrink 2.4 percent this year, the
worst performance in more than a decade.
pbr@yna.co.kr
(END)