[Weekly Outlook] Focus on BOK's Big Step Rate Decision... FSC's National Assembly Audit Conducted

Bank of Korea Governor Lee Chang-yong is answering questions from the press at the Monetary Policy Direction press conference held at the Bank of Korea in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 13th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] This week, attention is focused on whether the Bank of Korea's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will take a big step (a 0.50 percentage point rate hike) in the base interest rate.

According to related departments on the 9th, the MPC will hold a meeting on the 12th to decide on the direction of monetary policy and whether to adjust the base interest rate. Considering the interest rate gap between Korea and the US caused by the Federal Reserve's (Fed) three consecutive giant steps (0.75 percentage point hikes) as well as the sharp depreciation of the Korean won (rise in the won/dollar exchange rate), an increase in the base interest rate is likely. However, forecasts differ on the size of the hike, with opinions divided between a big step and a baby step (0.25 percentage point hike).

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho will hold his first Korean economic briefing since taking office on the 11th in New York, USA. From the 12th to the 14th, he will attend the G20 (Group of Twenty) Finance Ministers' Meeting and the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) meeting held in Washington DC, USA. Deputy Prime Minister Choo plans to discuss joint response measures amid the global economic situation, where supply chain disruptions and monetary tightening raise concerns about economic slowdown.

On the 11th, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will release its World Economic Outlook (WEO). It is known that Korea will be included in this forecast. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the IMF, announced on the 6th (local time) that the global economic growth forecast for next year will be revised downward from the previous 2.9%. However, the growth rate for this year is maintained at 3.2%.

Since the IMF lowered South Korea's economic growth forecast to 2.3% in July, there is a possibility of a slight upward revision this time, reflecting the second quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate.

On the same day, a national audit of the Financial Supervisory Service will be held to review measures to stabilize the financial market, including the ban on illegal short selling. It is also expected that there will be debates over large-scale overseas abnormal remittance cases targeting foreign exchange transactions and issues related to solar power loans.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.