[Gwanga in] Lee Chang-yong, Studying 'Monetary Policy' Intensively with Young Scholars

Ahead of the BIS Meeting, 'Monetary Policy Issues Advisory Meeting' Held on the 28th with 6 Professors

Lee Chang-yong, Governor of the Bank of Korea, is set to receive advice from young domestic economic scholars on global monetary policy issues ahead of the regular meeting of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Committee on the Global Financial System (CGFS). This reflects an intention to use the opportunity to strengthen the capabilities of the domestic economics community, as South Korea's standing within the BIS, often called the "central bank of central banks," continues to grow.

According to the Bank of Korea on the 20th, Governor Lee will hold the first 'Monetary Policy Issues Advisory Meeting' on the 28th of this month, attended by about six professors specializing in economics and finance. Among the professors attending the meeting is Park Ki-young, a former member of the Financial Monetary Policy Committee and a professor at Yonsei University.

The theme of this meeting was planned ahead of the March regular meeting of the BIS CGFS, for which Governor Lee was appointed chair last year. It is likely to serve as a preparatory session to study topics that will be discussed at the upcoming meeting. The CGFS, the highest-level core consultative body and think tank of the BIS Governors' meeting, conducts all its meetings behind closed doors, but the discussions significantly influence the policy-making processes of central banks worldwide.

A Bank of Korea official explained, "As chair of the CGFS, Governor Lee is responsible for gathering opinions not only from the Bank of Korea but also from other central banks," adding, "This is why it is necessary to study monetary policy issues that may not yet be immediate concerns domestically but are of interest to other central banks." For example, the first task assigned by Governor Lee to the professors is to research how central banks are managing monetary policy in an environment where advanced economies have increased reserve balances in the banking sector following large-scale quantitative easing measures after economic recessions.

The meeting will be held privately under the leadership of the Bank of Korea Economic Research Institute. A Bank of Korea official hinted, "The head of the Economic Research Institute also comes from academia," and added, "The Economic Research Institute has acted as a bridge, focusing on professors who have ties with the Bank of Korea." The name 'Monetary Policy Issues Advisory Meeting' is a tentative title. It differs in nature from the 'Monetary Policy Advisory Meetings' that the Bank of Korea has been conducting quarterly since 2015, led by the Monetary Policy Department to enhance communication with the market.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Governor Lee is putting considerable effort into ensuring that the meeting at the end of this month, which will serve as a kickoff, does not end as a one-time event. It is explained that while it is difficult to consider this a CGFS task force (TF), the intention is to establish a continuous relationship with the professors starting from this kickoff meeting. A Bank of Korea official said, "The Bank of Korea regards this meeting as important and even holds internal preparatory meetings to organize the advisory meeting."

It is also noteworthy that the professors participating in the meeting are mostly young scholars born in the 1970s. Governor Lee recently initiated a generational shift by appointing department heads born in the 1970s during personnel changes at the Bank of Korea. This composition appears to have been considered in preparing for this meeting as well.

Governor Lee places great importance on the development of the domestic academic community and is expected to actively share important international monetary policy information with domestic professors going forward. Earlier this month, he attended the '2024 Joint Economics Academic Conference,' where he emphasized the role of young professors in conducting high-quality research related to the domestic economy. In his dinner speech, he expressed regret that although he had informally asked young professors to conduct research on monetary policy issues, he heard that domestic research is often avoided because publishing in overseas academic journals is difficult.

A Bank of Korea official also pointed out, "The interests of South Korea and other advanced countries differ in terms of monetary policy, which clearly causes the domestic academic community to be somewhat excluded on a global scale." The official added, "While the governor leading a meeting of professors does not immediately solve problems, the purpose is to listen to ideas and opinions from academia on topics that are difficult to handle internally."

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