The Bank of Korea (BOK) holds its benchmark interest rate at 3%, following two straight increases in July and August. The bank frames the pause as consistent with the “payoff” from earlier preemptive tightening, which gives it flexibility to set policy based on domestic conditions rather than short-term market moves. BOK Gov. Shin Hyun-song says the earlier hikes provide room to manoeuvre for the next steps.
While keeping rates unchanged, the BOK maintains a hawkish posture and signals that further tightening remains possible. Multiple outlets say the decision comes after the back-to-back 0.25 percentage-point hikes lifted the rate from 2.5% to 3%. The timing and pace of any additional hikes are linked to incoming data, including measures of growth and inflation, as well as assessments of how higher borrowing costs affect inflation, the exchange rate and household debt.
