Lee Chang-yong, the governor of the Bank of Korea, stated at a press conference held right after the Monetary Policy Committee on the 10th, "I will let you know in August about how much we will adjust the growth rate this year after closely examining the United States' final reciprocal tariffs by country and item, the improvement in economic sentiment, and the impact of supplementary budgets."
The governor explained, "In the future, consumption is expected to gradually recover due to improvements in economic sentiment and the impact of supplementary budgets, while exports will likely slow down due to U.S. tariff impositions; however, the future growth trajectory is surrounded by significant uncertainty related to the developments of U.S.-Korea trade negotiations and the pace of domestic improvement."
He noted, "In particular, the results of trade negotiations between the United States and major countries, including Korea, could significantly change exports and the growth trajectory."
The governor mentioned, "The level at which reciprocal tariffs imposed on Korea and item-specific tariffs on semiconductors are determined will have the most significant impact; however, we must also consider the tariff levels on major competing countries, including China, as well as the tariffs on major overseas production bases such as Vietnam, Mexico, and Canada."
On that day, the Monetary Policy Committee decided to freeze the benchmark interest rate at 2.50% per annum. The Bank of Korea had previously held meetings in October and November last year, and in February and May this year, lowering the benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage points each time.