The Bank of Korea(BOK) will hold its monetary policy committee meeting Thursday to decide on the key interest rate for March.

With rising instabilities in global financial markets spurred by a plunge on the Chinese bourse, pundits project the central bank will freeze the key rate this month in efforts to stabilize the domestic market.

But others call for a rate cut to facilitate economic recovery amid lackluster indicators surrounding exports and consumer spending.

During last month's rate-setting meeting, a few BOK officials insisted cutting the key rate by a quarter percentage point.

Since hitting a record low of one-point-five percent last June, the rate has been retained at the current level for eight straight months.