Bank of Korea(BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol has admitted he failed to anticipate the current economic slump when the central bank hiked the country’s benchmark rate late last year. 

Lee made the admission during a parliamentary inspection session on Tuesday, when Representative Na Kyung-won of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party(LKP) criticized him over a rate hike of 25 basis points to one-point-75 percent last November. 

Na argued the economy began to slide at that time. In response, the BOK chief said he was expecting the economy would remain at its potential growth level. 

When another LKP lawmaker Kim Gwang-lim asked about the central bank’s next move, Lee said he's aware of the market expectation and noted he sent a signal earlier that his monetary policy will be focused on assisting an economic recovery. 

However, he stressed rate setting is a collective decision by seven members of the central bank’s monetary policy committee, including himself. 

With the monthly BOK monetary policy committee set to convene on Wednesday of next week, many observers expect a cut from the current rate of one-point-five percent.