Anchor: The Bank of Korea has kept the key interest rate steady at three percent. Though there were projections that the central bank would cut the key rate to boost consumption, it apparently decided to freeze it and observe external economic conditions, including the launch of the second Donald Trump administration in the United States and changes in the won-dollar exchange rate. 
Our Bae Joo-yon has more. 

Report: The Bank of Korea’s Monetary Policy Board held a rate-setting meeting Thursday and decided to freeze the bank’s key lending rate at three percent after taking into account the won-dollar exchange rate and other external economic conditions.

The board said consumer prices have stabilized and household debt is growing more slowly, but that political risks, exchange rate volatility and the risk of a slump in economic growth have all increased. 

It then noted that the second Donald Trump administration is set to launch next week, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s rate cuts will be slower than expected, and the exchange rate remains in the 14-hundred won per dollar range.

In freezing the key rate, the bank’s policy-making body appears to have concluded that there is a need to keep a close eye on external economic conditions and leave the key rate unchanged, given the increasingly uncertain outlook for economic growth and the foreign exchange market. 

In a policy direction report released earlier, the central bank stressed the need to lower the key lending rate. 

With its latest decision to freeze the rate, the bank apparently signaled that it will consider various conditions, including imports, exports, the foreign exchange rate, consumer prices and household debt, before making further cuts. 
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.