Anchor: The Bank of Korea lowered the nation’s key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point on Tuesday to two-point-75 percent. It also slashed its growth outlook for this year to one-point-five percent, citing sluggish domestic demand and exports.
Our Bae Joo-yon has more. 

Report: The Bank of Korea’s Monetary Policy Board held a rate-setting meeting Tuesday and decided to cut the key lending rate to two-point-75 percent from the current three percent.

This is the first time since August 2022 that the key interest rate has fallen to the two percent range. 

The central bank slashed the benchmark rate in October and November last year, but kept it steady in January amid the weak local currency in the aftermath of the December 3 martial law incident. 

In marking down the rate, the bank said the nation’s economic growth rate is expected to be significantly lower, forecasting a figure of one-and-a-half percent for this year. 

That represents a downgrade from the bank’s November projection of one-point-nine percent and also falls short of the one-point-eight percent outlook issued by the finance ministry and the one-point-six percent projected by the Korea Development Institute.

The bank said recovery in domestic demand is slow due to weakened economic sentiment and that U.S. tariff policies may depress export growth. 

The bank also forecast that the nation’s inflation rate will stand at one-point-nine percent this year, lower than the target rate of two percent. 
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.