Changyong Lee "Korea's Q1 GDP on the downside... Adjusting the pace of rate cuts"

Changyong Lee, Governor of the Bank of Korea, assessed that the economic growth rate in the first quarter of this year was "within the expected range, but on the downside."

Governor Lee held a press conference in Washington, D.C. on the 25th (local time) and stated, "Due to the negative growth in the first quarter, the annual growth rate forecast will also be lower than the previous (1.5%)," he said. Earlier, the Bank of Korea announced on the 24th that the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate for the first quarter was recorded at minus (-) 0.2%. This is 0.4 percentage points lower than the official forecast (0.2%) released by the Bank of Korea in February. Governor Lee said, "It is difficult to talk about the future now due to the high level of uncertainty."

He also mentioned the pace of rate cuts. Governor Lee said, "In a situation like a dark tunnel where the future is not clear, we cannot just rush ahead," and "As the overall economic uncertainty has increased, we need to proceed slowly, waiting for our eyes to adjust to the darkness." He added, "As prices are stabilizing, interest rates are on a downward trend," and "Adjusting the pace (of rate cuts) does not mean we are not lowering them."