Bank of Korea successor speculation grows

New appointment: Pedestrians cross a road in front of the BoK headquarters in Seoul. The central bank is looking for a replacement as the current governor’s term ends on March 31. — AFP

SEOUL: Bank of Korea (BoK) officials past and present, presidential advisers and global representatives are among potential successors to central bank governor Lee Ju-yeol, whose impending departure is fuelling speculation over a replacement at a time of elevated inflation.

Lee’s successor will inherit rapidly normalising monetary policy after two years of extraordinary stimulus to prop up a pandemic-hit economy. Having been cut as low as 0.5%, the policy rate has now returned to its pre-pandemic level of 1.25%. It could move even higher in response to consumer-price growth, although surging virus cases and global uncertainties cloud the outlook.