South Korea
Korea’s sluggish economy dampens growth prospects
Bank of Korea revises growth forecasts and leaves interest rates on hold
South Korea will publish data on forex interventions
US Treasury report called recent South Korean forex moves “concerning”
People: Weidmann re-elected as chair of BIS board
Korea appoints deputies; new Malaysian prime minister appoints team of economic advisers; new vice presidents in Richmond and Atlanta
The IFF China Report 2018
Insight and opinion from China’s top leaders, policymakers and financiers
People: South Korea’s Juyeol Lee nominated for new term
South Korean president nominates Lee for fresh four-year term; SNB’s Wiedmer steps down; State Bank of Vietnam appoints new banking supervisors
Bank of Korea unveils changes to its DSGE model
The existing model’s accuracy was reduced following structural changes in the economy
Reserve manager of the year: Bank of Korea
The South Korean central bank has revamped its reserve operations, and adopted a proactive approach to managing risks and returns that is matched by few of its peers
Bank of Korea on hold amid policy dilemma
Strong won and benign inflation likely to keep the BoK on hold in the first half of 2018
FSB praises ‘good progress’ on S Korean resolution framework
Peer review finds additional work to be done on filling gaps and strengthening supervision
Bank of Korea makes first hike in six years
Central bank triggers hiking cycle despite below-target inflation, as economy shows “solid” growth
Banking sector openness affects policy transmission, BoK paper finds
Bank of Korea study focuses on smaller open economies
‘Paradigm shift’ needed for S Korea, warns IMF paper
Authors say “big push” is needed toward implementing social protection and “greater” economic freedoms
Korea suffering from ‘missing inflation’ – deputy governor
Core inflation is still in the mid-1% range despite economic improvement
IMF report studies country responses to volatile capital flows
Set of case studies emphasises value of macro-prudential policy in resisting credit booms across emerging and advanced economies
People: Trio of deputies appointed at Sri Lankan, Korean and Bahaman central banks
Veteran central bankers appointed at Sri Lankan and Korean institutions; Bank of Bahamas also gets new second in command
Korean governor outlines limitations of GDP as economic indicator
GDP does not “fully capture” income or wealth distribution; Lee Ju-yeol offers alternatives based on microdata and other macroeconomic indicators
Bank of Korea paper says digital currency will not displace hard cash
Digital currency could be used as a medium of exchange, but will not oust cash as a store of value, given the issues surrounding insurance and trust, authors of working paper find
Adopting inflation target can create higher inflation – paper
Bank of Korea working paper finds positive relationship between inflation target and inflation, implying some central banks may be tempted to move the goalposts
Bank of Korea embarks on ‘coinless society’ project
Central bank wants to eradicate use of coins by 2020; first stage of the project to use electronic travel passes to pay for goods and services
Emerging markets hit harder by US rate hikes than domestic policy – Bank of Korea paper
US rate hikes have a larger impact on growth and financial flows in emerging markets than changes in domestic policy, researchers find
Korea needs right kind of banking competition – quarterly bulletin
Competition can harm welfare if it is focused on gaining market share through a price war, authors say; Korean system may benefit from greater diversity
IMF paper explores link between imports and pro-cyclicality of productivity
Research finds firm-level import decisions explain “non-trivial” fraction of fluctuations in aggregate productivity in South Korean manufacturing sector between 2006 and 2012
South Korean governor calls for international swap line expansion
Lee Juyeol welcomes improvements in financial safety nets at both global and regional levels, but suggests more co-operation is needed to ensure they expand further
Korea reveals organisational changes in annual report
Financial markets department established in 2015, alongside divisions dedicated to capital markets, monetary policy research and financial system analysis