Shin Hyun Song, governor of the Bank of Korea, during a fireside chat at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. <\/p>\n
Sirachai Arunrugstichai | Bloomberg | Getty Images<\/p>\n
South Korea’s central bank expectedly kept its policy rate steady at 3% on Thursday, after two straight hikes, with analysts pointing that it does not signal a change in policy stance as inflation stays elevated.<\/p>\n
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the Bank of Korea to hold rates and the decision comes after President Lee Jae Myung reportedly called for an “all out effort”<\/a> to boost housing supply. <\/p>\n Inflation in Asia’s fourth-largest economy came in at 2.9% in September,<\/a> staying at or above the BOK’s 2% target for 13 months. <\/p>\n The Kospi<\/a> was trading 1.23% lower, while the won<\/a> strengthened marginally against the dollar to trade at 1,326.1.<\/p>\n Analysts from Dutch bank ING said that the pause was unlikely to mark the end of the tightening cycle, as inflation remains above target and economic growth was relatively resilient. <\/p>\n Growth for South Korea has been largely supported by exports of semiconductors as demand for chips to power the AI boom continues. <\/p>\n