Virus Fear Is Changing How Bank of Korea Announces Its Rate Decision
Virus Fear Is Changing How Bank of Korea Announces Its Rate Decision
(Bloomberg) --
The Bank of Korea is taking unprecedented actions in the face of a coronavirus outbreak -- not about the rate decision itself, but how it’s delivered.
The BOK’s rate decision -- typically announced by an official in a room at the bank -- will be delivered via text message and email on Thursday. The change is for the safety of the press, it said in a statement on Monday.
The live media conference that usually follows will be held via YouTube and Facebook, with only the representative of the press allowed to attend. Governor Lee Ju-yeol usually takes questions in person from a podium in the press room packed with journalists. Other reporters should submit questions using their smartphones in advance, the BOK said.
While some central banks around the world have held online press conferences, this is the first time the South Korean one is taking to the Internet for a rate announcement. It illustrates the intensity of concerns rippling through South Korea as coronavirus cases jump drastically each day, prompting a growing number of economists to forecast the bank will cut its rate to a historic low on Thursday.
BOK Governor Lee Ju-yeol held an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the virus impact, the bank said, without saying if any policy action was planned. President Moon Jae-in said the current status is an “emergency situation” and called for bold fiscal spending. The government has delayed the start of the school year by a week, urging citizens to avoid outdoor activities and mass religious services.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sam Kim in Seoul at skim609@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Jackson at pjackson53@bloomberg.net, Jiyeun Lee, James Mayger
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