The Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol warns against growing credit risk from heavily indebted households and self-employed, as the country will continue to tighten monetary policy.
Key quotes
"First and foremost, efforts should be made for thorough risks management.”
"There is the possibility of growing credit risk mainly among some households and self-employed with excessive leverage and facing a slowdown in business in the process of normalizing loose financial measures."
"With external uncertainty very high, in particular, such internal vulnerable factors could develop into a weak ring in the financial system, which warrants heightened monitoring to brace for potential danger."
USD/KRW reaction
USD/KRW trades close to multi-week highs of 1,195.77 on Governor Lee’s comments. At the time of writing, the pair is adding 0.05% on the day, trading at 1,194.