Bank of Korea releases names of new board member candidates

Bloomberg

Bank of Korea (BOK) released names of four board member candidates to replace members whose terms end on April 20
The BOK recommended Lee Il Houng, head of Korea Institute for International Economic Policy. Finance Ministry recommended Cho Dong Chul, chief economist for state-run Korea Development Institute. Financial Services Commission recommended Standing Commissioner Koh Seung Beom. The Korea Chamber of Commerce recommended Shin In Seok, head of Korea Capital Market Institute.
The candidates need to be approved by President Park Geun Hye.
Board members are recommended by different organisations and serve a four-year term. Among the members to leave April 20 are the hawkish Moon Woo Sik, and the dovish member Ha Sung Keun, who opposed to the central bank’s decision to keep borrowing unchanged this month and called for a 25 basis point cut.
BOK held interest rate unchanged at a record low 1.5
percent.
BOK is the central bank of South Korea and issuer of South Korean won.
It was established on June 12, 1950 in Seoul, South Korea. The Bank’s primary purpose is price stability and for that, the Bank targets inflation.
Under the Bank of Korea Act (Article 1), the primary purpose of the BOK is pursuing price stability so as to contribute to the sound development of the national economy. The BOK implements this target through adjustments to its reference interest rate, the Base Rate.
The purchasing power of money depends on prices. When prices rise, the same amount of money buys less than before. Therefore, it is naturally the task of a central bank to safeguard the value of the money by keeping
inflation low.
Prices are influenced by various factors such as corporate investment, household consumption and international prices of raw materials. Meanwhile, among the various policy instruments to bring about price stability, the monetary policy of a central bank, which adjusts the quantity of money in circulation, is the most effective.
For these reasons, the responsibility for price stability is given to central banks in most countries. The bank sets and announces an inflation target for a certain period and strives to meet this target.