Bank of Korea to hold rates

SEOUL, Apr 9 (Reuters): South Korea's central bank governor, Lee Ju-yeol, makes his monetary policy debut on Thursday, widely expected to hold rates at 2.5 per cent for an 11th successive month.
Governor Lee, a career technocrat, succeeded Kim Choong-soo who was widely criticised for his close links to then-President Lee Myung-bak and for wrong-footing markets.
Lee has made too few public comments in a 35-year career at the central bank on which to assess his stance, although he has pledged greater consistency and predictability. He has also criticised what he said was former governor Kim's lack of clear policy communication.
Lee will front a news conference after the monetary policy decision is announced, and his remarks there will be closely watched.
"It will be important to allow us to get the first hints on his policy stance," said Lee Min-koo, economist at NH Investment & Securities. "I hope Governor Lee will be a more predictable person given that there had been confusion in the markets during the previous governor's term."
Former Bank of Korea officials say the reality is that the head of the institution has little room for independent policy.