BANK OF KOREA CUTS RATE TO BOLSTER DEMAND

Welcome to Press Perspective.

It's Tuesday February 25th here in Seoul.

I'm Min Sunhee.

The central bank has lowered both its benchmark interest rate and its outlook for the Korean economy this year.

So why and what does this mean?

To answer this question and more I have Daniel Moss a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion.

Daniel it's a pleasure.

I also have Professor Oh Joon-seok at Sookmyung Women's University with the pundit's take on the economy.

Professor Oh welcome back.

1) Daniel, let's begin with your assessment of the Bank of Korea's latest monetary policy decision.

2) Professor Oh, the BOK also shared its economic growth projection for this year. What do you believe are the broader implications of its latest outlook?

3) Daniel, beyond borders, what can you tell us about the monetary policy directions of the central banks of major economies including the U.S.?

5) Professor Oh, findings for the first 20 days of February show the total value of Korean exports rose 16% on year, but I hear that based on an average daily calculation, we are actually down 2.7% as February this year had 15.5 working days during the first three weeks while last year, February had 13 days. What are your thoughts regarding this finding?

6) Daniel, auto parts exports from Korea to the U.S. marked a record high last year. Some are casting doubt on this year's performance amid Trump tariffs, others remain hopeful citing possible gains from trade tensions between China and the U.S. What do you think?

7) Daniel, a Korean trade delegation was in Washington last week and formally requested an exemption from Trump tariffs in light of the Free Trade Agreement between the two countries. We have another government delegation preparing to head to the U.S., while Corporate Korea is dispatching its own business teams. Do you suppose there are merits in seeking bilateral trade talks with the Trump administration?

8) Professor Oh, also here on the domestic front. The government here is looking into anti-dumping tariffs on Chinese steel plates entering the Korean market. Do give us some background information regarding this move and its importance.

9) And Daniel, staying with government efforts. How do you evaluate Korea's efforts to address Mr. Trump's blanket tariff campaign?

All right.