“Much more weight will be placed on whether core inflation remains elevated going forward, whether the economy can sustain its growth momentum, and on financial stability issues.” Ryoo’s comments reinforce the BOK’s tightening bias ahead of its Aug 27 policy meeting, with the economy expanding faster than expected and underlying price pressures remaining persistent. The central bank raised its benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.75 per cent in July, its first increase since early 2023. “The scale of the increase may not be large, but it could be persistent,” he said about inflation, adding the durability of those pressures will require continued monetary policy attention. “Because monetary policy needs to be preemptive, I expect there’ll be further rate hikes as policymakers assess the outlook for growth and the path of inflation.”