The Bank of Korea to Hold 'YouTube and Facebook Live' Monetary Policy Direction Meeting on the 27th

To Prevent the Spread of COVID-19... For the First Time Ever
"Strict Control of External Visitors"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Eun-byeol] The Bank of Korea, which will decide the base interest rate on the 27th, will hold a monetary policy direction (MPD) press briefing using internet live streaming for the first time in history.

As the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) spreads, there is great interest in the Bank of Korea's base interest rate decision, and this is a solution to prevent unspecified large numbers of people from gathering in enclosed spaces. Usually, about 190 people attend the MPD press briefing.

On the 24th, the Bank of Korea announced, "The MPD press briefing will be held in a separate space and will be live-streamed on the Bank of Korea's YouTube account and Facebook channel."

The economic outlook briefing held after the MPD will also be conducted via internet live streaming. The Q&A session will be conducted by collecting questions from representatives of the press corps via KakaoTalk and text messages, which will then be read aloud on site.

As the impact of COVID-19 on our economy is expected to be significant, interest in the Bank of Korea's interest rate decisions is higher than usual. Concerned that a large number of reporters would gather if the press briefing were held offline as usual, it was decided to hold an unprecedented internet live streaming briefing.

There are concerns that the briefing may not proceed smoothly due to a surge in online viewers during the internet live streaming, but since the infectious disease crisis level has been raised to "serious," it was finally decided to try this new approach.

If the base interest rate is lowered at this meeting, it will record an all-time low of 1.00%. Along with the interest rate decision on the 27th, the Bank of Korea will also release a revised economic growth forecast for this year. The growth forecast is expected to be revised downward to reflect the impact of COVID-19.