South Korea has become the first big Asian economy to raise interest rates since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, as record household debt and rocketing property prices outweighed fears over Seoul’s struggle to contain the virus’s Delta variant.
In a closely watched decision on Thursday, the Bank of Korea raised its benchmark rate to 0.75 per cent, increasing the seven-day repurchase rate 25 basis points from a record low of 0.50 per cent.
South Korea is on track for gross domestic product growth of 4 per cent this year. The export-led economy has benefited from robust demand for electronics products including computer chips and smartphones, as well as recovering markets for Korean-made ships and cars.
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