Objectives of Monetary Policy

A monetary policy is generally the process through which a central bank with a sole right to issue its own currency (legal tender or monetary base) maintains the value of that currency, that is, price, and achieves sustainable economic growth by managing the amount of money (monetary base and money created in the banking system) in circulation, and price (interest rate) in the economy.

Article 1, Clause 1 of the「Bank of Korea Act」 stipulates that the purpose of this Act is “to contribute to the sound development of the national economy by pursuing price stability through the formulation and implementation of efficient monetary policy”. Accordingly, the Bank of Korea takes price stability as the most important objective of its monetary policy. If prices become unstable, uncertainty concerning the future mounts, discouraging economic activities as a whole, and the distribution of income and resources grows distorted. As a result, the stability in economic conditions as a whole is damaged.

For the national economy to achieve stable growth, it should be supported by not only price stability but also financial stability. Regarding this, Article 1, Clause 2 of the「Bank of Korea Act」 stipulates that “The Bank of Korea needs to pay attention to financial stability in the implementation of monetary policy”. Thus, the Bank of Korea is also making policy efforts to maintain financial stability while pursuing price stability through implementing its monetary policy.