Economy
Policy
Bank of Korea raises the Base Rate 25 basis points to 3.00 percent
The Monetary Policy Board moved the policy rate from 2.75 percent to 3.00 percent for the intermeeting period on August 27, 2026. Six members supported the increase. Hwang Kunil voted to keep the Base Rate at 2.75 percent.
TickerGrove Newsroom · Published 08-27-2026 · Bank of Korea
Sources
Bank of Korea, Monetary Policy Decision and Opening Remarks to the Press Conference, August 27, 2026, independently re-read from the English decision page. English homepage card the same day: Base Rate 3.00 percent for the intermeeting period; inflation target 2.0 percent. Monetary Policy Decisions index checked for the August 27, 2026 item and the July 16, 2026 prior decision date. Secondary after that official text: Yonhap republished the English statement the same day. A Reuters global-markets wrap reported the hike to 3 percent as in line with market views that narrowly expected an increase. Those wraps are not the number of record for the Base Rate.
- raised 25 basis points from 2.75%
- 3.00%
- prior Base Rate
- 2.75%
- basis points increase in the Base Rate
- 25 basis points
- target, not a measured print
- 2.0%
Figures from the Bank of Korea English decision, opening remarks, and homepage card dated August 27, 2026. No KOSPI close. No single won-dollar fix.
Bank of Korea English homepage card, August 27, 2026
TickerGrove
The Monetary Policy Board of the Bank of Korea decided on August 27, 2026, to raise the Base Rate by 25 basis points, from 2.75 percent to 3.00 percent, for the intermeeting period. That is the setting on the Bank’s English homepage card the same day, which also lists the inflation target at 2.0 percent. Six members supported the increase. Hwang Kunil voted against it, proposing to keep the Base Rate unchanged at 2.75 percent.
What changed
The locked homepage card is the intermeeting setting: a 25-basis-point increase from 2.75 percent to 3.00 percent. The decision document records the same move and the 6–1 vote. The Board said the domestic economy has continued to grow at a stronger than expected pace, supported by strong exports and a recovery in domestic demand, while inflation is expected to remain above the target level for a considerable time. It raised this year’s growth forecast to 3.3 percent and next year’s to 2.9 percent, both well above the May forecasts of 2.6 percent and 2.1 percent. Consumer-price inflation is still forecast at 2.7 percent this year and 2.3 percent next year, matching May. Core inflation, excluding food and energy, is now forecast at 2.5 percent in both years, above the May forecasts of 2.4 percent and 2.3 percent.
July’s inflation prints and the financial-stability language sit beside that rate decision, not in place of it. Consumer-price inflation declined to 2.8 percent in July because petroleum-product prices and agricultural, livestock, and fisheries prices rose more slowly, the Board said. Core inflation, excluding food and energy, rose to 2.6 percent, driven by faster increases in personal-services and durable-goods prices. Short-term inflation expectations among the general public remained in the upper 2 percent range. Housing prices in Seoul and its surrounding areas continued to increase at a high pace, and household loans increased substantially. The Board left the interest rate on programs under the Bank Intermediated Lending Support Facility unchanged at 1.25 percent.
Why it matters
The Board judged that it was important to prevent inflationary pressures from becoming widespread through preemptive action, and that financial-stability risks still required attention. Opening remarks to the press conference the same day said most research findings suggest that, compared with a delayed response, preemptive action can stabilize inflation expectations earlier and reduce the degree and duration of tightening. The same remarks said preemptive action would also help moderate recent housing-price increases in Seoul and its surrounding areas and the growth in household debt. Those are the Board’s stated reasons. They are not a TickerGrove forecast of housing prices or household loans.
What to watch
The Board said it will decide the timing and pace of further Base Rate increases while assessing inflation, the domestic economy, and financial stability. It described the Korean won to US dollar exchange rate as having fallen significantly into the upper thirteen-hundred won range, and said stock prices fell sharply, led by the semiconductor sector, and then partially rebounded. No index close and no single won-dollar fix appear in the decision. Hwang Kunil’s dissent is a recorded preference to hold at 2.75 percent, not a forecast of the next vote. The Monetary Policy Decisions index lists the prior decision on July 16, 2026; the August opening remarks refer to “the hike in July” without restating that earlier rate in the English text checked here.
A Base Rate is one setting, not a target range
The Bank of Korea sets a single Base Rate. On August 27, 2026, that setting moved from 2.75 percent to 3.00 percent, a 25-basis-point increase, for the intermeeting period. A dissent is a named member’s recorded preference against that action, not a second policy.
Keep the vote, the August forecasts, and the SME facility on separate lines
Use 3.00 percent as the intermeeting Base Rate and 2.0 percent as the homepage inflation target. The growth pair is 3.3 percent this year and 2.9 percent next year versus May’s 2.6 percent and 2.1 percent. Consumer-price forecasts stayed 2.7 percent and 2.3 percent; core forecasts moved to 2.5 percent for both years. The Bank Intermediated Lending Support Facility rate stayed 1.25 percent. Hwang Kunil preferred 2.75 percent. Opening remarks put US growth above 2 percent this year and euro-area growth below 1 percent; those are Board projections, not TickerGrove prints.
What we do not know
This page does not print a KOSPI close, a single won-dollar fix, or a date for the next Board vote. The opening remarks’ upper thirteen-hundred won range is a range characterization, not a print. Stock-price language in the decision has no index level. The Board’s growth and inflation figures are its August forecasts, not a TickerGrove model. Hwang Kunil’s dissent does not include a separate forecast in the English text checked here. Secondary wrap-ups are not the number of record for the Base Rate.
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Sources & evidence
Primary documents used for this piece. Internal claim-lineage notes stay off this page.
Bank of Korea Base Rate
Bank of Korea English homepage card, August 27, 2026
Intermeeting period after the August 27, 2026 decision
Bank of Korea Base Rate
Bank of Korea Monetary Policy Decision, August 27, 2026
Setting immediately before the August 27, 2026 decision
Bank of Korea Monetary Policy Board
Bank of Korea Monetary Policy Decisions index
Prior English decision listed on the index
Yonhap News Agency
Full text of the August 27, 2026 Bank of Korea statement
2026-08-27
Reuters
Global markets wrap, August 27, 2026
2026-08-27
Figures used in this article
Figures from the Bank of Korea English decision, opening remarks, and homepage card dated August 27, 2026. No KOSPI close. No single won-dollar fix.
Figure
3.00%
- Entity
- Bank of Korea Base Rate
- Period / as-of
- Intermeeting period after the August 27, 2026 decision
- Unit / basis
- %; raised 25 basis points from 2.75%
Figure
2.75%
- Entity
- Bank of Korea Base Rate
- Period / as-of
- Setting immediately before the August 27, 2026 decision
- Unit / basis
- %; prior Base Rate
Figure
25 basis points
- Entity
- Bank of Korea Monetary Policy Board
- Period / as-of
- August 27, 2026 decision
- Unit / basis
- basis points increase in the Base Rate
Figure
2.0%
- Entity
- Bank of Korea inflation target
- Period / as-of
- Homepage card, August 27, 2026
- Unit / basis
- %; target, not a measured print
Figure
6–1
- Entity
- Bank of Korea Monetary Policy Board
- Period / as-of
- August 27, 2026 vote
- Unit / basis
- members supporting the increase vs Hwang Kunil dissenting
Figure
2.75%
- Entity
- Hwang Kunil preferred Base Rate
- Period / as-of
- Same vote
- Unit / basis
- %; dissent proposed keeping the Base Rate unchanged
Figure
2.8%
- Entity
- Korea consumer-price inflation
- Period / as-of
- July 2026
- Unit / basis
- %; Board-stated print
Figure
2.6%
- Entity
- Korea core inflation excluding food and energy
- Period / as-of
- July 2026
- Unit / basis
- %; Board-stated print
Figure
3.3%
- Entity
- Korea GDP growth forecast
- Period / as-of
- 2026, August forecast
- Unit / basis
- %; Board forecast, above the May forecast of 2.6%
Figure
2.9%
- Entity
- Korea GDP growth forecast
- Period / as-of
- 2027, August forecast
- Unit / basis
- %; Board forecast, above the May forecast of 2.1%
Figure
2.6%
- Entity
- Korea GDP growth forecast
- Period / as-of
- 2026, May forecast
- Unit / basis
- %; prior Board forecast
Figure
2.1%
- Entity
- Korea GDP growth forecast
- Period / as-of
- 2027, May forecast
- Unit / basis
- %; prior Board forecast
Figure
2.7%
- Entity
- Korea consumer-price inflation forecast
- Period / as-of
- 2026, August forecast
- Unit / basis
- %; Board forecast, consistent with May
Figure
2.3%
- Entity
- Korea consumer-price inflation forecast
- Period / as-of
- 2027, August forecast
- Unit / basis
- %; Board forecast, consistent with May
Figure
2.5%
- Entity
- Korea core inflation forecast excluding food and energy
- Period / as-of
- 2026 and 2027, August forecast
- Unit / basis
- %; Board forecast, above May 2.4% and 2.3%
Figure
2.4%
- Entity
- Korea core inflation forecast excluding food and energy
- Period / as-of
- 2026, May forecast
- Unit / basis
- %; prior Board forecast
Figure
1.25%
- Entity
- Bank Intermediated Lending Support Facility
- Period / as-of
- Left unchanged on August 27, 2026
- Unit / basis
- %; SME program rate, not the Base Rate
Figure
upper 1,300 won range
- Entity
- Korean won to US dollar
- Period / as-of
- Opening remarks, August 27, 2026
- Unit / basis
- won per dollar; Board range characterization, not a fix
Figure
above 2%
- Entity
- US growth projection in the opening remarks
- Period / as-of
- 2026, Board assessment
- Unit / basis
- %; Board projection, not a BEA print
Figure
below 1%
- Entity
- Euro-area growth projection in the opening remarks
- Period / as-of
- Opening remarks, August 27, 2026
- Unit / basis
- %; Board projection
Figure
July 16, 2026
- Entity
- Bank of Korea Monetary Policy Board
- Period / as-of
- Prior English decision listed on the index
- Unit / basis
- calendar date of the previous posted decision