The central bank left the key interest rate unchanged for the third straight month on Thursday in the face of the slowing global economy and the local currency's sharp gain to the dollar.
Beating market expectations, Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Kim Choong-soo and his fellow policymakers froze the benchmark seven-day repo rate, dubbed the base rate, at 2.25 percent.
"The Korean economy is expected to maintain the upward trends, but a possible slowdown in advanced economies and changes in the settings of global exchange rates and the European debt crisis will likely serve as downside risks to the growth," the BOK said in a statement.
Despite the rate freeze decision, the central bank reiterated its earlier pledge that it will manage the rate policy by focusing on price stability.
Last month, the BOK unexpectedly froze the rate for the second month in a row, inviting criticism from market players that the central bank had given a muddled policy signal.