Eased political risks to set stage for tackling economic slowdown: BOK head

Korea's top central banker said Friday that the stage is being set for tackling the global economic slowdown as political uncertainty in the U.S. and China has eased.

Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Kim Choong-soo told the heads of local banks that efforts to shore up the slowing economies and to cope with the global imbalance should be accelerated, as big political risks from the U.S. and China have been dispelled.

The U.S. and China have wrapped up their processes to shape their respective new political leadership this month, raising expectations that their drives to support economic growth may gain traction.

The reelection of U.S. President Barack Obama is raising prospects that easy monetary policy, backed by the quantitative easing, is likely to continue. Analysts say that newly-elected Chinese leader Xi Jinping is highly likely to make efforts to shore up China's economic growth.

Gov. Kim also added that it is critical to cope with "too-big-to-fail" problems of large banks and the so-called "shadow banking" in a bid to promote financial stability. (Yonhap)