Moon formally appoints new central bank chief

President Moon Jae-in and new head of the Bank of Korea Rhee Chang-yong pose after Moon formally appointed Rhee as the central bank's new chief, April 21. Yonhap

President Moon Jae-in formally appointed a former veteran International Monetary Fund official, Rhee Chang-yong, as new head of the Bank of Korea (BOK), Thursday, after the National Assembly adopted a report on his confirmation hearing.

Rhee, former director of the Asia and Pacific Department at the IMF, was nominated last month to succeed former BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol, whose term ended March 31.

During a National Assembly hearing, Rhee said the BOK will continue to tighten its monetary policy to tame inflation but indicated that the pace of policy tightening may be adjusted to prop up economic growth.

Rhee took office later Thursday after an inauguration ceremony. (Yonhap)