Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok said Friday he respected and welcomed the central bank's decision to lower interest rates. Choi made the comment during a parliamentary audit session into his ministry, which came after the Bank of Korea (BOK) lowered the benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point to 3.25 percent in its first rate cut since August 2021 in an effort to boost economic growth. "I respect and welcome the rate reduction decision," Choi said in response to a question by a lawmaker about whether he expected such a decision. The presidential office and the ruling party have voiced expectations for the central bank's pivot to support domestic demand and economic growth despite concerns about rising home prices in Seoul and the surrounding regions that would push up household debts further. During a local debate session last month, Choi said that he thinks "as the deputy prime minister for economic affairs that we need to put greater priority on how to recover weak domestic demand (than on househol d debt issues) in a shorter term." The BOK delivered seven consecutive rate hikes from April 2022 to January 2023 and had kept the rate at 3.5 percent, the highest level in about 16 years, and Gov. Rhee Chang-yong recently pointed to surging household debts and rising home prices as major factors for a possible pivot. Source: Yonhap News Agency