Doha: South Korea's central bank lowered its benchmark interest rate by 0.25% on Thursday, just five days ahead of the country's presidential election, in an effort to prop up economic growth.

According to Qatar News Agency, the monetary policy committee of the Bank of Korea (BOK) slashed the key rate by 25 basis points to 2.5% at its monthly rate-setting meeting in Seoul. This move marks the fourth reduction since October 2024, when the BOK began a monetary easing cycle for the first time since August 2021. Since then, the central bank has lowered the policy rate by a total of 1 percentage point through May.

At its previous meeting in April, the BOK held the policy rate steady, citing the need to support the weak local currency and assess the evolving impact of new US tariff measures.