Bank of Korea repurchase agreements hit all-time high in 2024
Published: 13 Jan. 2025, 18:12
![Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong speaks at the bank's office in Jung District, central Seoul, on Aug. 22, 2024. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/01/13/4f23788d-bd4f-44c6-89c5-c2158faa0b4e.jpg)
Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong speaks at the bank's office in Jung District, central Seoul, on Aug. 22, 2024. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
The Bank of Korea (BOK) injected 106.1 trillion won ($72.13 billion) through the initiative in 2024, marking the largest yearly figure ever, according to the data compiled by the central bank and submitted to Rep. Chung Il-young of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP).
Of the total, repo operations worth 47.6 trillion won were implemented in December when financial authorities vowed to provide “unlimited liquidity” to the market to minimize the impact of Yoon's shocking, albeit short-lived, martial law imposition on Dec. 3.
The figure for December is larger than that of the entire year 2020, 42.3 trillion won, when the country was reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The data indicated that the martial law incident had greater repercussions for the financial market than the pandemic,” the lawmaker said, calling on the central bank to continue taking all-out efforts to ensure market stability.
Following the martial law declaration, the Korean currency sank to around 1,450 won against the U.S. dollar, the lowest in nearly 16 years, and has since stayed well below that level.
A repurchase agreement is a deal whereby one party sells the other a security at a specified price with a commitment to buy that security back at a later date. The BOK buys repos to provide liquidity and settle the market.
The National Assembly has voted to impeach Yoon pending a final decision by the constitutional Court, and an extensive probe into the case is underway.
YONHAP
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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