forecasts for the next three months, as well as to quarterly economic outlook. the bank will explore improvements in institutional measures to strengthen the financial stability role of its lending facilities. at the same time, it will focus on promoting the risk - free reference rate ( korea overnight financing repo rate, or " kofr " ) in the short - term financial market, while introducing ai models, and conducting the pilot project on central bank digital currency ( cbdc ) and related global projects ( bank of korea, 2024b ; bank of korea, 2024c ; bis, 2024 ). 4 / 7 bis - central bankers'speeches we need to ensure that changes in organizational culture and internal management take root deeply within the organization. in particular, this year, let's create a culture that values the " quality " of work over the " quantity. " it is not just about working hard and doing a lot, but about presenting high - quality results. to achieve this, we must streamline our work processes to reduce working overtime and evaluate based on the impact of reports rather than the quantity. employees who propose and test new ideas should be encouraged accordingly. just as it is important to recruit top talent, it is also essential to create a system that fosters the development of incoming employees to help them grow into skilled and capable professionals. accordingly, we will ensure that the performance evaluation system that was introduced last year becomes wellestablished, and we will also explore ways to provide the necessary support for nurturing talent. my dear colleagues, let me extend my heartfelt gratitude once again to all our staff for doing their utmost in their respective areas despite many challenges last year. i would like to express my appreciation to all our staff at regional branches for working for balanced regional development and for fulfilling the roles of ambassadors, and to our staff at overseas representative offices for promptly conveying information about local affairs. i have not forgotten the hard work of those handling tasks such as customer service, cash processing, security management, and administrative support, all of whom contribute to ensuring that the bank of korea fulfills its role. my thanks also go to all the janitorial staff who strive to maintain a clean working environment, to the daycare teachers who provide a comfortable care environment for our employees'children, and to the doctors who take care of our employees'health. at the bank of korea, which is made up of such a diverse group of members, it fills me with immense pride to see over 75

bank ’ s continuation of easy monetary stance and the government ’ s new economic stimulus package are expected to underpin the economy. however, risks of downward pressures on the economy induced by the slowdown in overseas economies as well as developments in foreign and domestic capital markets, need more careful monitoring for the time being. with regard to prices, import prices are rising, mainly reflecting the depreciation of the yen. domestic wholesale prices are declining somewhat mainly due to the decrease in prices of electrical machinery, although the rise in crude oil prices was passed on to the prices of petroleum products. consumer prices continue to be somewhat weak owing to the decline in prices of other imported products and their substitutes, despite the increase in prices of petroleum products. corporate service prices are still falling slowly. as for the conditions surrounding price developments, the recent yen depreciation is exerting upward pressures on prices. moreover, the balance between supply and demand in the domestic market is this report was written based on data and information available when the bank of japan monetary policy meeting was held on january 19, 2001. the bank ’ s view of recent economic and financial developments, determined by the policy board at the monetary policy meeting held on january 19 as the basis of monetary policy decisions. projected to be on a gradual improving trend, while an economic recovery is expected to continue at a moderate pace. recently, however, the pace of recovery seems to be slowing and crude oil prices, which had been exerting upward pressures on prices, are falling. the declining trend of machinery prices due to technological innovations and the decrease in prices of consumer goods arising from the streamlining of distribution channels will continue to exert downward pressures on prices. overall, prices are expected to be somewhat weak for the time being. in the financial market, the overnight call rate is generally moving around 0. 25 percent. interest rates on term instruments have declined after the increase towards late december. the japan premium remains negligible. yields on long - term government bonds have been around 1. 5 - 1. 7 percent since the end of november and are recently moving in the range of 1. 5 - 1. 55 percent. the yield spreads between private bonds ( bank debentures and corporate bonds ) and government bonds are mostly unchanged or expanding somewhat. stock prices continue to be weak and are moving around the lowest level recorded since the beginning of 2000, while having recovered somewhat recently. in the foreign exchange market, the yen has been depreciating sharply since