policy will be strengthened by the shift from the current establishment of an annual inflation target to a system of selecting an intermediate ( 2 ~ 3 years ) inflation target. thirdly, the safety and efficiency of payments and settlement system, which are crucial to financial stability, will be augmented by assigning the responsibility for their oversight and overall management to the bank of korea. all in all, the revised legislation will bring the korean central banking system much closer to convergence with the global standards demanded by the oecd, imf and other international organizations. it is also forecast to contribute to raising the country ’ s international credibility. in the years ahead, the bank of korea will re - double its efforts to ensuring the stable development of the national economy through the even more efficient conduct of monetary and credit policy from a position of neutrality. at the same time it will do its utmost to strengthen the policy capacity and to augment the transparency and accountability of the policy decision - making process so as to react in a highly effective manner to the rapid changes and the mounting uncertainties of the financial and economic environment. in doing so, it will win the reputation of being a central bank that enjoys the firm confidence of the general public.

seong - tae lee : globalisation and its implications for monetary policy opening address by mr seong - tae lee, governor and chairman of the bank of korea, at the 14th central banking seminar, seoul, 7 november 2006. * * * opening remarks ladies and gentlemen, let me extend a hearty welcome to all central bankers gathered from around the world to take part in the bank of korea's " central banking seminar ". i would also like to give my special thanks to our keynote speaker dr. mario blejer, director of the centre for central banking studies, bank of england. this seminar, now in its 14th year, provides a forum for debate on major monetary policy issues and for identifying ways to deal with them. the theme for this year's seminar, " globalization and its implications for monetary policy ", has of course been discussed many times before now. however, i believe this is an issue that merits central banks'continuing close interest. currents of globalization globalization accelerated greatly in the 1990s, with the widespread expansion of free trade following launch of the wto, and with the entry to the global economy of large low - wage countries such as china and india, together with the integration of financial markets supported by the great strides made in information and communication technology. there can be various different opinions as to whether or not globalization has contributed to heightening human welfare. none would deny, however, that at this moment we live in an environment of ever more rapidly progressing globalization. consequently, we need to accurately assess the influences of globalization on the way we live, and handle these influences intelligently. this task is important to the existence of individuals, companies and even countries, and central banks are of course no exception. globalization and its implications for monetary policy globalization has had a great impact not only on the central bank's primary objective of price stability itself, but also on the conditions for monetary policy conduct. first of all, globalization has the effect of easing upward pressures on prices worldwide. this can be attributed to the increased productivity and intensified competition between companies that have accompanied globalization, and to the large supply, based on low wages, of cheap goods now available. owing to this, central banks have been able to attain their inflation targets with relative ease and, as a result, enjoyed increasing credibility. a number of problems have arisen due to this global phenomenon of low inflation which we can not overlook. as seen in major countries over the past few years, central banks have maintained a