to contribute to the development of our national economy and with a spirit of public service dedicated to the stability of people ’ s lives. please bear firmly in mind also that high standard of moral virtue and legal compliance are required of you as employees of the central bank, and thus steady your minds and adhere to the straight and narrow path of virtue in selflessly carrying out your duties. to draw my remarks to a close, i should like to voice my gratitude to all of those involved in the preparation of this commemorative event, and wish you all and those whom you hold dear the very best of good health and the greatest of happiness. thank you very much. bis central bankers ’ speeches

juyeol lee : bank of korea ’ s 65th anniversary speech by mr juyeol lee, governor of the bank of korea, at the commemorating ceremony of the bank of korea ’ s 65th anniversary, bank of korea, seoul, 12 june 2015. * * * dear fellow members of the bank of korea family, today marks the 65th anniversary of the bank of korea ’ s foundation as korea ’ s central bank. on this happy occasion i would like to express my sincere gratitude to all those who have served before us in the bank of korea, devoting themselves throughout the years to the development of the bank and the national economy, and to those who have given us support and encouragement as well. let me also express my compliments to each and every member of our staff, for faithfully carrying out the duties entrusted to you under difficult conditions. since the beginning of this year our economy has shown signs of a modest recovery even though exports have been sluggish, as domestic demand has improved. the bank of korea has been cutting its base rate and expanded its bank intermediated lending support facility since the second half of last year. i think that this large - scale monetary policy easing has underpinned the recovery of economic activities. in the latter half of this year the korean economy is expected to sustain its trend of improvement, thanks to the economic recoveries in major advanced economies including the us and to the effects of our expansionary macroeconomic policies. there are still downside risks to its growth path, however, such as the slowdowns in emerging market economies, the weakening of our export momentum, and heightened volatility in the international financial markets. there are also concerns about domestic demand turning sluggish as the sentiments of economic agents contract and consumption slows due to the effects of the mers ( middle east respiratory syndrome ) outbreak. dear fellow bok members, there are not a few challenges remaining that have to be overcome in order for the korean economy to maintain sound economic growth in the future. first, looking at the domestic situation, there is a possibility of our growth engines continually weakening due to structural factors not easily resolved within a short space of time. sectoral imbalances, labor market rigidity and excessive regulation are holding back virtuous cycles between growth and employment and between production and income distribution. in particular, the unemployment problem faced by today ’ s youth, the future leaders of our society, is deeply troubling because it can even weaken