economy. dear members of the bank of korea! for the bank of korea to meet the expectations of the public and remake itself as a policy institution with exceptional expertise amid a rapidly changing economic environment, we need to achieve commensurate organizational change and innovation. in this endeavor, based on the consulting results from an external professional institution and a wide range of staff opinions, we are drafting a medium - to long - term plan to innovate our administrative and personnel management system, which includes a roadmap for implementing organization - and personnelwide innovation. i hope that this upcoming plan will be successfully finalized and will play a pivotal role in pursuing innovation in the future. to make our efforts come to fruition, it goes without saying that continued careful attention and participation of staff, the main agent of innovation, is essential. my fellow members of the bank of korea! over the last two years, we have all done our utmost for the recovery and stabilization of our economy amid the unprecedented covid - 19 pandemic. even under these difficult policy circumstances, the so - called “ permanence of uncertainty, ” the bank of korea was able to faithfully undertake its duties. this was made possible thanks to the very best efforts of our staff to fulfill their duties and responsibilities. this year will likely be another challenging one for our economy in terms of both the domestic and external environment. i would like to ask all staff to remain vigilant and faithfully fulfill their roles and responsibilities. i hope that this year will be the last year of the pandemic. as we greet this new year, i want to wish you all the very best of health and good fortune. thank you. 3 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches

criteria. banks, securities companies and insurance companies all sought to expand their turf and the linkages between them grew much closer. as enterprises had more transactions with various types of financial institutions, money flows grew increasingly complex. meanwhile, the scale of the korean economy was expanding and its structure becoming more complicated. an important new task emerged : that of rolling back government intervention in the economy in the name of improved efficiency. from early 1997, the korean government began to press ahead with financial reforms to bring together the various independent supervisory bodies under a single roof. it also sought to strengthen the bok ’ s independence in monetary policy. the government ’ s steps toward the establishment of an integrated financial supervisory body naturally ignited a debate on the idea of taking away the central bank ’ s bank supervisory function. the bok at that time strongly opposed such government ’ s plans. firstly, as lender of last resort, the central bank had to be in a position to monitor the insolvency and liquidity status of banks. this was also necessary for it to secure the stability of the payment and settlement system. therefore it was essential for the bok to keep bank supervisory function. secondly, it stressed that the politically neutral central bank should carry out bank supervision, a process that needs to be shielded from political pressure. it was also more efficient if bank supervision remained entrusted to the bok, which already possessed the adequate human and physical resources. the government, for its part, advocated that bank supervision had to be separated from the bok because of conflicts of interest that might arise between monetary policy and supervisory policy. for example, if the central bank eased monetary policy to maintain financial stability, this could damage price stability which was the core goal of the central bank. furthermore, the government pointed to worries that the central bank might become overly powerful, if it were to retain the right to supervise banks while being granted independence in monetary policy. the plan to establish an integrated supervisory body became bogged down because of the clash of opinions between the bok and the government. it gained a new lease of life, though, once the situation took a new turn in the aftermath of the outbreak of the currency crisis in late 1997. in view of the urgent need for prompt financial sector restructuring, the imf recommended the setting - up of an integrated financial supervisory agency to the korean government. an mou was consequently drawn up between them concerning its establishment in december 1997. the national assembly late that month passed the necessary legislation to remove