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2023년 한국은행 총재 신년사 New Year Speech (2023)
2023년 한국은행 총재 신년사 New Year Speech (2023)
2023 년 신년사
2023. 1. 2.
한국은행 총재
이 창 용
한국은행 임직원 여러분!
오늘은 2023년 새해 첫 업무를 시작하는 날입니다. 먼저
지난 한 해 각자의 위치에서 맡은 바 업무에 최선을
다해주신 임직원 여러분께 진심으로 감사드립니다. 우리
직원들이 직장에서 성실히 일할 수 있도록 도와주신
가족분들께도 깊은 감사의 말씀을 드립니다. 계묘년 새해,
여러분과 가족 모두 건강하시고 계획하는 모든 일들이
뜻대로 이루어지기를 기원합니다.
지난해는 세계적으로 큰 변화가 일어난 한 해였습니다.
우크라이나 전쟁, 미 중 갈등 심화 등으로 글로벌
·
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원활하게 이루어졌으며, 한국은행도 적극적인 역할을
수행한 바 있습니다. 앞으로도 외부와의 소통을 강화하고
우리의 역할에 대해 보다 진취적인 자세를 취할 필요가
있습니다.
마지막으로 내부혁신에 대해 말씀드리면서 신년사를
마무리하고자 합니다.
올해는 조직혁신이 본격적인 궤도에 올라 많은 변화가
있을 것으로 예상됩니다. 여러 고민과 논의를 거쳐 마련한
조직혁신 방안을 실행하는 만큼 직원들이 조직문화 개선과
내부경영 혁신에 능동적으로 참여하여 실질적인 성과를
거둘 수 있기를 기대합니다. 손에 잡히는 결과물이 없을
경우 회의적 견해가 확산되면서 혁신의 추진 동력이
약화될 수 있으므로 작은 성과라도 하나씩 이루어나가야
하겠습니다. 무엇보다도 ‘워크 다이어트’를 중점적으로
추진하여 우선순위가 높은 업무에 핵심역량을
집중함으로써 업무의 질적 수준을 높일 수 있기를
바랍니다.
임직원 여러분!
지난해 힘든 상황에서도 모두가 각자의 자리에서
성심껏 노력해 준 것에 대해 다시 한번 깊이
감사드립니다. 특히 민원 응대, 시설 운영, 안전 관리,
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업무지원, 화폐 정사 등 잘 드러나지 않는 위치에서도
묵묵히 현업업무를 위해 애써주신 여러분의 노고에 힘입어
한국은행이 본연의 책무를 충실히 수행할 수 있었습니다.
또한 각 지역본부의 직원들이 한국은행의 앰배서더로서
역할을 강화해 주신 데 대해서도 감사의 말씀을 드립니다.
앞으로도 지역사회와의 소통을 통해 시야를 넓히는 한편
지역사회의 발전에 실질적으로 기여한다는 자부심을 가질
수 있기를 바랍니다.
올해 한국은행은 새로운 전환점을 맞습니다. 지난
수년에 걸쳐 진행된 본부 공사가 완공을 앞두고 있으며,
몇 달 후면 1950년 이후 우리가 일해 온 본래의 자리로
돌아가 업무를 수행하게 됩니다. 지금까지 수고해 주신
모든 관계자 분들께 진심으로 감사드립니다. 포스트
코로나 시대를 맞아 한국은행이 새로운 환경에서 힘차게
도약하는 한 해가 되기를 기대하며, 새해를 맞아 모쪼록
여러분의 가정에 건강과 행복이 가득하기를 기원합니다.
감사합니다.
년 1월 2일
2023
총재 이 창 용
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New Year Speech
January 2, 2023
Today we start our first day of work in 2023. Let me begin by expressing my heartfelt
gratitude to all of you for your best efforts at fulfilling your duties in your respective roles
throughout the past year. I also thank your families for supporting your hard work here. I
wish you and your family the very best of health and success in your endeavors in the coming
Year of the Rabbit.
Last year was a time of significant change around the globe. The Russian invasion of
Ukraine and heightened tensions between the U.S. and China have accelerated the bloc
formation of the global political and economic structure. The low inflation environment since
the Global Financial Crisis has ended, and has been followed by high global inflation. With
the COVID-19 pandemic stretching for over two years, fatigue among economic agents has
built up and polarization has deepened across various areas.
Amid these changes, the Korean economy experienced substantial difficulties caused by
the elevated inflation and the strains in the financial and FX markets. As international
commodity prices soared after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in late February, prices rose
steeply in Korea, too. As a result, consumer price inflation hit 6.3% in July, the highest rate
seen since the Asian Financial Crisis. In September and October, the strong dollar led to a
sharp depreciation of the Korean won, and FX market volatility intensified. From October,
credit risk aversion, triggered by the default of a Legoland developer, spread, exacerbating
liquidity conditions in the short-term money market.
Against this backdrop, the Bank of Korea conducted monetary policy with top priority on
price stability, while paying attention to financial stability and the support of vulnerable
sectors. With the paces of the rate hikes in major economies, including the U.S., accelerating,
we also hiked the Base Rate to 3.25%. It is true that rate hikes increased difficulties among
the people, but they were an unavoidable choice to prevent high inflation from becoming
entrenched and the economy as a whole from suffering a greater loss in the long-term. We
also responded actively to unrest in the financial and FX markets with micro-level market
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stabilization measures. Owing mainly to these policy responses, inflation has shown signs of
slowdown and the credit crunch in the short-term money market has also been somewhat
alleviated.
My dear colleagues,
This year is likely to be challenging, amid ongoing high economic uncertainties at home
and abroad. International financial markets could see heightened volatility in line with the
monetary policy stances of major central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve.
International commodity prices could fluctuate, depending on the development of the war in
Ukraine, and it is still difficult to predict how the lifting of China’s “zero COVID” policy and
the ensuing changes in its COVID-19 conditions will influence the global economy. On the
domestic front, as real estate market activity has contracted rapidly, we could face a
recurrence of the relevant financial market unrest. In addition, as the materialization of
effects of Base Rate hikes is likely to increase the possibility of a conflict among price
stability, steady growth, and financial stability, a more refined policy mix will be of utmost
importance this year.
Many experts are raising concerns about the possibility that the world economy will face
an ever more serious complex crisis, as multiple challenges, such as an economic slowdown
and supply chain reorganization, stack on top of one another. However, I don’t think that there
are only gloomy or negative sides to our situation. As the proverb goes, “Every cloud has a
silver lining.” It is true that the Korean economy is going through a tough time right now.
However, I think we are still able to find some optimistic aspects, and I believe we should.
Let me give you some examples. For starters, we had a chance last year to confirm that
Korea’s external soundness had been enhanced. As the won/dollar exchange rate jumped to
the mid-1,400 won range in the second half of last year, some even raised concerns about a
possible recurrence of past crises. Contrary to those concerns, however, the exchange rate
gradually stabilized and unrest in the FX sector eased, thanks to the risk management systems
of the government, corporations, and financial institutions that had been improved over the
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course of overcoming several former crises. This is a case in point to show that, while we
should be vigilant about any possible crises in the future, there is no need to shrink from
excessive concerns beforehand. In the same context, although there may be hardships owing
to the recent property market contraction, I think we will be able to weather the situation
through appropriate policy responses given the overall soundness of domestic financial
institutions.
Moreover, while there is much concern about the trade account deficit, this is mainly
attributable to the increase in imports due to the surge in global commodity prices. In fact,
Korea’s exports reached an all-time high last year. Despite sluggish semiconductor exports
due to the fall in unit prices, exports of other major items continued to grow last year. Given
this, Korea’s trade account is expected to improve rapidly should external conditions recover.
While it is possible that the fragmentation of international trade and high interest rates
could further weigh on the Korean economy going forward, from a different perspective, they
could also serve as an opportunity for us to address the structural issues that have been left
untackled. In the course of responding to the restructuring of global supply chains, we need to
reduce our heavy dependence on the Chinese economy through, namely, market
diversification. The high interest rate environment could also be a starting point for us to
alleviate the high level of household indebtedness while improving the debt structure. The
Korean economy has been repeatedly seeing property-related finance emerge as a structural
vulnerability, albeit in different forms. We should take this opportunity to bring good out of
evil by fundamentally resolving the related issues. Toward this goal, we will also need to
look into the reasons why macroprudential regulations did not operate effectively as
preemptive measures.
The German philosopher Hegel once said, “We learn from history that we do not learn
from history.” Let us not repeat the same mistake as pointed out by Hegel. It is true that we
are facing hardship both domestically and internationally. However, I believe we can produce
a better outcome based on our actions. We have it in our DNA to effectively overcome any
crisis. We must turn these challenges into opportunities.
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My dear colleagues,
Earlier, I stressed that sophisticated policy responses are needed more than ever this year.
Since inflation, which affects people’s lives most profoundly, is likely to remain high above
its target, our monetary policy should continue to focus on achieving price stability. We will
also have to pay particular attention to stability in the financial and FX markets. While
closely monitoring the development of domestic and overseas risk factors, we will actively
implement market stabilization measures if needed.
Finally, I would like to conclude my New Year Speech with some notes on internal
innovation.
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As organizational innovation at the Bank of Korea will start on a full scale this year,
many changes are expected to come along with it. Considering that we’ve come up with this
process of innovation after a series of discussions and careful considerations, I hope that all
of our staff here will see tangible outcomes from it, as we actively participate in improving
the organizational culture and in bringing innovation to our internal management processes.
If there are no tangible results, skepticism will emerge, which could weaken the driving force
behind innovation, so even small achievements should be made one-by-one. Above all, I
hope that our “work diet” will lead to a better quality of work by allowing our staff to focus
their core competencies on high-priority tasks.
My dear colleagues,
I would like to extend my sincere appreciation once again to all our staff for doing their
utmost in their respective areas, despite the difficult circumstances last year. In particular, the
Bank of Korea was able to faithfully fulfill its mandates thanks to the best efforts of those in
some of the more inconspicuous positions, such as customer service, facilities operation,
security management, business support and cash processing. I would also like to thank all our
staff at regional branches for strengthening their role as ambassadors of the Bank of Korea. I
hope that you can expand your horizons by communicating with people in your regional
communities, while taking pride in the fact that you are making actual contributions to
developing those same communities.
The Bank of Korea stands at a new turning point this year. After several years of
construction, the completion of our new headquarters is just around the corner. In several
months, we will return to where we originally undertook our duties since 1950. I would like
to express my genuine gratitude to those involved in the construction for all their hard work.
With the advent of the post-COVID era, I hope that this new year will be a year for the Bank
of Korea to leap forward in a new environment. As we greet this new year, I want to wish
you and your family all the very best of health and good fortune.
Thank you.
January 2, 2023
Governor
Rhee, Chang Yong
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