Massive Interest Rate Cut in South Korea

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/12/business/worldbusiness/12won.html?ref=businessSouth Korea’s central bank on Thursday announced the deepest cut in interest in its history in an attempt to cushion its economy from the global downturn.

The Bank of Korea’s cut on Thursday was its fourth in two months, and took its key interest rate down a full percentage point to 3 percent, a much bigger cut than economists had predicted. The bank’s governor, Lee Seong-tae, said South Korea was “on the verge of an emergency situation that may need more drastic policy,” Reuters reported.