Bank of Korea

The Bank of Korea (BOK) is the central bank of South Korea and issuer of South Korean won. It was established on June 12, 1950 in Seoul, South Korea.

The Bank's primary purpose is price stability. For that, the Bank targets inflation. The 2013–15 target is consumer price inflation of 3.0 ± 0.5%.

History

The Bank of Korea was established on June 12, 1950 under the Bank of Korea Act.

Following liberation on August 15, 1945, the Korean economy was plunged into turmoil. Tackling the severe inflation and financial disorder brought about by an acute shortage of resources and the division of the country along the 38th parallel was the immediate priority.

In this situation, discussions raged across the country on establishing a central bank for the Republic of Korea and Dr. A. I. Bloomfield, dispatched from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, drafted the Bank of Korea Act.

Based on this draft, the Bank of Korea Act was passed in May 1950 and the Bank launched its operations as a central bank on June 12, 1950. It was given a wide range of functions in relation to monetary & financial policy, bank supervision, and foreign exchange policy.

Bank of Korea (1909–1950)

The Bank of Joseon or Bank of Chosen was the central bank of Colonial Korea, and of South Korea. The bank issued the Korean yen from 1910 to 1945 and the won from 1945 to 1950.

History and background

The bank was established by the Governor-General of Korea in 1910 as the Kankoku Ginkō, taking the place of the privately held Korean branch of Daiichi Kokuritsu Ginkō (First National Bank), which had established a branch in 1878. After the annexation of Korean Empire by Japan in 1910, the bank was reorganized and its name was changed to reflect the official name for Korea.

The bank remained a privately held corporation with stock owned by a number of Japanese banks and companies; however, its board was appointed by the Governor-General of Korea.

The bank was responsible for issuing currency in Korea, regulated domestic prices, and serviced international trade with branches in Manchukuo, and major ports in China and in Japan, as well as in London and New York.

The bank was dissolved in 1950 and replaced by the newly formed Bank of Korea.

Korea

Korea, called Chosŏn (Korean: 조선; Hanja: 朝鮮) in North Korea and Hanguk (Korean: 한국; Hanja: 韓國) or Daehanminkuk (Korean: 대한민국; Hanja: 大韓民國) in South Korea, is an East Asian territory that is divided into two distinct sovereign states: North Korea, formally the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and South Korea, formally the Republic of Korea (ROK). Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by China to the northwest and Russia to the northeast. It is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait and the Sea of Japan .

Korea emerged as a singular political entity after centuries of conflict among the Three Kingdoms of Korea, which were unified as Silla (57 BC – AD 935) and Balhae (AD 698 – 926). The united Silla was eventually succeeded by Goryeo in 935 at the end of the Later Three Kingdoms period. Goryeo, which gave name to the modern exonym "Korea", was a highly cultured state and created the Jikji in the 14th century. The invasions by the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, however, greatly weakened the nation, which forced it into vassalage. After the Yuan dynasty's collapse, severe political strife followed. Goryeo eventually fell to an uprising led by General Yi Seong-gye, who established Joseon in 1388.

Korea (disambiguation)

Korea may refer to:

North Korea

Coordinates: 40°00′N 127°00′E / 40.000°N 127.000°E / 40.000; 127.000

North Korea ( listen), officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK; Chosŏn'gŭl: 조선민주주의인민공화국; hancha: 朝鮮民主主義人民共和國; MR: Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk), is a country in East Asia, in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. The name Korea is derived from the Kingdom of Goguryeo, also spelled as Koryŏ. The capital and largest city is Pyongyang. North Korea shares a land border with China to the north and northwest, along the Amnok (Yalu) and Tumen rivers, and a small section of the Tumen River also forms a border with Russia to the northeast. The Korean Demilitarized Zone marks the boundary between North Korea and South Korea.

Korea was annexed by the Empire of Japan in 1910. After the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II in 1945, Korea was divided into two zones by the United States and the Soviet Union, with the north occupied by the Soviets and the south by the Americans. Negotiations on reunification failed, and in 1948 two separate governments were formed: the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north, and the Republic of Korea in the south. An invasion initiated by North Korea led to the Korean War (1950–53). Although the Korean Armistice Agreement brought about a ceasefire, no official peace treaty was ever signed. Both states were accepted into the United Nations in 1991.