The Bank of Korea left the benchmark seven-day repo rate unchanged after the final rate-setting meeting of its governor, Lee Seong-Tae, whose four-year term ends this month.

The bank had come under political pressure to keep the rate unchanged.

Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-Hyun said Monday it was not the right time for an increase. "The private sector is not riding on a full-scale recovery and conditions in the job market are serious," he said.

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