I am delighted to extend to you all a very warm welcome to the 2018 BOK International Conference, which will be held in Seoul on June 4-5 under the theme of “The Role of Monetary Policy: Present and Future.”

Since the 2008 global financial crisis central banks in major countries have actively implemented a variety of unconventional monetary policies, including zero-interest rate policies and quantitative easing. In line with this central banks have also worked to enhance the effectiveness of their monetary policy, by strengthening their communication with economic agents through initiatives such as forward guidance.

Combined with expansionary fiscal policy, these active responses of central banks are judged to have contributed to financial system stabilization and the recovery of the real economy. And with the global economy showing a sustainable pace of recovery of the real economy since escaping the “Great Recession,” central banks are now normalizing their monetary policies, by gradually raising their policy rates and reducing the sizes of their balance sheets that they had expanded greatly during the crisis.

This process has stimulated considerable discussion about the role of the central bank and of monetary policy, and we have learned important lessons in the ensuing debates. Further discussions are nevertheless still needed, on what constitutes an effective monetary policy framework within an economic structure that is changing due to population aging and falling natural interest rates.

In the light of this I think that this year’s conference is particularly meaningful, in that it brings together eminent scholars and policy makers from around the world to share their ideas on salient issues of monetary policy including targets and instruments, reputation and communication, policy coordination, and the future of central banking.

I would like to express my deep gratitude to our distinguished advisor Professor Thomas J. Sargent, for his thoughtful efforts devoted to making this conference a success.

I hope that this year’s conference will serve as a tremendous opportunity for all participants, to discover answers to questions concerning the desirable future roles of the central bank and monetary policy.

I sincerely welcome you all, and I wish you a most enjoyable stay in Seoul.

• 
• Juyeol Lee
• Governor
• The Bank of Korea