[Senior Official of the Bank of Korea: Inflation Risks Are Rising, It's Time to Consider Raising Interest Rates] Odaily Planet Daily News – Ryoo Sang-dai, Senior Deputy Governor of the Bank of Korea, stated that since economic growth is unlikely to fall significantly below the central bank's earlier forecasts and inflation may exceed previous expectations, it is time to consider raising interest rates. Ryoo is also a member of the Bank of Korea's Monetary Policy Committee. He cited the higher-than-expected economic resilience following the outbreak of the Middle East war and the continuously rising inflationary pressures. Since July last year, the Bank of Korea has kept its benchmark policy rate unchanged. In February this year, the Bank of Korea predicted an economic growth rate of 2% and an inflation rate of 2.2% for this year. Although policymakers initially expected Iran's turmoil to drag down economic growth and push up prices, recent data shows that strong semiconductor shipments have prevented the growth outlook from deteriorating as feared, while inflation risks have increased. Regarding the Korean won exchange rate, Ryoo stated that from an economic fundamentals perspective, the won remains weaker than in the past, although the market does not seem to view the current level as a major issue. The won recently hit its lowest level against the U.S. dollar since the global financial crisis. When addressing concerns about the economy's reliance on semiconductors, Ryoo noted that the key risk lies in whether the cycle shifts or spillover effects fall short of expectations, rather than the rising share of the semiconductor industry itself. (Jin10)