SKorea new cbank chief named, seen dovish

A South Korean scholar-turned ambassador to the OECD will become the new central bank governor, the Presidential office said on Tuesday, reinforcing market views interest rates will stay low for some time. Kim Choong-soo, 62, had served as the head of two domestic research institutes and a provincial university but has not worked at the Bank of Korea, which analysts said suggested he would be more cooperative with the government in managing policy. "As expected, a pro-government candidate has been picked for governor. The central bank is accordingly expected to maintain eased monetary policy for a long period of time," said Yu Jae-ho, a fixed-income analyst at Kiwoom Securities. "We put off the estimated timing and range of a base rate rise after today's announcement," he added. Outgoing governor Lee Seong-tae, whose term ends on March 31, has served at the central bank throughout his more than 40-year career and at times sounded out of step with the government over the timing for an exit strategy. Kim has worked as an adviser to President Lee Myung-bak since soon after Lee took office in early 2008 and as an aide to the finance minister in the 1990s.