Comments from BOK officials suggest they disagree. Here's why.
First, the nation's relatively high economic growth. Asia's fourth-largest economy is projected to expand 3.5 percent this year. This compares to estimates of 1 percent growth in Japan and 1.1 percent in the euro area, whose central banks have adopted monetary easing to keep prices rising. BOK Governor Lee Ju Yeol said in December that you "can't say South Korea is in deflation with growth at a 3% level and inflation at 1%-2% range.
Another reason cited by the BOK is inflation expectations. Households surveyed by the central bank expect consumer price gains of 2.6 percent in the next 12 months. While that's a record-low, it's much higher than the actual increase of 0.8 percent in December. The BOK's official inflation target is between 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent.