기준금리 인상·동결: 25bp Headlines in Korean
Decode 기준금리 인상 and 기준금리 동결 headlines with a bp→%p drill and rewrite practice so you don’t misread rates—master
A bp→%p converter plus a “level vs direction” timeline stops you from misreading 금리 동결 as “rates are low” in Korean headlines.
The 3 verbs you’ll see everywhere
Korean rate-decision headlines usually compress everything into one verb. Train your eyes to separate:
- direction (what changed today)
- level (the number after the change)
The three verbs:
인상하다insanghada — direction up; the level moves higher than last meeting동결하다donggyeolhada — direction flat; the level stays exactly the same인하하다inhahada — direction down; the level moves lower than last meeting
Level vs direction timeline (the easiest anti-misread habit):
| Meeting | Last level | Decision verb | New level | What you should think |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 3.25% | 인상insang | 3.50% | “Up today; now higher.” |
| B | 3.50% | 동결donggyeol | 3.50% | “No change; still 3.50%.” |
| C | 3.50% | 인하inha | 3.25% | “Down today; now lower.” |
Personal note: I once skimmed a Naver economy push alert on a commute, saw 동결donggyeol, and (wrongly) assumed “easy money.” The fix was forcing myself to read the number right after the verb every single time.
Quick cheat sheet
Expressions in this post
Keyword idea: today’s decision is “up,” and headlines care about the size of the move.
Typical headline pattern
한국은행, 기준금리 25bp 인상hangugeunhaeng, gijungeumri 25bp insang — The Bank of Korea hikes the base rate by 25bp.기준금리 0.25%p 인상…연 3.50%→3.75%gijungeumri 0.25%p insang…yeon 3.50%→3.75% — The base rate rises by 0.25%p, from 3.50% to 3.75%.인상폭 확대/축소 가능성insangpok hwakdae/chukso ganeungseong — Possibility the hike size widens/narrows.
Rewrite drill (headline → plain Korean)
Rewrite the compressed headline into a clear “what changed + by how much + to what level” sentence.
기준금리 25bp 인상gijungeumri 25bp insang →기준금리를 0.25%p 올려서 3.75%가 됐다gijungeumrireul 0.25%p olryeoseo 3.75%ga dwaetda — Hiked by 0.25%p, so it became 3.75%.기준금리 인상…인상폭은 25bpgijungeumri insang…insangpogeun 25bp →기준금리는 올랐고, 오른 폭은 25bp다gijungeumrineun olratgo, oreun pogeun 25bpda — It went up; the size was 25bp.- Wrong→right collocation:
인상폭을 인상했다insangpogeul insanghaetda →인상폭을 확대했다insangpogeul hwakdaehaetda — Don’t “hike the hike-size”; say you “widened” it.인상폭이 커졌다insangpogi keojyeotda →인상폭이 확대됐다insangpogi hwakdaedwaetda — More headline-native phrasing.
Keyword idea: “hold” is about direction (no change), not comfort.
Typical headline pattern
기준금리 동결…연 3.50% 유지gijungeumri donggyeol…yeon 3.50% yuji — Holds the base rate; maintains 3.50%.동결 기조 이어갈까donggyeol gijo ieogalkka — Will the “hold stance” continue?동결에도 긴축 기조donggyeoredo ginchuk gijo — Even with a hold, the tightening stance remains.
Rewrite drill (headline → plain Korean)
Aim for “unchanged compared to last time” and keep the level explicit.
기준금리 동결gijungeumri donggyeol →기준금리를 지난번과 같은 3.50%로 유지했다gijungeumrireul jinanbeongwa gateun 3.50%ro yujihaetda — Kept it at 3.50%, same as last time.동결 기조donggyeol gijo →당분간 기준금리를 바꾸지 않겠다는 흐름dangbungan gijungeumrireul bakkuji angetdaneun heureum — A trend of not changing the base rate for now.- Common trap rewrite:
동결이라서 금리가 낮다donggyeoriraseo geumriga natda →동결은 ‘변화 없음’이고, 높고 낮음은 숫자로 본다donggyeoreun ‘byeonhwa eopseum’igo, nopgo najeumeun sutjaro bonda — “Hold” is “no change”; high/low comes from the number.
Keyword idea: “cut” headlines often pair the decision with market expectations language.
Typical headline pattern
기준금리 25bp 인하gijungeumri 25bp inha — Cuts the base rate by 25bp.금리 인하 기대 커져geumri inha gidae keojyeo — Expectations for a rate cut grow.인하 기대 선반영inha gidae seonbanyeong — Cut expectations already priced in.
Rewrite drill (headline → plain Korean)
Separate decision vs expectation (what happened vs what people think will happen).
기준금리 25bp 인하gijungeumri 25bp inha →기준금리를 0.25%p 내려서 3.25%가 됐다gijungeumrireul 0.25%p naeryeoseo 3.25%ga dwaetda — Cut by 0.25%p, so it became 3.25%.금리 인하 기대geumri inha gidae →사람들이 앞으로 금리가 내려갈 거라고 예상함saramdeuri apeuro geumriga naeryeogal georago yesangham — People expect it will go down later.- Wrong→right collocation:
인하를 선반영inhareul seonbanyeong →인하 기대를 선반영inha gidaereul seonbanyeong — What gets priced in is the expectation, not the cut itself.
Numbers drill
Focus on reading % levels, converting bp to %p, and not confusing “percent” with “percentage points.”
Mapping rule:
1bp = 0.01%p25bp = 0.25%p50bp = 0.50%p
Micro-drill (bp → %p):
10bp→0.10%p15bp→0.15%p75bp→0.75%p
Six headline-style number examples (read them out loud):
기준금리 25bp 인상gijungeumri 25bp insang — Hike by 0.25 percentage points.연 3.50%→3.75%yeon 3.50%→3.75% — The level moves from 3.50% to 3.75%.기준금리 동결…연 3.50% 유지gijungeumri donggyeol…yeon 3.50% yuji — No change; the level stays 3.50%.인상폭 25bpinsangpok 25bp — The size of the hike is 25bp.금리 인하 기대 선반영geumri inha gidae seonbanyeong — Expectations of a cut are already priced in.원/달러 환율 10원 상승won/dalreo hwanyul 10won sangseung — The USD/KRW rate rises by 10 won.
Next steps:
- When you see
인상/동결/인하insang/donggyeol/inha, say “direction” first, then force yourself to read the level number. - Convert any
bpyou see into%pbefore you translate. - Watch collocations like
인상폭insangpok,동결 기조donggyeol gijo,인하 기대inha gidae,선반영seonbanyeong—they carry the real meaning in business headlines.