Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong signaled more policy easing to come this year as the central bank cut its benchmark interest rate to support an economy jolted by political turmoil and threatened by Donald Trump’s tariff plans.

Voters elected Trump to find a way to curb the hotter inflation that occurred under President Joe Biden. But the president has also sought to impose tariffs to extract concessions and raise revenues on the belief — which many economists dispute — that America’s yawning trade deficit is a sign of weakness.

Gov. Rhee Chang-yong attends a press conference at the central bank in Seoul on Feb. 25, 2025, after the central bank slashed its key interest rate 25 basis points to 2.75 percent in an effort to shore up economic growth amid weak domestic demand and uncertainties at home and