SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s central bank lowered its key policy rate for a second straight month and said the country’s economy will grow at a slower pace than it initially anticipated.
Following a policy meeting, the Bank of Korea cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 3%. The bank lowered its outlook for the country’s economic growth to 2.2% from 2.4% for this year and to 1.9% from 2.1% for 2025.
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People walk by sale signs on the shopping street in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
People walk on the shopping street in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong speaks during a press conference at the central bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong speaks during a press conference at the central bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong speaks during a press conference at the central bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong arrives to hold a press conference at the central bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong speaks during a press conference at the central bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
FILE - People pass by the headquarters of the Bank of Korea in Seoul, South Korea, Oct. 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
The bank is taking steps to lower borrowing costs despite the lingering effects of high inflation and alarming levels of household debt, as the economy falters.
The bank cut its policy rate by a quarter percentage point to 3.25% in October in its first rate cut since May 2020 in the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bank said the country’s trade-dependent economy faces growing uncertainty in global economic trends and inflation that could be impacted by the policies of President-elect Donald Trump and ongoing geopolitical conflicts.
Since winning reelection, Trump has vowed to slap huge new tariffs on foreign products entering the United States, including those from Mexico, Canada and China, which he insists will create more domestic jobs and shrink the federal deficit.
In a news conference, Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang Yong said the bank faced a difficult decision over whether to freeze the rate or lower it. But a bigger-than-expected decline in exports during the last quarter and Trump’s election win moved the needle.
“We had been contemplating the uncertainties that would be brought by the results of the U.S. presidential election, but a ‘red sweep’ where the House and Senate were all won by one side was something we did not anticipate,” Rhee said.
Rhee said Trump’s win “increased the uncertainty in policy, not only for us but for the world,” but said it was too early to predict how Trump’s steps on tariffs would impact South Korean exports.
The rate cut could help spur domestic consumption by putting more money into the economy, but is unlikely to reverse the slowdown in exports, which is due to long-term competitiveness issues in key industries that should be addressed through policy changes or restructuring, Rhee said.
Rhee said three of the six monetary policy committee members believe that the bank should lower the rate further within the next three months to help revive the sluggish economy. The bank will closely monitor trends in household debt and property prices before considering another cut, he said.
The bank said in a statement that South Korea’s economy has been losing momentum due to weak domestic spending, slowing exports and rising unemployment.
“Going forward, domestic consumption will see a mild recovery, but the recovery in exports is likely to be weaker than initially anticipated due to intensifying competition and strengthening of protectionist trade policies in key industries,” it said.
People walk by sale signs on the shopping street in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
People walk on the shopping street in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024.(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong speaks during a press conference at the central bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong speaks during a press conference at the central bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong speaks during a press conference at the central bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong arrives to hold a press conference at the central bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong speaks during a press conference at the central bank in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Nov. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
FILE - People pass by the headquarters of the Bank of Korea in Seoul, South Korea, Oct. 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal agents carrying out immigration arrests in Minnesota's Twin Cities region already shaken by the fatal shooting of a woman rammed the door of one home Sunday and pushed their way inside, part of what the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest enforcement operation ever.
In a dramatic scene similar to those playing out across Minneapolis, agents captured a man in the home just minutes after pepper spraying protesters outside who had confronted the heavily armed federal agents. Along the residential street, protesters honked car horns, banged on drums and blew whistles in attempts to disrupt the operation.
Video of the clash taken by The Associated Press showed some agents pushing back protesters while a distraught woman later emerged from the house with a document that federal agents presented to arrest the man. Signed by an immigration officer, the document — unlike a warrant signed by a judge — does not authorize forced entry into a private residence. A warrant signed by an immigration officer only authorizes arrest in a public area.
Immigrant advocacy groups have conducted extensive “know-your-rights” campaigns urging people not to open their doors unless agents have a court order signed by a judge.
But within minutes of ramming the door in a neighborhood filled with single-family homes, the handcuffed man was led away.
More than 2,000 immigration arrests have been made in Minnesota since the enforcement operation began at the beginning of December, said Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Sunday that the administration would send additional federal agents to Minnesota to protect immigration officers and continue enforcement.
The Twin Cities — the latest target in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign — is bracing for what is next after 37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed by an immigration officer on Wednesday.
“We’re seeing a lot of immigration enforcement across Minneapolis and across the state, federal agents just swarming around our neighborhoods,” said Jason Chavez, a Minneapolis city councilmember. “They’ve definitely been out here.”
Chavez, the son of Mexican immigrants who represents an area with a growing immigrant population, said he is closely monitoring information from chat groups about where residents are seeing agents operating.
People holding whistles positioned themselves in freezing temperatures on street corners Sunday in the neighborhood where Good was killed, watching for any signs of federal agents.
More than 20,000 people have taken part in a variety of trainings to become “observers” of enforcement activities in Minnesota since the 2024 election, said Luis Argueta, a spokesperson for Unidos MN, a local human rights organization .
“It’s a role that people choose to take on voluntarily, because they choose to look out for their neighbors,” Argueta said.
The protests have been largely peaceful, but residents remained anxious. On Monday, Minneapolis public schools will start offering remote learning for the next month in response to concerns that children might feel unsafe venturing out while tensions remain high.
Many schools closed last week after Good’s shooting and the upheaval that followed.
While the enforcement activity continues, two of the state’s leading Democrats said that the investigation into Good's shooting death should not be overseen solely by the federal government.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said in separate interviews Sunday that state authorities should be included in the investigation because the federal government has already made clear what it believes happened.
“How can we trust the federal government to do an objective, unbiased investigation, without prejudice, when at the beginning of that investigation they have already announced exactly what they saw — what they think happened," Smith said on ABC’s "This Week."
The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents and that Good had “weaponized” her vehicle.
Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defended the officer on Fox News Channel’s “The Sunday Briefing.”
"That law enforcement officer had milliseconds, if not short time to make a decision to save his life and his other fellow agents,” he said.
Lyons also said the administration’s enforcement operations in Minnesota wouldn't be needed “if local jurisdictions worked with us to turn over these criminally illegal aliens once they are already considered a public safety threat by the locals.”
The killing of Good by an ICE officer and the shooting of two people by federal agents in Portland, Oregon, led to dozens of protests in cities across the country over the weekend, including New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Oakland, California.
Contributing were Associated Press journalists Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; Thomas Strong in Washington; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio.
A woman gets into an altercation with a federal immigration officer as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A federal immigration officer deploys pepper spray as officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A family member, center, reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Bystanders are treated after being pepper sprayed as federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Federal agents look on after detaining a person during a patrol in Minneapolis, Minn., Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via AP)
Bystanders react after a man was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
People stand near a memorial at the site where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)
A man looks out of a car window after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a traffic stop, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Robbinsdale, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Border Patrol agents detain a man, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
People shout toward Border Patrol agents making an arrest, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Demonstrators protest outside the White House in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey holds a news conference on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jen Golbeck)
Protesters react as they visit a makeshift memorial during a rally for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer earlier in the week, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
