SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea’s central bank left its policy interest rate unchanged as expected on Thursday to slow a rapid buildup of mortgage debt while monitoring the impact of government stimulus policies.

The Bank of Korea’s seven-member monetary policy board voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.50%, an outcome expected by 27 of 35 economists polled by Reuters.

Governor Rhee Chang-yong will hold a press conference at 0210 GMT, which will be livestreamed via YouTube.

(Reporting by Cynthia Kim, Jihoon Lee; Editing by Sam Holmes)

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