Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Shin Hyun-song said Monday that the central bank's August rate hike ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve's September move gave Korea more time to respond and helped minimize the economic costs of monetary tightening. "We signaled a shift toward higher interest rates earlier than many other major economies. By raising rates in August, ahead of the Fed's September hike, we bought ourselves time," Shin said during a parliamentary audit of the central bank. "Taking action early carries far lower economic costs than having to raise rates defensively in response to market pressure," he added. Shin said the preemptive move also helped guide market expectations, noting that the prospect of BOK's rate increases was reflected in bond yields and other market prices before the hikes actually took effect. The BOK raised its policy rate by 0.25 percentage point in both July and August, bringing it to 3 percent. The Fed raised its benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage point in September, its first increase since July 2023, to a range of 3.75 percent to 4 percent. During the audit, Shin