The Bank of Korea has come under criticism after internal documents submitted to the National Assembly showed it extended ₩45.8 billion (US$33 million) in cut-rate housing loans to 112 staff members as of the end of the first quarter. Employees borrowed an average of about ₩38 million each at an annual rate of 3.4%, well below the 4.2% average rate on new mortgage lending by commercial banks during the same period. The facility allows eligible staff—those with at least one year’s service and no home ownership—to borrow up to ₩50 million for a home purchase, repayable over as long as 20 years. Because the credit is not reported to external bureaus, employees can continue to tap additional bank financing, potentially widening their overall borrowing capacity. Lawmakers and housing-market analysts say the benefit clashes with the central bank’s public stance that excessive household leverage and property speculation threaten financial stability. The Financial Supervisory Service scrapped its own staff mortgage programme in 2020, and private banks require employees to obtain home loans from rival lenders on market terms. The disclosure comes as the Monetary Policy Committee prepares to set policy on 10 July. Most economists expect the benchmark rate to remain unchanged, but the revelations have intensified scrutiny of how the central bank balances internal practices with its call for tighter credit conditions across the wider economy.