The Wall Street Journal is recommending that the Bank of Korea increase its key interest rate.

In the article titled "Korea's Docile Central Bank," the journal said that "nowhere in the world have expectations for interest-rate increases been rolled back as much as in South Korea.”

It said the Bank of Korea was once on the short list of central banks that might be the first to raise rates due to rising expectations that growth will return to precrisis levels this year.

The paper said, however, that that the bank has instead decided to keep the rate on hold at two percent for the 12th month in a row.

The journal said that a rate hike takes months to affect the economy, recommending the rate be raised now to avoid a hasty increase later this year or next year.

The paper said the Korean government is currently using its right to sit in on Bank of Korea meetings, demonstrating the government’s goal of getting the bank to “accede to the government's short-term interests.”