South Korea's central bank has cut its key interest rate by a record one percentage point to 3%, twice the expected reduction.
It is the fourth reduction since October, when the rate stood at 5.25%.
South Korea is vulnerable to the global downturn because of its high levels of foreign debt, weak currency and doubts about the health of its banking sector.
The bank said the economy is on the "verge of an emergency situation that may need more drastic policy."
