* Central bank ready to be more aggressive
* Bank of Korea to do its utmost to help boost economy
* Improving international balance of payment to help won
By Yoo Choonsik and Cheon Jong-woo
SEOUL, Jan 30 (Reuters) - South Korea's central bank promised on Friday to keep its focus on lifting the economy, which it said could miss its 2 percent growth target this year due to a steeper global recession than previously expected.
The Bank of Korea is also ready to apply more aggressive means in pumping cash into the financial system in case of a deepening credit crunch, Governor Lee Seong-tae said in a speech at a gathering of business executives.
The remarks came as analysts and investors bet the central bank would keep lowering its policy rate over coming months, having more than halved the base rate over the past four months to a record low of 2.5 percent.
"The Bank of Korea will continue to make its best efforts to help the local economy overcome the current troubles," Lee said, adding the base rate will be adjusted depending on the economic and financial markets trends.
The central bank next reviews its base rate on Feb. 12.
OFF TARGET
He said Asia's fourth-largest economy would probably miss the central bank's 2 percent growth target this year, which would be the weakest since Asia's last financial crisis in the late 1990s.
It had based its growth forecast on the world economy expanding 1.9 percent but the International Monetary Fund predicted on Wednesday the global economy would grow only 0.5 percent, the slowest since the Second World War.
Analysts have already warned South Korea's economy, which suffered its fastest contraction in nearly 11 years in the fourth quarter, would shrink by as much as 3 percent this year as the global recession deepens further before turning around.
Despite the increasingly gloomy prospects, separate data released on Friday by the central bank gave some relief to the won currency by showing a further improvement in the international balance of payments.
The current account posted a third consecutive monthly surplus of $0.86 billion in December and the capital account deficit narrowed to $4.83 billion from a $12.14 billion loss, both without adjustment for seasonal patterns.
The won had slumped around 40 percent in the first 11 months of last year to hit its weakest level in 11 years against the dollar, but has since recovered by about 10 percent on the back of easing concerns about the balance of payments. (Additional reporting by Seo Eun-kyung; Editing by Keiron Henderson & Jan Dahinten)