Chon Chol-whan, governor of the Bank of Korea (BOK), hinted on Jan. 29 that the central bank may slash the interest rate next month in a bid to bring the sliding economy to a halt. But, at the same time, he warned of "worrisome" high inflation for 2001, which will be triggered by hikes in oil prices and public service charges. At a meeting with BOK high-ranking officials, Gov. Chon was quoted as saying, "A monetary policy should be put into effect in a flexible way according to the economic