S. Korea will avoid Japan's 'timidity trap': official

South Korea is determined to avoid Japan's "timidity trap," which was responsible for some 20 years of lost growth, by aggressively pursuing an expansionary policy stance, a senior policymaker said Tuesday.  In a keynote speech at a gathering hosted by the Korean Economics Association in Seoul, Vice Finance Minister Joo Hyung-hwan said Tokyo's passive macroeconomic policies are largely the causes of the so-called two lost decades. Such policies sapped total factor input, which led to a drop in t

Feb. 24, 2015

Debit card usage soars on tax deduction benefits

Payments processed via debit cards continued to post double-digit growth last year as more card users switched to debit cards from credit cards for bigger tax benefits, central bank data showed Tuesday.  Daily debit card payments averaged 312 billion won ($282 million) in 2014, increasing 18.3 percent on-year and accelerating from 13.7 percent growth in 2013, according to the data by the Bank of Korea.  In the same period, credit card payments reached 1.4 trillion won, growing 3.1 percent from t

Feb. 24, 2015

Chinese tourists administer shot in arm to retail market

Thanks to the influx of Chinese tourists and their shopping sprees, Korea’s retail industry took a huge leap forward during the Lunar New Year’s holiday, from Feb. 18 to 22 this year, industry sources said.Around 130,000 Chinese tourists, often referred to as “youke,” reportedly visited Korea during the holiday period, according to immigration officials. Lotte, Shinsegae and Hyundai department stores, the country’s three major high-end retailers, said they saw double-digit growth in sale revenue

Feb. 23, 2015

BOK chief says to maintain easing policy, beef up risk management

South Korea's top central banker said Monday that the central bank would maintain its easing policy to help Asia's fourth-largest economy keep its growth momentum, while closely monitoring financial stability.  The Bank of Korea has been keeping its policy rate steady at a record low of 2 percent for the fourth straight month up to February after trimming the rate two times, in August and October.  "Going forward, an easing policy mode will be maintained to support a growth momentum," BOK Gov. L

Feb. 23, 2015

Banks' household loans spike on low borrowing costs, eased regulation

Household loans extended by banks surged last year on the back of low borrowing costs and eased mortgage lending regulations, spurring concerns that such snowballing debt could hold back Asia's fourth-largest economy, the central bank said on Monday.  Household loans by banks increased 37.3 trillion won ($33.6 billion) last year with home-backed loans spiking 35.4 trillion won last year, according to the report by the Bank of Korea submitted to the National Assembly.  Household debt has been gro

Feb. 23, 2015

Petroleum consumption hits 3-year low in 2014

Consumption of petroleum products in South Korea hit a three-year low in 2014 despite a sharp fall in oil prices as the domestic economy remained tepid, the state oil firm said Monday.   A total of 823 million barrels of refined petroleum products were sold domestically last year, down 0.38 percent from 2013, according to data by the Korea National Oil Corporation.  Domestic consumption had been on a steady rise from 2009-2012 after a steep slide in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, but it

Feb. 23, 2015

Trade minister pledges full support for foreign investors

South Korea's trade minister vowed full support Monday for foreign investors that will include efforts to remove unnecessary regulations.  In a Seoul meeting with top officials from some 20 foreign firms here, Yoon Sang-jick said the government will push for law revisions aimed at providing additional incentives to foreign investors who meet certain conditions, such as hiring a set number of local workers, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.  Foreign direct investment freshl

Feb. 23, 2015

S. Korean firms' recruitment outlook pessimistic in 2015

South Korea's job market is likely to remain gloomy this year, with the number of firms who say they already have enough employees at its highest in five years, a poll showed Sunday. According to the Bank of Korea survey of some 2,800 local companies, the employment business survey index at the beginning of the year stood at 94, the highest since late 2009. The employment BSI gauges whether or not the companies feel they need new recruits. A higher figure indicates that more firms view their cur

Feb. 22, 2015

Korea, China expected to initial free trade deal this week

South Korea and China would be able to initial their free trade agreement his week, officials in Seoul said Sunday, raising chances of the deal, hailed as the biggest and the most promising for South Korea, being enacted within this year.The two countries announced on Nov. 10 that they have concluded their negotiations for the FTA that began in May 2012. Most of what they agreed to, especially the scale of items excluded from tariff removal, have yet to be disclosed. Details are expected to be m

Feb. 22, 2015

Convenience stores log decent growth in 2014

South Korean convenience stores continued their modest growth last year on the back of a demographic change in the country -- a growing number of single households -- and the variety of items sold, industry data showed on Sunday.Industry leader CU and its smaller rivals such as GS25 have emerged as a key retail outlet in the country by dwarfing their bigger and traditional retail channels in expansion.CU, run by BGF Retail Co., posted 3.37 trillion won ($3.05 billion) in sales last year, up 7.6

Feb. 22, 2015

Korean Air, Airbus join hands for S. Korean fighter project

South Korea's top air carrier Korean Air Line Co. has signed a memorandum of understanding with Europe's Airbus to jointly bid for Seoul's indigenous fighter development project, Korean Air officials said Sunday.Codenamed KF-X, the 8.5 trillion won ($8.3 billion) project calls for South Korea to develop fighter jets of the F-16 class to replace its aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s. Some 120 jets are to be put into service starting around 2025."We inked the deal with Airbus Defense and Space on Monda

Feb. 22, 2015

Finance ministry to strengthen oversight of public firms

The finance ministry said Tuesday it will strengthen oversight of public corporations by setting up a new management information division, while taking steps to enhance the evaluation of tax outlays.The measures are aimed at improving transparency and management as the ministry seeks to maximize operational efficiency and cut back on waste to make the most of taxpayers' money.South Korea is currently undergoing an expansion of welfare-related spending, with every effort being made not to raise t

Feb. 17, 2015

Producer prices fall for 6th month in Jan.

South Korea's producer prices fell for a sixth straight month in January to hit the lowest reading in more than four years as global oil prices continued to weaken, central bank data said Tuesday.The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, reached 101.86 in January, tumbling 3.6 percent from the previous year, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The monthly reading is at the lowest level since November 2010, when it was 101.78. The January resu

Feb. 17, 2015

S. Korea, Japan to end currency swap

South Korea and Japan agreed to end the bilateral currency swap agreement that has been maintained since 2001, the finance ministry said Monday.According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the US$10 billion swap arrangement between the Bank of Korea and the Bank of Japan will not be renewed after it expires on Feb. 23."It has been agreed by both sides after wide-ranging talks that in light of financial and economic circumstances, it may be appropriate to allow the pact to expire naturally,

Feb. 16, 2015

Taxes on middle class soar in 2014

Ordinary taxes paid by middle-income earners increased 6.3 times more than they did for the top 20 percent of income earners in South Korea in 2014, stoking public demand for a tax increase on the rich, official data showed Monday. According to numbers released by Statistics Korea, households with two or more family members who were classified as belonging to the middle or third tier paid an average 83,385 won (US$76.12) in taxes every month last year, a gain of 13,198 won from 70,187 won in 201

Feb. 16, 2015

S. Korea suspends Canadian beef quarantine following mad cow outbreak

South Korea has suspended quarantine inspections of Canadian beef after the major exporter confirmed its first case of mad cow disease since 2011, the agriculture ministry here said Sunday.The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it has stopped quarantine inspections of Canadian beef, which began Friday after Canada confirmed some beef from the Alberta province was infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease. The Canadian government said th

Feb. 15, 2015