Korean economy still in doldrums due to weak demand

The South Korean economy's recovery momentum remained lukewarm in recent months as a protracted slump in private spending offset a rise in production and exports, a state-run think tank said Thursday."The Korean economy exhibited partial improvement in investment and production-related indicators, but growth remains slow," the Korea Development Institute said in its monthly evaluation of the country's economic conditions. "Consumption sentiment slackened significantly on persisting uncertainties

Jan. 5, 2017

Survey shows perceived inflation much higher than govt. statistics

South Korea's official inflation last year may be 1 percent, but the price hike felt by consumers is more like 10 percent because of markups in widely sought products, an independent survey showed Thursday.Comparisons drawn through retailers, manufacturers and the Korea Consumer Agency indicated that while some of the products were publicized in the price raise, others were not.KCA's price survey at giant supermarkets, department stores and traditional markets from June to December last year sho

Jan. 5, 2017

Wage gap fuels Korea's employment woes

When announcing its economic policy direction for 2017 last year, the South Korean government pledged to create 60,000 additional jobs in the public sector and increase tax benefits for private companies that hire more young people.These measures reflect concerns that employment conditions will continue to worsen in the coming year, as the country‘s economy is in a low-growth rut and ongoing corporate restructuring is expected to result in a large number of workers losing their jobs. According t

Jan. 4, 2017

Apartment prices in Seoul rose 4.22% in 2016: report

Apartment prices in Seoul rose 4.22 percent last year, slowing slightly from the previous year, according to data from KB Kookmin Bank on Wednesday. It was 1.34 percentage points lower than the 5.56 percent growth in 2015, which could signal that Seoul’s housing prices have started to go downhill.  (Yonhap)However, the annual growth was the second highest since 2007, the report showed. Prices of apartments in Songpa-gu, the southeastern area of the city, showed the highest growth of 5.69 percent

Jan. 4, 2017

Research shows childbirth falls when housing price rises

A rise in home prices tended to lower the birthrate, a trend that existed regardless of whether the economy was good or bad, a report from a local institute said Wednesday.The Korea Institute of Child Care and Education followed the changes in home prices and their correlation to childbirths from 1985-2014 among 19 member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The conclusion was that for every 1 percentage point increase in housing price index, the birthrate fell by

Jan. 4, 2017

Korea's finance minister vows frontloading to prop up economy

Korea's finance minister said Wednesday that the government will make all-out efforts to frontload its budget spending in the first quarter to pre-emptively cope with rising economic uncertainties at home and abroad."Facing strong headwinds inside and outside the country, the Korean economy will likely lose recovery momentum," Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said in a meeting on fiscal spending in Seoul."The government will beef up fiscal intervention as a trigger for economic reinvigoration and a st

Jan. 4, 2017

Mortgage growth slows in Dec. amid interest rate hike

The growth of mortgage loans in Korea markedly slowed last month amid indications of interest rate hikes and a downturn in the real estate market, data showed Wednesday.Outstanding home-backed loans extended by six major banks here - KB Koomin, Shinhan, Woori, KEB Hana, NH and the Industrial Bank of Korea - totaled 380.8 trillion won ($314 billion) in December. It represents a 180 billion won increase from the previous month, the lowest growth for December since 2010.Mortgage loans extended by t

Jan. 4, 2017

Korea struggles to contain egg prices with tariff-free imports

The Korean government has finalized a plan to temporarily lift import tariffs on egg products to cope with skyrocketing egg prices at home, but corporate egg consumers remain cautious about imports due to various hurdles stemming from excessive logistics costs, fragility and sustained refrigeration, industry watchers said Tuesday.Egg prices have risen sharply in Korea in recent weeks due to a short supply following the worst episode of bird flu to hit the country. The move has prompted to push t

Jan. 4, 2017

Exports to China recover in December

Korea’s shipments to China grew for a second consecutive month in December last year, data showed Tuesday, with short-term recovery expected. Exports to China account for more than 25 percent of the country’s total exports. They had declined for 16 consecutive months since July 2015, until inching up 0.4 percent in November last year.  The pace of recovery picked up in December last year, with a 9.6 percent increase on-year, according to data from the Ministry of Trade, Indus

Jan. 3, 2017

Financial uncertainty deepens, top officials warn

 South Korea's top economic policymakers issued warning messages Tuesday about financial uncertainties this year, stressing the need for thorough risk management."When it comes to internal and external conditions, it's difficult to see even an inch forward," Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said during a New Year's meeting here with government officials and leaders in the financial industry.Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol in a file photo. (Yonhap)He used the term of an "era of ultra-uncertainty" an

Jan. 3, 2017

Korea’s growth not translating to job creation

South Korea has witnessed a large drop in new jobs despite economic expansion in the past two years, government data showed Tuesday.The number of jobs created per 1 percent growth of gross domestic product this year is expected to be half the figure seen in 2012, according to data from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and Statistics Korea.(123rf)The government forecasted that Korea’s GDP would grow 2.6 percent and create about 260,000 new jobs this year. This translates to 100,000 jobs per 1

Jan. 3, 2017

FDI in S. Korea hits fresh high in 2016

New foreign direct investment pledged to South Korea increased 1.9 percent on-year to hit a record high in 2016 thanks to a rise in investment in the service segment, the government said Tuesday.New FDI pledges came to $21.3 billion last year, up from the previous record of $20.9 billion set in 2015, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The ministry said the amount of new FDI in the country had surpassed the $20-billion mark for two years in a row.Last year's jump was attribu

Jan. 3, 2017

Int'l air cargo at Incheon airport reaches record high in 2016

International air cargo shipped to and from South Korea via its Incheon International Airport climbed to a new annual high in 2016, despite a significant drop in the country's overall imports and exports, the government said Tuesday.The amount of international cargo processed at the Incheon airport, the main gateway to Seoul, came to a little over 2.71 million tons last year, up 4.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The amount accounts f

Jan. 3, 2017

Economic growth not leading to job creation

South Korea's economic growth is not creating as many jobs as before, government analysis indicated Tuesday, saddling the country with bad news when growth projections are being marked down.Numbers provided by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and Statistics Korea show the government expects 2.6 percent economic expansion in 2017 with around 260,000 new jobs, translating to 100,000 people being newly employed per 1 percent economic growth.Such ratio is about half of what it used to be five ye

Jan. 3, 2017

Public workers' pay increases by large margin along with fringe benefits

The average annual salary of public regular workers in 2015 exceeded 70 million won ($57,899) for the first time after a near 5 percent increase, and their fringe benefits that were supposed to be curtailed were brought back, a parliamentary report showed Tuesday.A report from the National Assembly Budget Office said the average yearly pay at 119 public and state-invested agencies came to just over 70 million won. It is 4.9 percent higher than the previous year, the biggest hike rate since 2012.

Jan. 3, 2017

Surplus funds surge at companies, sink at households

Data released by the Bank of Korea last week showed surplus funds held by the country’s households are rapidly decreasing, while corporations sit on a mounting amount of cash reserves.Excess funds held by local households and nonprofit organizations, including consumer and charity groups, totaled 1.9 trillion won ($1.57 billion) in the third quarter of this year, down from 14.1 trillion won in the previous quarter. It marked the smallest sum since the BOK began compiling relevant data in 2009, b

Jan. 2, 2017

Two-thirds of new businesses shuttered after one year: tax agency report

Some 3,000 people started their own business per day in 2014, but two-thirds of them had closed down a year later, statistics from the National Tax Service showed Monday.Based on the number of new businesses who filed value-added taxes for the first time in 2015, close to 1.07 million people became self-employed on a daily average in 2014. But by the following year, 739,000 people had closed down their shops, an average of 2,000 per day, the tally showed.The kinds of new businesses were heavily

Jan. 2, 2017

Four keywords affecting Korean economy in 2017

The South Korean economy has opened 2017 on a gloomy note, with the government cutting the economic growth forecast to 2.6 percent at the end of last year.The vacancy of the state leader since President Park Geun-hye was impeached and the ensuing political uncertainties as to when the next presidential election will take place are cited by economists as the biggest risk to the economy.On the external front, the anticipated rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve and President-elect Donald Trump’s p

Jan. 1, 2017

Weak data greets Korea at start of 2017

South Korea’s economy has started 2017 with discouraging figures showing sluggish exports, pessimistic consumer sentiment, heavier debt and a high unemployment rate.According to government data released on Sunday morning, exports, the key pillar of the Asia’s fourth-largest economy, declined for the second consecutive year in 2016 amid a sluggish global demand and low oil prices. This is the first time in 58 years that exports witnessed losses in two consecutive years.Korea’s exports fell 5.9 pe

Jan. 1, 2017

Korea's exports sink 5.9% in 2016

South Korea's exports fell 5.9 percent last year from a year earlier due largely to a drop in global demand and weak oil prices, government data showed Sunday.The country's exports reached $495.5 billion in 2016, while its imports dropped 7.1 percent on-year to $405.7 billion, according to the data released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Its trade surplus stood at $89.8 billion last year, down slightly from $90.3 billion tallied in 2015, the data showed.It is the first time in 58

Jan. 1, 2017