Exports grow 15% in first 10 days of March

South Korea's exports rose 14.9 percent in the first 10 days of March from a year earlier on the back of demand for chips and petroleum products, customs data showed Friday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $18.7 billion in the March 1-10 period, compared with $16.3 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports gained 15.3 percent on-year to $20.1 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $1.39 billion during the cited period, the data showed. By s

March 11, 2022

S. Korea's current account surplus dives in January amid soaring oil, commodity prices

South Korea continued to post a current account surplus in January, but the surplus sharply declined compared with a year earlier as imports expanded sharply amid soaring oil and commodity prices, central bank data showed Friday. The current account surplus came to $1.81 billion in January, marking the 21st straight month that the current account has remained in the black, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The figure, however, was much smaller than the same month a

March 11, 2022

At Semicon to raise W10.1b via stock offering

At Semicon Co. on Friday announced that it will sell stocks to raise 10.1 billion won. The proceeds from the stock sale will be used mainly to finance its operations. According to a regulatory filing, the company will issue some 9.28 million common shares at a price of 1,089 won per share. The stocks will be sold to the investors that the firm designated. (Yonhap)

March 11, 2022

S. Korean regulator unveils guideline on world‘s 1st in-app payment law

South Korea‘s telecommunications regulator on Thursday unveiled a guideline to clarify potential violations of a revised law banning store operators, like Apple and Google, from forcing developers to use their own in-app payment systems. 　 　Earlier this week, the country’s Cabinet approved an enforcement decree revision of the Telecommunications Business Act that went into effect in September. South Korea became the first country in the world to introduce such curbs on in-app billin

March 10, 2022

Chaebol reform not on Yoon’s agenda

Chaebol reform had been a key agenda in previous presidential campaigns, but it was no longer present in this year’s election. Except for Justice Party candidate Sim Sang-jung, none of the major presidential contenders mentioned chaebol reform in their campaign pledges. With more pressing economic issues such as runaway home prices, small business owners struggling from the pandemic and inflation, chaebol reform was pushed aside in campaigns. “There seems to be a consensus that is

March 10, 2022

Bio, game, tech industries mixed over Yoon’s campaign pledges

With Yoon Suk-yeol set to be South Korea’s next president, the country’s biopharmaceutical and gaming industries are paying vigilant attention as the president-elect pledged to increase support for the bio and health sectors while vowing to tighten regulations on game makers’ random box items. The pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries on Thursday welcomed Yoon’s campaign promise to set up a prime ministerial control tower called the Pharmaceutical Bio Innovati

March 10, 2022

What to expect from Yoon’s market policy change

Investors are bracing themselves for a bumpy ride ahead and keeping a close watch on how President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s campaign pledges to cut capital gains tax and rein in corporate spinoffs will pan out. The president-elect, representing the conservative bloc, has proposed reversing capital gains taxes that the current liberal-leaning Moon administration has put on investors, saying removing them would help to revitalize the stock exchange. But Yoon faces an uphill battle in doing so

March 10, 2022

Corporate Korea pins high hopes on Yoon’s push for small government

South Korea’s business lobby groups on Thursday welcomed Yoon Suk-yeol, a conservative opposition leader who has pledged to pursue a small government and ease regulations, as the nation’s next president. The 61-year-old former prosecutor won an extremely tight race earlier in the day, bringing conservatives back to power in five years. He will replace President Moon Jae-in, a progressive leader whose single five-year term ends in May. The Korea Chamber of Commerce, the nation&rsq

March 10, 2022

Banks concerned over Yoon's pledge to move headquarters out of Seoul

South Korea’s large financial companies are in agony over President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s election pledge to relocate several bank headquarters outside Seoul. In the weeks leading up to Wednesday’s presidential election, then-conservative candidate Yoon made a pledge in both January and earlier this month to relocate the state-run Korea Development Bank to the nation’s southern port city of Busan. He added at a campaign rally in Busan last week that he would make effort

March 10, 2022

Banks' household lending down for 3rd month in Feb. amid tightened rules

Household loans extended by banks in South Korea shrank for the third straight month in February as the central bank delivered a series of interest rate hikes to rein in inflation and household debt, central bank data showed Thursday. Outstanding bank loans to households came to 1,060.1 trillion won ($865.4 billion) as of the end of February, down 100 billion won from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). This marked the third straight month that the banks' ho

March 10, 2022

Higher inflation may be prolonged amid soaring energy prices: BOK

South Korea's central bank said Thursday that it cannot rule out the possibility of inflation running high for a longer period due to sky-high energy prices that could further rise amid heightened geopolitical risk from Ukraine. In a report submitted to the National Assembly, the Bank of Korea (BOK) also said that the country's exports growth could slow slightly this year due to continued global supply chain disruptions but the impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine will not be significant in affe

March 10, 2022

S. Korea's gasoline prices hit 8-year high amid Russia-Ukraine war

Gasoline prices in South Korea rose to the highest level in more than eight years Thursday as the deepening conflict between Russia and Ukraine pushes global oil prices higher amid growing supply concerns. The average retail gas price had reached 1,904.35 won ($1.55) per liter as of 9:10 a.m., up 11.95 won from the previous day, according to Opinet, a crude oil price provider run by the state-run Korea National Oil Corp. It marks the first time since October 2013 the countrywide average has surp

March 10, 2022

Ukraine crisis, high inflation pose threat to S. Korean economy: finance chief

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Thursday cited the Ukraine crisis, high inflation and currency volatility as the biggest risks to the South Korean economy, his office said. Hong called for thorough policy efforts to better tackle the economic fallout of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and cope with growing inflationary pressure amid surging energy costs. He also called attention to increased external economic risks as the Korean currency has sharply weakened against the US dollar on investors' dema

March 10, 2022

Seoul stocks open steeply higher on Wall Street rallies

South Korean stocks opened sharply higher Thursday, tracking overnight rallies on Wall Street that stemmed from a plunge in oil prices. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 49.71 points, or 1.9 percent, to trade at 2,672.11 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite surged 3.59 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 2 percent, largely as oil prices dipped more than 10 percent on expectations of a production increas

March 10, 2022

Biz lobbies ask President-elect Yoon to create biz-friendly environment

South Korea's business lobby groups on Thursday called on President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol to create an environment for companies to make further investments and create more jobs. Opposition candidate Yoon, 61, was elected South Korea's next president Thursday after an unbelievably close race that underlined deep divisions along regional, generational and gender lines, and hands him a daunting task to narrow those chasms. The country's business lobbies, such as the Federation of Korean Industries

March 10, 2022

[Election 2022] How Moon’s failed housing policy impacted election

SEJONG -- A series of failed policies by the Moon Jae-in administration to tame South Korea’s housing market has been at the center of the presidential election this year, with candidates taking housing-related schemes to the fore of their campaigns. It is obvious that housing policy will be included in the first batch of to-do lists by President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, as soon as he forms a transition committee. Should the policy be prioritized, the lesson learned from incumbent President

March 10, 2022

SsangYong Motor’s creditors to request rebidding

SsangYong Motor’s creditors will be requesting a rebidding of the merger and acquisition of the carmaker next Tuesday, according to SsangYong Motors. The debt-laden SsangYong Motors confirmed that creditors had brought up the prospect of looking for a new owner instead of completing the M&A procedure with the bidder Edison Motors for a while. South Korean electric carmaker Edison Motors had stepped closer to acquiring major stakes in SsangYong Motor in January after the two firms cli

March 9, 2022

Korean households, businesses face bigger default risks than previous crises: BOK

South Korean households and businesses are at a bigger risk of default compared with previous financial crises, with the pandemic having driven up the pace of borrowing gain, the central bank warned Wednesday. The nation’s real credit gap rate -- the difference between the desired and actual levels of debt for households and businesses -- came to 5.1 percent as of the end of September last year, a Bank of Korea report showed. This surpasses the corresponding figures for the credit card

March 9, 2022

[Election 2022] Overwhelmed by Ukraine crisis, market unlikely to get election boost, experts say

Markets in South Korea enjoyed short-term post-election rallies in past presidential elections, but a similar uptick looks unlikely this time, mainly because of the war in Ukraine, but also because campaign pledges have offered little to buoy investors. This would be a return to form for the democratic era. In the six months after current President Moon Jae-in was sworn in, the Kospi rose 11.2 percent to 2,542.95. But the previous four presidents going back as far as the Kim Dae-jung governme

March 9, 2022

Loyal Samsung investors cash out as shares retreat

Market bellwether Samsung Electronics, whose shares are practically held by one out of every 10 South Koreans, is suffering from heavy selling by an army of once-loyal investors disappointed over the tech giant’s underperforming shares. The stocks have slid since January to fall below 70,000 won ($56) on Tuesday in a four-month low since November. Regulatory filings, revealed Tuesday, showed some 120,000 retail investors sold shares in Samsung Electronics in the fourth quarter last year,

March 9, 2022