Seoul expresses concerns over Washington's info-sharing request on chipmakers

South Korea's trade ministry on Wednesday expressed concerns over Washington's latest request to local chipmakers to share information on their supply chains amid growing concerns over the leak of major trade secrets. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo met his US counterpart, Katherine Tai, in Paris on the sidelines of the council meeting of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), sharing opinions on various bilateral trade issues, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry

Oct. 6, 2021

Inflation growth hits over 2% for 6th straight month in Sept.

South Korea's consumer prices grew more than 2 percent for the sixth consecutive month in September, due largely to high oil prices, data showed Wednesday, indicating a build-up of inflationary pressure amid an economic recovery. The consumer prices rose 2.5 percent in September from a year earlier, slowing from a 2.6 percent on-year gain in August, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Compared with a month earlier, consumer inflation rose 0.5 percent last month. Core inflation

Oct. 6, 2021

S. Korea's FX reserves hit record high in September

South Korea's foreign reserves rose to an all-time high in September due to a rise in profits from investment of foreign currency assets, central bank data showed Wednesday. The nation's foreign reserves came to $463.97 billion as of end-September, up $40 million from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bull

Oct. 6, 2021

[Newsmaker] Finance minister blasted for failing to curb housing prices

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki came under fire during a parliamentary inspection on Tuesday for failing to stop the relentless rise in housing prices despite dozens of policy measures implemented in recent months. To address the nationwide outcry over soaring housing prices, the Moon Jae-in administration has introduced 26 sets of real estate policies. The latest centered on raising taxes on owners of multiple homes and rooting out property speculation. But there are signs these policies may ba

Oct. 5, 2021

Samsung heir stays S. Korea's richest stockholder

Lee Jae-yong, the chief of South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung Group, remains the country's richest stockholder despite a fall in the value of his shareholdings, a corporate tracker said Tuesday. Stock holdings of Lee, vice chairman of global tech titan Samsung Electronics Co., were valued at 14.17 trillion won ($11.9 billion) as of end-September, the largest among local conglomerate owners, according to Korea CXO Institute. Yet the value of his stock holdings was down about 1.39 trillion won

Oct. 5, 2021

Online shopping rises 16.8% in Aug. amid pandemic

Online shopping in South Korea grew 16.8 percent from a year earlier on solid demand for food delivery services and foodstuffs amid the protracted pandemic, data showed Tuesday. The value of online shopping transactions stood at 15.8 trillion won ($13.3 billion) in August, compared with 13.5 trillion won the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The August reading fell from a record high of 16.2 trillion won in July, but the value of online shopping reached more than 15 tri

Oct. 5, 2021

Top 4 take up bulk of major conglomerates' 2020 earnings

Earnings by South Korea's top four conglomerates accounted for more than 80 percent of the 30 leading business groups' total net profit in 2020 in a show of their dominance in Asia's fourth-largest economy, government data showed Tuesday. Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK and LG groups posted a combined net income of 37.6 trillion won ($31.7 billion) last year, up 2.2 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the data that the Fair Trade Commission presented for an annual parliamentary audition. T

Oct. 5, 2021

Retailer confidence worsens for Q4 amid coronavirus resurgence

South Korean retailers' confidence fell below par for the fourth quarter of the year due to strict social distancing measures to stem the spread of the new coronavirus, a poll showed Tuesday. The Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry said its retail business survey index (RBSI) came to 99 for the October-December period, down 7 points from three months earlier. It marks the first on-quarter drop in three quarters. The RBSI stood at 106 in the third quarter and 103 in the first quarter. The fig

Oct. 5, 2021

Imported luxury bag sales surpass W174b despite pandemic

Sales of imported high-end bags in South Korea soared last year despite a slump in private consumption induced by COVID-19 pandemic woes, data showed Monday. The estimated total of imported luxury bag sales, calculated on the basis of special consumption taxes and surtaxes imposed on shoppers, came in at 174.1 billion won ($147.3 million) in 2020, said Rep. Suh Byung-soo of the main opposition People Power Party, quoting data compiled by the National Tax Service and Korea Customs Service. Last

Oct. 4, 2021

[Law Talk] Amendment of the E-Commerce Act in 20 years redresses unfair practices on online platforms

Users of delivery apps, online secondhand marketplaces and social network services have greatly increased due to the continued pandemic. The aggregate turnover of food delivery service providers in South Korea has increased by 78.6 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year, and monthly active users of Karrot -- an online secondhand marketplace -- increased threefold every year over the past three years. As such, the online market is rapidly growing and transactions are transforming to center

Oct. 4, 2021

[Weekender] Standing on their own: North Korean refugees test startup dreams

Ahn Myeong-hee, a 31-year-old defector from North Korea, was overwhelmed by the hardworking people, the rapidly changing social phenomena and the highly competitive environment when she first arrived in the South. “One day I was standing at a subway station and watching people walking fast. It made me think that I’d really have to live my life to the full to become successful,” Ahn said. “At the same time, I appreciated the fact that you can see the outcome as much as t

Oct. 2, 2021

S. Korean builder sentiment rebounds in September

South Korea's construction business sentiment bounced back in August from a month earlier due largely to seasonal factors, a poll showed Friday. The construction business survey index (CBSI) came to 94.9 last month, up 5.5 points from the previous month, according to the survey by the Construction and Economy Research Institute of Korea. However, the September figure remains below par. A reading below 100 indicates builders are pessimistic about the current state of the construction industry and

Oct. 1, 2021

Pandemic causes W8.82tr in damage to S. Korean culture, sports, tourism sectors

The novel coronavirus pandemic has caused a combined 8.82 trillion won ($7.4 billion) worth of damage to South Korea's culture, sports and tourism sectors since it broke out early last year, a government report showed Friday. The amount of consumer spending in the tourism and leisure sector decreased by an estimated 39.3 trillion won from January 2020-June 2021 when Korea's first COVID-19 case was reported, according to the report by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism submitted to parli

Oct. 1, 2021

New home permits jump 22% in Jan.-Aug.

New home permits in South Korea soared nearly 22 percent in the first eight months of the year amid rising housing prices, government data showed Friday. Construction permits issued for new homes came to 312,860 units in the January-August period, up 21.6 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. New construction permits in the South Korean capital of Seoul spiked 52 percent to 50,638 over the cited period. New home permits issued in

Oct. 1, 2021

Exports set fresh high in Sept. on solid shipments of chips

South Korea's exports have extended their gains to 11 consecutive months and set a record high level by rising 16.7 percent, data showed Friday, maintaining solid growth despite growing concerns over the spread of COVID-19 variants around the globe. Outbound shipments came to $55.8 billion last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The monthly figure was the highest since South Korea started compiling such data in 1956. The previous record was $55.4

Oct. 1, 2021

[News Focus] Korea ranks 32nd of 36 OECD members in GDP growth

SEJONG -- South Korea lagged behind major countries in economic growth during the second quarter of the year, placing 32nd among 36 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Korea also ranked 37th of 46 economies, when the OECD included 10 nonmembers -- such as China and Russia -- in its analysis. According to the Paris-based organization, Korea posted a 0.8 percent growth in gross domestic product in the second quarter, compared to the previous quarter. The analys

Sept. 30, 2021

Tax agency cracks down on property-related tax evasion involving young people

South Korea’s tax agency is probing suspected tax evasion involving hundreds of young people who allegedly acquired houses, commercial buildings and stocks through undue wealth transfers from their parents. The National Tax Service said Thursday that it had launched a probe into 446 people in their early 30s or younger, saying they had “seriously hampered fairness” in society by increasing their wealth in an improper manner. The youngest property owner under investigation was

Sept. 30, 2021

S. Korea to unveil measures to curb snowballing household debt in October

South Korea will put forth its best efforts to curb the nation’s fast-growing household debt and roll out additional measures next month to do so, while allowing borrowers to take out loans within their repayment capabilities, the nation’s fiscal chief said Thursday. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the remark at a meeting of macroeconomic leaders here, where he was joined by Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol, recently appointed chief of the policymaking Fin

Sept. 30, 2021

Production, consumption, investment fall in Aug. amid 4th wave of pandemic

 South Korea's trade ministry said Tuesday it has agreed with Uruguay to make joint efforts to speed up negotiations for a free trade pact with a group of South American countries. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo plans to meet his Uruguayan counterpart, Francisco Bustillo, virtually later in the day to discuss ways to expand economic ties, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. "Uruguay is one of the key partners for South Korea, as the two can make joint efforts to overco

Sept. 30, 2021

Under-20s’ home purchases face nationwide probe

The government will clamp down on those suspected of taking expedient means to pass on wealth to their children as a part of measures to eradicate real estate speculation and fight corruption, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Wednesday. Since March, the National Tax Service has been conducting a special investigation on suspected tax evasion by more than 800 people who sought to profit from speculative or illegal property transactions. The large-scale probe was launched in the wake of a scan

Sept. 29, 2021