Uncertainty lingers over private spending recovery: ministry

The South Korean economy is facing continued uncertainty about the recovery of domestic demand as the latest resurgence in COVID-19 cases is denting person-to-person service sectors, the finance ministry said Friday. In its monthly economic assessment report, the ministry said the country's exports have extended solid growth momentum and the job market has improved despite the fourth wave of the pandemic. "But uncertainty over domestic demand has continued, centering on face-to-face service

Sept. 17, 2021

S. Korea considering extending tariffs on PET film from Taiwan, Thailand, UAE

South Korea's trade watchdog said Thursday it has decided to recommend the government extend anti-dumping duties on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film imported from Taiwan, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates, citing substantial damage to the local industry. The Korea Trade Commission said it has advised the finance ministry to set duties of 3.19 percent to 60.95 percent on PET film coming from the countries for the next five years. The country already had been applying tariffs of around

Sept. 16, 2021

Banks' loan delinquency rate rises in July

The delinquency rate for South Korean banks' won-denominated loans rose in July due to an increase in overdue corporate loans, the financial regulator said Thursday. The rate for bank loans more than 30 days overdue stood at 0.27 percent at the end of July, up from 0.25 percent the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Compared with a year earlier, the rate was down 0.09 percentage point in July. The delinquency rate for corporate loans rose 0.03 percentage poi

Sept. 16, 2021

Korea's public account turns to deficit in 2020 on COVID-19 spending

South Korea's public account surplus turned to deficit in 2020 as the government increased fiscal spending to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Thursday. In 2020, the country's public account deficit came to 50.6 trillion won ($43.3 billion), according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The deficit compared with a 14.7 trillion won surplus in 2019, when the country's public account balance continued to stay in the black for the fifth consecut

Sept. 16, 2021

Fishery good exports up 18% through Aug.

South Korea's exports of fishery products rose nearly 18 percent on-year in the first eight months of 2021 amid the pandemic, data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments of fishery products reached $1.74 billion over the January-August period, compared to $1.48 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The ministry attributed the growth to more people visiting restaurants around the globe compared to the previous year, which boosted the demand for seafood

Sept. 16, 2021

Trade between Seoul, London remains bullish on bilateral FTA

South Korea's trade ministry said Thursday it has been maintaining robust trade with Britain on the back of their free trade agreement (FTA), which was revamped earlier this year, despite London's divorce with the European Union. South Korea and Britain held their first meeting of the trade committee of goods virtually to discuss a wide array of commerce issues and follow up on the bilateral FTA, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The two countries implemented the pact i

Sept. 16, 2021

State funds to rollover debts owed by pandemic-hit merchants, small firms

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday that state-backed funds will extend loan maturity and rollover interest payments again for smaller firms and merchants hit hard by the pandemic. State-run agencies and funds set up to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro business owners will extend the measures by another six months until March next year, Hong said. The move follows similar measures taken by local banks as part of efforts to support smaller companies and merchant

Sept. 16, 2021

Consumer financing firms' profit soars in H1 on stock rally

Consumer financing firms in South Korea saw their combined net profit jump 50 percent on-year in the first half, supported by strong gains from stock rallies and a modest gain in interest income, data showed Thursday. The combined net profit of 114 credit-specialized financial firms stood at 1.99 trillion won ($1.69 billion) in the first half, compared with a profit of 1.33 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Their interest income ro

Sept. 16, 2021

S. Korea’s tax chief seeks cooperation with Denmark, Hungary

South Korea‘s tax chief met his counterparts in Denmark and Hungary to strengthen cooperation with the European agencies, and discuss future of electronic tax administration system in the post-pandemic era, officials said Wednesday. National Tax Service Commissioner Kim Dae-ji held a bilateral meeting with Merete Agergaard, chief of Danish tax agency in Copenhagen and a separate meeting in Budapest with his Hungarian counterpart Vagujhelyi Ferenc during his trip earlier this month. Meet

Sept. 15, 2021

Corporate sales improve, profit margin grows in Q2 amid pandemic

South Korean companies saw their profitability grow in the second quarter, with their sales improving despite the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday. The ratio of operating profit to sales of firms in the country reached 7.4 percent in the second quarter, up from 5.2 percent tallied a year ago, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). At the same time, the pretax net profit margin of South Korean companies rose on-year to 8.2 percent from 4.6 percent.

Sept. 15, 2021

Most S. Korean exporters eye rising freight rates: poll

A majority of South Korean exporting companies expect international freight rates to continue their uptrend till the first half of 2022, a poll showed Wednesday. The survey of 1,000 exporters, taken by the Federation of Korean Industries, showed 7 out of 10 firms forecasting freight rates to keep rising at least until June next year. The companies also expect freight rates to surge 23.8 percent on-year in the second half of this year following a 30.9 percent on-year jump in the first half. Some

Sept. 15, 2021

[Defector’s eye 2] Defector-turned-startup CEO tries his hand at developing social media platform

This is the second installment in a series of articles on North Korean defectors in transition, and the challenges and opportunities they encounter in the face of South Korea’s financial market and its rapid digitalization. -- Ed. For someone who came from an isolated and repressive state like North Korea, starting a business of his or her own in a free but competitive market is a mere dream. No matter how great their ideas are, a lack of business network, insufficient funds and im

Sept. 14, 2021

No. of Korean youths who gave up job seeking surges 35%

South Koreans aged between 15 and 29 who were unemployed, not engaged in schooling or housework, and were not seeking jobs increased some 35 percent on-year, data showed Tuesday. As of May, 96,000 were classified as those “not in education, employment, or training” or “NEET,” data compiled by Yonhap News Agency showed. The figure increased 35.8 percent or 25,000 on-year from 71,000 the previous year. They were among a group of 278,000 people within the same age range who

Sept. 14, 2021

Samsung commits to creating 30,000 new youth jobs in 3 years: gov't

Samsung Group on Tuesday promised to create 30,000 new youth jobs in South Korea in three years by expanding its corporate social responsibility initiatives (CSR), the government said. The plan to create 10,000 new youth jobs annually for three consecutive years was revealed during a partnership announcement event between Samsung Group and the prime minister's office (PMO) on the government's youth job and education support program titled Youth Hope ON held in Seoul, according to the PMO. The ev

Sept. 14, 2021

Residents' FX deposits rise in Aug. amid brisk exports

Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea gained in August from a month earlier as exporters increased dollar holdings, central bank data showed Tuesday. Residents' outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits stood at $92.6 billion as of end-August, up $470 million from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The country's foreign exchange deposits swung to an upturn for the first time in five months. In July, they were down $910 million from June. Residents in

Sept. 14, 2021

S. Korea to expand FTAs with more emerging countries in S.E. Asia, Latin America

South Korea said Tuesday it plans to implement or launch negotiations for a set of new free trade agreements (FTAs) with trading counterparts from Southeast Asia and Latin America this year, as part of efforts to reduce its reliance on major economies. The country plans to officially sign the pending FTA with Cambodia in October, seven months after completing related negotiations, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The ministry said the deal is set to help South Korean fi

Sept. 14, 2021

Export prices up for 9th month in August

South Korea's export prices rose in August, marking the ninth straight monthly gain amid a strong recovery in exports, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's export price index, in terms of the local currency, rose 1 percent in August from the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading marked the ninth consecutive month of an on-month rise. In July, the index rose 3.5 percent on-month. From a year earlier, the index jumped 18.6 perce

Sept. 14, 2021

Korea’s aging population to sap fiscal health: Fitch

The fast-paced aging of South Korea’s population is likely to undermine the fiscal health of Asia’s fourth-largest economy in the long run amid soaring debt, credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings said Monday. The aging population, coupled with a declining fertility rate of fewer than one child per woman, could leave Korea exposed to higher risks as rising government spending could become a less effective means of boosting nationwide productivity. Fitch urged Korea to carry out midt

Sept. 13, 2021

Finance chief calls for beefed-up monitoring of housing markets

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Monday raised the need to strengthen the monitoring of the property market as the latest rate hike and the talks of US tapering could increase market volatility. The minister also called for ways to encourage the private sector to take part in the government's efforts to increase the home supply. "There is a need to strengthen the monitoring of the housing market due to changes in real estate market conditions," Hong told a meeting with senior government

Sept. 13, 2021

Pandemic cuts S. Korea's 2021-22 potential growth rate by 0.2% point

The COVID-19 pandemic slashed South Korea's 2021-22 potential growth rate by 0.2 percentage point to 2 percent, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Monday. South Korea's potential growth rate, which refers to the maximum possible rate an economy can grow without triggering inflation, has been on a steady decline due to a shrinking working-age population and mounting household debts. But the pandemic prompted the nation's potential growth rate to further decline as it dealt a heavy blow to small merchan

Sept. 13, 2021