Service output in provinces, major cities up in Q1

Service output in eight provinces and major cities increased in the first quarter from a year earlier as production in the in-person service segment improved amid relaxed social distancing rules, data showed Monday. The country's service output rose 2.2 percent on-year in the January-March period, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Of 16 provinces and cities, Seoul, three major cities and four provinces posted an on-year rise in service production in the cited period, as the f

May 17, 2021

S. Korea's ICT exports up over 30% in April

South Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products rose more than 30 percent last month -- the sharpest rise in over 10 years -- on the back of robust global demand for chips and displays, data showed Monday. Outbound shipments of ICT products were estimated at $17.06 billion in April, the highest-ever amount for any April and a rise of 32.6 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. The latest data marked the 11th consecu

May 17, 2021

S. Korea to triple EDCF loans to fight climate change by 2025

South Korea plans to triple its low-interest rate loans for green energy projects sought after by emerging countries by 2025, the finance ministry said Monday. The country will increase the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) in the green energy field to $600 million in 2025 from last year's $200 million, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The government also plans to raise the proportion of the green-related loans to 40 percent of its total EDCF program from the curren

May 17, 2021

Auto exports jump 53% on base effect, economic recovery

South Korea's exports of automobiles jumped nearly 53 percent on-year in April, data showed Sunday, on the back of the global economic recovery coupled with a base effect. The country's outbound shipments of automobiles reached 188,293 units in April, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of value, exports shot up 73.4 percent as South Korea sold more premium models. Over the first four months of 2021, Asia's No. 4 economy shipped 734,448 units of automobiles, up 22

May 16, 2021

Domestic demand on mild improvement track: finance ministry

South Korea's domestic demand is gradually improving as a slump in the service sector caused by the pandemic has eased, the finance ministry said Friday. In its monthly economic assessment report, the ministry presented a more positive assessment about private consumption than the previous month, when it said a slump in domestic demand has gradually eased. "The manufacturing sector and investment have continued to improve on the back of robust exports, and domestic demand is on a mild imp

May 14, 2021

Govt. dividend income up 2.8% in 2021

The South Korean government's dividend income from its stakes in public companies inched up 2.8 percent this year from the previous year as earnings of some state-run firms improved despite the pandemic, the finance ministry said Friday. Dividend payments by 22 state-run companies to the government amounted to 1.44 trillion won ($1 billion) this year, up 35.6 billion won from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The gain in dividend income came as the Korea Electri

May 14, 2021

Export prices up for 5th month in May

South Korea's export prices gained in April, marking the fifth straight monthly gain amid a strong recovery in exports, central bank data showed Friday. The country's export price index, in terms of the local currency, rose 2.2 percent in April from the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading marked the fifth consecutive month of an on-month rise. In March, the index rose 3.3 percent on-month. From a year earlier, the index jumped 10.6 perce

May 14, 2021

Real estate fiasco sidelines Moon’s income-led growth drive

Transforming South Korean economy into a fairer and more transparent one was what President Moon Jae-in had in mind when entering office in 2017.  To soothe the public enraged over high-profile corruption involving the former president, his political archrival Park Geun-hye, Moon and his campaigners unveiled a series of economic policies pursuing the income-led and innovation-based growth, painting the rosy picture on mitigating the nation’s widening wealth disparity.  Now wi

May 13, 2021

Tax agency launches another round of probe into property-related tax evasion

South Korea's tax agency said Thursday it has launched another round of probe into suspected tax evasion by hundreds of people who sought to take profit from speculative or illegal property transactions. The National Tax Service (NTS) said it has cracked down on 289 individuals and entities over alleged tax evasion. It marked the second time that the agency has carried out investigations into property-related tax evasion this year since April. The NTS said it has expanded the scope of the pro

May 13, 2021

Banks' loan delinquency rate inches down in March

The delinquency rate for South Korean banks' won-denominated loans edged down in March from the previous month, the financial regulator said Thursday. The rate for bank loans more than 30 days overdue stood at 0.28 percent at the end of March, down 0.05 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Compared with a year earlier, the banks' loan delinquency rate was down 0.11 percentage point. Banks' loan delinquency rate remains stable mainly b

May 13, 2021

S. Korea's money supply grows in March

South Korea's money supply continued to grow in March, as loans to households and firms increased amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Thursday. The country's M2 stood at 3,313.1 trillion won ($2.9 trillion) as of end-March, up 1.2 percent from a month earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). From a year earlier, M2 jumped 11 percent, the BOK said. A key economic indicator closely monitored by authorities, M2 is a measure of the money supply that co

May 13, 2021

Customs office seizes W7.2b worth of smuggled cigarettes

South Korea's customs office said Thursday it has seized around 1.79 million trafficked cigarette packs worth 7.2 billion won ($6.3 million) and arrested 41 smugglers and local distributors. The Korea Customs Service said the number of smuggled cigarettes more than doubled from about 754,000 packs a year earlier as it carried out a sweeping crackdown on tobacco trafficking in the first quarter. In particular, the number of cigarettes smuggled from China reached 890,000 packs, the largest-ever

May 13, 2021

S. Korea to take steps if needed amid increased market volatility

South Korea plans to take measures to stabilize the financial market if needed, as it has been suffering increased volatility on fears that the Federal Reserve may hike a key rate sooner than expected on inflation woes, a senior government official said Thursday. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said there is no need for market players to sensitively react to US inflation data as its consumer prices are judged to have temporarily risen amid an economic recovery and a low base effect. &

May 13, 2021

Foreigners turn net buyers of S. Korean stocks in April

Foreign investors turned net buyers of South Korean equities in April, ending their four-month selling spree, the central bank said Wednesday. Foreigners purchased a net $590 million worth of local stocks last month, compared with net selling of $2.58 billion in March, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Offshore investors, however, remained net buyers of Korean bonds worth $2.74 billion last month, the BOK said. Meanwhile, volatility in South Korea's currency slightly fell in April from th

May 12, 2021

Banks' household loan growth quickens in April

South Korean banks' household loans grew at a faster clip in April, as money chased after initial public offerings, central bank data showed Wednesday. The value of outstanding bank loans to local households came to 1,025.7 trillion won ($912.2 billion) as of end-April, up 16.1 trillion won from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The April reading represents a hike from a 6.5 trillion-won gain in March. The BOK said the rise in lending was mainly attributa

May 12, 2021

PC shipments in S. Korea soar to 10-year high in Q1: report

South Korea's personal computer (PC) market expanded to the largest in 10 years in the first quarter of 2021, industry data showed Wednesday, due to robust demand for online education and remote working amid the pandemic. Domestic PC shipments stood at 1.89 million units in the January-March period, up 30.7 percent from a year ago, according to the data from market researcher IDC Korea. This was the largest PC shipment volume in South Korea since the first quarter of 2012, when it recorded 1.9

May 12, 2021

S. Korea reports largest job growth in almost 7 years in April

South Korea reported the largest job growth in almost seven years in April in the latest sign that the job market is recovering from a yearlong slump caused by the pandemic, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people reached 27.2 million last month, 652,000 more than a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the largest on-year increase since August 2014, when the number of employed people rose 670,000. The April reading also marked the second str

May 12, 2021

[News Focus] Korea outstrips US, Japan in property taxes

SEJONG -- South Koreans shouldered a similar burden to US and Japanese nationals in property taxes, including those on real estate, in the mid-2010s, data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development showed. But recent figures indicate that Korea has far outstripped the US and Japan in the growth of property taxes, under which Koreans have been saddled with a much higher burden on capital gains from trading of apartments or land. According to the OECD, Korea saw the ratio of

May 11, 2021

Service output in 8 provinces, cities rises in Q1 amid economic recovery

Combined service output rose in eight provinces and major cities in South Korea in the first quarter, led by production gains in Seoul, as the economy is on a recovery track, data showed Tuesday. Seoul, three other cities and four provinces posted an on-year increase in service output in the January-March period, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Among them, service output in Seoul -- home to about one-fifth of the country's 52 million population -- rose at the fastest rate of 6.3 p

May 11, 2021

S. Korea settles 53 non-tariff trade barriers in 2020

South Korea's trade ministry said Tuesday it has settled 53 cases of non-tariff trade barriers that had direct impacts on local exporters in 2020. Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) operated 3,354 technical barriers to trade (TBT) in 2020, up 30 percent from 2016, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Of them, 131 cases had adverse impacts on local exports. TBTs, which include consumer safety standards, energy and environmental requirements, a

May 11, 2021