S. Korea’s economy recovers to pre-pandemic levels: BOK

South Korea’s economy expanded 1.6 percent on-quarter in the first three months of the year, signaling a faster-than-expected recovery to pre-COVID-19 levels, central bank data showed Tuesday. Bolstered by improvement in private consumption and exports, “the 1.6 percent growth in the first quarter has pushed the real gross domestic product level higher than that of the last three months of 2019,” Park Yang-su, head of the economic statistics department at the Bank of Korea, sa

April 27, 2021

No. of farmers, fishermen down 9.5% last year from 5 years earlier

The number of South Koreans in the agro-fishery sector declined 9.5 percent last year from five years earlier amid rapid aging and younger people's movements to cities, data showed Tuesday. The number of people engaged in the farming and fishery segments totaled 2.64 million last year, compared with 2.92 million in 2015, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The number of households in the agro-fishery sector came to 1.18 million last year, down 4.5 percent from five years earlier. The

April 27, 2021

S. Korea's venture investment touches record high in Q1

South Korea's investment in startups spiked nearly 61 percent in the first quarter of the year amid hopes of high returns, government data showed Tuesday. A total of 1.25 trillion won ($1.12 billion) was invested in promising venture firms and startups in the January-March period, up 61.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. It was the highest amount for the first quarter and the second-largest quarterly figure after the 1.41 trillion won f

April 27, 2021

S. Korea's demand for natural gas expected to rise 15% through 2034

South Korea's demand for natural gas is expected to rise 15 percent through 2034, data showed Tuesday, on the back of higher demand from hydrogen fuel cell cars and liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering ships. The country's annual demand for natural gas is expected to reach 47.9 million tons in 2034, compared with 41.7 million tons estimated for this year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Of the volume, the demand from the industrial segment is especially anticipated to

April 27, 2021

Korean refiners' Q1 exports hit 10-year low

South Korean refiners' exports fell to the lowest level in 10 years in the first quarter of the year as global oil demand remained low amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, industry data showed Tuesday. Oil and petrochemical products shipped by SK Innovation Co., GS-Caltex Co., S-Oil Corp., Hyundai Oilbank Co. and others reached 90.94 million barrels in the first quarter of the year, down 27.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Petroleum Association. The t

April 27, 2021

Sales of derivatives-tied securities dip in 2020

Sales of derivatives-linked securities in South Korea dropped 30.3 percent on year in 2020, partly due lower demand following the misselling of derivatives-linked funds, data showed Tuesday. The combined value of equity-linked securities (ELS) and derivatives-linked securities (DLS) issued last year came to 91.3 trillion won ($82 billion), down 39.7 trillion won from a year ago, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The products are structured to track the performance o

April 27, 2021

S. Korea's economy grows faster than expected in Q1, heralding rebound this year

South Korea's economy expanded at a faster-than-expected pace in the first quarter, buoyed by a modest recovery of exports and fiscal policy support, amid signs that the economy is inching closer to pre-pandemic levels, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Tuesday. Gross domestic product expanded 1.8 percent in the three months ended March 31 from a year ago, the BOK said. On a quarterly basis, Asia's fourth-largest economy expanded 1.6 percent, accelerating from a 1.2 percent expansion in the final qu

April 27, 2021

Insurers' risk-based capital ratio falls in Q4 last year

Insurance firms in South Korea saw their risk-based capital fall in the fourth quarter of last year, data showed Monday. The risk-based capital (RBC) ratio of local insurance firms stood at 275.1 percent at end-2020, down 8.8 percentage points from three months earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Their RBC ratio fell in the fourth quarter as their funds to hedge against risks increased, the FSS said. A key yardstick of financial stability, the RBC rati

April 26, 2021

Overseas branches of Korean insurers report 34.8% drop in 2020 profit

Overseas branches of South Korean insurance firms reported a 34.8 percent drop in their combined net profit for 2020, mainly due to economic pains from the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Monday. The overseas branches posted a combined net profit of $45.6 million last year, compared with a net profit of $69.9 million in 2019, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). "COVID-19's impact on the life insurers' business and the increased losses of nonlife insurance co

April 26, 2021

Imported commercial car sales rise 18% in March

Sales of imported commercial vehicles in South Korea rose 18 percent in March from a year earlier on recovering demand amid the extended coronavirus pandemic, an industry association said Monday. The number of newly registered imported commercial vehicles climbed to 413 units last month from 349 a year earlier, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. Sales of all imported commercial vehicles were up last month on increased sales of MAN, Volvo an

April 26, 2021

April exports estimated to jump 41%: poll

South Korea's exports are expected to jump 41 percent in April from a year earlier, on the back of a base effect, and robust shipments of chips and autos, a poll showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments are forecast to reach $51.1 billion this month, according to the poll on five local brokerage houses by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. It would mark the sixth straight month of gains and the fastest on-year growth in more than 10 years, it showed. Imports

April 26, 2021

Corporate direct financing gains 22.3% in March

South Korea's corporate direct financing rose 22.3 percent in March from the previous month due to a robust rise in stock sales, data showed Monday. Local companies raised a combined 24.4 trillion won ($21.8 billion) by selling stocks and bonds last month, up 4.45 trillion won from a month ago, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Corporate stock sales soared 783.4 percent to 6.04 trillion won, with the value of initial public offerings jumping 660 percent to 5.3

April 26, 2021

[News Focus] Why are foreign financial firms pulling out of South Korea?

Citigroup’s decision to withdraw from retail banking in South Korea has sparked concerns over the possibility of other global financial companies following suit. Korea has nurtured ambitions to become Asia’s next financial hub for nearly 20 years, but in that time, the presence of foreign banks has not grown, but weakened. Citi’s choice of Korea as one of 13 markets to exit suggests that trend is continuing. According to data published April 14 by Financial Hub Korea under t

April 25, 2021

Regulator encourages banks to provide mid-rate loans to low-income people

Financial authorities on Sunday unveiled a plan to encourage banks and other financial institutions to provide mid-rate loans to low-income people and non-prime borrowers. Mid-rate loans are not clearly defined, but such loans refer to credit loans with an interest rate of some 10 percent for people with middle credit scores, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC). Under the plan, about 2 million people with middle credit ratings are expected to take out a total of 32 trillion

April 25, 2021

S. Korea faces 212 import curbs in Q1 amid protectionism

South Korea faced a total of 212 import restrictions from trade partners in the first quarter amid growing protectionism, according to a report Sunday. The number of import regulations facing South Korea was up five from three months ago, according to the report from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). Import restrictions cover anti-dumping duties, countervailing tariffs and safeguard measures, including investigations into suspected practices. Foreign import restrictions ha

April 25, 2021

S. Korea's exports of cosmetics up 15% in 2020

South Korea's exports of cosmetics shot up 15 percent in 2020 from a year earlier, data showed Sunday, on the back of growing demand from the United States and Asian countries. Outbound shipments of cosmetics reached $6.12 billion last year, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service and the Korea Cosmetic Association. South Korea's imports of cosmetics fell 10.7 percent on-year in 2020 to $1.07 billion. The country's exports of cosmetics had been maintaining two-digit annual

April 25, 2021

S. Korea to import more eggs this month to stabilize prices

South Korea said Friday it plans to import more eggs this month in a bid to help stabilize rising prices of eggs that were caused by the outbreak of bird flu here. The country plans to bring in 40 million eggs in April, up from the initially planned imports of 25 million, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The ministry said it will push to increase the imports of eggs next month as well and take available steps to curb a sharp rise in egg prices amid a build-up in overall inflat

April 23, 2021

Foreign ownership of S. Korean land increases 1.9% in 2020

Foreign ownership of South Korean land expanded nearly 2 percent in 2020 from a year earlier, the land ministry said Friday. Foreigners owned 253.3 square kilometers of land here as of the end of December last year, up 1.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The amount is slightly more than four times the size of Manhattan and accounts for 0.25 percent of South Korea's total land area. The value of land held by foreigners grew 3.1 perc

April 23, 2021

S. Korea's daily FX turnover jumps in Q1 on recovery in trade

The daily foreign exchange (FX) trading by banks in South Korea jumped 20.7 percent in the first quarter from three months earlier, thanks to a modest recovery in trade, central bank data showed Friday. The daily FX turnover came to an average $60.94 billion in the January-March period, up $10.44 billion from the fourth quarter of last year, according to the data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). It was the biggest three-month gain since 2008, when the BOK changed its method of compiling the data.

April 23, 2021

Banks' loan delinquency rate edges up in February

The delinquency rate for South Korean banks' won-denominated loans inched up in February from the previous month, the financial regulator said Thursday. The rate for bank loans more than 30 days overdue stood at 0.33 percent at the end of February, up 0.02 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Compared with a year earlier, the bank loan delinquency rate was up 0.1 percentage point. Banks' loan delinquency rate remains stable mainly bec

April 22, 2021