Producer prices stay flat in November

South Korea‘s producer prices were unchanged in November as a rise in prices of livestock and fishery goods was offset by falling prices of farm goods, central bank data showed Tuesday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, stood at 103.06 in November, according to the Bank of Korea. The flat reading marked a fresh indication of lackluster demand in South Korea. Compared with a year earlier, the index fell 0.3 percent, the BOK data showed. In October, So

Dec. 22, 2020

S. Korea's service sector sales grow 2.2% in 2019

Sales of South Korea's service industry grew at the slowest pace in six years in 2019 due to weaker oil prices and consumer sentiment, government data showed Tuesday. Service sector sales came to 2,188 trillion won ($1.98 trillion) last year, up 2.2 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It was the lowest growth rate since the 0.8 percent increase in 2013 and hovered well below the average annualized increase of 7.2 percent between 2009 and 2019 "In

Dec. 22, 2020

Insurance fraud claims rise 9.5% in H1

Fraudulent insurance claims rose 9.5 percent in terms of payments in the first half of this year, partly due to a rise in minor fraud by jobless people as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the economy, the financial regulator said Tuesday. According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), insurance scammers took a record 452.6 billion won ($409.4 million) through wrongful filings during the January-June period, up from 39.2 billion won a year earlier. The regulator detected 47,417 suspects in

Dec. 22, 2020

S. Korea's tech trade at record high last year: data

South Korea's technology trade reached an all-time high of $31.6 billion last year, up 10.1 percent from 2018, government data showed Tuesday. Technology trade refers to the country's international technology transactions, such as the use of patents, licenses and technical services, as opposed to tech products, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. The ICT ministry said outbound technology transfers amounted to $13.8 billion last year, compared with imports of $17.9 billion, leading to

Dec. 22, 2020

Exports of key products forecast to grow 12% in 2021: biz body

Exports of South Korea's key industries are expected to grow nearly 12 percent in 2021 thanks to economic rebounds in major economies, a business body said Tuesday. The Korea Industry Alliance Forum (KIAF) projected overseas shipments of chips, automobiles and nine other major business sectors to expand 11.9 percent on-year to $422.2 billion next year. Annualized growth forecasts are 14 percent for ships, 10.3 percent for automobiles, 6.4 percent for machinery and 3.9 percent for electronics.

Dec. 22, 2020

Kia union OKs tentative 2020 wage deal amid pandemic

Kia Motors Corp.'s union has agreed on a tentative wage deal for the year as the coronavirus pandemic continues, the company said Tuesday. Kia's 30,000-strong union tentatively accepted the company's proposals, including 1 1/2 months of merit-based remuneration, 1.2 million won ($1,080) in special COVID-19 allowance and 1.5 million won in gift certificates per person, instead of freezing wages for the year, the company said in a statement. The company also agreed to restore the 25-minute extra

Dec. 22, 2020

Insurers' lending rises 2% in Q3

Loans extended by South Korean insurance companies rose 2 percent in the third quarter from a quarter earlier, the financial regulator said Tuesday. Insurers' outstanding loans totaled 245.8 trillion won ($222 billion) as of the end of September, up 4.9 trillion won from the end of June, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said in a statement. Their loans to households increased by 1.5 trillion won to 121.6 trillion won in the third quarter from a quarter earlier, while lending to companie

Dec. 22, 2020

COVID-19 likely to widen economic polarization: BOK

The coronavirus pandemic is projected to widen economic performance among global economies as well as income classes within a country, a report by South Korea’s central bank said Monday. “The polarization in economic growth among global economies has been observed between developed and developing nations in how they have been dealing with quarantine measures, their fiscal capacities,” the Bank of Korea said in its regular report on economic issues. “Economies with stro

Dec. 21, 2020

Korea pins hope on exports in post-COVID-19 era

Exports could be a breakthrough for the South Korean economy in the post-coronavirus era, a state-run trade agency said Monday. Despite numerous uncertainties that are expected to linger in 2021, the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency raised its exports forecast for next year, saying semiconductors and biotech products, among others, are likely to lead the gains. Overseas shipments would grow 6-7 percent in 2021 to reach $540 billion-560 billion next year, from around $510 bil

Dec. 21, 2020

Instant noodle exports soar 28% this year amid pandemic

South Korean exports of instant noodles jumped more than 28 percent in the first 11 months of the year amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Overseas shipments of instant noodles, or "ramyeon" in Korean, came to $549.72 million in the January-November period, up 28.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and industry players. It was well above last year's total exports of $467 million. The surge was ascribed to the global popu

Dec. 21, 2020

S. Korea mulls including rental assistance for virus-hit merchants in emergency handouts

South Korea is considering providing rental assistance to smaller merchants hard hit by the new coronavirus outbreak, when it will give them another round of emergency handouts next month, people familiar with the matter said Sunday. The move comes as more smaller merchants and self-employed people are facing the growing burdens of paying rental fees due to the government's order to suspend their business amid the protracted pandemic. The country is preparing to provide more than 3 trillion wo

Dec. 20, 2020

KDB to discuss loan rollover for SsangYong this week

The state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), the main creditor of SsangYong Motor Corp., is set to decide on whether to roll over maturing loans extended to the financially troubled automaker this week, industry sources said Sunday. Last week, SsangYong already missed the repayment of 60 billion won ($54.8 million) of debt to its three creditors. According to the sources, KDB will discuss whether to roll over 90 billion won in loans due Monday. The South Korean subsidiary of Indian carmaker Ma

Dec. 20, 2020

Finance Ministry warns of growing economic uncertainty

With a new wave of coronavirus infections gripping the nation, South Korea’s economy this month faces growing uncertainties, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Friday. In its monthly economic report, called the “Green Book,” the ministry has upgraded its concerns on Asia’s fourth-largest economy by a notch, saying that the uncertainties are “expanding.” It has previously said that the uncertainties were “continuing” in the reports released i

Dec. 18, 2020

S. Korea's exports dip at fastest pace in 2019 on weak chip demand

SEJONG -- South Korea's exports dropped at the fastest clip in 2019 due to sluggish overseas demand for semiconductors, government data showed Friday. The country's overseas shipments stood at $541.2 billion last year, down 10.3 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea and the Korea Customs Service. Large companies in Asia's fourth-largest economy suffered bigger declines than smaller businesses. Combined exports of 857 large corporations sank 13.5 percent

Dec. 18, 2020

S. Korea, France vow to support multilateralism to overcome pandemic fallout

South Korea and France on Friday agreed to continue to support multilateralism over protectionism to overcome the economic fallout from the virus pandemic, and to expand cooperation in various areas from vaccines to green cars. "This year, the two countries have worked deeply together in multilateral frameworks, such as the Group of 20 and the OECD, to promote the travel of products, services and workforces despite the COVID-19 pandemic," Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee said during her m

Dec. 18, 2020

S. Korea inks free trade pact with Indonesia

South Korea formally inked a comprehensive trade deal with Indonesia on Friday, paving the way for local exporters to penetrate deeper into the Southeast Asian market. Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo met his Indonesian counterpart Agus Suparmanto here to sign the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The pact now needs a parliamentary approval. The two countries resumed their talks in 2019 after a five-year hiatus. The CEP

Dec. 18, 2020

S. Korea's Q3 overseas direct investment dips 24% on pandemic

SEJONG -- South Korea's overseas direct investment tumbled 24 percent in the third quarter of the year as the coronavirus pandemic dented global investment flows, government data showed Friday.  The value of investments made by South Korean companies came to $10.77 billion in the July-September period, down 23.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It marked the third consecutive quarterly decline. Overseas direct investment fell 4 p

Dec. 18, 2020

S. Korea's consumer prices tipped to rise faster down the road: BOK

South Korea's consumer prices are expected to grow at a faster pace in the next two years due to an economic recovery and rising rent, a central bank report said Thursday. South Korea's consumer inflation is forecast to reach 1 percent in 2021 and 1.5 percent the next year, according to the report from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The country's core inflation, excluding volatile food and energy prices, is projected to come to 1 percent and 1.3 percent in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The BOK said

Dec. 17, 2020

Exports of K-pop albums, videos hit record

South Korea’s outbound shipments of music albums and videos reached an all-time high this year, in the wake of growing popularity of K-pop acts worldwide, data showed Thursday. According to data from the Korea Customs Service, the export amounts surged by 94.9 percent on-year to $170 million for the January to November period. It was based on the export declaration data of physical CDs and DVDs. Records of online music downloads and streaming services were not included. Album exports so

Dec. 17, 2020

[News Focus] Nationwide advance seen in housing prices

SEJONG -- South Korea saw the cost of housing climb across the nation during the second half of the year, with prices in six of the eight major cities posting growth of more than 8 percent since July. Sejong topped the list among the eight major cities and nine provinces in the nation as the average price of housing in the administrative city surged 28.4 percent in less than six months. According to KB Kookmin Bank and Naver.com, Sejong’s average trading price, which posted 15.54 millio

Dec. 17, 2020