Over 2 in 10 S. Korean firms unlikely to service their debts

More than two in every 10 South Korean listed companies are unlikely to service their debts with earnings this year due to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, South Korea's central bank said Thursday. The Bank of Korea estimated that 21.4 percent of the listed companies will have an interest coverage ratio below 1 this year. Last year, the proportion of marginal companies hit a record high of 14.8 percent since the central bank began compiling related data in 2010. The interest coverag

Sept. 24, 2020

S. Korea puts spurs to COVID-19 relief fund payment ahead of holiday

The first batch of the emergency relief funds for the socially vulnerable will be handed out starting Thursday, following the National Assembly’s approval of the extra budget bill worth 7.8 trillion won ($6.7 billion), officials said Wednesday. The government’s target timeline is to distribute 80 percent of the total budget, or 6.3 trillion won, ahead of the Chuseok holiday that is to start on Sept. 30. The Ministry of Economy and Finance held an emergency fiscal status meeting

Sept. 23, 2020

Gifts to Korean children subject to taxes double in 4 years

Korean children have received a combined 1.3 trillion won ($1.1 billion) worth of assets through some 9,700 gifts that are subject to taxation, data showed Wednesday. The value of the combined assets as of 2018 -- comprising of financial assets, properties and securities -- surged over twofold from that of 2014 at 588.4 billion won, according to data from the National Tax Service compiled by ruling Democratic Party Rep. Yang Hyang-ja. In the same period, the number of taxable gifts rose 92 per

Sept. 23, 2020

Population mobility up in August

SEJONG -- The number of South Koreans who moved to different parts of the country grew in August, as more people were forced to change their residences due to rising housing prices, government data showed Wednesday. The number of people who changed their residences rose 8.7 percent last month from a year earlier to 615,000, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The population mobility rate -- the number of those relocating per 100 people -- remained at 14.1 percent in August, up

Sept. 23, 2020

Childbirths in S. Korea drop 8.5% in July

SEJONG -- The number of babies born in South Korea dropped 8.5 percent in July from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday, in the latest sign underscoring the low birthrate that has plagued the nation for more than a decade. The data compiled by Statistics Korea showed that 23,067 babies were born in July, compared with 25,222 tallied in the same month of 2019. It marks the lowest number of newborns for any July since the statistics agency started compiling monthly data on newborns in 1981. In

Sept. 23, 2020

Nonfinancial firms' credit ratings vulnerable amid pandemic: Moody's

Moody's Investors Service said Wednesday that South Korean nonfinancial firms' credit ratings will remain vulnerable to shocks caused by the prolonged coronavirus crisis. More than half of the rated Korean nonfinancial companies posted weak results in the January-June period compared to a year earlier. With the wide spread of the COVID-19 pandemic weakening business activity, negative rating actions will likely outnumber positive ones over the next 12 months, Moody's said in a statement. &quo

Sept. 23, 2020

Global TV sales tipped to rise in Q3 amid pandemic

The global TV market is expected to expand in the third quarter of the year due to pent-up demand amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, a report said Tuesday, boding well for South Korean electronics firms. Global TV shipments in the July-September period were estimated to reach 56.88 million units, up 2.08 million units, or 3.8 percent from a year ago, according to market researcher Omdia. With the rising stay-at-home trend, countries' stimulus measures and TV makers' aggressive promotions a

Sept. 23, 2020

Some 1,000 travel agencies in S. Korea shutter on virus impact

Nearly 1,000 travel agencies in South Korea have gone out of business in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak that started to hit the country in late January, data showed Wednesday. The number of tour agencies came to 21,671 as of the end of June this year, down 938, or 2.7 percent, from the end of December, according to the data from the Korea Tourism Association. Compared with the end of September last year, the figure is down 4.1 percent. The number of travel companies in the country bega

Sept. 23, 2020

NTS opens probes into unconventional real estate tax evasion

South Korea’s tax agency said Tuesday that it has launched probes into 98 individuals for alleged property tax evasion as part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen a crackdown on tax dodgers and those who fall behind on large sums in taxes. Among the tax evasion schemes identified by the National Tax Service were 22 Koreans who purchased multiple homes here by establishing corporations or investing in private equity funds and 76 people aged 39 or younger who bought luxury apartments. Of

Sept. 22, 2020

Producer prices continue uptrend in August due to summer rains, typhoons

South Korea’s producer prices increased for the third consecutive month in August, mostly reflecting the rising costs of agricultural goods and oil products, central bank data showed Tuesday. The inflationary trend, attributed to the record-long rainy season and typhoons, is seen as adding pressure on coronavirus-hit consumers ahead of the Chuseok holiday. The producer price index -- an indicator of future consumer inflation -- stood at 103.19 in August, climbing 0.5 percent from a m

Sept. 22, 2020

Virus fallout to cause private consumption recovery to be slower than expected: BOK

South Korea's private consumption is expected to recover at a slower-than-expected clip as the new coronavirus outbreak has dealt a blow to demand for offline services and foreign travel, the central bank said Tuesday. The Bank of Korea (BOK) said the recovery of face-to-face services and overseas consumption is expected to take a considerable period of time amid lingering concerns about a flare-up in virus cases. "During an economic crisis, consumption serves as a buffer for the economy.

Sept. 22, 2020

Cancer still leading cause of death in S. Korea

SEJONG -- Cancer remained the top cause of death in South Korea, a government report showed Tuesday. In 2019, a total of 295,110 deaths were reported in South Korea, down 1.2 percent from a year earlier. It marked the first annual decline since 2013. The statistics agency said 574.8 deaths were reported per 100,000 South Koreans last year. It also said 158.2 per 100,000 people died of cancer last year. Cancer has been the No. 1 cause of death in the country since 1983. Heart disease is th

Sept. 22, 2020

Sales of derivatives-tied securities fall 32.6% in H1 on virus fallout

South Korea's sales of derivatives-linked securities fell 32.6 percent on-year in the first half of the year due to sharp declines in stock markets in major countries amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Tuesday. The combined value of equity-linked securities (ELS) and derivatives-linked securities (DLS) issued in the January-June period came to 42.1 trillion won ($36 billion), down 20.4 trillion won from a year ago, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The produ

Sept. 22, 2020

Extra budget will help virus-hit small merchants: finance minister

SEJONG -- Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Tuesday a fourth supplementary budget would help small merchants navigate through the difficult time as they were hit by a recent resurgence of the new coronavirus. "The government has actively taken bold measures to overcome the economic crisis," Hong told Yonhap News TV. Hong said the fourth extra budget will become "welcome rain" for small merchants to overcome this crisis. Hong made the remarks as the ruling Democratic Par

Sept. 22, 2020

Nonghyup Bank files for approval of Beijing branch

Major South Korean lender Nonghyup Bank has applied for China's approval to open a branch in Beijing as part of its Asian push, industry sources said Tuesday. Nonghyup Bank, which lodged the application with the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission late last month, is expected to receive preliminary approval by February at the latest. It usually takes six months to receive preliminary approval from the Chinese financial authorities to open a branch in the world's second-largest ec

Sept. 22, 2020

US halves anti-dumping tariffs on S. Korean oil pipelines

The United States has nearly halved its anti-dumping tariffs on oil pipeline products from South Korean steelmakers, industry sources said Tuesday. The US Department of Commerce has decided to levy a tariff of 4.23 percent to 9.24 percent on South Korean oil pipelines, far lower than the 2018 ruling of up to 18.77 percent. The tariff reduction came after the Court of International Trade (CIT) ordered Washington to readjust its earlier duties in January following complaints from South Korean st

Sept. 22, 2020

S. Korea inches close to legalizing shared accommodation biz

South Korea has moved a step closer to officially legalizing the shared accommodation business in rural areas, according to the country’s top fiscal chief. The “Korean Airbnb” -- modeled after the US shared lodgings company -- would allow business operators to run such services by using empty houses in non-urban areas for all guests -- locals and foreigners alike. “We have reached a mutually beneficial consensus on using empty homes in farming and fishing areas as l

Sept. 21, 2020

S. Korea to set rules for fiscal soundness

SEJONG -- South Korea plans to unveil rules to ensure fiscal soundness, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Monday.  The rules, which aim to keep the growth rate of government spending at a level of nominal growth of gross domestic product (GDP), will be announced by the end of this month, Hong told lawmakers. However, such rules will be exempted in time of a crisis, like the coronavirus pandemic, Hong said. The move comes amid concerns that this year's four extra budgets could strain fi

Sept. 21, 2020

Kia halts 2 local plants on COVID-19 cases for 4 days

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker, said Monday it has suspended two of its domestic plants for four days, as some of its workers were confirmed to have contracted the new coronavirus. Kia halted the operations of two plants in Gwangmyeong, just south of Seoul, from Wednesday through Monday, with all of the 6,000 employees at the plants staying at home, a company spokesman said over the phone. "As of noon Monday, 11 assembly line workers were confirmed to have been in

Sept. 21, 2020

Exports rise 3.6% in first 20 days of September

SEJONG -- South Korea's exports rose 3.6 percent on-year in the first 20 days of September, marking the first 20-day rise in six months due to a sharp gain in exports of semiconductors, customs data showed Monday. The nation's outbound shipments stood at $29.6 billion in the Sept. 1-20 period, up $1.02 billion from a year ago, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. The average daily exports during the 20-day period, however, dropped 9.8 percent. The coronavirus pandemic has

Sept. 21, 2020