Savings banks' H1 net up on increased interest income

South Korean savings banks reported 14.5 percent growth in their combined net profit for the first half of this year from a year earlier due to a sharp hike in interest income, data showed Monday. The combined net income of the 79 savings banks stood at 684 billion won ($576 million) for the January-June period, compared with a profit of 597.6 billion won a year earlier, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Their interest income rose 9.5 percent on-year to 3.2 tril

Sept. 7, 2020

S. Korea's tourism income hits 17-year low in Q2 due to coronavirus pandemic

South Korea's tourism income hit a 17-year low in the second quarter of this year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Monday. For the April-June period, the country posted $1.19 billion in tourism income, down 78.6 percent from $5.57 billion over the same period last year, according to data by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO). From three months earlier, it tumbled 65.5 percent from $3.46 billion. It is the lowest quarterly amount since 2003, when South Korea's t

Sept. 7, 2020

S. Korea to draw more than W7tr in 4th extra budget amid prolonged COVID-19 measures

The government, ruling party and presidential office vowed Sunday to draft an additional budget worth more than 7 trillion won ($5.88 billion), mostly to fund another set of disaster relief subsidies to deal with the economic fallout from COVID-19. The decision, which rekindled concerns about the country’s fiscal soundness, came as the densely populated greater Seoul area faced an extended week of social distancing to contain the second wave of the pandemic. Representatives of the go

Sept. 6, 2020

Idle money in S. Korea surpasses W1,200tr mark

The volume of short-term floating capital in South Korea surpassed the 1,200 trillion won ($900 billion) mark, as the government seeks to funnel the liquidity into a 20 trillion fund tied to the Korean New Deal package, data showed Sunday. The amount of cash and other short-term capital totaled 1,273.6 trillion won as of end-June, data compiled by the Bank of Korea and the Korea Financial Investment Association showed. By asset, the M1 money supply, which is essentially cash, came to 1058.1 t

Sept. 6, 2020

Finance minister expresses concerns over COVID-19, economic impact in talks with Fitch

South Korea's top economic policymaker expressed concerns over the resurgence of the novel coronavirus in the country hurting growth and said efforts are under way to bolster the economy during an online meeting with a global credit appraiser, the finance ministry here said Saturday. The teleconference between Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki and James McCormack, the general manager at Fitch Ratings, took place late Friday, with a focus on actions being taken by Seoul to stem the s

Sept. 5, 2020

S. Korea sets aside W170b for COVID-19 vaccine development next year

The Ministry of Economy and Finance said Friday it has assigned a budget of 170 billion won ($142.8 million) for 2021 to develop a homegrown vaccine against the novel coronavirus. Designed to support local companies’ research and development of the COVID-19 vaccine, the government will inject 31.9 billion won into clinical trials of candidate materials for the drug and 7.4 billion won for non-human clinical trials, the ministry said.  Also,131.4 billion won will be spent on a seri

Sept. 4, 2020

S. Korea to provide selective cash relief to small biz to cushion COVID-19 impact

South Korea on Friday said it will implement a second round of state emergency relief funds targeted at small business operators and beleaguered families most affected by an explosive surge in COVID-19 cases. “Discussions are underway to identify the most damaged small business sectors. (The government) plans to announce a comprehensive plan for the second round of emergency relief grants as early as next week,” Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said Friday in an interview with

Sept. 4, 2020

Easy recovery of Korea’s manufacturing unlikely: BOK

It might take longer than expected for South Korea’s manufacturing productivity to rebound to pre-pandemic levels, even if exports recover, the central bank said Thursday. “It has been found that a slowdown in manufacturing productivity is tied to a drop in exports, but we were unable to find a relationship between growth in exports and short-term improvement in manufacturing,” the Bank of Korea said in its regular economic report. “Even if the global economy recovers,

Sept. 3, 2020

S. Korea's exports of agricultural goods up 5% through Aug.

South Korea's outbound shipments of agricultural products rose nearly 5 percent on-year in the first eight months of 2020, data showed Thursday, helped by the rising demand for instant products amid the new coronavirus pandemic. Exports of agricultural goods, which include processed foodstuffs, reached $4.8 billion in the January-August period, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Shipments of processed foodstuffs increased 6.2 percent over t

Sept. 3, 2020

S. Korea's dependence on China for exports, investment increases amid coronavirus

South Korea's dependence on China for exports and foreign investments has increased since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, a report showed Thursday. China accounted for 24.3 percent of South Korea's exports in the first seven months of this year, up 1.5 percentage points from a year earlier, according to the report from the top business lobby, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI). The hike came despite a 10.6 percent plunge in South Korea's overall overseas shipments in the wake of

Sept. 3, 2020

S. Korea needs to adopt Germany’s debt limit rules: think tank

In light of growing concerns about the nation’s fiscal soundness amid the coronavirus pandemic, South Korea should take a leaf from Germany’s debt-brake law to stabilize its debt ratio, a think tank here said Wednesday. Asia’s fourth-largest economy’s debt-to-gross domestic product ratio has so far shown moderate growth, but it could surge rapidly under the current circumstances, a report released by the Korea Economic Research Institute said. The debt-to-GDP ratio wa

Sept. 2, 2020

BOK seeks to use deep learning for growth forecast

South Korea’s central bank said Wednesday it has launched research into adopting artificial intelligence deep learning to extract economic growth forecasts, amid growing uncertainties stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. The Bank of Korea expressed anticipations of predicting the nation’s gross domestic product readings and other key economic indexes by utilizing deep learning, which is a subset of AI technology, in its regular economic report. The research is still in its early

Sept. 2, 2020

Corporate loans rise by record amount in Q2 amid pandemic

Loans extended to companies in South Korea jumped by the largest amount on record in the second quarter, as financial firms sharply increased lending to the service sector hit hard by the new coronavirus outbreak, central bank data showed Wednesday. The outstanding amount of corporate loans came to 1,328.2 trillion won ($1.12 trillion) at the end of June, up 69.1 trillion won from three months earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It compared with a 51.4 trillion won ri

Sept. 2, 2020

S. Korea's exports of eco-friendly cars up 23% in H1

South Korea's exports of eco-friendly automobiles rose nearly 23 percent in the first half of 2020 from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday. Outbound shipments of eco-friendly cars, including electric vehicles, reached $3.16 billion in the January-June period, taking up 20 percent of the country's total automobile exports, according to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). Over the cited period, however, South Korea's overall exports of cars dipped 27.3 perc

Sept. 2, 2020

Banks' credit loans spike in Aug.

South Korean banks' credit loans to individuals shot up by more than 4 trillion won in August from a month earlier, the largest-ever monthly gain, industry data showed Wednesday. Outstanding unsecured loans to individuals by five major lenders -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH Nonghyup -- totaled 124.3 trillion won ($105 billion) last month, up 4.1 trillion won from July. KB Kookmin registered the largest monthly hike of 1.06 trillion won, followed by Shinhan with 1.05 trillion won.

Sept. 2, 2020

S. Korea's inflation increases 0.7% in August

SEJONG -- South Korea's consumer prices rose 0.7 percent on-year in August due to a rise in prices of agricultural goods, marking the second consecutive month of increase amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Wednesday. The August tally accelerates from a 0.3 percent on-year gain in July, according to the data released by Statistics Korea. The nation's inflation also climbed 0.6 percent on-month in August, the data showed. Core inflation, which excludes agricultural and petroleum pro

Sept. 2, 2020

S. Korea drafts record-high budget of W555.8tr for 2021

South Korea on Tuesday unveiled a record-high state budget worth 555.8 trillion won ($469.87 billion) for 2021, up 8.5 percent from this year, in continued efforts to revitalize the economy amid the COVID-19 fallout. The expansionary policy road map and the consequent rise in sovereign debt, however, rekindled worries about the nation’s fiscal soundness. “Next year will be the golden time for our economy, when we should exert all efforts to overcome the COVID-19 crisis and brace

Sept. 1, 2020

S. Korea's GDP drops 3.2% in Q2, worst since 2008

Asia’s fourth-largest economy shrank 3.2 percent on-quarter in the April-June period, central bank data showed Tuesday, slightly slower than the central bank’s previous estimate, but nonetheless showing its sharpest contraction since the 2008 global financial crisis. While the figure was an improvement from a 3.3 percent estimated contraction announced in July, it marked a sharp on-quarter decline from minus 1.3 percent for the January-March period. The economy also contracted 2.7

Sept. 1, 2020

Korean Air's aircraft conversion plan approved

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, said Tuesday it will convert two of its passenger jets into cargo planes upon government approval to meet growing demand amid the coronavirus pandemic.    The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has approved the national flag carrier's request to convert two B777-300ER jets into cargo planes, a Korean Air spokeswoman said over the phone. "The company may consider making another request to the ministry to con

Sept. 1, 2020

S. Korean economy shrinks revised 3.2% on-quarter in Q2

  South Korea's economy shrank at a slower-than-estimated pace in the second quarter from three months earlier amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's real gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 3.2 percent in the April-June period from the previous quarter, the biggest on-quarter drop since a 3.3 percent retreat posted in the last three months of 2008, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). But the reading marks a slight increase

Sept. 1, 2020