S. Korea's trade terms sharply up in June

South Korea's terms of trade sharply improved from a year earlier in June with its import prices falling at a faster rate than export prices, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's terms of trade index for products came to 98.03 last month, up 9 percent from 94.32 in the same month last year, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index measures the amount of imports a country can purchase for each unit of exports, showing how the country's exports are doing

July 28, 2020

S. Korea's July exports tipped to drop 9% amid pandemic: poll

South Korea's exports are expected to fall 9 percent on-year in July, possibly extending a slump to the fifth consecutive month, a poll showed Tuesday, but their pace of decline is predicted to slow on the back of economic reopenings. The country's outbound shipments are estimated at $41.8 billion this month, compared with $46.14 billion from a year earlier, according to the poll by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. The survey was conducted on nine local brokerage h

July 28, 2020

Delayed tax payments soar in H1 amid COVID-19 impact

Delayed tax payments during the first half of this year surged by 28 times from a year earlier, reflecting the cash-strapped reality of local taxpayers amid the COVID-19 pandemic fallout, government data showed Sunday. The number of people who have applied for their due tax payments to be put off came to 5.79 million as of end-June, which was 28.1 times higher than 206,054 cases observed a year earlier, according to data submitted by the National Tax Service to the parliamentary finance comm

July 26, 2020

Only one-third of disabled people in S. Korea had jobs in 2019

SEJONG -- Only one-third of people with disabilities had jobs last year, data showed Friday, underscoring the employment challenges facing disabled people. The employment rate of disabled people stood at 34.9 percent in 2019, compared with the rate of 60.9 percent for the total population, according to the data from Statistics Korea. By age, the employment rate of disabled people from 15 and 29 stood at 30.6 percent while that for people aged 30 to 39 stood at 53.4 percent. As of 2018, 2.

July 24, 2020

Top bankers call for level playing field with IT firms

Top executives of South Korea’s five major banking giants on Thursday requested authorities to maintain fair regulatory standards amid the fast rise of tech-driven financial services that are relatively loosely regulated. Chairmen from KB Financial Group, Shinhan Financial Group, Woori Financial Group, Hana Financial Group and NH Financial Group participated in a meeting with Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo to discuss response measures to counter the new coronavirus

July 23, 2020

S. Korea’s economy contracts 2.9% in Q2, worst since Asian financial crisis

South Korea saw its economy shrink dramatically in the second quarter, marking its worst growth in more than two decades, feeling the impact from COVID-19 fallout, central bank data showed Thursday. The chief fiscal policymaker, however, claimed that the country’s economic graph will rebound in the third quarter on the back of expansionary fiscal spending and new growth engines. The country’s real gross domestic product for April-June fell 2.9 percent from a year earlier, accordi

July 23, 2020

S. Korea pushes privately funded infrastructure projects worth W30tr

South Korea will push ahead with privately financed infrastructure projects worth more than 30 trillion won ($25.1 billion) this year, as part of its efforts to revive the coronavirus-battered economy, the Finance Ministry said Thursday. The projects include construction of highways as well as sewage systems, worth 4.5 trillion won and 2.3 trillion won, respectively, said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki in a meeting with economy-related ministers.  The authorities

July 23, 2020

Number of beef cattle in S. Korea hits new high in Q2

  SEJONG -- The number of beef cattle in South Korea hit a record high in the second quarter of the year amid rising beef prices, government data showed Thursday.  There were 3.33 million beef cattle, including Korean-bread cattle known as "hanwoo," in the country as of June 1, up 2.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by Statistics Korea.  It marks the largest-ever tally since the statistical agency began tracking related data in 1986.  The s

July 23, 2020

S. Korea's economy shrinks 2.9% in Q2, worst since 1997 financial crisis

South Korea's economy contracted at a sharper rate than what had been expected in the second quarter, delivering the worst performance in over two decades, as the pandemic hammered outbound shipments and private spending in Asia's fourth-largest economy, central bank data showed Thursday. In the April-June period, the country's real gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 2.9 percent from the same period last year, marking the slowest growth since a 3.8 percent on-year contraction in the last thre

July 23, 2020

S. Korea revises tax rules to respond to post-coronavirus economy

South Korea on Wednesday unveiled a set of revised taxation rules aimed at better dealing with the widening economic gap and altered tax realities under the COVID-19 context. Its measures will focus on alleviating the tax burden for struggling small businesses, enhancing income tax-paying duties of the affluent group and supporting retail investors. “Adding to its previous measures to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, (the government) has come up with tax law revision bills to fundamenta

July 22, 2020

SME exports dip 13.4% in Q2 on coronavirus

Exports by South Korean small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sank at a double-digit rate in the second quarter of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Wednesday. Local SMEs' overseas shipments came to $22.5 billion in the April-June period, down 13.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, marking a sharp turnaround from the 2 percent on-year increase in their exports in the first quarter, which were worth $24.2 bil

July 22, 2020

More young people preparing for job exams in May amid pandemic

SEJONG -- The number of young South Koreans preparing for job exams rose in May this year, data showed Wednesday, as job markets are hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The data released by Statistics Korea showed that 804,000, or 17 percent, of 4.73 million economically inactive youths aged 15-29 prepared for exams in May to land jobs, up 1.7 percentage points from the same period last year. Among the 804,000 people, 28.3 percent were preparing for state exams to become low-ranking public

July 22, 2020

Financial app users outpace e-commerce, game apps: data

The number of people using financial mobile apps, including for banking and stock trading, has surpassed users of apps for online shopping and games, industry data showed Wednesday. According to the data by mobile big data platform IGAWorks, a total of 31.16 million people with Android devices used financial applications in June, compared with 23.63 million people using e-commerce apps and 19.84 million mobile game users. "The number of financial app users greatly increased following the

July 22, 2020

Buoyed by oil prices, producer prices see first growth in 5 months

Buoyed by the recovery of global oil prices, South Korea’s producer price index rose 0.5 percent on-month in June, ending a monthslong slide, the nation’s central bank said Tuesday. The producer price index for all commodities and services here inched up 0.5 percent on-month to 102.52, data released by the Bank of Korea showed. It had remained flat in May after extending a decline in the February-April period, weighed down by the coronavirus pandemic. “The recovery of global

July 21, 2020

Growth of S. Korea's total assets slows in 2019

South Korea's overall wealth grew at a slightly slower pace than a year before in 2019, central bank data showed Tuesday, amid a prolonged decline in exports that also kept its economy growing at the slowest pace in a decade. The country's national assets came to 16,621.5 trillion won ($13.84 trillion) as of the end of last year, up 6.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the national balance sheet from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The rise marks a slowdown from an 8.2 percent on-year incre

July 21, 2020

S. Korea to expand FTA network to overcome virus pandemic

South Korea said Tuesday it will speed up efforts to expand its free trade agreement (FTA) networks to overcome the economic jitters sparked by the new coronavirus pandemic. "South Korea will not only focus on opening markets but seek to build a sustainable partnership with developing nations on the back of FTAs," Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo said during a conference with business organizations and companies held in Seoul. The remark came amid concerns that the COVID-19 pandemic is

July 21, 2020

S. Korea's exports drop 12.8% in first 20 days of July

SEJONG -- South Korea's exports dropped 12.8 percent on-year in the first 20 days of July amid the economic fallout from the new coronavirus, customs data showed Tuesday. The nation's outbound shipments stood at $24.6 billion in the July 1-20 period, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. The daily average exports during the 20-day period also declined 7.1 percent. The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted trade and halted production around the globe, with a rising number of cou

July 21, 2020

S. Korea’s household debt-to-GDP ratio is highest in the world: report

Taking impact from the COVID-19 fallout, South Korea’s household debt compared to its economic size has become one of the world’s highest, while its debt grew at one of the fastest paces during the first quarter this year, a report showed Monday. As of the end of March this year, Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw its household debt stand at 97.9 percent of its gross domestic product, which was the highest among the 39 countries reviewed by the US-based Institute of Internatio

July 20, 2020

Multiplying zombie firms drag down manufacturers’ productivity: BOK

South Korea has been seeing an increase in zombie firms -- especially those who have been incapable of covering annual borrowing costs for more than two years –- and they have been dragging down the manufacturing sector’s labor productivity, a report by the nation’s central bank said Monday. The Bank of Korea defined zombie firms as at least 10 years old and unable to cover debt servicing costs from current profits due to struggling with an interest coverage ratio below 1 for

July 20, 2020