[News Focus] Korea’s employment lags OECD average

SEJONG -- President Moon Jae-in, who will complete 60 percent of his term this weekend, has continued to unveil his strong commitment to active job creation since taking office in 2017. But, as of March 2020, the data held by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development showed that South Korea’s employment still falls behind the average of the 36 members. The country remained in the lower ranks for both the working-age population and young generation. The OECD has compared

May 5, 2020

S. Korea braces for prolonged COVID-19 economic fallout

South Korea’s government on Monday vowed to announce key economic measures including extensive job creation actions within the upcoming weeks, upon judgment that the economic risks stemming from the novel coronavirus pandemic will persist. “This month will be the time to outline (the directions) for the second-half of the year against the economic crisis,” Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said at a meeting of officials. The chief fiscal policymaker the

May 4, 2020

S. Korea's labor productivity growth slows on lack of investment, innovation

South Korea's labor productivity growth has sharply slowed over the past decade due partly to a lack of investment and innovation, a study suggested Monday. According to You Hye-mi, a professor from Seoul's Hanyang University, the country's labor productivity rose at an annual average of 2.67 percent between the 2010-2018 period, nearly half of the average 4.6 percent posted between the 2001-2008 period. In a research paper, the economics professor partly attributed the drop to the lack of in

May 4, 2020

S. Korea's inflation slows to 6-month low over coronavirus

SEJONG -- South Korea's inflation slowed to its lowest level in six months in April as consumers refrained from spending over the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Consumer prices rose 0.1 percent on-year in April, which was below market expectations. A recent survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency, expected consumer prices to have gained 0.34 percent in April. The April tally compares with a 1 percent on-year gain in March, according to the data releas

May 4, 2020

Korean refiners suffer grim Q1 performance amid pandemic

South Korean major oil refiners suffered one of their worst quarters in the January-March period, data showed Sunday, as global oil output has far outpaced demand amid the new coronavirus pandemic. S-Oil Corp., the no. 3 oil refiner in South Korea, swung to a record loss of 1 trillion won ($816 million) in the first quarter due to inventory losses and falling refining margins. The loss was roughly 50 percent higher than earlier expectations. Another refiner, Hyundai Oilbank Co., reported an

May 3, 2020

Public firms' debt rose by most ever last year: govt.

South Korean public firms' debt rose by the largest amount ever last year amid an economic slowdown, with their debt-to-capital ratio rebounding for the first time in seven years, the finance ministry said Wednesday. The combined debt of 337 public institutions reached 525.1 trillion won ($430.9 billion) at the end of last year, up 21.4 trillion won from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The tally did not include data by three state-run banks, including Kor

April 29, 2020

S. Korea’s first trade balance deficit in 99 months likely

South Korea’s trade balance in April could swing to its first deficit in 99 months due to an exports slump amid the global coronavirus pandemic, according to officials on Wednesday. “It is a bit early to predict, but the chances are high that April’s trade balance will see a deficit, (which marks the first time) in 99 months since January 2012,” said Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom during a press briefing. “A drop in exports was much bigger than that of imp

April 29, 2020

S. Korea to lend extra W10tr to cash-strapped small businesses

South Korea will kick off an emergency loan program worth 10 trillion won ($8.2 billion) in May, allowing novel coronavirus-hit small-business owners to borrow up to 10 million won from six commercial banks here, according to the nation’s chief fiscal policymaker. The action comes in the wake of an earlier lending program that had caused a major bottleneck due to the limited range of loan screening channels despite skyrocketing borrowing demand. “(The government) has designed a se

April 29, 2020

Consumer financing firms’ 2019 net up 5.7%

Consumer financing firms in South Korea saw their combined net profit gain 5.7 percent in 2019 from a year earlier on the back of a robust gain in interest income, data showed Wednesday. The combined net profit of 107 credit financial firms stood at 2.05 trillion won ($1.68 billion) in 2019, up 111.2 billion won from a year earlier, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Their interest income rose 6.7 percent on-year to 5.66 trillion won in 2019, the data showed.

April 29, 2020

ABS issuance sharply up in Q1

The issuance of asset-backed securities (ABS) in South Korea surged in the first quarter from a year earlier due mainly to a hike in sales of mortgage-backed securities, the financial watchdog said Wednesday. A combined 22.7 trillion won ($18.5 billion) worth of ABS was issued in the January-March period, up 12.9 trillion won from the previous year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). ABS are backed by underlying assets, such as auto loans, home loans, credit card receivable

April 29, 2020

BOK expands pilot program to go coinless

The Bank of Korea (BOK) has signed an agreement with major local retailers to further expand its pilot program to go coinless, the bank said Wednesday. Under the memorandum of understanding, signed Tuesday, convenience store chains E-Mart 24 and Ministop will now deposit any change left from cash purchases directly to customers' bank accounts when requested, according to the BOK. The agreement adds more than 7,000 convenience stores to the list of places where such services are available, alo

April 29, 2020

Korea's industrial output falls 0.3% in March amid virus pandemic

SEJONG -- South Korea's overall industrial output fell 0.3 percent in March from a month earlier, data showed Wednesday, as the coronavirus pandemic hit exports and private consumption. The data compiled by Statistics Korea, however, showed production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries rose 4.6 percent from a month earlier. From a year earlier, overall industrial output also gained 0.6 percent. The output in the service sector declined 4.4 percent on-month, markin

April 29, 2020

Corporate direct financing down 6% in March

South Korean companies’ stock and bond sales fell 6 percent in March from a month earlier due to a decline in sales of corporate debt, data showed Tuesday. Local companies raised a combined 16.11 trillion won ($13.1 billion) by selling stocks and bonds in March, down 1.02 trillion won since February, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The decline is attributable to the 7.4 percent on-month fall in debt offerings to 15.64 trillion won, the FSS said. Last month,

April 28, 2020

Brokerages' Q1 earnings tumble on market rout

Major South Korean securities companies racked up weak earnings in the first quarter mainly due to the market rout caused by the coronavirus outbreak, industry data showed Tuesday. Of the major brokerage houses, KB Securities Co. posted an operating loss of 20.8 billion won ($17 million) in the January-March period, swinging from last year's operating profit of 117.6 billion won. The firm logged a net loss of 14.7 billion won, compared with a profit of 87.3 billion won a year ago. Shinhan In

April 28, 2020

S. Korea needs additional W4.6tr to give relief handouts to every household

SEJONG -- South Korea needs an additional 4.6 trillion won ($3.8 billion) to give coronavirus relief handouts to every household, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Tuesday, as part of the government's plans to ease the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. South Korea had originally planned to give relief handouts to households that rank in the bottom 70 percent of gross income, but it changed the plans to provide the handouts to every household. Hong told a parliamentary meeting

April 28, 2020

Korea's consumer sentiment hits over decade low in April

South Korea's consumer sentiment hit the lowest in more than a decade in April, central bank data showed Tuesday, amid concerns over the new coronavirus. The country's composite consumer sentiment index came to 70.8 in the month, down 7.6 points from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. The reading for April marks the lowest since December 2008, but the rate of drop slowed from an 18.5-point on-month pl

April 28, 2020

[News Focus] South Korea outstrips Japan in 2019 per capita GDP: OECD

SEJONG -- South Korea’s per capita gross domestic product as of 2019, assessed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, is drawing attention in terms of gauging the current level of ordinary Koreans’ purchasing power on the global stage. The France-based organization has estimated that the nation’s per capita GDP reached $43,426 (50.59 million won, based on the 2019 average exchange rate against the US dollar) last year, which far exceeds the “nomi

April 28, 2020

Finance minister holds meeting with heads of economic organizations

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki held a meeting with heads of economic organizations on Monday to discuss economic relief packages for companies hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the finance ministry said Monday. The meeting is aimed at hearing opinions from experts as South Korea seeks to stimulate economic growth after apparently bringing the coronavirus outbreak under control. Heads of economic organizations called for the government to swiftly implement financial aid programs for virus-hit bu

April 27, 2020

S. Korea expands foreign aid, offers ‘K-quarantine’ boost

To shore up the global economy and contain the fallout from COVID-19, South Korea will provide $400 million for health projects in developing countries and postpone the maturity of debts worth $110 million, the country’s fiscal chief said Monday. Also, to keep up the momentum of the Moon Jae-in administration’s New Southern Policy and New Northern Policy, the government will double the volume of its official development assistance to $7 billion over the next three years. “

April 27, 2020

Insurers' risk-based capital ratio falls in Q4

Insurance companies in South Korea saw their risk-based capital ratio fall in the fourth quarter of last year, data showed Monday. The risk-based capital (RBC) ratio -- the actual solvency capital divided by the minimum solvency capital required -- of insurance firms stood at 269.5 percent at the end of December, down 17.4 percentage points from three months earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The RBC ratio is required to stay above the regulatory stan

April 27, 2020