BOK hints at rate cut over Fed‘s emergency action

South Korea’s central bank on Wednesday decided to hold its base rate at 1.25 percent for the time being, but hinted at a possible rate cut following the US Federal Reserve’s emergency action on mounting COVID-19 fears. The US central bank cut its base rates to a target range of 1 percent to 1.25 percent earlier in the day, in a move prompted by risks stemming from the novel coronavirus outbreak. This marks the first such emergency move since the 2008 financial crisis. “The

March 4, 2020

S. Korea drafts W11.7tr extra budget plan to fight coronavirus

South Korea’s government on Wednesday unveiled a supplementary budget bill amounting to 11.7 trillion won ($9.9 billion) to counter the prolonged economic fallout from the rapid spread of COVID-19. The bill, approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday, is set to be handed over to the National Assembly on Thursday for immediate effectuation. “The scale of the extra budget stands at 11.7 trillion won, of which revenue accounts for 3.2 trillion won and expenditure for 8.5 trillion won,&rdqu

March 4, 2020

Korea's household debt growth faster than peers in 2019

  The debt owed by households and small businesses in South Korea rose at one of the world's fastest rates in 2019 in terms of its ratio to the country's gross domestic product (GDP), data showed Wednesday. According to the data from the Bank for International Settlement, outstanding debt extended to households and small businesses here came to 1,790.5 trillion won ($1.5 trillion) as of the end of September, up 4.5 percent from a year earlier. The rate of increase was the 25th-highest am

March 4, 2020

Suwon steps up efforts for sustainable urban growth

  Under a 10-year drive to create a human-friendly and innovative environment in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, the city with a population of 1.25 million has become a global green city.  In its final year that wraps up the grand policy drive, Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-yong has vowed to focus on creating jobs and enhancing the welfare system, while seeking new growth engines for the city’s fiscal independence. “To boost employment, the city government has decided to create 34,000

March 3, 2020

Extra budget allocation amid virus outbreak to top W11.6tr

South Korea’s upcoming supplementary state budget to fight the ongoing spread of the new coronavirus is anticipated to exceed 11.6 trillion won ($9.7 billion), according to a senior policymaker Tuesday. “In addition to the already announced set of comprehensive measures, (the government) has drafted an extra budget bill that exceeds 11 trillion won in volume,” said Lee Nak-yon on Facebook. Former Prime Minister Lee presently serves as chairman of the ruling Democratic Par

March 3, 2020

[Feature] Amid market transition, Korea’s bank unions want bigger role, power

The new chief executive officer of state-run Industrial Bank of Korea was unable to enter his office for nearly a month, and there was an obvious reason. Facing agitating unionized workers in January, IBK CEO Yoon Jong-won turned back, without a word, and headed home every morning. But the doors opened at the end of the month, after Yoon agreed to three key concessions, including the provision that labor would be allowed to recommend a board member. The 27-day protest, when workers blocked

March 3, 2020

Korea's Q4 economic expansion faster than expected, annual growth unchanged

South Korea's economy grew slightly faster than expected in the fourth quarter of 2019, although this had no effect on the overall economic expansion for last year, central bank data showed Tuesday. Asia's fourth-largest economy grew 1.3 percent in the fourth quarter from three months earlier, 0.1 percentage point higher than earlier expected, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The country's annual growth, however, remained unchanged at 2 percent. The annual growth w

March 3, 2020

Korea's consumer prices up 1.1% on-year in Feb.

South Korea's headline inflation rose 1.1 percent in February from a year earlier, marking an increase of over 1 percent for the second straight month, the statistics agency said Tuesday. The inflation rate in Asia's fourth-largest economy increased 1.5 percent in January, the highest in 14 months, Statistics Korea said. South Korea's headline inflation was below 1 percent every month in 2019. Core inflation, which excludes agricultural and petroleum products, increased 0.6 percent from a ye

March 3, 2020

OECD cuts outlook for S. Korea amid coronavirus impact

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has cut its outlook for South Korea’s growth this year by 0.3 percentage point, reflecting the fallout from the new coronavirus, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Monday. In its biannual Interim Economic Outlook, the OECD forecast that the world economy would expand 2.4 percent this year, down 0.5 percentage point from its earlier prediction in November last year. The outlook for next year, in contrast, was raised 0.3 per

March 2, 2020

Govt. will submit extra ‘coronavirus’ budget bill this week

South Korea’s government will be submitting an extra budget bill this week to cope with the fast spread of the new coronavirus, the country’s top fiscal policymaker said Monday, requesting cooperation from parliamentarians. Though specific details have yet to be yet revealed, the budget will far exceed the 6.2 trillion won ($5.18 billion) allotted in 2015 to deal with the outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome. “The government’s supplementary budget bill will be

March 2, 2020

Watchdogs mull stricter short selling regulations

South Korea’s financial authorities are considering regulating short selling of local stocks, similar to rules being implemented in Hong Kong, to rein in the market given the massive dumping by foreign investors in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, they are yet to reach a consensus, according to officials Monday. The Financial Supervisory Service has reviewed allowing investors to short sell only locally listed stocks with a certain market capitalization. The scheme would be

March 2, 2020

[News Focus] Korean won loses ground to major currencies

SEJONG -- The South Korean won has lost its value versus yuan as well as key currencies such as the US dollar, euro and yen over the past two weeks. Despite the simultaneous epidemic shock in the region from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) that originated in China, the recent weak position of the local currency against the yen and yuan is attributable to the rapidly growing number of infections here since the third week of February, according to market analysts. The Chinese yuan traded at 17

March 1, 2020

Economic indexes for Feb. to plunge amid coronavirus outbreak

South Korea’s economic indexes for February could plunge drastically, taking the full impact of the coronavirus outbreak, the government said Friday. “The fast-spreading COVID-19 is increasingly weighing on consumer sentiment and economic activities,” said Kim Yong-beom, first vice minister of economy and finance, during a macroeconomy-finance policy meeting at the Korea Federation of Banks in central Seoul. The meeting was attended by officials from the Financial Service

Feb. 28, 2020

NTS to capture mask filter manufacturers with illegal profiteering amid virus outbreak

South Korea’s tax agency said Friday that it had begun inspections of mask filter manufacturing companies to prevent illegal profiteering amid the new coronavirus outbreak. The National Tax Service has examined 12 local manufacturers that produce nearly 95 percent of the nation’s supply of filter material -- melt blown nonwoven fabric. Melt blown or MB filters are the core material for hygiene masks. Depending on the percentage of particle blockage, they are classified into thre

Feb. 28, 2020

Rate cut predicted in April due to virus fallout: analysts

South Korea's central bank is likely to cut the policy rate in April amid concerns that the spreading novel coronavirus outbreak will hurt Asia's fourth-largest economy, analysts here said Friday. The Bank of Korea stood pat this week by keeping the rate at a record low of 1.25 percent, while trimming its economic outlook for the year to 2.1 percent from the previous 2.3 percent. More analysts are now betting on a rate cut in April as the virus cases are increasing at an alarming level. So fa

Feb. 28, 2020

Banks' lending rates slightly drop in Jan.

Lending rates on fresh loans extended by banks in South Korea dropped slightly from a month earlier in January, central bank data showed Friday. The average interest rate on all new bank loans came to 3.19 percent in the month, down 0.03 percentage point from the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The rate on all outstanding loans came to 3.38 percent, down 0.02 percentage point from December. The average rate on fresh corporate loans slipped 0.04 percentag

Feb. 28, 2020

S. Korea offers to bear 50% of rent discounts amid coronavirus fallout

South Korea’s government announced Thursday that it will share the cost burden of landlords who voluntarily offer a rental discount to tenants amid the new coronavirus fallout, according to the top fiscal policymaker. “For landlords who reduce the rental fees for their small business owner tenants during the first six months of this year, (the government) will reduce 50 percent of the (lease) reduction amount from (their) income tax or corporate tax, regardless of their total in

Feb. 27, 2020

[News Focus] Employment falls in almost all age groups

SEJONG -- The tight hiring market has been a point of contention over the past two or three years, though the Moon Jae-in administration has continued to express a strong commitment to job creation as often as possible. Recent data from a government agency showed that people are still having difficulty holding jobs, which particularly has been witnessed among almost entire generations. According to Statistics Korea, the number of employed people fell for the second consecutive month -- from 2

Feb. 27, 2020

BOK freezes rate despite coronavirus, lowers growth outlook

Despite the economic fallout of the new coronavirus, South Korea’s central bank on Thursday froze its policy rate, but chose to cut the growth outlook, reflecting heightened uncertainties. Instead of taking immediate monetary easing decisions, it decided to focus on microscopic actions such as expanding financial support for affected industries. The Bank of Korea’s rate-setting Monetary Policy Board held its second meeting for this year and decided to keep the nation’s ba

Feb. 27, 2020

S. Koreans' work hours edge down in 2019

Average work hours in South Korea decreased 0.5 percent last year as the country enforced a shorter workweek system, government data showed Thursday. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor's survey, the average South Korean employee worked 1,957 hours in 2019, 10 hours less than the previous year. The figure for companies hiring at least five workers was 1,978, a 0.4 percent decrease from 2018. The reduction came despite the fact that 2019 had two more working days than 2018.

Feb. 27, 2020