[Newsmaker] BOK holds first press briefing via YouTube amid coronavirus fears

The Bank of Korea held a press conference on its rate decision via YouTube on Thursday, in a first for the central bank. The conference was held online as part of the central bank’s efforts to combat the spread of the coronavirus and ensure the safety of its officials and reporters, a BOK official said. Following the announcement of its decision to keep its interest rates unchanged at 1.25 percent, BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol answered questions from reporters in the livestream on YouTube.

Feb. 27, 2020

Moody's sees short-term coronavirus virus impact on S. Korean firms

Moody's Investors Service said Thursday it expects the spreading coronavirus outbreak to have a short-term impact on South Korean companies as the virus may be contained in the coming months. The rapid spread of COVID-19 in South Korea and its countrywide efforts to contain the infection are credit negative for local companies in many sectors over the short term as it will increase disruptions of Korea-based production lines and further weaken domestic demand for months to come, Moody's said i

Feb. 27, 2020

Number of discouraged workers hits new high in 2019

SEJONG -- The number of discouraged workers in South Korea touched an all-time high in 2019, data showed Thursday, pointing to a tough employment situation amid an economic slowdown. Asia's fourth-largest economy registered a monthly average of 533,000 discouraged workers last year, up 1.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea and the office of Rep. Choo Kyung-ho of the main opposition United Future Party. The figure was the largest since 2014, when data com

Feb. 27, 2020

BOK cuts growth outlook to 2.1% on fallout from coronavirus

South Korea's central bank lowered its growth estimate for the year by 0.2 percentage point to 2.1 percent on Thursday as the fast-spreading coronavirus may have a far-reaching impact on Asia's fourth-largest economy. The downward revision came as the COVID-19 outbreak is feared to badly hurt the economy, which was earlier expected to grow 2.3 percent this year. The BOK singled out the virus outbreak as a main reason for the downward revision of its growth outlook but said the economy will re

Feb. 27, 2020

BOK stands pat amid looming virus fallout, again cuts growth outlook

South Korea's central bank on Thursday held its key policy rate steady, while slashing its growth outlook amid growing worries over the spreading coronavirus outbreak. The Bank of Korea left the base rate frozen at the current 1.25 percent. The central bank has been keeping the policy rate at the record low level since October when its seven-member board made its second rate cut in three months as the economy showed signs of a recovery. The decision to stand pat came despite a downward revis

Feb. 27, 2020

S. Korea curbs exports of facial masks amid soaring virus cases

South Korea on Wednesday started to regulate the country's exports of facial masks as demand for sanitary products has been running high here amid the spread of the new coronavirus. Under the measures, effective until April 30, the government will limit mask exports to a maximum of 10 percent of total output here, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. While the country's daily production of masks reached 11 million units as of Tuesday, which doubled from two weeks earlier, South

Feb. 26, 2020

Korean manufacturers' sentiment worsens for March

The business sentiment of South Korean manufacturers sharply deteriorated for the upcoming month, central bank data showed Wednesday, amid growing concerns that the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak may undermine the country's already weak exports and economic recovery. The business sentiment index (BSI) for manufacturing businesses here came to 69 for March, down from 77 for this month. It marked the lowest since February 2019 when the index stood at 65, according to the data from the Bank

Feb. 26, 2020

Market eyes fixed on BOK’s imminent growth rate adjustment

Anxiety is mounting that South Korea, reeling under the prolonged impact of the fast-spreading novel coronavirus, may have no choice but to lower its already modest growth prospects for 2020. While speculations burgeoned that the central bank may cut its outlook by 0.2 percentage point to 2.1 percent, several global investing institutions set their estimation in the 1 percent range, some going as low as the zero percent range. The Bank of Korea’s upcoming Monetary Policy Board, slated

Feb. 25, 2020

Seoul allocates W380b to support agricultural exports amid virus spread

South Korea said Tuesday it will spend 380 billion won ($311 million) to support local exporters of agricultural goods amid fears the global spread of the new coronavirus will deal a heavy blow to sales this year. "The spread of the COVID-19 virus has led to a slump in demand (for agricultural goods) from China, Hong Kong and Singapore," the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said in a statement. The virus, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has killed more

Feb. 25, 2020

S. Korea's power generation drops 1.5% in 2019

South Korea's electricity generation fell for the first time in more than two decades in 2019 amid an economic slowdown and favorable weather conditions, data showed Tuesday. The amount of electricity generated by the nation's power plants came to 562,239 gigawatt hours last year, down 1.5 percent from the prior year, according to the data from state-run Korea Electric Power Corporation. It was the first on-year drop since the 4.1 percent decrease in 1998, when South Korea was in the heat of

Feb. 25, 2020

S. Korea to take ‘special actions’ to counter COVID-19 impact on economy

The government said Monday it would soon announce “special actions” to deal with the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, defining the current situation as an “economic emergency.” It added that it would take necessary measures in case of increased volatility in the currency market while maintaining a wait-and-see approach. “Under the awareness that the current circumstances correspond to an economic emergency, the government will respond in a swift,

Feb. 24, 2020

Special unit launched to probe illegal real estate brokers

South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Monday that it has launched a squad with investigative powers to effectively crack down on illegal or unfair practices in the real estate market. According to the ministry, the “special judicial police” will probe long-existing issues such as real estate contract frauds and illegal transfer of bank accounts that gives its holders unfair priority. It will also look into new issues including unregistered brokerin

Feb. 24, 2020

Korean economy tipped to grow below 2% on virus

Major foreign investment banks (IBs) and economic institutes have forecast South Korea's economic growth to be below 2 percent in 2020 due to the fallout of the fast-spreading novel coronavirus. According to a recent survey by Bloomberg, five out of 42 foreign IBs and economic think tanks predicted Asia's fourth-largest economy to expand in the 1 percent range this year, hit by the COVID-19 outbreak. ING Group offered a growth forecast of 1.7 percent for the Korean economy, down from a 2.2 pe

Feb. 24, 2020

Deepening COVID-19 crisis triggers rate cut speculations

While South Korea grapples with the rising new coronavirus infections, some market watchers are of the view that the central bank is likely to push for a base rate cut to minimize the downside economic impacts. Though many analysts are inclined toward a rate freeze scenario, the current economic situation could force the Bank of Korea to stipulate a record-low key interest rate, according to some. The three-year Treasury bond rate stood at 1.18 percent as of Friday, down 0.14 percentage poin

Feb. 23, 2020

Korea's exports up 12.4% in first 20 days of February

South Korea's exports moved up 12.4 percent in the first 20 days of February, customs data showed Friday, led mostly by chips and auto parts. The country's outbound shipments reached $26.3 billion in the Feb. 1-20 period, compared with $23.3 billion a year earlier, according to the Korea Customs Service. By product, exports of chips soared 15.4 percent, and outbound shipments of auto parts surged 40.6 percent. But the average daily exports -- which reflect working days -- fell 9.3 percent on

Feb. 21, 2020

S. Korea takes aim at Gyeonggi to curb housing prices

South Korea’s government on Thursday unveiled additional regulations to curb housing prices, this time focusing mostly on Seoul’s outskirts that have recently gained popularity. The latest measures marked the 19th housing-related regulations announced since the Moon Jae-in administration took office in May 2017. They were also the first to focus primarily on non-Seoul areas. The Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and the Financi

Feb. 20, 2020

[News Focus] Number of de facto jobless up 440,000 in 2 months

SEJONG -- South Korea saw the number of de facto jobless people -- meaning those underemployed -- increase sharply in recent months, the latest data showed. According to Statistics Korea, the “extended (or sentiment-reflected)” unemployment rate climbed to 12.1 percent in January 2020. The figure indicates that 3.58 million of the extended economically active population of 29.65 million are de facto unemployed. This far exceeds the nation’s official jobless rate (4.1 pe

Feb. 20, 2020

Vice finance minister briefs US investors, credit raters on Korean economy

Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom briefed US investors and officials from credit rating firms in New York on South Korea’s economic situation and government policies, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Thursday. Kim first met with 25 investors from New York-based investment banks and asset managers, including Blackrock, Morgan Stanley and UBS, in a meeting held Wednesday (US time). The vice finance minister explained that while Korea’s major indexes and chip prices have s

Feb. 20, 2020

S. Korea's trade with Vietnam up 16.5% annually since FTA

South Korea's trade with Vietnam has expanded 16.5 percent annually since the two countries implemented a free trade agreement in 2015, data showed Thursday. The combined trade volume between the two countries reached $69.2 billion in 2019, compared with $37.6 billion posted in 2015, according to the Korea Customs Service. South Korea and Vietnam implemented the FTA in December 2015, after kicking off their first negotiations in 2012. Over the cited period, South Korea's trade with China, t

Feb. 20, 2020

S. Korea goes all-out to boost exports amid new coronavirus spread

SEJONG -- South Korea said Thursday it plans to utilize all necessary measures to help local firms weather the economic fallout from the new coronavirus. In January, South Korea's exports fell 6.1 percent on-year, but when measured by working days, they increased 4.8 percent, marking the first on-year increase in 14 months. The January figure is being seen as a sign of recovery. Outbound shipments nosedived 10.3 percent in 2019 amid a prolonged trade feud between the United States and China

Feb. 20, 2020