S. Korea to deal with risks from US-Iran tensions, assures limited impact on economy: FM

South Korea’s finance minister said Friday that the government would continue to monitor the situation in the Middle East and would respond firmly to any threats, while reassuring them that the tensions would have a limited impact on the economy. “We will closely monitor the volatile situation in the Middle East along with the market trend and respond firmly if necessary, as related uncertainties continue to exist,” Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said in

Jan. 10, 2020

Outstanding state bonds grow at 4-yr high in 2019: data

South Korea's outstanding state and special bonds grew at the fastest rate in four years in 2019, largely due to government efforts to make up for a cut in tax revenues, data showed Friday. The outstanding amount of bonds and debt issued by public institutions rose 5.3 percent from a year earlier to 1,020.4 trillion won ($879.7 billion), according to the data from Koscom Corp., the system manager of the South Korean bourse operator, Korea Exchange.By type, the Asia's fourth-largest economy net i

Jan. 10, 2020

S. Korea closely monitoring tension in Middle East: finance minister

South Korea is closely monitoring tensions in the Middle East, although a conflict between the United States and Iran is not escalating, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Friday. Hong said volatility at local financial markets showed signs of easing as the US and Iran moved to defuse tension, but uncertainties remain. The government is "closely monitoring the situation and will take actions if necessary," Hong told a meeting with economy-related ministers.  However, Hong said ther

Jan. 10, 2020

Finance minister vows more support for SMEs to increase exports

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday the government will provide more support for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to increase their exports this year. Hong made the remarks as he visited a ventilator maker in the city of Hwaseong, south of Seoul, earlier in the day.South Korea's exports have dropped for 13 consecutive months since December 2018. Hong said the government expanded its contract-based loan guarantees for SMEs to 200 billion won (US$172 million) this year, compa

Jan. 9, 2020

[News Focus] Government unemployment calculations face skepticism

SEJONG -- Government officials actively publicized that the number of unemployed people aged between 15 and 29 and the corresponding unemployment rate had dropped during the Moon Jae-in administration.They used a variety of figures held by the Ministry of Employment and Labor in their online policy briefing in December 2019, dismissing arguments in the market that the youth jobless rate has become severe.A government official cited the figure that the number of jobless Koreans aged 15-29 was abo

Jan. 9, 2020

World Bank trims 2020 global growth forecast amid slow trade recovery

Reflecting the slower-than-expected recovery of trade, the World Bank has lowered its forecast for this year’s global economic growth pace by 0.2 percentage point, South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance said Thursday.In its biannual Global Economic Prospects report issued in Washington, the World Bank predicted that the world economy will expand 2.5 percent in 2020, down from its earlier outlook in June 2019.This annual growth rate is anticipated to rise gradually to 2.6 perce

Jan. 9, 2020

Economic slump shows signs of easing: KDI

South Korea's economy remained sluggish in November due to a slump in manufacturing and investment, but the slump showed signs easing as business confidence improved, a state-run think tank said Thursday. "The Korean economy is still exhibiting slow growth although some indicators imply that the slowdown is easing," the Korea Development Institute said in its English-language Monthly Economic Trends publication."The growth in retail sales and services production ticked up and lead

Jan. 9, 2020

BOK Gov. Lee to attend BIS meeting

The head of South Korea's central bank will head to Switzerland this week to attend a Bank for International Settlement meeting, the Bank of Korea said Thursday.BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol will head to Basel on Friday for the meeting of governors from 60 BIS member central banks. The bimonthly meeting will be held Sunday and Monday."During the meeting, Gov. Lee will discuss current conditions facing the global economy and financial market," the bank said."Also as a member of the BIS Boar

Jan. 9, 2020

S. Korea faces more trade barriers amid growing protectionism

South Korea faced more trade barriers last year amid growing protectionism around the globe spearheaded by the US-China trade war, with steel and chemical industries being primary victims, data showed Thursday.The number of newly added import regulations targeting South Korean goods reached 41 cases in 2019, doubling from just 20 cases a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association.The trade barrier includes anti-dumping tariff, countervailing duty an

Jan. 9, 2020

Iran's retaliation dents Korean financial market

To combat economic fears stemming from the escalating geopolitical tensions, the financial authorities have bolstered their monitoring and reiterated their commitment on Wednesday to swiftly stabilize the market via contingency plans if necessary.Global markets were rattled by escalating tensions in the Middle East, as Iran fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles at a US air base in Iraq early Wednesday in retaliation for last week’s American drone strike to kill a top Iranian commander

Jan. 8, 2020

Minister confirms frontloading of public spending

South Korea has allocated more than 60 percent of its state budget for the first half of the year, in a rush to revitalize the stalled economy through active fiscal spending, the finance minister said Wednesday.Though this latest figure was down from an earlier suggested target of 71 percent, the government said the front-loading policy was crucial to achieve an economic rebound. “(The government) will make all-out efforts to execute the economic revitalizing budget as swiftly as poss

Jan. 8, 2020

Tax revenue tallied at W276.6tr through Nov. last year

South Korea's state tax income reached 276.6 trillion won ($234.8 billion) in the first 11 months of last year, 3.3 trillion won less than the previous year, the finance ministry said Wednesday.Tax revenue was tallied at 16.2 trillion won in November last year, 300 billion won less compared with a year earlier. Income tax revenue amounted to 10.9 trillion won in November last year, 1 trillion won more than a year earlier, due to a rise in wages. Dues collected by companies were unchanged at 1.5

Jan. 8, 2020

Mideast tension to have limited impact on S. Korea: ministry

Dispelling concerns about the economic ramifications of the latest US-Iran conflict, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Tuesday that the geopolitical tensions would have limited impact on domestic oil supplies.Acknowledging the increased level of volatility, however, it said it would consider the release of the country’s strategic oil reserves if necessary. “So far, there have been no setbacks in trade and shipments of Middle Eastern crude oil (for South Korea),” sai

Jan. 7, 2020

Foreigners subject to tightened mortgage rules: regulator

South Korea said Tuesday that foreigners are also subject to tightened mortgage rules in a move to plug any possible loopholes in its efforts to stabilize home prices.The Financial Supervisory Service said the tightened mortgage rules are being applied to both South Koreans and foreigners.Under last year's measures, mortgage loans will be banned when buying a house worth over 1.5 billion won ($1.3 million) in "speculative and overheated speculative" areas, and the loan-to-value ratio f

Jan. 7, 2020

S. Korea’s current account surplus grows to $6b in Nov.

South Korea’s current account surplus came to $5.97 billion in November, marking a surplus for the seventh consecutive month, amid sluggish exports, data from the Bank of Korea showed Tuesday.The central bank’s preliminary data showed that the nation’s current account surplus in November grew $840 million. It recorded a surplus in May 2019 after posting a deficit in the previous month. The surplus in November marks the first on-year surplus growth in nine months.  The grow

Jan. 7, 2020

Net assets of ETFs jump 26% in 2019: data

South Korea's exchange traded fund market posted solid growth last year, with net assets of ETFs surpassing 50 trillion won ($42.9 billion) for the first time, the bourse operator said Tuesday.The net asset value of the country's ETFs increased 26.1 percent last year from a year earlier to amount to 51.7 trillion won, according to the Korea Exchange .Representing a basket of stocks that reflect an index, an ETF can be traded on stock exchanges, allowing more flexibility in making investments and

Jan. 7, 2020

S. Korea in close talks with ASEAN for mega Asia-Pacific trade deal

South Korea will spare no efforts to help conclude a mega Asia-Pacific trade deal by the end of this year by forging deeper ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as the country strives to revitalize its ailing exports, Seoul's trade ministry said Tuesday.In line with the efforts, Yeo Han-koo, deputy minister for trade negotiations, plans to visit the headquarters of ASEAN in Indonesia on Wednesday to meet the regional bloc's Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi, according to the Minist

Jan. 7, 2020

Korea's current account surplus widens to $5.97b in Nov.

South Korea's current account surplus grew from a year earlier in November as its service account deficit narrowed, while its primary income account surplus expanded, central bank data showed Tuesday.The country's current account surplus came to $5.97 billion in the month, up $840 million from the same month last year, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.November marks the seventh consecutive month the country's current account has been in black. The figure, however, marks a dro

Jan. 7, 2020

Financial watchdog to give more time to banks over dispute settlement

South Korea's financial watchdog said Monday that it will give more time to six banks to decide whether to accept a proposal meant to resolve disputes over currency-related derivatives.The move came two days before a deadline by which the six banks are required to decide whether to accept and honor the arbitration proposal by the dispute settlement board of the Financial Supervisory Service.The watchdog has said the deadline can be extended if requested by the relevant parties. So far, none of t

Jan. 6, 2020

Debt of households, self-employed estimated to exceed W2,000tr

Debt incurred by households and self-employed businesses in South Korea is estimated to surpass 2,000 trillion won ($1,713 billion) as of September last year, according to central bank data on Sunday. Outstanding household loans came to 1,481 trillion won at the end of last September, up 13.6 trillion won from three months earlier, the Bank of Korea data showed. Debt incurred by self-employed businesses reached 670 trillion won at the end of last September, up 16.3 trillion won from three months

Jan. 5, 2020