About 1m households receive W421b in employment promotion allowance

About 1 million households in South Korea received a total of 421 billion won ($361 million) in employment promotion allowance for the first half of this year, government data showed Wednesday. The allowance for employment promotion has been offered to low-income workers since 2009 as part of the government's initiative to narrow wage inequality. During the January-June period, 960,000 households received an average 440,000 won per home in employment promotion allowance, the National Tax Service

Dec. 18, 2019

S. Koreans' weekly working hours decline in 2018

South Koreans' weekly working hours fell slightly in 2018 from a year earlier, government data showed Wednesday, as a growing number of people are seeking to strike a balance between their work and personal life.The data compiled by Statistics Korea showed that South Korean men and women worked 41.5 hours a week on average in 2018, compared with 42.8 hours in 2017.South Koreans' weekly working hours have been gradually declining since 1990, when they worked 53.8 hours a week. Nevertheless, South

Dec. 18, 2019

Korea's inflation to rise 1% in 2020: BOK

South Korea's consumer prices are projected to rise 1 percent next year before further recovering to a 1.3-percent on-year increase the following year, the Bank of Korea said Wednesday.The central bank said it will maintain its monetary easing policy, noting the estimates still fall short of its long-term inflation target of 2 percent."In the January-November period of this year, consumer prices rose 0.4 percent from the same period last year, far below the inflation target," it said i

Dec. 18, 2019

Korea faces no immediate danger of deflation: BOK chief

South Korea is not facing any immediate danger of deflation, with the country's inflation rate expected to accelerate from next year, albeit at a mild pace, the head of the central bank has said."It is true that there now exist concerns of deflation as the country's consumer price increase has greatly slowed while its inflationary expectation also dropped," Bank of Korea Gov.Lee Ju-yeol said in a meeting with reporters late Tuesday."I fully understand the concerns about continued

Dec. 18, 2019

[Monitor] Home transactions rise over W900m

The ratio of home transactions worth over 900 million won ($7,700) in South Korea topped 4.4 percent in 2019. It is the first time the proportion has crossed the 4 percent mark, and is the highest level since 2006, according to data by property market information provider Zigbang on Wednesday.The data includes individual houses, multiplexes, townhouses and apartments. Residences priced over 900 million won and 1.4 billion won marked 2.7 percent, while those over 1.4 billion won came to 1.7 perce

Dec. 17, 2019

Analysts, public say surge in housing prices likely despite new policy measures

Housing prices are widely expected to soar despite the stringent regulations enforced by the South Korean government, according to market analysts Tuesday.The government in a surprise move recently unveiled new measures to curb rising home prices, which push for tighter mortgage rules.A report released by local brokerage Mirae Asset Daewoo warned local investors that if the new measures fail to rein in soaring housing prices, even stronger measures are likely to be adopted next year. It recommen

Dec. 17, 2019

S. Korea will up efforts for financial innovation in 2020: FSC chief

Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo on Tuesday said that Korea will continue to face domestic and external uncertainties next year, pledging to add speed to the country’s drive for financial innovation.He also stood by the government’s latest and controversial real estate regulations, citing them as necessary steps to curb the country’s overheated housing market. “Domestic and external uncertainties are expected to prolong throughout next year and the low

Dec. 17, 2019

Household income grows in 2018, wealth gap narrows

South Korea's household income rose in 2018 from a year earlier, and the income gap between the haves and have-nots narrowed, as employment situations of the low-income bracket improved amid efforts to bridge the income gap, a government report showed Tuesday. The average household earned 58.28 million won ($49,688) last year, up 2.1 percent from the previous year, according to the report by Statistics Korea.The report showed household income earned through wages rose 3.9 percent on-year to an a

Dec. 17, 2019

Korean firms suffer further setback in Q3 sales, profit

South Korean companies continued to suffer heavy setbacks in their sales and profits in the third quarter, central bank data showed Tuesday, apparently due to a sharp decline in exports and slowing demand at home.The average sales of local companies plunged 2.8 percent from a year earlier in the three months that ended Sept. 30, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.It compares with a 1.1-percent on-year dip in the second quarter. The BOK did not provide any specific reason for the drop,

Dec. 17, 2019

Korea's trade volume exceeds $1tr mark for 3rd year

South Korea's annual trade volume exceeded the $1 trillion mark for a third consecutive year on Monday despite growing protectionism around the globe, the trade ministry said.Accordingly, South Korea is anticipated to remain as the ninth-largest player in terms of trade for the seventh consecutive year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The annual trade volume first hovered above the mark in 2011, but the country failed to attain the threshold in 2015 and 2016 amid global

Dec. 16, 2019

Rigid mortgage loan regulations roil real estate market

In a surprise move on Monday, the South Korean government announced unprecedented real estate regulations to offset previous ones that have failed to curb rising housing prices.But as the newly introduced measures largely focus on loan restrictions, skepticism also mounted that the wealthy will continue their speculative buying in cash.The latest measures include a ban on mortgage loans for apartments priced 1.5 billion won ($1.28 million) or more, effective Wednesday. The real estate tax rate f

Dec. 16, 2019

New forests minister pledges innovative policies

Park Chong-ho, the new minister for the state-run Korea Forest Service, vowed to drive “innovative and people-centered” forest policies in his inauguration last week, the organization said Monday. During the ceremony held Friday in Daejeon, Park emphasized the importance of all people benefiting from the full value of forests.After briefly introducing the nations’ forest policies, ranging from forest welfare to tackling fine dust pollution, over the last 10 years, Park emphasiz

Dec. 16, 2019

[Monitor] Less men employed

Although the overall jobs market is showing signs of improvement, the number of men in their 30s, 40s and 50s who have jobs has been on a constant decline, data from Statistics Korea showed. The employment ratio that has reflected the drop in population is also on a decline, it said.The number of employed men in the age groups dropped for a 28th consecutive month in November, the longest duration of the decline since the agency began collecting relevant data.The jobs situation for men aged 30-59

Dec. 16, 2019

Single-member households to become most common type in 2047

One-person families will likely become the most common household type in all South Korean cities and provinces in the next 30 years amid the country's low birthrate and rapidly aging population, data showed Monday. Households consisting of a single member are forecast to account for 37.3 percent of all family units in 2047, far outnumbering families of married couples with children, according to the data by Statistics Korea.The percentage of those living alone stood at 27.2 percent in 2015 and r

Dec. 16, 2019

[News Focus] Self-employed in S. Korea face strong headwinds

SEJONG -- The sluggish domestic economy and a spike in statutory minimum wage in South Korea in recent years have dealt a severe blow to the self-employed. Most have been forced to close shop or have been saddled with huge debts amid cutthroat competition, but they are getting back on their feet by starting new microbusinesses, although not very successfully.This reflects the tough job market here, as self-employment is still considered the most viable option for many people to make a living.Acc

Dec. 16, 2019

S. Korea sets aside more budget funds to fight animal diseases

South Korea set aside more state budget funds for next year to fight animal diseases, the agricultural ministry said Monday, after the deadly African swine fever hit local pig farms in northern areas this year.The National Assembly approved the budget proposal of 371.4 billion won ($315 million) for efforts to tackle a variety of animal diseases, which marks a 20 percent rise from 308 billion won allocated for this year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.The increa

Dec. 16, 2019

[Monitor] One-person households in Korea suffer from low income

About 36 percent of one-person households earn less than 2 million won per month, data from Statistics Korea showed last week.One-person households, which take up one-third of all households in South Korea, tended to show low satisfaction in their type of residence with only 23.3 percent answering they were content, compared to 30.8 percent of those in multiple-households that said the same.The Seoul Institute, a research center, said that while 1 in 3 households in the country were one-person h

Dec. 15, 2019

BOK may hold off further rate cut amid easing US-China tension

Following signs of a thaw in US-China trade tension, speculation is building that South Korea may slow its pace of monetary easing, in step with the growing possibility of a global economic upturn.Though the world’s top two economies face a bumpy road ahead, their latest reconciliatory move is expected to ease uncertainties -- especially for Asia’s fourth-largest economy, which is highly dependent on trade.After Washington and Beijing announced their phase one agreement Friday to red

Dec. 15, 2019

Single-member families account for nearly 30 pct of S. Korean households

The number of one-person families continued to rise last year, accounting for nearly 30 percent of all households in South Korea, amid the fast-spreading trend of people remaining single, government data showed Saturday.  Households consisting of a single member totaled 5.85 million in 2018, compared with 5.62 million the previous year, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.This accounted for 29.3 percent of all households in the country last year, the data showed. The percenta

Dec. 14, 2019

Korea's export prices dip for 3rd month in Nov.

South Korea's export prices fell from a month earlier for a third consecutive month in November, partly due to the strengthening of the local currency against the US dollar, central bank data showed Friday.The export price index, in terms of Korean won, came to 97.11 in the month, down 1.8 percent from the revised 98.87 the month before, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.From the same month last year, the index dropped 6.2 percent, marking a sixth consecutive month of on-year

Dec. 13, 2019