South Korea's consumer inflation unchanged in October

South Korea's consumer inflation was unchanged in October compared with a year earlier as decreased prices of agricultural products offset increased utility prices, the statistics agency said Friday.The consumer price index was unchanged in October from a year earlier as consumer demand remains weak amid an economic slowdown, Statistics Korea said in a statement. The country's inflation has been extremely weak, staying far below the Bank of Korea's 2 percent target as companies and consumers tig

Nov. 1, 2019

BOK chief urges banks to enhance productivity

South Korea’s central bank chief on Friday called for domestic banks to enhance productivity amid the country’s slowing growth. “The International Monetary Fund has recently stressed the need to increase growth potential while revising down the growth outlook for the global economy,” Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said at a policy meeting with the heads of 10 major banks here.“In the end, productivity improvement through innovation is key to achieving this goal.&rdq

Nov. 1, 2019

BOK hails US rate cut, says may remove uncertainties

South Korea's central bank on Thursday welcomed the latest US rate cut, saying it may help remove some uncertainties facing Asia's fourth-largest economy."We believe a US rate cut generally works toward boosting the economy and raising stock prices. It will support global growth and certainly have a positive effect on the global economy," said Yoon Myun-shik, senior deputy governor of Bank of Korea.The remarks came hours after the US Federal Reserve slashed its key rate by 25 basis poi

Oct. 31, 2019

South Korea ratifies Britain FTA ahead of Brexit

South Korea's parliament on Monday ratified a trade deal between Seoul and London that will take effect automatically following Britain's departure from the European Union.The free trade agreement essentially replicates the terms of the existing EU-South Korea deal and comes in the face of continuing uncertainty over a Brexit timetable. The new FTA secured "stability and continuity" in South Korea's trade environment with Britain amid "increasingly complex situation over Brexit&qu

Oct. 28, 2019

[News Focus] Do securities regulators offer level playing field?

SEJONG -- Some local commercial banks have been denounced for having recklessly sold high-risk equity-linked fund products to seniors without properly warning them of the potential losses.Some retirees saw their severance pay or savings from their working life disappear. Bank salesmen also targeted ordinary salaried workers whose installment savings had matured.Though investors in funds should be accountable for their own investment losses, the commercial banks have been criticized for improperl

Oct. 28, 2019

S. Korea to approve 7th low-cost carrier

South Korea's transport ministry said Monday it will permit Fly Gangwon, the country's seventh low-cost carrier, to begin operations next month, a move that could further heat up competition in South Korea's aviation market. An air operator certificate to be issued to Fly Gangwon on Tuesday will allow the carrier to offer two flights a day on the Yangyang-Jeju route beginning in November, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement."The aviation authorities will c

Oct. 28, 2019

STX Corp. signs coal trading deal with Russia's Mechel

STX Corp., a South Korean general trading firm, said Monday it has signed a deal with Russian mining giant Mechel PAO to import coal and coke produced in the Kuzbass mines in Kemerovo, Russia.Under the deal, STX Corp. will import 1.2 million tons of coal and coke a year. The Kuzbass region accounts for 60 percent of the total coal production in Russia.STX Corp. has been recently expanding its commodity trading businesses to minerals. In June, it secured rights to sell vanadium and graphite produ

Oct. 28, 2019

[News Focus] Construction policy risks undermining fiscal soundness

SEJONG -- Enterprises under the Moon Jae-in administration are investing less in construction and facilities, with 2018 data revealing year-on-year contraction in both areas.These are the first simultaneous drops in corporate investment in construction and facilities that South Korea has experienced in a decade. The last time was in 2008, when the nation was affected by the crisis that followed the US subprime mortgage collapse.Previously, when anti-speculation measures led the construction indu

Oct. 27, 2019

Hyundai E&C Q3 net soars 72% on increased orders

Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. said Friday its third-quarter net profit soared 72 percent from a year earlier on increased orders.Net profit for the three months that ended Sept. 30 jumped to 218.2 billion won ($186 million) from 126.6 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement. "In the past five to six years, Hyundai E&C has focused on improving profitability and selectively participated in bids to win projects overseas. It began to pay off this year,"

Oct. 25, 2019

Asiana to halt San Francisco route for 45 days from March next year

Asiana Airlines Inc. will suspend the Incheon-San Francisco route for 45 days from March 1 following a Seoul court's ruling over its deadly crash landing in the US city five years ago, the transport ministry said Friday. Last week, the Supreme Court upheld the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's 45-day suspension order on the San Francisco route in penalty for the accident.Flights on the route will be halted from March 1 through April 14, the ministry said in a statement.The 45-day

Oct. 25, 2019

Seoul's trade terms further deteriorate in Sept.

South Korea's trade terms continued to worsen in September amid a steady decline in exports, central bank data showed Friday.The terms of trade index for products came to 91.8 in the month, down 4 percent from the same month last year, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading marks 22 consecutive months of on-year decline in the index.The trade terms index measures the amount of imports a country can purchase for each unit of exports. A reading below 100 means

Oct. 25, 2019

S. Korea’s economy slows down in Q3

South Korea extended its run of positive growth in the third quarter but that growth was slower than expected, jeopardizing the country’s annual growth target, central bank data showed Thursday.The country’s quarterly real gross domestic product for the July-September period climbed 2 percent from a year earlier and 0.4 percent from a quarter earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.This latest figure was largely seen as disappointing, especially considering the

Oct. 24, 2019

Korean economy grows 0.4% on-quarter in Q3: BOK

The South Korean economy continued to grow at a steady pace in the third quarter, partly helped by increased government spending and a slight rebound in exports from three months earlier, central bank data showed Thursday.In the three months ended Sept. 30, the country's real gross domestic product gained 0.4 percent from the previous quarter, according to the advance data from the Bank of Korea. The Q3 estimate marks a slowdown from a revised 1 percent on-quarter expansion in the April-June per

Oct. 24, 2019

Court holds brokerage employees 50% liable for ‘fat finger’ scandal

South Korea’s local court has decided that the employees of Samsung Securities involved in the “fat finger” scandal in which nonexistent stocks were issued, should pay compensation for about half of the damage they caused the company.The Seoul Central District Court has recently ruled that the 13 employees of the local brokerage must compensate $4.7 billion won ($4 million) of the losses they caused the company by selling nonexistent stocks, officials said Wednesday.The company

Oct. 23, 2019

Moon calls for S. Korean businesspeople to combine efforts for peace, prosperity

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday called for South Korean businesspeople to share their networking capabilities and experience to help ongoing efforts to foster a lasting peace on the divided peninsula.Moon's remarks were read on his behalf at the 18th World Korean Business Convention (WKBC) in Yeosu, about 455 kilometers south of Seoul. The WKBC is an annual gathering of South Korean businesspeople from home and abroad."I trust the potential of the globe-trotting 'hansang,'" Moon said

Oct. 22, 2019

S. Korea pushes housing price cap on private sector

South Korea’s government on Tuesday adopted a disputed presale price cap system on privately built apartments, extending its efforts to stabilize the bubble-prone real estate market here.With the forthcoming price regulation expected to take effect as early as this month, local builders are hastening to sell their newly built apartments.The Cabinet, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, passed five legislative bills and 24 presidential decrees, including the en

Oct. 22, 2019

S. Korea grapples with gender discrimination in workplace

South Korea has seen its female employment index improve steadily over the past 10 years, but continues to struggle with gender equality when it comes to parental leave and consequent career breaks, data showed Monday.Unlike in most developed economies which tend to see the employment rate of women in their 40s peak and start declining in the 50s, Korea has seen women in their late 30s and early 40s -- the prime age for childbirth and childcare -- being pushed out of the labor market. All seven

Oct. 21, 2019

S. Korea's foreign currency deposits rise in Sept.

Foreign currency deposits held by banks in South Korea continued to rise for a second straight month in September, with deposits held both by individuals and companies growing, central bank data showed Monday.The overall amount of foreign currency savings here came to $72.64 billion as of end-September, up $1.67 billion from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. The reading marks an acceleration from August, when foreign currency deposits gained $1.13 billion, marking a

Oct. 21, 2019

BOK’s base rate cut rings alarm on household debts

Concerns are mounting that the central bank’s latest base rate cut may encourage easy borrowing and aggravate the country’s household debt problem.But others suggest that the government’s enhanced loan regulations and slow economic growth pace will help prevent reckless borrowing.The total balance of household credit as of the end of June this year stood at 1,556.1 trillion won ($1,318 billion), according to data released by the Bank of Korea on Sunday.Household credit is a com

Oct. 20, 2019

BOK expected to hold fire on rates until July next year: report

The Bank of Korea is expected to keep its key rate at a historic low until July next year as it maintained expectations of a modest economic recovery in 2020, according to a report Sunday. But the BOK may have no choice but to cut the key rate next July unless the United States and China agree to end their lengthy trade war by that time, Goldman Sachs said in the report.In a widely expected move, the BOK slashed the key rate to 1.25 percent from 1.5 percent last week, marking the second rate cut

Oct. 20, 2019