Debt of self-employed hits 521 tln won

Debt incurred by self-employed businesses in South Korea has reached 521 trillion won ($459 billion) and countermeasures are in the works, a senior official said Friday.Speaking at a financial forum, Kim Yong-beom, vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), said some 6 percent of the loans have been extended to poor-credit borrowers, putting them at high risk of default.Kim based his remarks on data provided by local credit appraiser Nice Information. The total includes both corpo

Sept. 22, 2017

S. Korea, US trade chiefs hold first face-to-face meeting

The top trade negotiators of South Korea and the United States held their first face-to-face meeting in Washington on Wednesday to discuss the future of the countries' free trade agreement (FTA), both sides said.The talks between South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer came as Washington seeks to amend the five-year-old deal known as KORUS. "They discussed ways to move forward," a USTR spokesperson told Yonhap, noting the talks foll

Sept. 21, 2017

Smaller firms lag far behind big counterparts in debt service capability: BOK

Smaller South Korean firms lagged far behind their larger counterparts in debt service capability, the country's central bank said Thursday, in the latest sign of a deepening polarization of corporate performance.The interest coverage ratio of all South Korean firms stood at 9 in the first half of this year, up from 6.8 from a year earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a report, citing data compiled by credit appraiser NICE Information Service.The ratio -- a firm's operating profit divided by its i

Sept. 21, 2017

[Monitor] Businesses in Korea show low survivability

A report showed that the rate of survival for businesses in Korea remains low compared to those in Western Europe.The Korea International Trade Association said the survivability rates of lasting one and five years for businesses here came to 62.4 percent and 27.3 percent, respectively.By type, service and manufacturing businesses showed respective rates of 84 percent and 8.9 percent.The report pointed out that Korea has a higher proportion of small businesses than other countries, which are mor

Sept. 21, 2017

Moon assures US Korean economy strong despite NK provocations

President Moon Jae-in urged the US to actively invest in the Korean economy during his meeting with prominent businessmen in New York, as he attends the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly this week. 　In a meeting with American financial heads including the chairman of Goldman Sachs at the New York Intercontinental Hotel, Moon assured international business leaders that the fundamentals of the Korean economy are excellent despite ongoing concerns regarding the “North Korea

Sept. 21, 2017

Govt. to purchase 350,000 tons of rice for reserve

South Korea will increase the purchase of local rice that will be set aside for reserve purposes this year to help stabilize prices on the domestic market, the agriculture ministry said Thursday.The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said it will buy 350,000 tons of rice harvested this year from Sept. 25 to Dec. 31. It will increase the purchase of rice from last year's 82,000 tons to 90,000 tons and buy 260,000 tons of packaged rice. Some 10,000 tons of rice will be set aside for A

Sept. 21, 2017

Korea's conglomerates' internal trade edges down in 2016

Transactions among affiliates of South Korea's large business groups fell slightly in 2016 compared to a year earlier amid government pressure to root out unfair practices, the country's corporate watchdog said Thursday.A total of 152.5 trillion won ($134.7 billion) worth of inter-affiliate deals by units of 27 conglomerates were made last year, down 7.1 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the Fair Trade Commission. But the deals accounted for 12.2 percent of all business contracts in

Sept. 21, 2017

Korea says no big impact from US decision to reduce bond holdings

South Korea said Thursday that the Federal Reserve's decision to trim its balance sheet is likely to have a limited impact on Asia's fourth-largest economy."I don't think the Fed's decision will have a big impact on the domestic financial markets," Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol told reporters at the BOK headquarters in central Seoul.He said the decision is in line with market expectations, a view shared by Vice Finance Minister Ko Hyoung-kwon.The US central bank announced Wednesday th

Sept. 21, 2017

Korea offers financial assistance for struggling companies in China

South Korea will provide financial assistance and an insurance package for local companies suffering from losses in China due to anti-Korean sentiment and regulatory hurdles, the trade ministry said Thursday.Korean companies in automotive parts, cosmetics and foods have faced tougher customs checks in China after Seoul deployed an advanced missile defense system on its soil against North Korea, a move strongly opposed by Beijing.  The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it will doub

Sept. 21, 2017

Korea, India to hold talks on trade deal improvement

South Korea and India will hold a new round of talks on the improvement of a bilateral trade deal in Seoul this week, the commerce ministry here said Wednesday.The third-round meeting to improve the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement is scheduled to start in Seoul on Thursday for a two-day run, the ministry said. CEPA is a type of free trade agreement that emphasizes two-way economic cooperation on top of market opening.In 2010, the two Asian economic powerhouses implemented the CEPA,

Sept. 20, 2017

[Monitor] Household debt surges 55.3% in 5 years

The amount of household debt in South Korea has surged by 55.3 percent in five years, according to data given by relevant authorities including the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service and the Bank of Korea.The data released by the office of the Liberty Korea Party’s Rep. Shim Jae-cheol showed that household debt has exceeded 1.4 trillion won as of August this year. The average debt held by each household came at 46.9 million won last year, up from 36.8 million

Sept. 20, 2017

Korea’s ‘4th industrial revolution’ development lags behind US, EU, Japan: report

Technology and investments related to Korea’s competitiveness in the “fourth industrial revolution” is far behind other advanced countries such as the United States, Japan and Europe, according to the Hyundai Research Institute. 　The institute released a report on the international comparison of the research and development status of industries based on the fourth industrial revolution Monday, revealing that Korea’s total score for industrial technology evaluation was 77.

Sept. 20, 2017

Monthly leases account for more than 60% of Korea's housing rental system in 2016: report

Monthly lease agreements accounted for more than 60 percent of South Korea's housing rental market last year as fewer people opt for the so-called "jeonse" system, a report showed Wednesday.According to the report by the state-run Korea Development Institute, 60.5 percent of people paid monthly rent in 2016, while 39.5 percent lived in jeonse homes.In 2010, jeonse was the most common housing rental type in the country, at 50.3 percent. Jeonse is a home rental arrangement unique to

Sept. 20, 2017

Korean biz survival rate lower than EU

South Korean small and medium enterprises have a lower survival rate than their European Union counterparts with some 6 out of 10 surviving more than one year and less than 30 percent past five years, data showed Wednesday.A total of 62.4 percent of Korean companies remained opened for more than one year as of 2015, and 27.3 percent were doing business beyond five years, according to the data by the Korea International Trade Association. Korean businesses' one-year survival rate is lower than Ge

Sept. 20, 2017

Credit card app makes it easier to go Dutch

Splitting the bill is set to become easier, as South Korea’s financial watchdog is set to introduce a system that allows people to use just one credit card to divide the bill.After meeting with the CEOs of eight credit card companies in July, Korea Financial Services Commission decided to allow a system where customers can split the bill by paying the divided amount via mobile application under certain circumstances.  Previously, customers had to ask store owners to charge them separa

Sept. 19, 2017

Korea inks MOU with AfDB on 2018 annual meeting in Busan

The South Korean government said Monday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with the African Development Bank on preparations for the institutions’ annual meeting to be held in a city of Busan next year.The memorandum addresses the sharing of role and cost for the 53rd annual meeting of the AfDB that is expected to draw more than 4,000 finance ministers, governors of central banks, heads of international organizations and business leaders from nearly 80 member states, according to

Sept. 19, 2017

Korea's export growth fastest among top 10 exporters

South Korea's exports grew at the fastest pace among the world's top 10 exporters, data by the World Trade Organization showed Tuesday, thanks to brisk sales of semiconductors and petrochemical products. Outbound shipments amounted to $328 billion in the first seven months of this year, making South Korea the world's sixth-largest exporter, up 16.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the WTO's monthly merchandise trade data.Overseas sales by China, the world's No. 1 exporter, showed a 8.3

Sept. 19, 2017

BOK says prices of agricultural products up 14.2% in Aug.

Prices of agricultural products rose 14.2 percent in August from a month earlier as rains and a heat wave have reduced the output of agricultural products, central bank data showed Tuesday.The monthly figure marked the highest tallied since September 2010 when it stood at 18.8 percent, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.Prices of cabbage -- a key ingredient of the Korean traditional side dish of kimchi -- jumped 55.3 percent in August from a month earlier, the BOK said.&nbs

Sept. 19, 2017

US trade representative heralds renegotiation of Korea trade deal

WASHINGTON -- US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Monday that a renegotiation is in order for trade agreements that lead to growing trade deficits, a remark indicative of his stance on the US free trade deal with South Korea."We are looking at all of our trade agreements to determine if they are working to our benefit," he told a forum here. "The basic notion in a free trade agreement is that one grants preferential treatment to a trading partner in return for an approx

Sept. 19, 2017

Banks urged to tighten home loan screening to slow household debt

The nation's top financial regulator on Tuesday urged banks to tighten their screening of home loan applications to help slow the growth of household debt. South Korea tightened lending rules for mortgages last month, but critics say loopholes give some people room for borrowing money in excess of the lending limits to buy homes. Kim Yong-beom, vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, told representatives from banks that the growth of household debt could pick up during the second hal

Sept. 19, 2017