S&P assigns 'intermediate risk' rating to Korea's non-life insurers

International ratings agency Standard and Poor's said Tuesday it has assigned an "intermediate risk" rating to South Korea's property and casualty insurance industry, saying that the industry's strength is undermined by security risks from North Korea. In a report on the insurance industry and country risk assessment, S&P said South Korea's non-life insurers "will remain stable over the near to medium term." The assessment was based on South Korea's growing economy,

Aug. 1, 2017

Cabinet OKs temporary removal of import duties on egg products

South Korea's Cabinet on Tuesday approved a measure to remove import tariffs on egg products in the latest effort to resolve a supply shortage sparked by outbreaks of bird flu here, officials said.The move will allow local companies to import 28,000 tons of eggs -- 13,000 tons of shell eggs and 600 tons of hatching eggs and 14,400 tons of other products -- without tariffs up until the end of this year.The government said egg products can be brought in from Australia, New Zealand, Denmark, the Ne

Aug. 1, 2017

Number of wealthy people in Korea up 14.8% last year

The number of people in South Korea with financial assets worth more than 1 billion won ($892,295) rose 14.8 percent on year to 242,000 last year, thanks to the robust stock market, a report showed Tuesday. According to the annual survey by KB Financial Group Inc.'s research institute, people classified as wealthy held a total of 552 trillion won worth of financial assets in 2016, accounting for 16.3 percent of total financial assets owned by all households. Compared with a year ago, the ratio w

Aug. 1, 2017

Korea's exports jump 19.5% in July

South Korea's exports continued their rally for nine straight months by rising a sharp 19.5 percent last month on brisk overseas sales of semiconductors, the trade ministry said Tuesday.Outbound shipments came to $48.85 billion in July, up from $40.88 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The country's exports have been on a steady rise since November led by an upturn in oil prices and recovering global trade. The country posted double-digit expo

Aug. 1, 2017

BOK strengthens information collection on overseas financial instability

South Korea's central bank said Tuesday that it has set up a system meant to detect overseas financial instability at an early stage in the latest move to better cope with any possible external shock that could affect Asia's fourth-largest economy.The Bank of Korea said about 40 staff members will gather information to assess and analyze the resilience and vulnerabilities of the financial system by meeting with relevant officials of financial institutions, international organizations and major c

Aug. 1, 2017

Fallout from minimum wage hike spreading

President Moon Jae-in’s administration is pushing for a steep increase in the minimum wage as a key stepping stone for its income-led growth policy.But critics say sharp pay increases detached from the reality faced by most businesses in the country might drag down the economy.Complaints are simmering especially from small business owners over last month’s decision by a commission of representatives from the government and labor and management circles to raise the minimum wage for 20

July 31, 2017

2 major policy lenders receive improved rating in management assessment

South Korea's financial regulator said Monday that the performance of two major policy lenders has improved as the restructuring of shipbuilders and two major shipping lines have been concluded.The Financial Services Commission said it has raised the rating of the Korea Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Korea by one notch from C to B in its annual assessment of five public financial organizations. The five public financial organizations are rated one of six categories, with S being

July 31, 2017

Corporate hiring hits 7-year low

The number of employees at some of the country’s largest firms hit a seven-year low in the second quarter of the year, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea on Monday. 　Government data showed that the number of employees at companies with workforces of more than 300 reached 2.46 million workers in the second quarter of this year, a decrease of 25,000 compared to a year ago. 　The fall is the largest since the third quarter of 2010, when the number of employees at large companies pl

July 31, 2017

Number of new corporations in H1 hits record high

The number of new corporations set up in the first half of this year reached nearly 50,000, setting a new record amid steady overseas demands for local products, the government said Monday.The number of new corporations set up came to 49,424 in the January-June period, up 2.4 percent from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.Among the total, 10,107 companies were in the manufacturing industry, followed by 10,057 firms in the wholesale and retail sector, the m

July 31, 2017

Rates for household loans inch down in June

Bank lending rates on new household loans inched down in June and interest rates paid by banks on new deposits slightly rose, central bank data showed Monday.The average interest rates on fresh household loans extended by local banks came to 3.41 percent in June, down 0.06 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.The BOK data came amid South Korea's efforts to tackle rising household debt.  South Korea's household debt stood at 1,359.7 trillion won ($1.2 tril

July 31, 2017

BOK to keep monetary easing policy to support growth

South Korea's central bank on Monday renewed its stance to maintain the current monetary easing policy to support growth for Asia's fourth-largest economy.The Bank of Korea said in a report submitted to the National Assembly that it will maintain its stance of monetary policy accommodation, noting the inflationary pressures on the demand side are not expected to be high, though the solid trend of domestic economic growth could affect prices.The latest assessment came more than two weeks after th

July 31, 2017

Korea's exports to FTA partners jump 17.9% in H1

South Korea's exports to trade partners with which it has free trade agreements jumped nearly 18 percent in the first six months of the year on solid overseas demand, customs data showed Monday.Exports to 52 countries that have open trade pacts with South Korea reached $202.5 billion in the January-June period, up 17.9 percent from $171.6 billion tallied a year ago, according to the data released by the Korea Customs Service. Imports also rose 17.1 percent on-year to $147.9 billion over the cite

July 31, 2017

NK missile launch has little impact on S. Korean financial market

South Korea said Monday that the latest North Korean missile launch had little impact on its financial market, but it will take swift and firm action against any unexpected developments.Pyongyang fired the Hwasong-14 shortly before midnight last Friday, following its first successful intercontinental ballistic missile launch on July 4. Defense experts said the latest provocation that drew swift condemnation from the international community demonstrated some technical progress compared to previou

July 31, 2017

New ministry aims to expand exports of products made by SMEs

The country's new ministry dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises said Monday it will vitalize the local economy by expanding exports of products made by smaller companies.The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said it aims to expand the proportion of exports made by SMEs to over 40 percent of all outbound shipments by 2022. Small and medium-sized companies accounted for 37.6 percent of exports in 2016, up 5.5 percentage points from 32.1 percent in 2012, according to the ministry. The amount

July 31, 2017

Medical community in conflict over minimum wage

The medical community is reeling from the planned minimum wage hike next year, with small neighborhood clinics and hospitals appealing for at least a matching hike in billing rates, industry officials said Monday.The government and labor unions earlier this month agreed on a 16.4 percent hike in the minimum pay for next year, from 6,470 won ($5.76) to 7,530 won. The scale of the hike has drawn protests from many businesses, which say they cannot afford the extra cost, triggering concerns by jobs

July 31, 2017

Semiconductor Q2 exports jump fourfold in seven years

South Korea’s semiconductor exports surged to record highs in the second quarter of this year, according to the Bank of Korea’s trade statistics Sunday.The country’s semiconductor export volume index hit 393.97, nearly four times the 100 benchmark in 2010. The export volume also marked a 20.2 percent increase compared to the second quarter of last year, when it stood at 327.86, and a 2.7 percent jump compared to the first quarter of this year.  Industry experts say the con

July 30, 2017

Record number expected to depart from Incheon airport for vacations

Yeongjong Island -- As South Koreans start taking summer vacation this weekend, Incheon International Airport on Sunday is packed with vacationers traveling overseas.The airport said a record number of some 109,000 is expected to use the airport Sunday to go overseas. The airport was packed with people early in the morning, carrying backpacks and carriers of casual clothes. Excited, some put on straw hats, while others already had their travel pillows wrapped around their necks in preparation fo

July 30, 2017

Korean exports forecast to keep posting double-digit growth: Moody's

South Korea's exports are expected to continue to log double-digit growth for a while on the back of steady overseas demand for semiconductors, global market research firm Moody's said Sunday."We expect annual export growth to keep rising at a double-digit pace thanks to the sustained uptick in the tech cycle lifting shipments of semiconductors and machinery," Moody's said in its weekly report. "South Korea's monthly trade surplus likely narrowed to $9.8 billion in July, from $11.

July 30, 2017

[Monitor] Pricey property

Land prices nationwide skyrocketed in the first half of this year, pushing the increasing rate of land prices to a nine-year high and the amount of transactions to an 11-year high, data by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport showed.Land price surges were particularly led by Sejong, Busan and Jeju Island, with ample development plans.

July 28, 2017

BOK chief warns of drop in potential growth rate due to aging population

South Korea's potential growth rate for the foreseeable future could significantly decline because of a shrinking workforce caused by a rapidly aging population, the Bank of Korea chief warned Friday.At a forum with business executives on the southern resort island of Jeju, BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol called for deregulations and a search for new growth engines to mitigate the impact of the aging population.  The BOK expects South Korea's potential growth rate to stay at 2.8 or 2.9 percent between

July 28, 2017