S. Korea logs current account surplus for 3rd month in July

South Korea logged a current account surplus for the third straight month in July on the back of a widened trade surplus and dividend payments from overseas, central bank data showed Friday. The country's current account surplus reached $3.58 billion in July, following the surplus of $1.93 billion in May and $5.87 billion in June, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. July's surplus came as the country's trade balance remained in the black and dividend income incre

Sept. 8, 2023

Lotte Mart to create special shopping zones for foreign travelers

Lotte Mart, one of South Korea's major supermarket chains, will create special shopping zones for foreign visitors at its branches frequently visited by inbound travelers, its operator said Wednesday. Last month, Lotte Mart first created a 20-meter-long special shopping zone, named "Must-Haves of Korea: K-Food," at its Seoul Station branch, where about 30 percent of visitors were foreigners in the first eight months of this year, according to Lotte Shopping Co. Lotte Mart plans to

Sept. 6, 2023

S. Korean shipyards rank 2nd in new global orders in Aug.

South Korean shipbuilders lagged far behind their Chinese rivals in new global orders to place second worldwide in August amid sinking demand, industry data showed Wednesday. Local shipyards won a combined 270,000 compensated gross tons in new orders last month, accounting for 13 percent of the global total at 2.05 million CGTs, according to the data from global market researcher Clarkson Research Service. The global total, or 71 vessels, was 30 percent lower than that from a year earlier. Chine

Sept. 6, 2023

S. Korea's monetary, budget tightening policies 'right': IMF

The International Monetary Fund has said South Korea's latest restrictive monetary and budget policies are headed in the right direction and anticipated the economy will speed up recovery in the second half, Seoul's finance ministry said Tuesday. Harald Finger, Korea missions chief at the Washington-based organization, made the remark during a virtual meeting with Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. During the meeting between the IMF and th

Sept. 5, 2023

S. Korea's consumer prices up 3.4% in Aug.

South Korea's on-year consumer price growth surpassed 3 percent in August after falling below the mark for two consecutive months amid higher prices of agricultural and manufactured goods, data showed Tuesday. Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 3.4 percent last month from a year earlier, compared with a 2.3 percent increase in July, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It was the highest on-year rise since the 3.7 percent growth tallied in April. In June, inflation fell

Sept. 5, 2023

S. Korea's economic growth gathers pace in Q2; outlook still murky

South Korea's economy grew at a slightly faster pace in the second quarter of this year than three months earlier despite a slump in exports, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's real gross domestic product -- a key measure of economic growth -- increased 0.6 percent on-quarter in the April-June period, matching an earlier estimate, according to the Bank of Korea. The second-quarter expansion is higher than the 0.3 percent expansion in the first quarter. Asia's fourth-l

Sept. 5, 2023

NFT tech expands realm of future art

With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence technology, the role of NFT technology goes beyond protecting the copyrights of digital art collectibles, and into expanding the realm of art, with diverse implications for the future art world. Throughout the NFT 2023 Seoul Conference, held at Coex in southern Seoul on Friday, the future roles of NFT technology were illuminated. Dedicated to the theme, “the Utilization and Role of NFT Art in the Future Art,” the second part of th

Sept. 4, 2023

Experts explore NFT applications, STO market dynamics

The NFT 2023 Seoul Conference on Friday focused the connection between non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and Web3 infrastructure as well as the role of Security Token Offerings in fundraising. Patrick Yoon from cryptocurrency exchange company Crypto.com Korea opened the sessions by talking about the the growth trajectory Web3. He predicted a $50 trillion-$60 trillion Web3 valuation by 2030, with NFTs poised to claim 10 to 15 percent of the digital asset valuation by that time. "NFT creators have m

Sept. 4, 2023

Conference highlights unlimited potential of NFT

The NFT 2023 Seoul Conference, held Friday at Coex in southern Seoul, explored the future of non-fungible tokens, discussing how the decentralized technology would innovate diverse fields from blockchain to finance and art in the near future. The one-day event was organized by The Korea Herald, the nation’s largest English daily, together with ArtToken, a Seoul-based digital art platform, and Soongsil University. “Even at this moment, the world is evolving at a fast pace,” Kore

Sept. 4, 2023

S. Korean economy on verge of recovery: finance minister

The South Korean economy is on the verge of recovery despite some monthly volatility, the finance minister said Monday, with exports showing continued signs of improvement. "South Korea's economy has recently witnessed some monthly fluctuations, but in general, it is building ground at an entryway of recovery," Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said during a meeting with economy-related ministers. While South Korea's industrial output lost ground on-month in July, Choo attribute

Sept. 4, 2023

S. Korea's exports down for 11th month in Aug. on weak chip demand

South Korea's exports fell for the 11th consecutive month in August due mainly to weak demand for semiconductors and petroleum products, but the country reported a trade surplus for the third straight month, the industry ministry said Friday. Outbound shipments fell 8.4 percent on-year to $51.87 billion last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The decline came as exports of semiconductors, the country's key export item, sank 21 percent o

Sept. 1, 2023

Industrial output, retail sales, facility investment lose ground in July

South Korea's industrial output, retail sales and facility investment lost ground from a month earlier amid growing concerns of an economic slowdown, data showed Thursday. The industrial output fell 0.7 percent in July from a month earlier after standing still in June, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The three indicators lost ground at the same time for the first time since January. The output in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries decreased 2 percent due

Aug. 31, 2023

Korea likely to designate Oct. 2 as temporary holiday

    Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said the government was positively considering the ruling party's proposal to designate Oct. 2 as a one-off public holiday to allow people to have six consecutive days off work. "The ruling party made the suggestion to ensure the people's right to rest and to stimulate domestic consumption. The government agrees with the ruling party," Choo said in an interview held by a local broadcasting station Tuesday. Designating a temporary holiday on

Aug. 30, 2023

Over 50% of Korean firms missing earnings target in China this year: survey

China’s disappointing economic recovery has led more than half of Korean companies to miss their earning targets in the market, with abounding downside risks hampering the path to a rebound in the second half of the year, Korea’s major business lobby group said Wednesday. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry raised concerns over the factors causing financial instability in China which could further drag Korean companies down, including its real estate market crisis, contracti

Aug. 30, 2023

Korea slams brake on budget growth

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved the 2024 budget proposal worth 656.9 trillion won ($497 billion), marking the lowest on-year growth in nearly two decades as the country suffers from sluggish tax revenue. The size of the second budget proposal drawn up by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration has increased by 2.8 percent from this year’s 638.7 trillion won, the smallest proposed increase since 2005. The budget for this year was 5.1 percent up on the previous year. “Due to the past administ

Aug. 29, 2023

S. Korea, S&P begin annual consultation meetings

South Korea on Monday began annual consultation meetings with global rating appraiser Standard & Poor's Global Ratings (S&P) to discuss the country's credit valuation and economic circumstances, the finance ministry said. The delegation, led by Kim Eng Tan, senior director of Asia-Pacific sovereign ratings at S&P, is visiting South Korea for three days of consultations through Wednesday, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The delegation paid a courtesy visit

Aug. 28, 2023

[Photo News] Soaring fuel prices

Gasoline and diesel prices are displayed at a gas station in Seoul on Sunday, as diesel averaged over 1,600 won ($1.2) per liter, marking a six-month high following seven continuous weeks of rising gas prices. (Yonhap)

Aug. 27, 2023

Inflation fears grow on high fuel costs

The on-year growth in consumer prices is likely to bounce back to the 3 percent range from this month due to the spike in international oil prices. While inflation in Korea has been easing off this year, the Finance Ministry expects it to climb back, reaching the 3 percent range before coming down again in October. Korea's on-year growth in consumer prices has been showing signs of slowing down this year. It came down to 4.8 percent in February from 5.2 percent in January, and stayed in the

Aug. 27, 2023

Exports of fisheries products fall 12% this year: data

South Korea's exports of fisheries products fell more than 10 percent on-year during the first seven months of 2023, data showed Sunday. Outbound shipments of marine products came to $1.75 billion in the January-July period, down 11.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. (aT). Global sales of major fisheries goods suffered a decline, with exports of tuna skidding 21.1 percent to $322 million and those of pollack sinking 82.8 p

Aug. 27, 2023

How will China's lifting of group travel ban affect Korea's GDP?

China’s lifting of group tours to South Korea is estimated to lead to 800,000 more travelers and raise Korea’s gross domestic product by 0.06 percent this year, the Bank of Korea said Friday. The resumption of group tours is expected to have a significant impact on the recovery of Chinese tourists visiting Korea, considering that about 40 percent of all Chinese tourists were group tourists before the restrictions were put in place, according to an economic outlook report released b

Aug. 25, 2023