Exports up 6.6% in August; trade deficit extended for 5th month

South Korea suffered a trade deficit for the fifth consecutive month in August for the first time in nearly 14 years on high global energy prices, though its exports rose 6.6 percent on-year, data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments stood at $56.67 billion last month, up from $53.2 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It is the highest tally for any August since the ministry began compiling related data in 1956. The previous record

Sept. 1, 2022

Korean economy suffers triple decline in July

SEJONG -- Korea posted a triple decline in industrial output, consumption and investment in July amid the ongoing negative factors, such as spiraling raw material prices and a glitch in global supply, state data showed Wednesday. Further, consumption decreased for the fifth consecutive month, which marked the first time in 1995 since the nation started compiling the relevant figures. According to Statistics Korea, industrial output declined by 0.1 percent in July on-month, private consumption

Aug. 31, 2022

S. Korea suffers fall in production, consumption, investment in July

South Korea's industrial output, retail sales and investment declined together for the first time in three months in July amid heightened external uncertainty, data showed Wednesday. Industrial output fell 0.1 percent in July from the previous month, compared with a 0.8 percent on-month increase in June, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Compared with a year earlier, industrial production grew 3.8 percent. Retail sales, a gauge of consumption, fell for the fifth straight month in July

Aug. 31, 2022

BOK says no shift in policy despite hawkish US Fed

The Bank of Korea said Tuesday that it is not expecting a shift in its interest rate policy despite a hawkish US stance on inflation Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell revealed over the weekend, as that was already factored in its decision-making process. At a three-day global symposium of central bankers that ended Saturday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Powell made it clear he backs rate hikes as needed to tame inflation even if that means slowing growth – a message some say could push t

Aug. 30, 2022

2023 budget includes support for soldiers, young parents

SEJONG -- The Cabinet on Tuesday approved the 2023 budget proposal worth 639 trillion won ($473 billion), which is aimed at securing the fiscal soundness and lowering the ratio of national debt to gross domestic product by minimizing state expenditure. Despite directions to refrain from conducting fiscal expansion, the first budget bill under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration sufficiently reflects its support plan for enlisted soldiers, households with infants, young people in their 20s as well

Aug. 30, 2022

Retail sales up 9.7% in July amid eased virus curbs

Retail sales in South Korea rose 9.7 percent on-year in July amid eased COVID-19 curbs and the growth in people's outdoor activities, the industry ministry said Tuesday. The combined sales of 25 major offline and online retailers came to 14.17 trillion won ($10.48 billion) last month, compared with 12.9 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It marked the fifth consecutive month of on-year growth. Sales from offline stores

Aug. 30, 2022

BOK chief sees no change in Seoul's monetary policy despite Powell's hawkish remarks

The Bank of Korea (BOK) will not change its current monetary policy of pushing for "piecemeal" rate increases to combat inflation despite US Fed Chair Jerome Powell's hawkish remarks at the recent Jackson Hole meeting, its top official said Tuesday. At the annual conference held over the weekend in Wyoming, Powell hinted at continuing the Federal Reserve's rate hikes for some time to rein in runaway inflation, a comment interpreted in the market as raising the possibility of

Aug. 30, 2022

S. Korea seeks slowest growth of budget spending in 6 years for next year

South Korea on Tuesday proposed a budget of 639 trillion won ($473.5 billion) for next year in the slowest spending growth in six years as it seeks to implement a belt-tightening policy to improve fiscal health. The proposal represents a 5.2 percent hike from this year's budget of 607.7 trillion won and compares with an 8.9 percent on-year increase for the 2022 state budget. But it marks the slowest growth since a 3.7 percent rise for the 2017 budget and a 6 percent on-year fall from this year's

Aug. 30, 2022

Tax revenue up W37.3t in first seven months of this year

South Korea's tax revenue grew 37.3 trillion won ($27.8 billion) in the first seven month of this year from a year ago as the collection of corporate and income taxes amid the economic recovery, the finance ministry said Tuesday. Tax revenue amounted to 261 trillion won in the January-July period, compared with 223.7 trillion won the previous year, according to the ministry. In July alone, tax revenue increased 800 billion won on-year to 42.7 trillion won. South Korea has posted a surplus o

Aug. 30, 2022

More self-employed work alone in Korea

SEJONG -- The number of self-employed people without employees came to the highest in 14 years in South Korea amid the surge in food deliverymen and business startups among retirees, state data showed Monday. The nation’s self-employed is split into two groups: those who hire several workers as micro-business owners, and those who do not hire any employees. The latter are also called own-account workers. According to Statistics Korea, the number of own-account workers, who work alone, re

Aug. 29, 2022

Financial firm workers embezzled W170b over 6 years: lawmaker

Executives from financial firms were reaping astronomical salaries and bonuses amid increasing embezzlement, a lawmaker said Monday, quoting data. Data submitted by the Financial Supervisory Service to Rep. Yang Jung-suk showed that a total of 327 embezzlement cases worth a total of 170 billion won ($126 million) had occurred at 78 financial firms from 2017 to August this year. According to the data, the amount of damage caused by embezzlements in the financial sector was increasing every yea

Aug. 29, 2022

S. Korea's financial regulator inspecting Morgan Stanley for short selling

South Korea's financial watchdog has launched an inspection into Morgan Stanley as part of efforts to intensify monitoring of stock short selling that has been blamed for excessive market swings, industry sources said Monday. The inspection came about two weeks after Lee Bok-hyun, the head of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), underlined the need to keep tabs on illegal short selling, saying his agency is preparing to inspect brokerages where such transactions have been concentrated d

Aug. 29, 2022

S. Korea vows policy efforts against herd behavior in market

South Korea plans to take measures to stabilize the financial market if there is excessive herd behavior in the wake of the US central bank's annual Jackson Hole meeting, a senior government official said Monday. First Vice Finance Minister Bang Ki-sun also said the government will closely monitor Korea's currency and bond markets with "extra" caution as the domestic market has moved in tandem with US markets. US stock markets nosedived Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell

Aug. 29, 2022

BOK cannot stop tightening before Fed, governor says

The Bank of Korea will tighten policy to corral inflation but cannot end it before the US Federal Reserve, BOK Gov. Rhee Chang-yong said Saturday at the annual Jackson Hole meeting in Wyoming -- a three-day global economic retreat of central bankers held in-person this year after a pandemic hiatus in 2020 and 2021. “We are now independent from the government, but we are not independent from the Fed,” Rhee said on the last day of the gathering, in an interview with Reuters, noting th

Aug. 28, 2022

S. Korea ranks 9th among nations with trade surpluses with US in H1: data

South Korea was ranked ninth among countries with trade surpluses with the United States in the first half of the year, as Asia's fourth-largest economy recorded strong on-year growth in shipments to the US during the period, US government data showed Sunday. According to the Department of Commerce, South Korea's trade surplus with the US during the January-June period amounted to $21.67 billion, up 86.9 percent from a year ago. The trade surplus grew as South Korean shipments to the U

Aug. 28, 2022

Korea to abolish some corporate punishment laws

SEJONG -- South Korea will push for the abolishment of law provisions, which stipulate criminal punishment on businesses despite meager rule-violations, as part of effort to promote wider scale corporate activities and vitalize foreign investments. Before seeking criminal punishment, the government will issue administrative sanctions in the first stage, the Finance Ministry and the Justice Ministry said during a meeting for revamping regulations in Daegu on Friday. According to the two ministr

Aug. 26, 2022

S. Korea to take steps to stabilize FX market to curb market volatility: official

South Korea plans to take measures to stabilize the foreign exchange market in a timely manner if market volatility increases, driven by herd behavior or speculative bets in the currency market, a senior government official said Friday. The government will also buy back Treasury bonds and take steps to help curb a rise in bond yields, when needed, if the bond market shows jitters amid global rate hike drives, according to First Vice Finance Minister Bang Ki-sun. The finance ministry said the Sou

Aug. 26, 2022

BOK makes 4th consecutive rate hike

The Bank of Korea returned to its usual 25 basis point rate hike Thursday, half the historic size seen in July, while slashing its growth forecast for the year amid the persistent inflation forcing the central bank to back a raise for a fourth time in a row for the first time. The unanimous decision reached by all seven board members comes as the country fights inflation at an almost 24-year high. In July, prices jumped 6.3 percent on-year. The policy rate now stands at 2.5 percent, up fro

Aug. 25, 2022

Korea to seek joint response with EU over Biden’s bill

SEJONG -- The South Korean government is to seek a joint response with the EU to deal with the US Inflation Reduction Act that slashes subsidies to electric vehicles not made on American soil, rather than seeking dispute settlement within the bilateral trade agreement frame the two forged years ago. Seoul would continue to raise arguments that the US law goes against the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement, but a joint response scenario with other countries seems more feasible to press Washington tha

Aug. 25, 2022

Producer prices grow for 7th month in July on electricity, service costs

South Korea's producer prices increased for the seventh straight month in July as electricity and transportation service bills rose, raising worries that it could add to upward pressure on already-high inflation, central bank data showed Thursday. The producer price index, a major barometer of consumer inflation, stood at 120.47 last month, up 0.3 percent from the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Compared with a year earlier, the index jumped 9

Aug. 25, 2022