Ramen next in line for sharp price hike

Amid soaring food costs, prices of ramen, Koreans’ most favored instant food and a common low-cost meal option, are set for an increase next month, in another blow to customers already grappling with persistent inflation. Koreans consumed the most instant noodles per capita in the world in 2020. Nongshim, a leading South Korean ramen maker, said Wednesday that it was raising prices for instant noodles and snacks, effective Sept. 15, by an average of 11.3 percent and 5.7 percent, respectiv

Aug. 24, 2022

S. Korea to announce comprehensive measures to boost exports

South Korea plans to come up with a set of measures this month to strengthen the competitiveness in exports amid the global economic downturn, the industry ministry said Wednesday. The envisioned plan comes as the country has seen a slowdown in the growth of exports, which account for half of the economy, and its trade deficit has widened in recent months due to high energy prices. In July, exports rose 9.4 percent on-year, marking the 21st consecutive month of growth. But they began to mark sin

Aug. 24, 2022

Individual bond buying soars amid flight to safety

South Korean retail investors' bond purchases have surged this year as they seek safe-haven assets amid rising interest rates and a bearish stock market, data showed Wednesday. Local individual investors had bought a net 10.2 trillion won (US$7.6 billion) worth of bonds over the counter this year as of Monday, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. The amount is more than double their net buying of 4.6 trillion won for all of last year. By type, corporate bon

Aug. 24, 2022

Big businesses in Korea see 50% surge in inventory

SEJONG -- Big Korean businesses saw their inventory surge by about 50 percent in the first half on-year, sparking concerns that the piling products left unsold is maybe a sign that South Korea is entering a fog of economic uncertainty. According to the corporate research institute Leaders Index, the inventory assets held by 192 conglomerates came to 147.6 trillion won ($110 billion) in the first half of the year, a 49.6 percent increase from 98.6 trillion won in the first half of 2021. While b

Aug. 23, 2022

South Korea’s exports to China jump 162-fold over 30 years

South Korean exports to China has jumped 162 times since the two countries forged diplomatic ties in 1992, far more than the overall outbound shipments of Asia’s fourth-largest economy that grew ninefold in the same period, data showed Tuesday. The data comes amid growing concerns of Korea’s increasing trade dependence on the world’s No. 2 economy, with the demand for memory chips having become a strong driving force behind Korea’s overall export growth. Korea’s

Aug. 23, 2022

Most S. Korean bond experts eye rate hike in Aug.: poll

An absolute majority of bond mavens in South Korea expect the country's central bank to raise its key interest by a quarter point in August in line with the US Federal Reserve's hawkish stance, a poll showed Tuesday. According to the survey of 100 bond experts by the Korea Financial Investment Association, 97 of the respondents forecast the Bank of Korea (BOK) to jack up its policy rate at a policy meeting slated for Thursday. Of the total, 91 percent predicted a 0.25 percentage-point

Aug. 23, 2022

Inflation expectations mark 1st fall in 8 months in August: BOK data

South Korea's inflation expectations declined for the first time in eight months in August, amid hopes that the country's fast-rising inflation hike may peak later this year, a central bank survey showed Tuesday. Ordinary people expected consumer prices will grow 4.3 percent over the next year, which was down from an all-time high of 4.7 percent a month ago, according to the poll conducted by the Bank of Korea (BOK). This marked the first monthly decline since December 2021. "Consumer senti

Aug. 23, 2022

Korea seeks to curb fiscal deficit from 2023

EJONG -- The Yoon Suk-yeol administration would drastically reduce South Korea’s fiscal deficit starting from next year by restricting expansionary policies to improve the nation‘s fiscal soundness. According to government officials on Monday, the Ministry of Economy and Finance has set the goal of slashing the ratio of fiscal deficit to gross domestic product to 3 percent or under -- the first time in four years -- in its national budget plan for 2023. In addition, the Finance Mi

Aug. 22, 2022

Exports up 3.9% during first 20 days of Aug.; trade deficit widens

South Korea's exports rose 3.9 percent on-year in the first 20 days of August on robust demand for petroleum products and autos, but the country saw its trade deficit widen on soaring fuel costs, data showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $33.4 billion in the Aug. 1-20 period, compared with $32.2 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports jumped 22.1 percent on-year to $43.6 billion during the cited period, resulting in a

Aug. 22, 2022

FSC forges ahead with COVID debt relief plan amid worries

Self-employed people and small businesses who have suffered major economic disruptions due to the pandemic will receive government support in writing off their debts as long as they pass a thorough screening process, the Financial Services Commission said Thursday. The plan -- revealed earlier to help the group repay loans they had taken out since the pandemic -- aims to reduce their debts, which the agency says needs to happen now because they could soon go bankrupt. But critics have said too

Aug. 19, 2022

Korea seeks to find big trading partners in Africa

South Korea will expand economic cooperation with African countries and promote local businesses’ advancement into the continent, the nation’s top economic policymaker said Friday. At a ministerial meeting to discuss operation plans for the Economic Development Cooperation Fund in Seoul, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said the nation “is seeking to find new trading partners in Africa, whose growth potential is big.” He expressed hopes that Kore

Aug. 19, 2022

S. Korea to preemptively deal with short-term foreign debt, capital flows

South Korea said Friday it plans to preemptively tackle a rise in the short-term foreign debt and volatility of cross-border capital flows as heightened external economic uncertainty could pose risks to its external soundness. The government also said the pace of the South Korean currency's weakness against the US dollar is not steep, compared with other major currencies such as the yen and the euro. "South Korea's external soundness remains relatively good even in the midst of he

Aug. 19, 2022

S. Korean economy likely to slow down amid high inflation: ministry

South Korea's economy is feared to lose growth momentum as the country is grappling with high inflation and export growth could slow down amid heightened external economic uncertainty, the finance ministry said Friday. The Federal Reserve's fast rate hikes, China's economic slowdown, and the protracted war between Russia and Ukraine have increased downside risks to the global economy, the ministry said in its monthly economic assessment report, called the Green Book. "Domesti

Aug. 19, 2022

No. of state-run agencies to be reduced for better efficiency

SEJONG -- The number of state-run agencies are expected to be reduced substantially under a government plan to streamline efficiency and performance.  The Ministry of Economy and Finance on Thursday proposed a total of 42 institutions, or 32 percent of the nation’s 130 government-affiliated institutions, to be converted into “a third group” public agencies with more autonomy and responsibility. 　 Currently, those with assets worth 1 billion won ($757,000), a yearly earnin

Aug. 18, 2022

AMCHAM delegation discusses economic partnership, IPEF with Biden officials, lawmakers

An American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) delegation has discussed economic security and partnerships, including the new US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), with US government officials and lawmakers during their recent visit to Washington, AMCHAM said Thursday. The 14-member delegation made the three-day trip to the United States starting July 27 as part of its annual business-promoting program that resumed after a two-year hiatus over COVID-19. They met with senior officials

Aug. 18, 2022

Food prices to rise further: report

SEJONG -- Spiraling import prices of grain are expected to bring about further price hikes in local processed food products and food offered at restaurants, with a state-run agency predicting a continuous climb of grain prices in the third quarter of the year. In a recent report, the Korea Rural Economic Institute forecasted that grain import prices would climb 16 percent in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter. A peak in the international prices of grains such as wheat, corn and

Aug. 17, 2022

S. Korea calls for global cooperation against crimes in fast-growing digital asset market

A top financial regulator said Wednesday that it is necessary to step up global cooperation in effectively responding to crimes involving digital assets as transactions take place across borders with their impact on traditional financial markets fast expanding. Kim So-young, vice chair of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), highlighted the need in the inauguration meeting of the recently launched private-government task force on digital assets, adding that more efforts should be made to pro

Aug. 17, 2022

S. Korea's contraband trade jumps 60% in H1

SEJONG -- South Korea's contraband trade shot up 60 percent in the first half of the year on a spike in tariff evasion and country-of-origin violations, the customs agency said Wednesday. The Korea Customs Service (KCS) said it detected and confiscated about 3 trillion won (US$2.3 billion) worth of illegal goods and unlawful transactions in the January-June period, compared with 1.9 trillion won a year earlier. Yet the number of contraband cases sank 28 percent on-year to 849 in the six-mon

Aug. 17, 2022

S. Korea to supply 2.7 million new homes by 2027

SEJONG -- The Yoon Suk-yeol administration said Tuesday that it will provide 2.7 million new homes nationwide over the next five years by easing regulations on redevelopment and reconstruction, as well as designating a group of locations as new towns for development. The first home supply plan under the Yoon administration was unveiled at a ministerial meeting in Seoul, whose participants included Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho and Land Minister Won Hee-ryong. Almost 3 in 5 new

Aug. 16, 2022

Antitrust regulator to prioritize addressing damage to victims of unfair biz acts

SEJONG -- South Korea's antitrust regulator said Tuesday it plans to focus on how to swiftly address damage to victims of unfair business acts, rather than punishing companies, in an effort to overhaul its law enforcement procedures. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) also said in a policy briefing to President Yoon Suk-yeol that it plans to take stern actions against tech giants' abuse of their market dominant status or companies' collusion to fix prices. The regulator said it plans

Aug. 16, 2022