Middle East contributes most to Korea’s trade deficit

SEJONG -- The Middle East was found to have contributed the most to South Korea’s all-time high trade deficit for the first seven months of the year, state data showed Wednesday, reflecting the export-driven economy’s ongoing high reliance on crude oil.　 According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Korea suffered a cumulative deficit of $51.7 billion in trade with countries in the Middle East during the period of January-July. The figure was higher by 244 percent, compa

Aug. 3, 2022

Big firms' payrolls increase 1.5% in H1 on eased pandemic curbs

The combined workforce of large South Korean companies expanded 1.5 percent in the first half of the year from a year earlier amid eased COVID-19 restrictions, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. The number of workers hired by 459 out of the country's top 500 firms by sales totaled 1.55 million as of end-June this year, up around 12,500, from a year earlier, according to CEO Score. The tally excludes 41 out of the country's leading 500 companies, which reported changes of 10 percent or

Aug. 3, 2022

Minutes show BOK board members call for swift rate hike to neutral level

Board members of South Korea's central bank underlined the need for raising the policy interest rate to a neutral level as quickly as possible to curb fast-rising inflation pressure as they delivered a first-ever "big-step" rate increase last month, minutes from their latest rate-setting meeting showed Tuesday. In the meeting on July 13, the monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea (BOK) voted unanimously to hike the policy rate by half a percentage point to 2.25 percent. That re

Aug. 2, 2022

Prices keep surging amid growth woes

Consumer prices in July accelerated to an almost 24-year high of 6.3 percent on higher energy and food prices, as South Korea battles soaring inflation dragging down the export-led economy. According to Statistics Korea data released Tuesday, the July consumer price index edged 0.3 percentage point higher than in June. The last time the annual price gain neared such a level was in November 1998, when it reached 6.8 percent amid the Asian financial crisis. But the pace of monthly inflation sho

Aug. 2, 2022

Korea to scrutinize tax evasion via virtual assets

SEJONG -- The nation’s tax agency has pledged to take stern actions against tax evasion practices via virtual assets, including cryptocurrency, and online platforms. The National Tax Service, in its policy briefing before the strategy and finance committee of the National Assembly on Monday, clarified that the kind of new tax evasion is hampering justice in the market as well as fairness in taxation. More and more people are reportedly seeking to dodge taxes by investing in virtual asset

Aug. 2, 2022

S. Korea's inflation at near 24-year high in July on high energy, food prices

South Korea's consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in almost 24 years in July due to high energy and food prices, data showed Tuesday, raising expectations that the central bank will continue to raise the policy rate to tame inflation. Consumer prices soared 6.3 percent last month from a year earlier, accelerating from a 6 percent on-year spike in June, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the sharpest on-year increase since November 1998, when consumer inflation jumped 6.8

Aug. 2, 2022

BOK signals rate hike slowdown while slashing growth forecast

Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong told lawmakers Monday that the central bank will deliver the usual 0.25 percentage point interest rate hikes this year, while acknowledging that the economy would fall short of the 2.7 percent annual growth for 2022. The central bank a month ago backed its biggest single rate raise of 0.5 percentage point to tame persistent inflation prompted by a global surge in materials and food costs. The bank holds three more board meetings, each in August, October and No

Aug. 1, 2022

S. Korea’s accumulative trade deficit hits 66-year high

SEJONG -- South Korea posted a trade deficit for the fourth consecutive month in the wake of a noteworthy decline in exports to China as well as the spiraling import prices of raw materials, with the cumulative deficit for the first seven months of the year hitting the highest in 66 years. In particular, the nation recorded all-time high imports in July due to a spike in energy prices, which has worsened the trade balance, state data showed Monday. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry

Aug. 1, 2022

BOK sees small incremental rate increases as 'appropriate'

South Korea's central bank said Monday it is "appropriate" to raise its key interest rate in small increments going forward as long as inflation and growth trends do not deviate much from the expected paths. The Bank of Korea (BOK) provided the broad guidance on the future trajectory of monetary policy in a report to the National Assembly after it delivered an unprecedented 0.5 percentage-point rate increase last month to rein in surging inflation. It was the sixth rate hike since

Aug. 1, 2022

Exports up 9.4% in July; trade deficit extended for 4th month

South Korea suffered a trade deficit for the fourth consecutive month in July over high global energy prices, though its exports rose 9.4 percent on-year on solid demand for chips, data showed Monday. Outbound shipments stood at $60.7 billion last month, up from $55.5 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It is the highest tally for any July since 1956, when the ministry began compiling related data. The previous record was set a ye

Aug. 1, 2022

Apartment transactions plunge in H1 on lending curbs, rate hikes

Apartment transactions in South Korea fell more than 50 percent on-year in the first half of 2022 due mainly to the government's tough lending curbs and rising interest rates, data showed Sunday. The number of apartments traded nationwide stood at 184,134 units in the January-June period, down 50.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Korea Real Estate Board. It is the lowest level since the agency began compiling the related data in 2006 and marked nearly a 60 percent

July 31, 2022

Yoon to slash payroll at public firms in 2023

SEJONG -- The Yoon Suk-yeol administration on Friday unveiled a policy scaling back payrolls at 350 public firms nationwide next year, as part of its effort to raise overall productivity and eradicate negligent management of some state-run agencies. It also plans to revamp the wage payment structure for workers in the public agency sector, by slashing taxpayer funding injected from the central government for operation of their businesses. This marks the first time that the government has cut p

July 29, 2022

S. Korea seeks to overhaul public firms to prevent lax management

South Korea on Friday unveiled guidelines to overhaul operations of public firms in a bid to improve their productivity and prevent lax management amid a sharp rise in personnel and debt. The guidelines called for a total of 350 public firms to reduce their non-core business and lower the maximum number of employees for 2023, according to the finance ministry. Public firms should also sell non-essential assets and cut business costs by more than 10 percent in the second half. Large welfare benef

July 29, 2022

Card spending climbs 15% in Q2 on eased COVID-19 curbs

Credit card spending in South Korea jumped in the second quarter, buoyed by eased antivirus measures, data showed Friday. Spending made with credit, debit and prepaid cards came to 280.7 trillion won ($216.2 billion) in the April-June period, up 14.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Credit Finance Association (CREFIA). During the cited period, the number of approved card settlements climbed 11.4 percent on-year to 6.61 billion cases. "The eased COVID-19 cur

July 29, 2022

Tax revenue up W36.5tr in H1 amid economic recovery

South Korea's tax revenue increased 36.5 trillion won ($28 billion) in the first half from a year earlier as the economic recovery boosted the collection of corporate and income taxes, the finance ministry said Friday. Tax revenue amounted to 218.3 trillion won in the January-June period, compared with 181.7 trillion won the previous year, according to the ministry. In June alone, tax revenue rose 1.7 trillion won on-year to 21.7 trillion won. South Korea has continued to post a surplus of

July 29, 2022

Exports of passenger cars rise 2.5% in H1

Exports of South Korean-made passenger cars expanded 2.5 percent in the first half of the year, thanks mainly to brisk overseas demand for green cars, data showed Friday. Local carmakers shipped passenger cars worth a combined $22.3 billion during the January-June period, up from $21.7 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service (KCS). The number of exported units, however, decreased 2.7 percent on-year to 1.07 million. South Korea's imports of passen

July 29, 2022

S. Korea's consumption falls for 4th month amid high inflation

South Korea's industrial output rose in June from the previous month, but retail sales declined for the fourth straight month as high inflation and rising interest rates weighed on consumption, data showed Friday. Industrial output grew for the second straight month in June as it rose 0.6 percent on-month, following a 0.8 percent increase in May, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The June increase was led by robust production in the manufacturing sector, the backbone of the economy. M

July 29, 2022

Inflation outlook hits all-time high as growth prospects dim

South Koreans expect prices to rise at a record level in the next 12 months and the economy to underperform, a Bank of Korea survey showed Wednesday, as the export-led economy faces shrinking growth over poor exports. In a monthly survey of 2,500 households conducted July 11-18, consumers forecast inflation to average 4.7 percent, hitting its highest level since 2008 when the central bank began releasing the data. The all-time high, up from the previous 3.9 percent in June, also marked the lar

July 27, 2022

Number of trading firms hits record high in 2021

The number of trading firms in South Korea touched a fresh all-time high in 2021 on brisk exports and imports, government data showed Wednesday. Asia's fourth-largest economy had 253,058 trading companies last year, up 4.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. The value of their trade also spiked 28.1 percent on-year to a new record of $1.23 trillion. The number of exporting companies shrank 2.5 percent on-year to 95,640, but the value of their e

July 27, 2022

ABS issuance down 32% in H1

The issuance of asset-backed securities (ABSs) in South Korea shrank 32 percent on-year in the first half of this year due to decreased sales of mortgage-backed securities, data showed Wednesday. The ABS issued during the January-June period came to 24.1 trillion won ($18.4 billion), down 11.3 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. ABS refers to securities based on such assets as mortgages, auto loans, credit card receivables and student l

July 27, 2022