Calls grow for revival of Korea-US currency swap deal

Ahead of the scheduled South Korea-US summit next week, some lawmakers and experts have been calling for a revival of the bilateral currency swap as a countermeasure to the growing signs of a weakening won, reports said Monday. South Korean market was rattled on Friday when its local currency hit its lowest point in over two years, trading at 1,272.7 won against the US greenback at around 3:30 p.m. It eclipsed the previous low of 1,285.7 won against the US dollar reached in March 19, 2020 when

May 9, 2022

Extra budget for small businesses to be Yoon’s first economic move

The incoming Yoon Suk-yeol government is set to reveal an extra budget later this week as the president-elect had promised to support the self-employed and small businesses that COVID-19 hit the hardest. Yoon takes office Tuesday. “The budget will be rolled out at the earliest day possible once the new government takes over,” said Choo Kyung-ho, Yoon’s finance minister nominee who will double as deputy prime minister. The Yoon government is expected to use at least 33 trilli

May 8, 2022

US Fed’s rate hikes pose dilemma for S. Korea

The US Federal Reserve’s biggest rate hike in 22 years poses a dilemma for South Korea’s central bank in adjusting the pace of its monetary tightening and for local businesses seeking to go public, experts said Friday. The Fed’s decision to raise its base rate by half a percentage point on Wednesday (Eastern Standard Time) that set its target federal funds rate to a range between 0.75 percent and 1 percent has presented new hurdles for the Bank of Korea, which is wary of the g

May 6, 2022

Vice finance minister pledges preemptive response to market volatility

SEJONG -- Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon on Friday reiterated policymakers’ willingness to intervene promptly to stabilize the capital and currency markets.　 During a meeting to take countermeasures against the US Federal Reserve’s monetary tightening, Lee said that “there is a high possibility that Korea’s financial and foreign exchange market will react sensitively to external factors for the time being.” His remarks came after the Fed raised the US base rat

May 6, 2022

Seoul city to invest W612b to beef up public medical services

The Seoul city government said Friday it will invest a total of 612 billion won ($479.7 million) over the next four years to beef up the city's public medical services, including the construction of three new city-run hospitals. The project was launched amid growing calls for an expansion of the public health system to deal with health crisis situations, such the COVID-19 pandemic, and meet the needs of the less privileged, city officials said. Under the plan, a 600-bed capacity general hospital

May 6, 2022

S. Korea vows 'preemptive' steps against market volatility after Fed's rate hike

South Korea's finance ministry vowed Friday to seek preemptive measures, if needed, to tackle market volatility "in an aggressive and swift manner" following the US central bank's half-point rate hike. On Wednesday (US time), the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rates by a half-percentage point to curb the country's worst inflation in about four decades. The increase was the sharpest in 22 years. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said 50-basis point rate hikes &quo

May 6, 2022

[Newsmaker] US Fed makes biggest rate increase since 2000 to fight inflation

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced its biggest rate hike since 2000, with a half percentage point increase as it works to crush soaring US inflation. With inflation at the highest rate in four decades, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell sent a message directly to the American people, expressing concern for the pain caused by rising prices, and pledging to use all available tools to bring them down. But he told reporters he remains confident the economy is strong enough to

May 5, 2022

Korea far outstrips G20 average in growth of collective debt

SEJONG -- South Korea saw the ratio of collective debt -- held by the government, household and corporate sector -- to its gross domestic product climb sharply over the past few years since 2017, and even during the pandemic. Further, the nation’s collective debt-to-GDP ratio was found to have continued to rise amid the COVID-19 pandemic, while the G20 countries on average saw a decline in the figure, a local research institute said Wednesday, citing the Bank for International Settlements

May 4, 2022

BOK expected to deliver 4 more rate hikes by year's end amid inflation woes: JP Morgan

South Korea's central bank is expected to hike its key interest rate four more times by year's end considering its hawkish stance shown in the minutes of its latest rate-setting meeting, global investment bank JP Morgan said Wednesday. On Tuesday, the Bank of Korea (BOK) disclosed the minutes of its monetary policy board meeting on April 14, showing that its members called for further rate increases to tame inflation. The BOK raised the rate by a quarter percentage point to 1.5 percent during th

May 4, 2022

Imported car sales fall 9.8 pct in April amid chip shortages

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea fell 9.8 percent last month from a year earlier as chip shortages continued to affect vehicle production, an industry association said Wednesday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles fell to 23,070 units last month from 25,578 units a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. The three bestselling models last month were Mercedes-Benz's E 350 4MATIC sedan, BMW's 520 sedan and Merc

May 4, 2022

Consumer price growth hits 13-year high in April

SEJONG -- Korea’s consumer prices climbed the fastest in more than 13 years last month in the wake of a spike in international raw materials prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as well as sharply rising global demand for goods, state data showed Tuesday. According to Statistics Korea, consumer prices rose 4.8 percent last month, compared to a year earlier. This marked the highest since October 2008, when the same figure of 4.8 percent was reported. The surge came despite a Ba

May 3, 2022

Inflation growth hits over 13-year high in April amid soaring fuel prices

South Korea's consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in more than 13 years in April amid soaring energy costs caused by Russia's war with Ukraine and a rebound in demand from the pandemic, data showed Tuesday. Consumer prices spiked 4.8 percent last month from a year earlier, accelerating from a 4.1 percent on-year gain in March, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the fastest on-year rise since the same 4.8 percent increase in October 2008, when the country was in the midst

May 3, 2022

Trade balance worsens from China, Russia factors

SEJONG -- South Korea’s trade-related officials are striving to overcome the worsening trade balance in the wake of declining exports to major destinations, including China and Russia, from a variety of incidents. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo on Monday presided over a meeting to map out countermeasures against external negative factors which involve China’s possible lockdown of more major cities aside from Shanghai against variants of COVID-19 and the war between Ukraine and Russia.

May 2, 2022

S. Korea's exports up 12.6% in April, trade deficit widens on high energy prices

South Korea's exports rose 12.6 percent in April from a year earlier on the back of brisk demand for chips and petroleum products, but the trade deficit widened on soaring global energy prices, data showed Sunday. Outbound shipments stood at $57.69 billion last month, up from $51.23 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It is the highest tally for any April since the ministry began compiling related data in 1956. The previous reco

May 1, 2022

[Newsmaker] [Reporter's notebook] What's all the fuss over the weak Korean won?

SEJONG -- Policymakers repeatedly sent alerts to the foreign exchange market last week as the Korean currency sharply lost its value against the US dollar. The greenback surpassed 1,250 won in the wake of investors’ preference in safe havens amid expanding global uncertainty, which include Russia’s Ukraine invasion, high raw materials prices and moves to raise the interest rate in major countries. This is not the first time that increased volatility in won-dollar rates have rung bel

April 29, 2022

LNG prices to further rise on surging global prices

Prices of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in South Korea will increase more than 8 percent in May amid rising global energy prices, the industry ministry said Friday. LNG rates for households and commercial users will go up between 8.4 percent to 9.4 percent starting May 1, leading to the users' extra payment of around 2,450 won ($1.93) per month on average, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The government has frozen LNG prices for households and general purpose since July 202

April 29, 2022

Industrial output rebounds, retail sales fall in March amid omicron wave

South Korea's industrial output rebounded in March after two straight months of decline, but retail sales fell on-month amid the fast spread of the omicron variant, data showed Friday. Industrial production increased 1.5 percent in March from the previous month, compared with a 0.3 percent on-month drop in February, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Compared with a year earlier, industrial output rose 3.1 percent. Asia's fourth-largest economy has been on a recovery track on the back

April 29, 2022

Outgoing fiscal chief hints at FX intervention over weakening won

SEJONG -- Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Thursday sent a signal that the financial authority would move to intervene in the foreign exchange market as the Korean currency sharply lost value against the US dollar recently. During a meeting to map out countermeasures against the current economic situation in Seoul, Hong said the won lost ground against the dollar at a fast pace this week. The rising dollar prices were attributed to the possibility of faster-than-expect

April 28, 2022

Retail sales up 7% in March amid worst COVID-19 wave

Retail sales in South Korea rose 7.1 percent in March from a year earlier on the back of growing demand for foodstuff, daily items and luxury goods amid the worst wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry ministry said Thursday. The combined sales of 25 major offline and online retailers reached 13.69 trillion won ($10.81 billion) last month, up from 12.8 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Sales from offline stores rose 6.

April 28, 2022

S. Korea's auto exports edge down in Q1

South Korea's exports of autos declined for the first time in seven quarters in the January-March period amid global supply chain disruptions and Russia's war with Ukraine, customs data showed Thursday. The country's outbound shipments of cars came to $10.93 billion in the first quarter, down 0.6 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Autos accounted for some 7 percent of South Korea's exports. It marked the first on-year fall since the second qu

April 28, 2022