Amid steep prices growth, Korea to expand fuel tax cut to 30% from May

SEJONG -- The Ministry of Economy and Finance said Tuesday that it would expand the rate of tax cut on fuel from the current 20 percent to 30 percent, temporarily from May to July, as a contingency plan to alleviate inflationary pressure. The measure, aimed at easing the cost burden on households and some businesses, was unveiled amid growing concerns over consumer price growth reaching the highest figure in more than 10 years. Announcing the plan at a ministerial meeting, Deputy Prime Ministe

April 5, 2022

Korea’s top 20% own real estate 251 times more valuable than lowest

The gap between people categorized as South Korea’s wealthiest and the poorest groups has been growing sharply in recent years, with houses, buildings and land owned by the top 20 percent valued at an average 251 times higher than that owned by the bottom 20 percent, a report showed Tuesday. The report suggested pandemic-triggered inflation as a key reason behind the widening economic polarization. Koreans in the top 20 percent income bracket had real estate valued at a combined 1.2 bill

April 5, 2022

National debt hits record high in 2021 amid pandemic

South Korea's national debt rose to a record high last year as the government boosted a debt sale to fund its expansionary fiscal spending to ride out the COVID-19 pandemic-caused slump, the finance ministry said Tuesday. The sovereign debt, which covers bond sales and financial borrowing by central and provincial governments, amounted to 967.2 trillion won ($796 billion) last year, sharply up 120.6 trillion won from the previous year, according to a report on the 2021 national settlement. The 2

April 5, 2022

Imported car sales dip 8.7% in March amid chip shortages

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea fell 8.7 percent in March as chip shortages continued to affect vehicle production, an industry association said Tuesday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles fell to 24,912 units last month from 27,297 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 250 sedan and E 350 4MATIC sedan and BMW's 520 sedan, it said. In March,

April 5, 2022

S. Korea to expand fuel tax cuts amid surging energy prices

SEJONG -- South Korea will expand tax cuts on fuel consumption as part of efforts to ease inflation pressure that has been building up amid surging energy prices, the country's top economic policymaker said Tuesday. The government will expand fuel tax cuts from the current 20 percent to 30 percent from early May to end-July as the Russia-Ukraine war has sent crude oil and other commodity prices even higher, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki told an anti-inflation meeting. The decision came as South

April 5, 2022

Jet fuel consumption hits 17-year low in 2021 amid pandemic

Jet fuel consumption in South Korea tumbled to a 17-year low in 2021 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Tuesday. Jet fuel consumption in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 21.17 million barrels last year, down 2.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the state-run Korea National Oil Corp. The decrease followed a 44 percent on-year nosedive in 2020, which was sparked by the government's strict social distancing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. La

April 5, 2022

Soaring energy costs push up inflation growth to over 4% in March

South Korea's consumer prices grew more than 4 percent for the first time in more than 10 years in March as energy prices jumped amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, data showed Tuesday. The consumer prices rose 4.1 percent last month from a year earlier, accelerating from a 3.7 percent on-year gain in February, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Consumer inflation exceeded 4 percent for the first time since December 2011, when consumer prices climbed 4.2 percent on-year. Infla

April 5, 2022

Import prices of farm, fishery, livestock products grow over 30%

SEJONG -- A spike in import prices of agricultural, livestock and fisheries products is estimated to have propelled a recent sharp growth in the nation’s overall consumer prices, data from a research institute showed Monday. According to the Korea Trade Statistics Promotion Institute, the index for import prices of agricultural, livestock and fisheries products reached 112.6 in February, up 31.7 percent from a year earlier. The index is calculated under the assumption that prices was at

April 4, 2022

Jim Rogers named inter-Korean project adviser for Paju city

US investor Jim Rogers has been named an inter-Korean project cooperation adviser for the city of Paju, Gyeonggi Province, adjacent to the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas, officials said Monday. Rogers was tapped to give the city government policy advice on inter-Korean projects and is scheduled to visit the northern border city on Wednesday to sign the related agreement, according to Paju government officials. The officials added that Rogers is expected to contribute to the re

April 4, 2022

Listed firms' on-year net profit jumps 160% in 2021

The net profit of listed firms on South Korean main bourse expanded 160.56 percent last year despite the pandemic, the bourse operator said Monday. The consolidated net profit of 595 firms listed on the benchmark KOSPI totaled 156.6 trillion won (128.6 billion) in 2021, up from 60.1 trillion won the previous year, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange (KRX). A total of 595 out of 676 listed companies submitted their consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year of 2021 tha

April 4, 2022

BOK should make more accurate assessments of markets ahead of rate-setting meeting: official

The Bank of Korea (BOK) should step up efforts to make more accurate assessments of current economic and financial situations ahead of next week's rate-setting meeting, the central bank's acting chief said Monday. BOK Vice Gov. Lee Seung-heon, who is serving as acting chair of the central bank after Lee Ju-yeol left office last week, made the call in an internal meeting with senior officials, according to the bank. The chief post is not expected to be filled until the rate-setting meet

April 4, 2022

FTC chief to attend global antitrust regulators' meeting this week

South Korea's antitrust chief plans to participate in a global meeting of regulatory authorities this week to discuss merger guidelines and competition policy, her office said Monday. Joh Sung-wook, chairperson of the Fair Trade Commission (FTC), will take part in the Enforcers Summit on Monday (US time) to be co-hosted by the US Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department (DOJ), according to the FTC. The summit will be attended by Lina M. Khan, chair of the US antitrust body, DOJ Assist

April 4, 2022

KakaoBank tops in worker productivity

Employees at South Korean mobile lender KakaoBank have higher productivity than their peers at the country’s four banking giants, data showed Friday. A KakaoBank employee was estimated to have earned 349 million won ($280,000), higher than the average figures for Hana Bank and Shinhan Bank, at 315 million won and 271 million won, respectively.  Worker productivity of the other two giants -- KB Kookmin Bank and Woori Bank -- on average was 245 million won and 229 million won, respect

April 1, 2022

Trade deficit seen despite record-high exports in March

SEJONG -- Korea’s monthly exports recorded an all-time high in March on the back of robust performance in outbound shipments of semiconductors and petrochemicals, state data showed Friday. But the nation saw its trade balance in the red, as imports also increased to a record high last month in the wake of a spike in international raw materials prices. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the country recorded $63.4 billion in exports for March, up 18.2 percent from a y

April 1, 2022

Inflation growth estimated to pick up in March amid high oil prices: official

South Korea's consumer prices are estimated to have grown at a faster pace in March as Russia's invasion of Ukraine has driven up oil prices, a senior government official said Friday. Inflationary pressure is likely to remain high for the time being as external economic uncertainty has heightened, according to First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon. "Expectations are growing that inflation growth will pick up in March, led by a jump in prices of petroleum products," Lee said at a gov

April 1, 2022

Home transactions sink 50% in Feb. on lending curbs, rising rates

Home transactions in South Korea plunged more than 50 percent on-year in February amid tough lending curbs and rising interest rates, data showed Friday. The number of homes changing hands nationwide stood at 43,179 units in February, down 50.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Compared with the previous month, however, the February tally was up 3.5 percent. Home transactions in the greater Seoul area, which includes the w

April 1, 2022

Korea’s industrial output declines for 2nd consecutive month

SEJONG -- Korea’s industrial output declined for the second consecutive month in the wake of a glitch in imports of raw materials as well as the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, state data showed Thursday. According to Statistics Korea, industrial output decreased by 0.2 percent in February, compared to the previous month. It posted a 0.3 percent drop in January. This marked the first time in 21 months dating to May 2020 that industrial output fell for two consecutive mo

March 31, 2022

JB Financial chief vows profit jump in 2nd term

JB Financial Group, a Jeonju-based financial holding company offering consumer and commercial banking services, said Thursday that its incumbent chief has been elected for a second term to carry on efforts to improve profit margins. CEO and Chairman Kim Ki-hong, who took over the company headquartered in North Jeolla Province in March 2019, helped to more than double the net income between 2018 and 2021, the group said, noting the board unanimously voted in favor of his second term late last ye

March 31, 2022

Bank mortgage rates hit 9-yr high in Feb. amid central bank's hikes

Rates on mortgage loans extended by South Korean banks rose to the highest level in about nine years in February in line with interest rate hikes by the central bank, data showed Thursday. Banks' mortgage loan rate stood at 3.88 percent per year on average in February, up 0.03 percentage point from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). This marked the highest since March 2013, when the home-back loan rate rose to as high as 3.97 percent. Mortgage rates have been on

March 31, 2022

S. Korea set to jack up natural gas prices in April

Prices of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in South Korea will increase nearly 2 percent in April due to rising international energy prices, the industry ministry said Thursday. LNG rates for households, restaurants, hotels and other commercial users will go up by an average 1.8 percent on April 1, according to the ministry. With the rate increase, households are expected to pay 860 won ($0.71) more per month, with the burden for commercial users likely to rise by the same amount. The rate hike comes

March 31, 2022