S. Korea's current account surplus dives in January amid soaring oil, commodity prices

South Korea continued to post a current account surplus in January, but the surplus sharply declined compared with a year earlier as imports expanded sharply amid soaring oil and commodity prices, central bank data showed Friday. The current account surplus came to $1.81 billion in January, marking the 21st straight month that the current account has remained in the black, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The figure, however, was much smaller than the same month a

March 11, 2022

Banks' household lending down for 3rd month in Feb. amid tightened rules

Household loans extended by banks in South Korea shrank for the third straight month in February as the central bank delivered a series of interest rate hikes to rein in inflation and household debt, central bank data showed Thursday. Outstanding bank loans to households came to 1,060.1 trillion won ($865.4 billion) as of the end of February, down 100 billion won from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). This marked the third straight month that the banks' ho

March 10, 2022

Higher inflation may be prolonged amid soaring energy prices: BOK

South Korea's central bank said Thursday that it cannot rule out the possibility of inflation running high for a longer period due to sky-high energy prices that could further rise amid heightened geopolitical risk from Ukraine. In a report submitted to the National Assembly, the Bank of Korea (BOK) also said that the country's exports growth could slow slightly this year due to continued global supply chain disruptions but the impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine will not be significant in affe

March 10, 2022

S. Korea's gasoline prices hit 8-year high amid Russia-Ukraine war

Gasoline prices in South Korea rose to the highest level in more than eight years Thursday as the deepening conflict between Russia and Ukraine pushes global oil prices higher amid growing supply concerns. The average retail gas price had reached 1,904.35 won ($1.55) per liter as of 9:10 a.m., up 11.95 won from the previous day, according to Opinet, a crude oil price provider run by the state-run Korea National Oil Corp. It marks the first time since October 2013 the countrywide average has surp

March 10, 2022

Ukraine crisis, high inflation pose threat to S. Korean economy: finance chief

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Thursday cited the Ukraine crisis, high inflation and currency volatility as the biggest risks to the South Korean economy, his office said. Hong called for thorough policy efforts to better tackle the economic fallout of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and cope with growing inflationary pressure amid surging energy costs. He also called attention to increased external economic risks as the Korean currency has sharply weakened against the US dollar on investors' dema

March 10, 2022

[Election 2022] How Moon’s failed housing policy impacted election

SEJONG -- A series of failed policies by the Moon Jae-in administration to tame South Korea’s housing market has been at the center of the presidential election this year, with candidates taking housing-related schemes to the fore of their campaigns. It is obvious that housing policy will be included in the first batch of to-do lists by President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, as soon as he forms a transition committee. Should the policy be prioritized, the lesson learned from incumbent President

March 10, 2022

Korean households, businesses face bigger default risks than previous crises: BOK

South Korean households and businesses are at a bigger risk of default compared with previous financial crises, with the pandemic having driven up the pace of borrowing gain, the central bank warned Wednesday. The nation’s real credit gap rate -- the difference between the desired and actual levels of debt for households and businesses -- came to 5.1 percent as of the end of September last year, a Bank of Korea report showed. This surpasses the corresponding figures for the credit card

March 9, 2022

Cheap Korean currency likely to fan inflation

SEJONG -- Concerns are growing over the possibility that the nation’s import prices will further shoot up in the wake of the continuously weakening Korean currency against the US dollar amid the Ukraine-Russia war. The unfavorable scenario has come to the fore amid the recent situation that import prices of raw materials, including crude, had already sharply climbed over the past several months. According to Statistics Korea, import prices grew 30.1 percent in January on-year. Amid inves

March 9, 2022

S. Korea halts transactions with Russia’s central bank

South Korea has decided to shut down transactions with Russia’s central bank and national funds in efforts to join the international movement to impose more sanctions against Moscow, while providing state emergency support for companies doing business with the Slavic countries in war, the government said Monday. Seoul’s announcement followed the recent series of sanctions by the US and EU to ban transactions with Russia’s state-run financial institutions. The Ministry of Ec

March 7, 2022

S. Korea joins global move to suspend transactions with Russia's central bank

South Korea said Monday it plans to suspend transactions with Russia's central bank, joining the global move to impose additional sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. The government said it will announce details after consulting with related government agencies. The US has banned transactions with Russia's central bank, the finance ministry and sovereign wealth funds as part of fresh sanctions against Moscow. The European Union also announced similar sanctions. South Korea has

March 7, 2022

S. Korea faces heightened economic uncertainty amid Ukraine crisis: KDI

The South Korean economy is on a recovery track, but external economic uncertainty has markedly increased as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has jacked up prices of oil and raw materials, a state-run think tank said Monday. Asia's fourth-largest economy is maintaining its moderate recovery on the back of solid manufacturing output, with the latest upsurge in COVID-19 cases having limited impacts on in-person services, the Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in a monthly economic assessment re

March 7, 2022

Retail investors rush for Russia ETFs despite warnings

South Korean retail investors have been on a buying spree of Russia-related exchange-traded funds amid growing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, data showed Sunday. Analysts say that retail investors are hoping for a rebound in Russian stocks once the situation surrounding the Russia-Ukraine war calms down, but warned that the current volatility could be costly for them. Retail investors bought over a net 70 billion won ($57.4 million) worth of Russia-related ETFs sold both locally and ov

March 6, 2022

S. Korea to release 4.42 mln barrels of oil reserves due to Ukraine crisis

South Korea has decided to release 4.42 million barrels of strategic crude reserves to help bring down soaring energy prices and prevent a possible supply shortage amid tensions surrounding Ukraine, the industry ministry said Saturday. Earlier this week, 31 member nations of the International Energy Agency  agreed to release 60 million barrels of oil from their emergency reserves, as concerns have risen over a possible shortfall in global energy supplies and a further spike in prices due t

March 5, 2022

S. Korea to extend fuel tax cuts by 3 months amid soaring energy prices

South Korea will extend fuel tax cuts by three months as the country is striving to ease the burden on consumers and a build-up of inflationary pressure, the country's top economic policymaker said Friday. On Nov. 12, the government lowered fuel taxes by a record 20 percent in a bid to tame inflationary pressure. The tax reduction was set to expire at the end of April. The government decided to keep the fuel tax cuts in place for three more months until end-July amid concerns that the war in U

March 4, 2022

Inflation growth hits over 3% for 5th month in Feb. amid soaring oil prices

South Korea's consumer prices grew more than 3 percent for the fifth straight month in February as energy costs spiked amid the Ukraine crisis, data showed Friday. The consumer prices rose 3.7 percent on-year last month, compared with a 3.6 percent on-year gain in January, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The country's consumer inflation has grown more than 3 percent since October last year. Inflation growth stayed above 2 percent -- the central bank's inflation target over

March 4, 2022

Ukraine conflict poses unpredictable risks to Korean economy: official

SEJONG -- Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said Thursday the Ukraine-Russia conflict could have a “long-term” negative effect on the South Korean economy, and that the extent of coming impacts is unpredictable at the current stage. During a task force meeting in Seoul, Lee said the uncertainty from the geopolitical risk has expanded in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and as the international community continues to pile on sanctions against Russia. “It has gradua

March 3, 2022

Disclosure rule violations more than halve in 2021

The number of regulatory disclosure rule violations by firms in South Korea more than halved in 2021 from a year earlier amid stepped-up efforts to protect investors from misleading or false information, data showed Thursday. According to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service, there were 87 cases of regulatory filing rule violations last year, which involved a total of 73 listed and unlisted firms. The figure was sharply down from 193 violations a year earlier and marked the lowest sin

March 3, 2022

Online shopping up nearly 12% in Jan. amid COVID-19 pandemic

Online shopping in South Korea rose 11.5 percent in January from a year earlier, with the proportion of transactions via mobile devices reaching a record high, amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Thursday. The value of online shopping transactions stood at 16.54 trillion won ($13.74 billion) in January, compared with 14.84 trillion won recorded a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. But the figure marked a 7.1 percent fall from the previous month when the figu

March 3, 2022

Bank mortgage rates hit near 10-year high in Jan.

South Korean banks' mortgage rates hit the highest level in about 10 years in January amid rising borrowing costs, central bank data showed Thursday. Banks' mortgage loan rate averaged 3.85 percent per year in January, 0.22 percentage point higher from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It also marked the eighth consecutive month of on-month increase and the highest since April 2013. Mortgage rates have been on the rise as the BOK has hiked its policy rate in re

March 3, 2022

7 in 10 S. Koreans suffered income reduction amid pandemic: survey

Nearly seven in 10 South Koreans saw their income fall in the wake of COVID-19, a survey showed Thursday. In the online survey of 2,016 people aged 18 or above by the Korea Institute of Public Administration from Nov. 15-22, 68 percent said their average monthly income was lower in 2021 than in 2019 before the pandemic struck. Only 30 percent said their income rose, while the remaining 2 percent said it remains unchanged. Those who earned less lost 1.25 million won ($1,038) per month on average,

March 3, 2022