Number of Koreans outside labor force down 0.6% in 2021

SEJONG -- The number of South Koreans outside the labor force edged down 0.6 percent from a year earlier amid signs of an economic recovery, data showed Thursday. The number of non-economically active people, or those who have no willingness to work, came to 16.76 million as of end-August, down 106,000 from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. People outside the labor force accounted for 37.2 percent of all South Koreans aged 15 and older, down 0.4 percentage point from

Nov. 4, 2021

S. Korea launches task force on economic security amid supply chain disruptions

South Korea has established a new task force at the foreign ministry to support the pan-governmental campaign to build resilient supply chains of key items and tackle pandemic-driven economic challenges, Seoul officials said Thursday. The "economic security" team was launched earlier this week to collaborate with other government agencies in helping local companies' efforts to resolve ongoing supply chain issues, which has emerged as a hot-button global issue, especially amid the prot

Nov. 4, 2021

Fed's tapering to have limited impact on S. Korean market: official

The US Federal Reserve's latest decision to start to taper its bond purchases is expected to have limited impacts on the South Korean financial markets as the move was widely anticipated, a senior government official said Thursday. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said the government plans to take measures to stabilize the market, if needed, as market volatility could increase if global inflation fears persist longer than expected. At the latest policy meeting, the Federal Reserve on W

Nov. 4, 2021

Korea unlikely to enter long-term recession: experts

The risk of Korea entering a long-term economic recession is relatively low as Asia’s fourth-largest economy is likely to gradually recover from the pandemic under the “living with COVID-19” strategy, experts said Tuesday. “Many worry that the Korean economy would suffer long-term recession due to huge government debt. But the country is on the move to actively recover from the pandemic by taking its first step, lowering the social distancing measures,” said Lee K

Nov. 3, 2021

Foreign buyers latest target of real estate ire in S. Korea

While South Koreans’ real estate transactions remain frozen due to a lack of supply and government loan restrictions, transactions of local land and properties by foreigners who face relatively relaxed rules in the first nine months of this year hit an all-time high, data showed Wednesday. With foreigners’ purchases of high-value apartments continuing to make headlines in the news, coupled with the government requesting stricter loan restrictions against locals -- in a bid to curb

Nov. 3, 2021

Strong demand for S. Korean chips expected to ease fallout from China's economic slowdown: BOK report

A slowdown in China's economy will have a negative impact on South Korea's exports but its fallout could be eased thanks to strong demand for Korean-made chips, a central bank report showed Wednesday. China's economy is showing signs of slowing down, with its growth rate falling to 4.9 percent on-year in the third quarter from 18.3 percent and 7.9 percent in the first and second quarters. A recent debt crisis of a major Chinese property developer has also clouded the outlook for China's econom

Nov. 3, 2021

Online shopping hits record high in Sept.

Online shopping in South Korea hit a record high in September, led by solid demand for food delivery services and electronics goods amid the resurgence in COVID-19 cases, data showed Wednesday. The value of online shopping transactions stood at 16.2 trillion won ($13.7 billion) in September, up 17 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The September reading marked an all-time high since the agency began to compile related data in 2001. The value of online

Nov. 3, 2021

S. Korea offers incentives to attract foreign investors

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday offered incentives to attract foreign investors as South Korea kicked off its largest foreign investment forum meant to create new opportunities amid economic recovery during the pandemic. Invest Korea Week 2021, which runs through Friday, is expected to bring together 3,000 officials from major domestic and international companies, governments and related organizations for investor relations sessions and other events, according to the Ministry of Trade, Indus

Nov. 3, 2021

S. Korean economy to extend its recovery momentum: finance minister

South Korea's finance minister has said the country's economy is expected to extend its recovery momentum on the back of the accelerating COVID-19 vaccine rollout and efforts to gradually return to normal life. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the remarks during his meeting with Marie Diron, managing director of Sovereign Risk Group at global credit appraiser Moody's Investors Service, in London on Tuesday (local time), according to the finance ministry. The meeting was held to discuss South

Nov. 3, 2021

BOK board members call for more time before additional rate hike

Members of the central bank's rate-setting board voiced concerns over heightened uncertainties over economic recovery and called for more time to analyze the effect of an interest rate hike in August before seeking additional measures to tame inflation and household debt, minutes from the latest policy meeting showed Tuesday. On Oct. 12, the seven-member board of the Bank of Korea (BOK) held its key policy rate unchanged at 0.75 percent, but the central bank hinted at an additional rate hike in

Nov. 2, 2021

S. Korea to buy back W2tr of state bonds to rein in yield hikes

South Korea plans to buy back 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion) worth of government bonds in a bid to tackle a sharp hike in bond yields, a senior government official said Tuesday. Second Vice Finance Minister Ahn Do-geol said the government will actively seek policy coordination with the Bank of Korea (BOK), when needed, to stabilize the bond market. "The stable management of the government bond market has become more important than at any time to support the fiscal policy's role and the smo

Nov. 2, 2021

S. Korea to push for efforts to win MSCI developed market status: minister

LONDON/SEOUL -- South Korea plans to again push to win developed market status from Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI), the finance minister has said, amid expectations that a possible upgrade could help dispel the undervaluation of the Korean stock market. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the remarks Monday (local time) in London at an investor relations session with global investors to explain his country's economic situations. Hong said the government will make efforts to win the

Nov. 2, 2021

Foreign investment in S. Korea spikes 5,000 times in 60 years: data

Foreign direct investment (FDI) pledged to the country has surged more than 5,000 times in 60 years, which helped play a key pillar of now Asia's fourth-largest economy, the industry ministry said Tuesday. In 1962, a local carmaker reported receiving $3 million in foreign investment, the first of its kind for the country, and the total FDI amount that year stood at $4 million, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The foreign investment then spiked drastically to come to $20

Nov. 2, 2021

Inflation growth hits near 10-year high in Oct. amid rising oil prices

South Korea's consumer prices grew at the fastest clip in almost a decade in October due to last year's low base effect and surging oil prices, data showed Tuesday, raising expectations that the central bank will hike its key rate this month. The consumer prices rose 3.2 percent in October from a year earlier, accelerating from a 2.5 percent on-year gain in September, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Compared with a month earlier, consumer inflation inched up 0.1 percent. I

Nov. 2, 2021

New home permits jump 22.5% this year

New home permits in South Korea jumped nearly 23 percent in the first nine months of the year amid high housing prices, government data showed Tuesday. Construction permits issued for new homes came to 358,990 units in the January-September period, up 22.5 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. New construction permits in the South Korean capital of Seoul spiked 62.2 percent to 62,516 over the cited period. New home permits issu

Nov. 2, 2021

[MARKET EYE] NFTs, DeFi investors in Korea may face taxation

It’s not just cryptocurrencies -- South Korea has been witnessing rapid growth of other forms of digital assets such as nonfungible tokens and decentralized finance. Korean movie star Ha Jung-woo is one of the latest artists riding on the growing interest in the market as he sold his first digital artwork for 55.46 million won ($47,060) in August. Hybe, the management company behind K-pop sensation BTS, and Dunamu, the blockchain company that operates Upbit, the largest cryptocurrency

Nov. 1, 2021

[News Focus] Korea fastest in growth of household debt in OECD

SEJONG -- South Korea has become one of the several countries among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s 38 members to see household debt exceed more than double its disposable income. Further, Korea was the fastest member in terms of growth of outstanding household debt in 2020, recent data showed, as well as the fastest for the 2016-2020 period. According to the Paris-based organization, Korea’s outstanding household debt was equal to 201 pe

Nov. 1, 2021

Irregular workers with college degrees hit record high: data

South Korea saw its number of “non-regular” workers with four-year college degrees grow to an all-time high in August, data showed Monday, sparking concerns about the quality of jobs being created. According to data from Statistics Korea, the number of workers holding degrees from four-year colleges but employed on temporary or part-time contracts stood at 2.84 million, up 320,000, or 12.7 percent from a year earlier. It marked the highest since the agency started to compile such da

Nov. 1, 2021

Vehicle registration gains 1.7% this year

The number of registered vehicles in South Korea grew nearly 2 percent this year to near 25 million, with that of eco-friendly cars topping 1 million units, government data showed Monday. Car registrations came to 24.78 million units as of end-September, up 1.7 percent from the end of last year, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The figure is also up 0.5 percent from three months earlier, with the number expected to exceed 25 million during the firs

Nov. 1, 2021

October's inflation growth estimated at 3.2%: poll

South Korea's consumer prices are estimated to have grown more than 3 percent for the first time in nearly 10 years in October due to last year's low base and surging oil prices, a poll showed Monday. The country's consumer inflation is projected to have risen 3.2 percent in October from a year earlier, accelerating from a 2.5 percent on-year gain in September, according to the poll on six brokerage houses. If the forecast is right, the inflation rate will stay in the 3 percent range for the f

Nov. 1, 2021