Exports expected to rise 15% in Sept. on chips, autos: poll

South Korea's exports are anticipated to rise 15 percent on-year in September on the back of robust demand for chips and automobiles, although the overall growth might slow due to fewer working days in the month, a poll showed Tuesday. Exports are expected to reach Imports are estimated to have gone up 26.5 percent on-year in September to $49.8 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $5.3 billion. South Korea will release its official trade data Friday. In August, South Korea's exports have ext

Sept. 28, 2021

Manufacturing sentiment dips for Q4 on COVID-19 resurgence

A majority of South Korean manufacturers expect their business conditions to worsen in the fourth quarter from three months earlier on a coronavirus resurgence and rising material costs, a poll showed Tuesday. A survey of about 2,300 manufacturing firms put the business sentiment index (BSI) at 91 for the October-December period, down 12 points from the third quarter, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) said. A reading below 100 means companies expecting deteriorating business cond

Sept. 28, 2021

Bankruptcies soar by over 10% as pandemic takes toll

Personal and corporate bankruptcies in South Korea increased by more than 10 percent last year, data showed Monday, reflecting the economic impact of COVID-19 on both businesses and households. According to the report released by the National Court Administration, the number of personal bankruptcies filed in 2020 rose by 10.4 percent from the previous year, from 45,654 cases to 50,379 cases. Last year’s tally was the biggest figure since 2015. After hitting a record high of 150,439 c

Sept. 27, 2021

Cash-back rewards for card spending to start next month

South Korea said Monday it will start a cash-back reward program for card spending next month in an effort to boost private spending amid the fourth wave of the pandemic. The two-month scheme will allow people to receive up to 100,000 won ($85) per month if their card spending exceeds 3 percent of their monthly average use in the second quarter, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The government earmarked 700 billion won in its budget to fund the scheme, with an aim of boosting p

Sept. 27, 2021

S. Korea to unveil additional measures next month to curb household debt

South Korea plans to unveil additional measures next month to curb household debts, the head of the financial regulator said Monday. Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Koh Seung-beom said such measures will focus on improving ways of calculating a household's ability to repay debts. Koh said the government will continue to take stricter measures to rein in household debts, calling such debts the "biggest potential risk" on the nation's economy. Since July, the FSC has a

Sept. 27, 2021

S. Korea to increase support of startups' overseas expansion

South Korea said Monday it plans to increase support for overseas expansion by startups and smaller firms as part of efforts to strengthen its ties with Southeastern Asian countries and nations in Eurasia. The government plans to further promote economic cooperation with the 10-member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Europe based on the outcome of summit diplomacy with such nations, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The country will pursue cooper

Sept. 27, 2021

Number of foreign home rental biz operators nears 2,400

Nearly 2,400 foreigners are engaging in the home rental business in South Korea, with Chinese nationals accounting for more than one-third of the total, government data showed Monday. The number of foreign home rental business operators in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 2,394 as of the end of June last year, according to the data from the land ministry. There were 885 Chinese housing rental business owners here, taking up 37 percent of the total. Americans came next with 702, followed

Sept. 27, 2021

Listed firms' dividends soar 23.5% in H1

Dividend payouts by South Korean listed companies jumped nearly 24 percent in the first half of the year amid their strong earnings, a corporate tracker said Monday. The combined amount of dividends paid out by 140 firms, including top-cap Samsung Electronics Co., came to 9.3 trillion won ($7.9 billion) in the January-June period, up 23.5 percent from a year earlier, according to Leaders Index. The firms cover those that have announced dividends out of the country's 2,323 listed corporations.

Sept. 27, 2021

Surging energy bills spark concerns of inflation

South Korea’s recent decision to raise electricity prices for the first time in nearly a decade and an expected price surge in home gas is likely to increase inflationary pressure, industry watchers said Sunday. Electricity and home gas prices, which are key components of “public utility charges” -- fees related to supply of electricity, gas, power, water and transport – usually help lower inflationary pressure, with their relatively flat price gains. But the COVID-19 pa

Sept. 26, 2021

S. Korea's seaport cargo up 8.7% amid global economic recovery

The amount of cargo handled at South Korean seaports was up 8.7 percent on-year in August amid the global economic recovery, government data showed Sunday. The cargo processed at the country's ports stood at 128.6 million tons last month, up from 118.3 million tons a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Handling of export-import cargo rose 9 percent to 117.4 million tons on the back of strong exports of petrochemicals and cars. Coastal cargo handled in Sou

Sept. 26, 2021

10 crypto exchanges file applications to register with KFIU

Ten cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea have filed applications to register with the nation's anti-money laundering body to continue their businesses under tougher regulations, according to the body Friday. By Friday midnight, both foreign and local cryptocurrency exchanges targeting Korean investors are required to register with the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KFIU) and have real-name bank accounts. If they have no real-name bank accounts, cryptocurrency exchanges will be banned fr

Sept. 24, 2021

S. Korea reports surplus in trade of intellectual property rights in H1

South Korea reported a surplus in the trade of intellectual property rights in the first half of this year, as exports of copyrights increased, central bank data showed Friday. The nation's surplus in the intellectual property account came to $850 million in the first half, compared with a deficit of $1.11 billion in the second half of last year, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the first six-month surplus since the second half of 2019, when the nation rep

Sept. 24, 2021

S. Korea's financial market stable but potential imbalance concerning: BOK

South Korea's financial market continues to be stable, but concerns remain over a build-up of financial imbalances due to surging home prices, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Friday. In a regular report on financial stability, the BOK also called for vigilance against a rise in the debt of households and companies amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The nation's financial stability index shot up to 22.3 in April last year, breaching the lower boundary for a crisis warning, but it has since come down to

Sept. 24, 2021

S. Korea to further expand scope of beneficiaries of employment insurance system

South Korea plans to allow delivery workers and designated drivers to receive benefits from the employment insurance system starting next year as the government seeks to expand the labor safety net, a senior government official said Friday. It is part of the government's plan to expand the employment insurance scheme to all working people as the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the job market. The government plans to enable some platform workers, including delivery workers and designated

Sept. 24, 2021

S. Korea to end injecting public funds into overseas coal projects

South Korea said Friday it will refrain from injecting public funds into overseas coal projects starting in October, in line with the global initiatives to gradually phase out traditional energy sources and go carbon neutral by 2050. Under the new guideline to be implemented next month, all public organizations will no longer disburse funds to overseas coal power plants, while private businesses in which the government has a stake will also be induced to follow the measure, according to the Min

Sept. 24, 2021

Corporate direct financing slips 7.9% in August

South Korea's corporate direct financing fell 7.9 percent on month in August due to a decline in sales of bonds, data showed Friday. Local companies raised a combined 19.35 trillion won ($16.4 billion) by selling stocks and bonds in August, down 1.66 trillion won from a month ago, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Corporate stock sales rose 10.3 percent to 4.05 trillion won, with the value of initial public offerings jumping 27.4 percent to 4 trillion won.

Sept. 24, 2021

Producer prices up for 10th month in August

South Korea's producer prices gained 0.4 percent on-month in August due to a modest rise in prices of food and energy, extending their monthly gains for the 10th straight month, central bank data showed Friday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, stood at 110.72 in August, compared with 110.28 a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The July index advanced 7.3 percent from the previous year, the BOK data showed. The prices of agricultural goods

Sept. 24, 2021

[ESG Talk] Overseeing critical ESG risks: Environmental issues

As regulatory and stakeholder issues heighten around environmental, social and governance factors, companies must now oversee the associated risks more strategically. Unfortunately, ESG issues are sensitive to public choices, rely on future scenario-based materiality and require longer time horizons. Thus, the challenge in quantifying ESG risks has prompted companies to adopt different risk management procedures. Since ESG risks can turn to sizable negative impacts throughout a company’s

Sept. 23, 2021

Korean firms neglect science in setting climate targets: study

South Korean companies’ climate targets are not grounded in scientific evidence, a study showed Thursday, indicating that ambitious goals to achieve carbon neutrality for a sustainable future lack substance. This heightens calls for the country, which recently unveiled its ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, to have its companies take more concrete action to cut greenhouse gas emissions -- a major culprit behind global warming -- ahead of the Group of 20 Summit in October, acc

Sept. 23, 2021

Finance chief to meet heads of BOK, financial regulators next week

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki will hold a four-party meeting next week with the governor of the central bank and two chiefs of financial regulatory authorities to discuss household debt and other economic issues, officials said Thursday. Hong will preside over the gathering on Sept. 30 with Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Lee Ju-yeol, Koh Seung-beom, new head of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), and Jeong Eun-bo, new chief of the Financial Supervisory Service, according to the finance ministry.

Sept. 23, 2021