S. Korea's manufacturing sentiment hits 2-yr high: KIET

South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment soared to a two-year high, largely buoyed by optimism about a fast rebound of the tech industry, data showed Sunday. The business survey index (BSI), compiled based on a survey of 1,034 manufacturers, showed an overall market forecast of 97 for the April-June period, the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET) said. The corresponding number for sales stood at 100. A BSI larger than 100 means that optimists outnumber pessimists.

July 11, 2021

Finance chiefs of South Korea, US hold talks on sidelines of G-20 meeting

Top economic policymakers of South Korea and the United States have held talks over bilateral economic cooperation and global issues, the finance ministry said Saturday.    Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen held the meeting in Venice, Italy, on Friday (local time) on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G-20) meeting of top finance and economic officials, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.    They shared the need for efforts to sw

July 10, 2021

Worst-ever pandemic prods firms to tighten antivirus measures

South Korean firms are tightening their virus prevention measures, including allowing more workers to work from home, as the country has decided to enforce the toughest social distancing rules in the greater Seoul area, the hotbed of the recent spike in new infections. South Korea's daily virus infections hit a new high with 1,316 cases, forcing the government to apply the strongest Level 4 distancing measures from Monday for two weeks. Under the Level 4 rules, private gatherings of three or m

July 9, 2021

Power sales up 6.6% in May on economic recovery

South Korea's electricity consumption continued to rise in May amid an accelerating economic rebound, data showed Friday. Asia's fourth-largest economy used 40,842 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of power in May, up 6.6 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO). It marked the seventh consecutive month for the power consumption to increase on-year. By segment, power consumption of the industrial sector rebounded a whopping 10.3 percent, and that of shops a

July 9, 2021

Fiscal chiefs of S. Korea and Argentina share concerns over major economies’ exit from monetary easing

The finance ministers of South Korea and Argentina have shared concerns over the normalization of expansionary monetary policies by major economies, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Friday. During a meeting ahead of the Group of 20 meeting of top finance and economic officials held in Venice, Italy, set for Friday and Saturday, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and his Argentine counterpart Martin Guzman raised the possibility that the withdrawal of monetary easing measures, including a i

July 9, 2021

S. Korea, Argentina hold talks on capital flows, economic cooperation

The finance ministers of South Korea and Argentina have held talks over ways to ease volatility of cross-border capital flows and strengthen economic cooperation, the finance ministry said Friday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and his Argentine counterpart, Martin Guzman, held the meeting in Venice, Italy, on Thursday (local time) on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G-20) meeting of top finance and economic officials, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. They shared the view that

July 9, 2021

MZ generation's debt surges: data

The bank debt of millennials and Generation Z -- together including those born from the 1980s forward -- spiked as they increased investments in real estate, stocks and cryptocurrencies, data showed Thursday. According to the Financial Supervisory Service data released by Rep. Kim Han-jeong of the Democratic Party of Korea, millennial and Gen Z household debt from local banks surged to 26 trillion won ($22.7 billion) in March, up 4.47 trillion won from a year ago. Home-backed lending increased

July 8, 2021

Hyundai Heavy, labor union in dispute over wage deal

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., a major shipbuilder here, said Thursday it has sought a court order against unionized workers occupying a shipbuilding crane, the latest development in a drawn-out wage dispute with the labor union. The crane occupation by unionized workers at its shipyard in Ulsan started Tuesday after the management did not propose tangible proposals to solve the two-year-long wage dispute. "The workers plan to go on strike until Friday, but how long the situation will go o

July 8, 2021

Households' excess funds fall in Q1 amid pandemic

Excess funds held by South Korean households and nonprofit agencies fell in the first quarter from a year earlier as banks tightened lending rules, the central bank said Thursday. Net financial funds -- the value of financial assets minus financial liabilities -- held by local households and nonprofit organizations serving households amounted to 44 trillion won ($38.5 billion) in the first quarter, down from 65.9 trillion won a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea

July 8, 2021

Tax revenue up W10.8tr in May amid economic recovery

South Korea's tax revenue increased 10.8 trillion won ($9.5 billion) in May from a year earlier amid an accelerating economic recovery and a boom in property and stock markets, the finance ministry said Thursday. The country collected 28.4 trillion won in taxes in May, compared with 17.6 trillion won the previous year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The government said capital gains tax income rose amid a boom in asset markets and corporate tax income also extended gains. I

July 8, 2021

Authorities tighten grip on financial crimes using fintech platform, crypto

South Korean authorities are zeroing in on new types of financial crimes using financial technology platforms and digital assets still operating under vague legal boundaries. Seoul Main Customs, the regional office of the country’s customs agency, said Wednesday that it has discovered unlawful foreign exchange dealings in which dozens of people had tried to take advantage of the “kimchi premium.” “Kimchi premium” refers to the gap in cryptocurrency prices on dom

July 7, 2021

More young people start businesses amid sluggish job market: data

As the local job market has remained in limbo due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, a growing number of South Koreans in their 20s have started their own businesses, data showed Wednesday.  According to data compiled by Statistics Korea and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, a total of 449,000 startups were launched by individuals between January and April amid a feeble employment market.  Of the total, people aged 30 and under opened 59,000 enterprises during the cited period, up

July 7, 2021

S&P raises Korea's growth outlook for 2021 to 4%

Credit ratings agency S&P Global Ratings revised South Korea’s economic growth outlook for 2021 by 0.4 percentage point to 4 percent Wednesday. The revision comes six months after the agency projected the Asia’s fourth-largest economy to grow 3.6 percent in January, which was then deemed more optimistic than the government’s projection. “We’ve always been optimistic about Korea’s recovery prospect. This year, we see a growth of 4 percent and next year at

July 7, 2021

S. Korea's OTC market value passes W22tr

The value of stocks traded on South Korea's over-the-counter (OTC) market has exceeded 22 trillion won ($19.3 billion) on a recent market rally, data showed Wednesday. The capitalization of the K-OTC totaled 22.1 trillion won as of end-June, up about 30 percent from six months earlier, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association (KOFIA). It marks the largest market value since Nov. 13, 2014, when Samsung SDS Co., an IT service unit of Samsung Group, traded on the K-O

July 7, 2021

S. Korea's REIT market grows 22% in 2020

South Korean real estate investment trusts (REITs) saw their assets jump nearly 22 percent in 2020 from a year earlier amid a robust property market, government data showed Wednesday. A total of 282 REITs had some 63 trillion won ($55.5 billion) in combined assets as of the end of December, up 21.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the land ministry. The number of REITs was also up 13.7 percent from a year earlier. REITs, which can be traded on major exchanges, invest in

July 7, 2021

Economic recovery may lose steam due to spiking COVID-19 cases: KDI

The South Korean economy is on a modest recovery track, but its upward momentum may lose steam due to a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, a state-run think tank said Wednesday. Asia's fourth-largest economy is on a recovery track amid solid exports, but it also faces high economic uncertainty from the fast spread of the more contagious delta COVID-19 variant and spiking virus cases, according to a monthly economic assessment report by the Korea Development Institute (KDI). "Due to the surge i

July 7, 2021

FDI pledges to S. Korea soar 71.5% in H1 on economic recovery

The combined amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) pledges made to Asia's No. 4 economy shot up 71.5 percent on-year in the first half of 2021, data showed Wednesday, amid growing hopes of a post-pandemic economic recovery. Foreigners pledged to make a combined investment of $13 billion over the January-June period, compared with $76.6 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The investment that arrived here rose 57.3 percent over the period t

July 7, 2021

Current account surplus widens in May on robust exports

South Korea's current account surplus sharply widened in May as exports maintained strong growth and companies received dividends from overseas affiliates, central bank data showed Wednesday. The current account surplus reached $10.97 billion in May, widening from a surplus of $1.91 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade. Since the country logged a deficit of $3.33 billion in April last year, the large

July 7, 2021

Korea will strengthen debt management efforts, fiscal chief tells Fitch

South Korea will take preemptive actions to manage its sovereign debt to maintain sound fiscal health, the country’s top economic policy maker said during an annual consultation meeting with global rating agency Fitch Ratings on Tuesday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the ratio of national debt to gross domestic product is expected to fare better than projected earlier. The government drew up this year’s second supplementary budget without a debt sale and had paid some debts o

July 6, 2021

S. Korea mulls normalizing eased rules on banks' FX derivative positions

South Korea said Tuesday it plans to consider normalizing eased rules on banks' foreign exchange (FX) derivative positions as FX liquidity conditions have improved amid the global economic recovery. In March 2020, the country relaxed rules on banks' FX forward positions after the country's FX and swap markets suffered a severe dollar crunch caused by market routs over the pandemic. Last year, the country raised the cap on the holding of local banks' FX forward positions to 50 percent of their

July 6, 2021