S. Korea’s financial assets in US hit record high in 2020

The value of South Korea’s financial assets in the United States hit a record-high last year, backed by local retail investors’ increased interest in the US stock market, central bank data showed Wednesday. As of end-2020, Asia’s fourth-largest economy’s outstanding financial assets invested in the US gained $114.8 billion on-year to $534.5 billion, preliminary data from the Bank of Korea showed. This marks both record-high total annual investment by South Korean entit

June 23, 2021

Manufacturing sentiment drops for 3rd month in June: poll

South Korea's manufacturing confidence fell for the third straight month in June amid the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, a poll showed Wednesday. The Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade (KIET) said its professional survey index (PSI) for the manufacturing sector's business conditions came to 123 for this month, down from 127 the previous month. Yet the country's PSI remained above the benchmark 100 for 13 months running since June last year. A PSI reading above 100 means opt

June 23, 2021

Population mobility falls for 5th month in May

The number of South Koreans who moved to different residences in the country fell for the fifth straight month in May as housing transactions shrank, data showed Wednesday. The number of people who changed their residences fell 2.2 percent on-year to 557,000 last month, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the fifth consecutive month of decline after population mobility rose for the seventh month in December 2020 amid skyrocketing home prices. The decline was mainly a

June 23, 2021

Another extra budget could reach some W30tr: finance minister

Another extra budget under review to support the pandemic-hit people may reach some 30 trillion won ($26.5 billion), the country's chief economic policymaker said Wednesday. The government is planning to create this year's second extra budget with excess tax revenue as it seeks to underpin an economic recovery and minimize the fallout of the pandemic. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki told a parliamentary meeting that another extra budget would be below some 32 trillion won, which is roughly equal

June 23, 2021

[Newsmaker] Regulator offers record rewards to person reporting steelmakers' price fixing

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Wednesday it has provided a record 1.75 billion won ($1.5 million) in rewards to a person who reported seven steelmakers' alleged price fixing. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) decided in January to fine the country's No. 2 steelmaker Hyundai Steel Co., its smaller rival Dongkuk Steel Mill Co. and five other steelmakers a combined 300 billion won for colluding to fix the purchase price of steel scrap. The commission said it was able to take stern ac

June 23, 2021

S. Korea to chip in additional $2m to EBRD

South Korea said Wednesday it has agreed to additionally contribute $2 million to funds operated by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in a bid to boost cooperation with the lending body. The agreement was reached after Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso held a virtual meeting Tuesday, according to Seoul's finance ministry. Under the agreement, South Korea will additionally contribute the money to two EBRD trust funds designed to support t

June 23, 2021

Convenience store chain E-Mart24 to open 1st outlet in Malaysia

E-Mart24 Inc., the convenience store arm of South Korean retail giant Shinsegae, said Wednesday it will open its first store in Malaysia this week as part of its overseas push. The 257-square-meter outlet, located in an office district in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, is slated to open Thursday, E-Mart24 said. E-Mart24 said it has signed a "master franchise" contract with local food and distribution investment firm United Frontiers Holdings (UFH) for its foray into the South

June 23, 2021

S. Korea's carbonated water market grows 28.6% over 5 years

South Korea's market for carbonated water expanded nearly 29 percent over the past five years amid growing consumer interest in low-calorie drinks, a state food trade firm said Wednesday. The volume of carbonated bottled water in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 24.3 million liters in 2020, up 28.6 percent from five years earlier, the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. said, citing a report from market researcher Euromonitor. Euromonitor has projected local sales of carbonated bo

June 23, 2021

Korea’s financial vulnerabilities highest since 2008 financial crisis: BOK

South Korea’s central bank said Monday that the country’s financial vulnerabilities had increased to their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, calling for efforts to prevent a deepening of the financial imbalance caused by the heated real estate and digital asset markets. The nation’s financial vulnerability index climbed to 58.9 in the first three months of 2021, surpassing 41.9, the figure it reported in the fourth quarter of 2019, before COVID-19 hit the country

June 22, 2021

Over 70% of Korean millennials, Gen Z say wealth distributed inequally

More than 70 percent of millennials and Generation Z in South Korea believe that wealth and income is distributed unequally throughout society, a survey showed Tuesday. The study released by Deloitte Anjin showed that some 73 percent of millennials and 76 percent of Gen Z in Korea recognized wealth and income inequality as a major concern. This surpasses the 69 percent and 66 percent response from global millennials and Gen Z, respectively, towards the same issue. While millennials and Gen Z

June 22, 2021

No. of double-income households dips by most in 3 years amid pandemic

The number of double-income households in South Korea declined the most in three years last year as the job market took a beating from the pandemic, data showed Tuesday. The number of double-income households came to 5.59 million as of October last year, down 69,000 from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. This accounted for 45.6 percent of all married couple households. It marked the largest on-year decline since 2017, when the number of such households fell by 89,

June 22, 2021

Container cargo volume at seaports up 11.2% in May

The volume of container cargo processed at South Korea's seaports jumped 11.2 percent in May from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday, in yet another sign of a recovery in trade from the economic fallout of the new coronavirus pandemic. Container cargo processed at the seaports reached 2.63 million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) in May, compared with 2.37 million TEUs in the previous year, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The ministry attributed the growth to the COVID-

June 22, 2021

S. Korea's financial market stable but imbalance remains worry: BOK

South Korea's financial market continues to be stable, but a build-up of financial imbalance remains worrisome, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Tuesday. In a regular report on financial stability, the BOK also called for vigilance against a rise in 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 1.8. At the end of March, outsta

June 22, 2021

BOK plans to issue 3-year monetary stabilization bonds

The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Tuesday it has decided to issue three-year monetary stabilization bonds, in an effort to better control liquidity. The BOK said it will significantly reduce the amount of two-year monetary stabilization bonds to reduce volatility in bond markets in the wake of the sales of longer-term bonds. At the end of last month, about 80 percent of outstanding monetary stabilization bonds had maturities of two years, a BOK official said. The three-year bonds are expected t

June 22, 2021

S. Korea extends temporary removal of import duties on eggs to year-end

South Korea said Tuesday it will extend a temporary removal of tariffs on imported eggs by six months until the end of the year in a bid to stabilize their high prices. The Cabinet approved a revised regulation that will allow local firms to import 36,000 tons of fresh eggs and other egg products without tariffs until Dec. 31. In January, the government removed import tariffs on 50,000 tons of egg products by the end of June in a bid to ease a supply shortage caused by the outbreak of bird flu

June 22, 2021

S. Korea, Chile hold meeting to improve trade pact

South Korea said Tuesday it has launched the fifth round of talks with Chile to reflect the latest industry trends into their 17-year-old free trade agreement (FTA). During the three-day virtual meeting, the two countries plan to discuss a wide array of issues ranging from labor and the environment to intellectual rights, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Seoul and Santiago will also share ideas on ways to promote the digital trade. South Korea implemented its first-ev

June 22, 2021

Producer prices up for 7th month in May

South Korea's producer prices gained 0.4 percent on-month in May due to a modest rise in food and energy prices, extending their monthly gains for the seventh straight month, central bank data showed Tuesday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, stood at 108.50 in May, compared with 108.06 a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The May index advanced 6.4 percent from the previous year, the BOK data showed. The prices of agricultural goods fell

June 22, 2021

S. Korea to soften mortgage rules for first-time buyers from July

South Korea will ease mortgage rules for first-time homebuyers starting next month as part of a raft of real estate measures aimed at helping young people move up the property ladder, according to a real estate service provider on Monday. Applying for a mortgage will become easier for both couples and individuals seeking to purchase a home for the first time, the Zigbang report said. From July, couples with a combined annual income of less than 90 million won ($79,141) -- compared with the c

June 21, 2021

S. Korea becomes world's 3rd-largest cosmetics exporter in 2020

South Korea became the world's third-largest exporter of cosmetics products in 2020 with its trade balance in the sector remaining in the black for nine straight years, government data showed Monday. The country exported $7.57 billion worth of cosmetics goods last year, up 16.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. South Korea's exports were third in the world, trailing France and the United States. Asia's fourth-largest economy posted a

June 21, 2021

S. Korea becomes less trade-dependent in 2019: BOK

South Korea's economy became slightly less trade-dependent in 2019, with imports accounting for more than 14 percent of overall supplies here, a central bank report showed Monday. The country's overall industrial output amounted to 5,097.5 trillion won ($4.49 trillion) in 2019, compared with 5,074.2 trillion won in 2018, according to the report from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Domestic output accounted for 85.6 percent of the total, up from 85.5 percent in 2018, while imports accounted for the r

June 21, 2021