Over 40% of S. Korean firms plan to hire interns in H2: poll

More than 4 out of 10 South Korean companies plan to employ interns during the second half of the year mainly for the purpose of covering manpower shortages, a poll showed Monday. According to the survey of 416 companies, taken by recruiting platform Saramin, 44 percent of the respondents said they have plans to hire interns in the July-December period. The figure is higher than the percentage of intern-hiring firms a year earlier. About 33 percent of local firms employed interns during the sa

June 21, 2021

Exports up 29.5% in first 20 days of June

South Korea's exports rose 29.5 percent on-year in the first 20 days of June on the back of robust demand for chips, autos and petroleum products, customs data showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $32.4 billion in the June 1-20 period, compared with $25 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports increased 29.1 percent on-year to $32.1 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $291 million during the cited period, the data showed. B

June 21, 2021

Nearly 80% of S. Korean consumers increase online shopping amid pandemic

Nearly 8 out of 10 South Korean consumers have increased their online shopping during the coronavirus pandemic, a poll showed Monday. The survey of 1,000 local consumers, taken by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, showed 78.4 percent of the respondents saying their online purchases have risen since the outbreak of COVID-19. About 71 percent of them said they have purchased more foodstuffs and beverages online, followed by dining out and other food services (30.9 percent), kitchen and

June 21, 2021

Kepco maintains electricity rate in Q3 amid pandemic

South Korea's state-run energy firm on Monday said it has decided to retain the electricity rate in the third quarter of 2021, in a bid to ease the financial burden on local households amid the pandemic and rising inflation. The Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) said it will maintain the electricity rate from the previous quarter during the July-September period despite the recent hike in the global price of resources. The company, however, said it may raise costs in the fourth quarter should

June 21, 2021

[Life, Unprepared] South Korea’s rapid financial digitalization in eyes of seniors

This is a part of a series of articles investigating financial activities of seniors during rapid digitalization of the finance industry. —Ed. Yang Kyung-soon, a 72-year-old grandma living in a small neighborhood in Uiseong, North Gyeongang Province, takes a two-hour round-trip bus journey to visit her bank. Twice a month, Yang makes the trip downtown to pay her utility bills.  She has banking service apps on her smartphone that can process the payment in a second, but she feels mo

June 20, 2021

Central American development bank to open S. Korean office in Seoul

A Central American development bank has decided to open a South Korean office in Seoul as part of efforts to strengthen ties with Asia's fourth-largest economy, the finance ministry said Sunday. The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) has notified the Korean government and the Seoul municipality that its Seoul office will be set up in the capital's financial district of Yeouido, according to government officials. The bank has the goal of opening the office within this year.

June 20, 2021

S. Korea's power consumption nearly rebounds to pre-pandemic level in April

South Korea's electricity consumption nearly rebounded to the pre-pandemic level in April amid the recovery of industrial and business activities, data showed Friday. Asia's fourth-largest economy used 41,900 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of power in April, up 3.5 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO). South Korea's power consumption earlier dropped 4.6 percent on-year in April 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a harsh blow to the economy. The

June 18, 2021

S. Korea's global competitiveness ranking stays at 23rd in 2021: report

South Korea's global competitiveness ranking remained unchanged this year after rising by five notches in the previous year on the back of its efforts to contain the pandemic, a report showed Thursday. The country ranked 23rd in terms of global competitiveness among 64 countries surveyed, according to the 2021 report by the International Institute for Management Development. IMD, a Swiss-based international institution, has been releasing the report every year since 1989 based on a country's e

June 17, 2021

[Market Close-up] Market drops over US Fed’s rate hike plan, but officials say Seoul safe from volatility

The Seoul stock market traded bearishly Thursday after the US Federal Reserve projected rate hikes in 2023, ending a brief winning streak this week on economic and corporate improvements. But upon watching the market drop in response to the Fed’s hawkish stance, South Korean policymakers expressed confidence about dealing with any resulting volatility in the financial market. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said Asia’s fourth-largest economy may be affected to some extent

June 17, 2021

South Korea's housing market unperturbed by rate hike: experts

The likely scenario of South Korea’s central bank carrying out out a rate hike by the end of the year is unlikely to cool the heated housing market here, industry insiders said on Thursday, dismissing the impact of monetary policies on real estate prices that surged in recent months. The envisioned rate hike would lead to an increase in the interest rates for household loans and mortgages extended by local commercial banks. But the housing market is likely to stay hot for a while mainly d

June 17, 2021

[News Focus] Volume of online shopping up 3 trillion won in a year

SEJONG -- The active shopping via the internet of households is likely to contribute much to the gross domestic product of South Korea in terms of increasing production and reducing the inventories of local manufacturers. The prospects can be read from a surge in recent years in the monthly turnover of retailers selling products online. According to Statistics Korea, monthly online shopping transactions reached 15.09 trillion won ($13.49 billion) in April 2021 (the latest available figure). T

June 17, 2021

Corporate sales rebound, profit margin grows in Q1 amid pandemic

South Korean companies saw their profitability continue their growth in the first quarter, with their sales rebounding from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Thursday. The ratio of operating profit to sales of firms in the country reached 6.4 percent in the first quarter, up from 4.2 percent tallied a year ago, according to the data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). At the same time, the pretax net profit margin of South Korean companies rose on-year to 7.9 percent from

June 17, 2021

S. Korea vigilant over market volatility after Fed's hawkish stance

South Korea will closely monitor the financial market as market volatility could increase following the Federal Reserve's signal of an earlier-than-expected rate hike, a senior government official said Thursday. After freezing its key rate at near zero at a policy meeting, the Fed signaled an earlier-than-expected rate increase in 2023 as US inflation is rising amid an economic recovery. The US central bank also hinted it began discussing when to taper bond-buying programs. Bearing the Fed's s

June 17, 2021

S. Korea, US extend $60b currency swap deal until Dec.

South Korea and the United States have agreed to extend their $60 billion currency swap agreement by another three months through Dec. 31, which was signed to help ease market uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Thursday. The BOK and the Federal Reserve reached an agreement to extend the bilateral currency swap deal, which was due to expire on Sept. 30, after extending it twice since it went effect in March 2020 to ease financial jitters caused by the pan

June 17, 2021

Memory chip market to grow 32% in 2021, Korean chipmakers set to bask in boom

The global memory chip market is forecast to increase 32 percent this year, a report showed Thursday, boding well for South Korean chipmakers that dominate the sector. Sales growth for the DRAM market is expected to reach 41 percent in 2021, the second largest among 33 integrated circuit (IC) products, while that of NAND flash is projected to be 22 percent, according to the latest McClean report released by market researcher IC Insights. "It is expected that the price per bit of DRAM wi

June 17, 2021

S. Korea to place policy priority on increasing home supply: minister

South Korea's top economic policymaker said Thursday the government will focus on increasing the housing supply in a bid to curb market expectations for continued rises in home prices. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the supply of homes is expected to increase after 2022 as the construction of new properties has increased since May. Amid sluggish housing transactions, the growth of home prices has picked up in recent months in Seoul on expectations for eased rules on the reconstruction of ol

June 17, 2021

EU seeking to extend safeguard on S. Korean steel for 3 years

The European Union is seeking to extend its safeguard measures against South Korea steel products for another three-year period, industry sources said Wednesday. The European Commission has recently notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) that it plans to maintain its current level of tariffs on imported steel products, according to sources from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency. The EU has been charging a 25 percent duty on imported

June 16, 2021

S. Korea's exports to stay brisk in H2: central bank

South Korea's exports are expected to remain resilient in the second half of the year on a series of positive external factors, the central bank said Wednesday. The upbeat forecast by the Bank of Korea (BOK) comes amid a recent surge in South Korea's overseas shipments on the back of a global economic recovery. "With the impact of IT sector's supply-side negative factors easing, major economies are likely to continue their rebound on an increase in global chip demand, the effect of US sti

June 16, 2021

Banks' loan delinquency rate rebounds in April

The delinquency rate for South Korean banks' won-denominated loans rebounded in April from a record low the previous month as lenders cleared smaller amounts of bad debts, the financial watchdog said Wednesday. The rate for bank loans more than 30 days overdue stood at 0.3 percent at the end of April, up 0.02 percentage point from an all-time low of 0.28 percent the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Compared with a year earlier, the banks' loan delinquency r

June 16, 2021

Residents' FX deposits fall in May

Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea declined in May from a record high in the previous month as some companies withdrew their FX holdings, central bank data showed Wednesday. Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents amounted to $94.7 billion as of end-May, down $100 million from an all-time high of $94.8 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Residents include local citizens, foreigners staying here for more than six months an

June 16, 2021