EV sales in S. Korea tumble 45% in Jan.-Feb.

Sales of electric vehicles in South Korea nose-dived more than 45 percent in the first two months of the year amid a lack of subsidy policies and customer expectations for rollouts of new models, data showed Wednesday. A total of 2,444 EVs were sold in Asia's fourth-largest economy in the January-February period, down 45.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the industry ministry and carmakers. Sales of Hyundai Motor Co.'s Kona EV sank more than 29 percent on-year to 175 un

March 17, 2021

S. Korea's energy consumption dips 4% in 2020 amid pandemic

South Korea's energy consumption dropped for the second consecutive year in 2020 due to an economic slowdown sparked by the coronavirus outbreak, a report showed Wednesday. The country's overall energy consumption stood at 222.1 million tons of oil equivalent (TOEs) last year, down 4 percent from a year earlier according to the report from the Korea Energy Economics Institute. The decrease follows a 0.6 percent on-year decline in 2019, which was the first annual drop in 10 years. Last year's

March 17, 2021

Job losses continue for 12th month in Feb. amid pandemic

South Korea reported job losses for the 12th straight month in February as the new coronavirus outbreak continued to deal a blow to the job market, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people reached 26.3 million last month, 473,000 fewer than a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The country has reported job losses every month since March 2020 due to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. It marked the longest streak of job losses since April 1999, when

March 17, 2021

BOK board members see growing worries over inflation: minutes

Members of the Bank of Korea's (BOK) monetary policy board saw growing worries over inflation, but they said it was too early to discuss normalization of monetary policy, minutes from their latest meeting showed Tuesday. In the last rate-setting meeting on Feb. 25, the seven-member board unanimously voted to keep the policy rate at a record low of 0.5 percent to support an economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. According to the minutes, some board members suggested that the BOK needs

March 16, 2021

Korea mulls introduction of multiple voting rights for startups

South Korea is mulling whether to introduce multiple voting rights for shareholders as a way to help local startups attract large-scale investment and maintain stable management, according to public officials and politicians on Tuesday. Vice Minister of SMEs and Startups Kang Sung-cheon said the government was working on ways to legalize differential voting rights, which are popular among countries with many unicorn startups. A unicorn startup refers to a fledgling company valued at over $1

March 16, 2021

Banks under pressure over tougher loan measures triggered by LH scandal

The intensifying scandal involving employees of the state housing developer Korea Land and Housing Corp. is likely to put banks under renewed pressure, as the nation’s financial authorities are mulling strengthening control over non-mortgage lending activities in all banking sectors. The scandal centers on LH officials who allegedly took out huge land-secured loans for speculative property purchases, sparking public criticism over the integrity of the state-run institution that contradi

March 16, 2021

Card spending growth slows sharply in 2020 due to pandemic

The pace of growth of payments made with cards in South Korea slowed sharply last year as consumer spending remained tepid amid the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Tuesday. Spending made with credit, debit and prepaid cards reached a daily average of 2.52 trillion won ($2.22 billion) in 2020, up 0.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The growth rate slowed from a 5.7 percent on-year gain in 2019, the BOK said. The central bank said card spending

March 16, 2021

20 ready-mixed concrete producers fined W2.5b over price fixing

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Tuesday it has decided to fine 20 ready-mixed concrete manufacturers a combined 2.51 billion won ($2.2 million) for colluding to fix prices of construction-related material. Sanha Industry Corp. and 19 other companies colluded to fix their sales prices and supply of ready-mixed concrete between 2012 and 2017 that was used to build houses in the greater Seoul area, according to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC). The commission ordered them to take cor

March 16, 2021

S. Korean air exports soar amid pandemic

South Korea's airfreight exports jumped to account for 36 percent of the country's overall exports last year, industry data showed Tuesday, on higher demand for chips and biohealth products. Of the country's combined exports of $512.5 billion in 2020, air transport accounted for $183 billion, according to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). While maritime transport still accounted for the majority of $325.8 billion, the portion of air cargo rose 5.4 percentag

March 16, 2021

S. Korea to help exporters further utilize FTAs with new support centers

South Korea on Tuesday said it will open new facilities overseas to help exporters better capitalize on free trade agreements (FTA) amid the coronavirus pandemic. Under the plan, the country plans to spend 11.9 billion won ($10.4 million) this year to open new FTA support centers in Southeast Asia and provide customized consulting programs, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The country currently operates 18 FTA support centers for exporters nationwide, along with 15 othe

March 16, 2021

S. Korea's export prices rise for 3rd month in February

South Korea's export prices rose in February, marking the third straight monthly gain helped by a modest recovery in exports, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's export price index, in terms of the local currency, rose 3.1 percent in February from the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading marked the third consecutive month of an on-month rise. In January, the index rose 1.8 percent on-month. From a year earlier, the index rose

March 16, 2021

More tax incentives set for high-tech foreign firms to boost FDI

South Korea plans to expand tax incentives for foreign companies in the digital and green industries sectors to attract foreign direct investments that have been shrinking over the past two years. “In order to strengthen foreign investment in high-tech industries such as digital and green, which have strengths, we plan to draw a roadmap for attracting high-tech foreign investment in the first half of the year,” Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said at a meeting with economy-related m

March 15, 2021

S. Korea to reenter list of top 10 economies by GDP in 2020

Despite the prolonged economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea is forecast to have reentered the list of the world’s 10 largest economies by nominal gross domestic product in 2020, data showed Monday.  Asia’s fourth-largest economy’s nominal GDP for last year was estimated at $1.624 trillion, which marked the ninth highest among 14 major countries, up two notches from the previous year, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and

March 15, 2021

Tax agency cracks down on use of cryptocurrencies to hide assets

South Korea’s tax agency said Monday that it had caught more than 2,400 individuals who hid assets in virtual currencies to avoid taxation. The National Tax Service collected data from digital currency exchanges and caught 2,416 tax delinquents who had concealed assets through cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple. The concealed assets totaled 36.6 billion won ($32.24 million), the officials said. The probe targeted people with over 10 million won in delinquent taxes, a

March 15, 2021

Auto exports jump 35% on eased pandemic jitters

South Korea's exports of automobiles advanced 35 percent on-year in February, data showed Monday, as major trading partners gradually normalized their economic activities amid the virus pandemic. The country's outbound shipments of automobiles reached 161,886 units in February, compared with 123,022 units posted a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of value, exports also soared 47 percent to reach $3.5 billion. Over the first two months of 2020, th

March 15, 2021

ICT exports up over 10% in Feb. on robust chip demand

South Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products jumped 11.5 percent on-year in February, rising for the ninth consecutive month on the back of strong overseas demand for chips and displays, data showed Monday. Outbound shipments of ICT goods stood at $15.28 billion last month, the second-highest amount ever for February on record, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT. The country reached a record $15.68 billion in ICT exports for th

March 15, 2021

S. Korea estimated to have ranked 10th in 2020 global GDP rankings

South Korea's economy is estimated to have ranked 10th in the world in 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. The nominal GDP of Asia's fourth-largest economy was estimated at $1.62 trillion last year, according to the data by the Organization for Economic Cooperation (OECD). The amount is larger than Russia's $1.40 trillion, Brazil's $1.39 billion and Australia's $1.33 trillion. The estimated 2020 GDP ranking is up two notches from a year earlier. South Korea's economy al

March 15, 2021

[HERALD INTERVIEW] Indonesia’s $5b infra project opportunity for S. Korean battery makers: ambassador

South Korean companies, from startups to big companies, could benefit from Indonesia’s latest infrastructure initiatives and trade deals, the country’s ambassador to South Korea told The Korea Herald in a recent interview. The ambassador was referring to Indonesia’s first sovereign wealth fund worth $5 billion, to be managed by Indonesia Investment Authority. The first phase of the fund’s investment will focus on toll roads, airports and seaports, but the focus will b

March 14, 2021

[News Focus] Weak Korean currency adds uncertainty over economy

SEJONG -- The Korean currency has lost its value against the US dollar, in another phase of the fluctuations that have occurred since COVID-19 started hitting the world a year ago. The pandemic situation has increased volatility in the won-dollar foreign exchange rates, which has become a factor aggravating difficulties, held by a large portion of local businesses. The dollar, which traded at 1,082 won during the first trading session (Jan. 4) of the year, climbed 5 percent in only two months

March 14, 2021

S. Korea's exports to US jump 26% since FTA kick-off

South Korea's exports to the United States have jumped a whopping 26 percent since the implementation of their bilateral trade agreement in 2012, data showed Sunday, expanding at a faster pace compared with other global counterparts. Asia's No. 4 economy's exports to the .S reached $74.1 billion in 2020, compared with $58.5 billion posted in 2012, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The two countries' free trade agreement (FTA) went into effect in 201

March 14, 2021