S. Korea to maintain anti-dumping tariff on Chinese H-shaped steel

South Korea's trade commission decided Thursday to uphold the existing anti-dumping tariff on imported Chinese H-shaped steel beams. The move will extend the anti-dumping tariff, which has been in force since July 2015, by another five-year period, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. H-shaped structural steel beams are widely used in building large structures. The domestic market for the product was estimated at 2.2 trillion won ($2 billion) in 2019, or 2.8 million tons.

Jan. 21, 2021

NTS urges foreign workers to file year-end tax settlements

Foreign workers earning income in South Korea should file their year-end tax settlements for 2020 before they receive February’s salary, the tax agency said Thursday. According to the National Tax Service, foreign employees are required to settle their year-end taxes by submitting related documents to their employers between Jan. 15 and March 2. The process determines whether they owe more taxes or qualify for reimbursement of income taxes paid over the past year. The procedure is cover

Jan. 21, 2021

[News Focus] Gyeonggi cities lead housing prices growth

SEJONG -- Major cities in Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul, were found to have led a rise in housing prices in the past 10 weeks, as residents in their 20s and 30s have been snapping up apartments, new data showed. 　 A younger generation of buyers have been purchasing apartments in high-density residential towns in Gyeonggi Province, as skyrocketing prices in Seoul have pushed them to seek more affordable housing further afield, according to data by KB Kookmin Bank and Naver.com. The

Jan. 21, 2021

S. Korea to expand subsidies for eco-friendly cars

South Korea said Thursday it plans to expand subsidies provided for electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel-cell automobiles this year in line with the country's green energy drive. Under the plan, South Korea will allocate 1 trillion won ($930 billion) to promote sales of electric cars, which marks a 25 percent rise from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The budget allocated for hydrogen cars will also reach 365.5 billion won, up 52 percent on-year. The cou

Jan. 21, 2021

Number of beef cattle in S. Korea gains 3.9% in Q4

The number of beef cattle in South Korea rose nearly 4 percent in the fourth quarter of the year on increased beef consumption, government data showed Thursday. Asia's fourth-largest economy had 3.36 million beef cattle, including Korean-breed cattle known as "hanwoo" here, as of Dec. 1, up 3.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It represents the largest-ever fourth-quarter tally since the statistical agency began tracking related data in 1983.

Jan. 21, 2021

Demand for processed rice products up 11% in 2019

Local retail sales of processed rice products shot up nearly 11 percent in 2019 from a year earlier due to the growing demand from single-member households while more people opt for convenient meals, data showed Thursday. Retail sales of processed rice products, including ready-to-eat steamed rice, porridge, and noodles, came to 884 billion won ($804 million) in 2019, compared with 797.3 billion won posted in 2018, according to the latest data provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and R

Jan. 21, 2021

S. Korea's exports grow 10.6% in first 20 days of Jan.

South Korea's exports rose 10.6 percent on-year in the first 20 days of January on the back of robust shipments of chips and autos amid the pandemic, customs data showed Thursday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $28.2 billion in the Jan. 1-20 period, compared with $25.5 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Per-day exports also grew 10.6 percent on-year during the cited period. Imports inched up 1.5 percent on-year to $28.6 billion in the 20-da

Jan. 21, 2021

Producer prices rise 0.7% in December last year

South Korea's producer prices rose 0.7 percent on month in December last year, aided by a modest rise in prices of farm goods, central bank data showed Thursday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, stood at 103.78 in December, compared with 103.09 a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Compared with a year earlier, the index rose 0.1 percent, the BOK data showed. In November last year, producer prices stayed flat, underscoring lackluster demand

Jan. 21, 2021

Biden administration tipped to have positive impact on S. Korea's exports

The new administration of US President Joe Biden is expected to have a positive impact on South Korea's exports as he pledged to reverse the Trump administration's protectionism and trade wars, along with a massive economic relief package. However, trade tension between the US and China is likely to persist as he is predicted to confront Beijing by stepping up cooperation with Washington's European and Asian allies, although Biden is unlikely to engage in a trade war seen under Trump. "Wh

Jan. 21, 2021

W38.4tr set to support liquidity-strapped companies ahead of holiday

The government will extend some 38.4 trillion won ($34.86 billion) in financial support for companies and small merchants suffering from liquidity crunch ahead of Lunar New Year’s Day, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday. The size of the financial support package, usually planned weeks before the holiday to spur spending, has increased by 2.1 trillion won from last year. The three-day Lunar New Year holiday kicks off on Feb. 11. “Although the third wave of the COVID-19 epidemic

Jan. 20, 2021

S. Korea to enhance monitoring of non-bank institutions' FX liquidity

South Korea plans to monitor foreign exchange liquidity conditions for non-banking institutions on a monthly basis in a bid to ease potential market jitters caused by their dollar crunch, the finance ministry said Wednesday. The Ministry of Economy and Finance unveiled a set of measures to reduce non-bank institutions' FX liquidity risks as a market rout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic brought to the fore their vulnerability to external shocks. "The government drew up measures to manage F

Jan. 20, 2021

S. Korea to remove import duties on egg products amid supply shortage

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Wednesday it plans to temporarily remove tariffs on imported egg products to resolve a supply shortage sparked by the outbreak of highly pathogenic bird flu here. The move, which is set to be finalized next week, would allow local companies to import up to a combined 50,000 tons of fresh eggs and seven other types of egg products without tariffs until the end of June, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. This will mark a sha

Jan. 20, 2021

Public sector's job additions largest-ever in 2019

Jobs offered by the government and state-run companies grew by the largest-ever in 2019 on the back of a state policy to increase hiring in the public sector, data showed Wednesday. A total of 2.6 million people were employed in 2019 by the public sector, up 151,000, or 6.1 percent, from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Jobs offered by the public sector are positions in central and provincial governments and state-run firms. The tally marked the largest on-year

Jan. 20, 2021

Number of registered vehicles gains 2.9% in 2020

The number of registered vehicles in South Korea grew nearly 3 percent in 2020 from a year earlier, with that of green cars exceeding the 800,000 mark, government data showed Wednesday. The total number of car registrations came to 24,365,979 units at the end of last year, up 2.9 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The number translates into one vehicle for every 2.13 people living in Asia's fourth-largest economy. Las

Jan. 20, 2021

Ministry vows to compensate for any vaccine side effects

The government will launch a joint monitoring and decision-making system with related agencies to provide a full compensation to those who experience side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday. Along with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the ministry will set up the system to better respond to emergent cases and study correlations between vaccines and adverse reactions, as well as to make decisions on whether t

Jan. 19, 2021

Naver’s big data to be used for customs clearance

South Korea’s customs agency will use Naver’s big data for efficient customs clearance of direct purchases from foreign countries, officials said Tuesday. The Korea Customs Service and Naver signed a memorandum of understanding for applying product information stored on the online platform’s shopping unit to its customs procedures. The agreement was forged to effectively block entries of harmful products such as illegal drugs and medical supplies. “The MOU for a stra

Jan. 19, 2021

Surging US Treasury yields to affect global FX market: vice minister

The rising US Treasury yields has become a “key variable in the global foreign exchange market,” South Korea’s vice finance minister said Tuesday, nodding towards a stronger dollar trend that has rattled emerging market currencies. “When the 10-year US Treasury yield surpassed the 1 percent mark (earlier this month), the Euro, the Japanese Yen and the Chinese Yuan all dropped against the US greenback,” Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said in a macroeconomic fin

Jan. 19, 2021

[News Focus] Household debt up W516tr since 2015

SEJONG -- The year of 2020 is expected to record as one of the few years, where a fever of buying apartments and stocks by taking out financial loans swept over the nation. The phenomenon was triggered by skyrocketing real estate prices in the wake of a housing shortage and sharp rebound in the Kospi despite the still high infections of novel coronavirus. Though the fourth-quarter data has yet to be compiled, the figure for the January-September of last year is suggesting that more and more K

Jan. 19, 2021

SMEs' exports edge down in 2020 despite pandemic

South Korea's small and medium enterprises (SMEs) saw their exports inch down in 2020 from a year earlier despite the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Tuesday. SMEs' overseas shipments totaled $100.8 billion last year, down 0.2 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. The decrease compared with a 6.7 percent decline in exports by middling and large companies. Smaller firms' exports accounted for 19.7 percent of South Korea's tota

Jan. 19, 2021

Regulator plans to review 40-year mortgages for young adults

Financial authorities plan to review mortgage loans with a maximum term of 40 years to help young people buy their first homes, officials said Tuesday. Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Eun Sung-soo unveiled the plan at a time when surging home prices make it more difficult for young people to buy homes. This year, the FSC will study the plan to offer 30-year or 40-year mortgage loans and seek to begin a "trial" offering to sell such products, Eun said. The plan is aimed

Jan. 19, 2021