Corporate sales dip at slower pace in Q3 amid pandemic

South Korean companies' sales declined at a slower pace in the third quarter than three months earlier as the manufacturing sector fared better amid improving exports, central bank data showed Thursday. Sales of local businesses fell 3.2 percent in the July-September period from a year earlier, slowing from a record 10.1 percent fall in the second quarter, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The pace of a fall in corporate sales eased last quarter, but it marked the seventh con

Dec. 17, 2020

S. Korea to focus on supporting economic recovery, preparing for post-pandemic era in 2021

South Korea plans to implement its economic policy next year to maintain economic recovery momentum and prepare for a post-pandemic era, the finance ministry said Thursday. The South Korean economy is expected to grow 3.2 percent next year, following this year's estimated contraction of 1.1 percent, the first contraction since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The ministry's 2020 and 2021 growth outlooks are lower than its June projection of

Dec. 17, 2020

Income gap narrows to fresh record low in 2019

The income gap between the haves and have-nots in South Korean narrowed to a fresh record low in 2019, as the bottom 20 percent income bracket saw their income rise due to state welfare support, data showed Thursday. The Gini coefficient measured with disposable income, a gauge of income inequality, came in at 0.339 last year, down from 0.345 the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. A reading of zero means complete income equality, while higher numbers nearing one indica

Dec. 17, 2020

S. Korea's 2020 domestic steel demand forecast to hit 11-year low

South Korea's domestic demand for steel is forecast to hit the lowest level in 11 years in 2020 due to the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, a trade body said Thursday. The Korea Iron & Steel Association said domestic steel demand is likely to reach the 48 million-ton range this year, down around 8 percent from 53.2 million tons a year earlier, as manufacturing, construction and other key industries were stung by the COVID-19 pandemic. The figure is projected to be the lowest since th

Dec. 17, 2020

S. Korea, US extend $60b currency swap deal by another 6 months amid pandemic

WASHINGTON/SEOUL -- South Korea and the United States have agreed to extend a $60 billion bilateral currency swap agreement by another six months in an effort to help ease market uncertainties amid a global resurgence of coronavirus infections, the US Federal Reserve Board (FRB) said Wednesday. In late March, the Bank of Korea and the US Federal Reserve signed the bilateral currency swap facility to help ease financial market jitters caused by the pandemic. The swap agreement, which is se

Dec. 17, 2020

Hyundai Samho to spin off industrial equipment division

Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co., a midsized shipbuilder here, will turn its industrial equipment division into a wholly owned subsidiary to boost the division's competitiveness, its parent Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. said Wednesday. The new entity, named Hyundai Infra Solutions Co., will be launched on May 3 next year, Korea Shipbuilding said in a regulatory filing. Hyundai Samho will focus on the construction of ships, while the envisioned spin-off entity will be de

Dec. 16, 2020

S. Korean companies bet big on hydrogen for zero-emission goal

Major South Korean companies in carbon intensive industries are jacking up investment in hydrogen across sectors to cut their greenhouse emissions and capture new business opportunities in the emerging energy sector. Hydrogen can offer solutions in fields ranging from transport to energy storage as an alternative to fossil fuels and is an important pillar of President Moon Jae-in's Green New Deal initiative aimed at going carbon neutral by 2050 and developing renewable energy industries. To e

Dec. 16, 2020

7 in 10 Koreans plan to travel abroad after COVID-19 vaccine development: poll

Seven out of 10 South Koreans plan to travel abroad after coronavirus vaccines are developed, a survey showed Wednesday. According to Incheon International Airport Corp.'s recent survey, 70.2 percent of South Koreans and 82 percent of foreign nationals said they have overseas travel plans after the development of COVID-19 vaccines is completed. The survey was conducted on 1,000 Koreans and 600 foreign nationals from China, Japan, Vietnam and other countries from Oct. 30 to Nov. 20. Of them,

Dec. 16, 2020

S. Korea's export prices down for 4th straight month in November

South Korea's export prices fell for the fourth consecutive month in November as the local currency continued to strengthen against the US dollar, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's export price index, in terms of the local currency, declined 0.8 percent in November from the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading marked the fourth consecutive month of on-month decline after the index rose for a third month in a row in July.

Dec. 16, 2020

[News Focus] Korea’s tax revenue increases fastest in OECD

SEJONG -- South Korea topped the list among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in the growth of tax revenue -- the state’s income from taxation -- between 2017 and 2019. According to the France-based organization, Korea’s tax revenue was equivalent to 27.38 percent of its gross domestic product in 2019. This represents a 2.02 percentage point climb from 2017, when the Moon Jae-in administration took office and tax revenue was 25.36 percent of GDP.

Dec. 15, 2020

S. Korea’s money supply grows at fast rate in Oct.

South Korea’s money supply saw further growth in October, as businesses and households continued its rush to secure funds amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country’s M2 – a yardstick for the nation’s cash, checking deposits and other near money deposits – gained 9.7 percent on-year and 1.1 percent on-month to 3,150.5 trillion won ($2.8 trillion) as of end-October. The 1.1 percent or 34.7 trillion won on-month gain is the second-lar

Dec. 15, 2020

1 in 5 married couples childless after 5 years: data

One out of every 5 couples in South Korea who got married in 2015 had no children last year, government data showed Tuesday.  According to Statistics Korea, about 18 percent of the 216,008 couples who tied the knot in 2015 and remained married as of 2019 were still childless, marking the highest figure since 2015. The percentage of childless couples married for five years has been on an upward trend, having increased from 12.9 percent in 2015 to 16.9 percent in 2018. The trend appears to

Dec. 15, 2020

Corporate earnings dip by most in 11 years in 2019

South Korean companies' earnings declined by the most in 11 years in 2019, as the manufacturing sector remained sluggish amid the global economic slowdown, data showed Tuesday. Their combined before-tax net profit reached 102 trillion won ($93.3 billion) in 2019, down 37.1 percent from the previous year, according to the data on 13,255 firms compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the sharpest on-year decline since 2008, when their earnings fell 43.6 percent. In 2019, manufacturers, led by el

Dec. 15, 2020

[Newsmaker] Tourists to S. Korea forecast to drop to 32-year low this year

The number of overseas tourists visiting South Korea is expected to slump to the lowest level in 32 years amid the new coronavirus pandemic that has practically paralyzed the global tourism sector, data showed Tuesday. The number of foreigners who visited the country in the January-October period reached 2.39 million, down 83.6 percent from the same period last year, according to the culture ministry and the state tourism office. Roughly half of the figure -- 1.27 million -- was tallied in Jan

Dec. 15, 2020

S. Korea to enjoy full tariff-free exports to New Zealand starting in 2021

South Korea said Tuesday its outbound shipments to New Zealand will be completely tariff-free starting in 2021, a move that could help local exporters penetrate deeper into the Oceania nation. The two countries agreed to abolish tariffs on all South Korean exports within seven years after launching a free trade agreement, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The Seoul-Wellington free trade pact went into effect in December 2015. In 2020, around 96.2 percent of South Korean

Dec. 15, 2020

Sales of S. Korean firms edge up in 2019, but operating profits tumble

South Korean companies saw their combined sales inch up in 2019 but their operating profits tumble amid a trade spat between the United States and China, as well as weak demand for semiconductors, government data showed Monday. The combined sales of 752,675 companies reached 4,987 trillion won ($4.52 trillion) last year, up 1.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Their operating profit slipped 22.7 percent on-year to 220 trillion won in 2019, the da

Dec. 14, 2020

S. Korea vows more emergency steps over winter wave of virus infections

South Korea's top financial regulator said Monday that his agency will take more emergency steps, if necessary, as health authorities struggle to contain a winter wave of coronavirus infections. Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Eun Sung-soo made the remarks a day after the nation reported its highest one-day increase of 1,030 infections. In the span of the past 10 days, the nation recorded about 7,500 confirmed infections, bringing the total caseload to 43,484 on Monday. "As

Dec. 14, 2020

Banks' loan delinquency rate inches up in October

The delinquency rate for South Korean banks' won-denominated loans edged up in October from the previous month, but remained stable, the financial regulator said Monday. The rate for bank loans more than 30 days overdue stood at 0.34 percent at the end of October, up 0.04 percentage point from September, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Compared with a year earlier, the bank loan delinquency rate was down 0.12 percentage point. The delinquency rate for corporate loans ros

Dec. 14, 2020

Auto exports dip 10% in Nov. amid virus jitters

South Korea's auto exports dropped 10.2 percent on-year in November, falling at a faster pace compared with the previous month, amid the global resurgence of new coronavirus cases. Local carmakers shipped a combined 190,657 units of automobiles overseas last month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of value, exports rose 2.1 percent to $3.9 billion. During the January-November period, the country sold 1,714,702 units of cars overseas, down 2

Dec. 14, 2020

Kia workers continue strike for higher pay amid pandemic

Unionized workers at Kia Motors Corp. will extend their partial strike this week to demand higher wages and bonuses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the union said Monday. Daytime and night-duty workers will hold a four-hour strike daily at Kia's three domestic plants in Gwangmyeong and Hwaseong, both near Seoul, and Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, from Monday to Thursday and stage a six-hour walkout in the plants Friday, a union spokesman said. Kia workers already have held a partial strik

Dec. 14, 2020