S. Korea's annual inflation unchanged in June amid pandemic

SEJONG -- South Korea's annual inflation remained unchanged on-year in June amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Thursday. The consumer price growth remained flat last month compared with a 0.3 percent on-year decline in May, according to the data released by Statistics Korea. The nation's inflation rose 0.2 percent on-month, the data showed. Core inflation, which excludes agricultural and petroleum products, rose 0.6 percent from a year earlier. Utility prices fell 0.3 percent on-yea

July 2, 2020

Authorities to expand local companies’ access to financial database

South Korea’s financial authorities said Wednesday they will ramp up their efforts to open up financial big data to local markets in an effort to nurture the industry here. Starting August, the Korea Credit Information Services, a pan-industry body tasked with data preservation and protection, will offer various information collected from nearly 50 million anonymous insurance consumers to both financial and nonfinancial companies via its online-based Financial Bigdata Open System, dubbed

July 1, 2020

Seoul still open for talks over trade row with Tokyo

SEJONG -- South Korea said Wednesday it is still open to talks with Japan to settle the yearlong trade spat with the Asian neighbor but hinted that it has no intention to drop its complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO). "We are always open to talks and communications with Japan. But we have not yet received any requests from Tokyo," Na Seung-sik, deputy minister for trade and investment at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said during a meeting with reporters. &qu

July 1, 2020

S. Korean insurers' financial health worsens in Q1

South Korean insurance companies saw their financial health worsen slightly in the first quarter as share price falls eroded capital, data showed Wednesday. The risk-based capital (RBC) ratio of insurance firms stood at 267.2 percent at the end of March, down 2.4 percentage points from three months earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). A key yardstick of financial stability, the RBC ratio -- the actual solvency capital divided by the minimum solvency cap

July 1, 2020

S. Korea's exports decline for 4 straight months amid pandemic, but pace slows as economies reopen

South Korea's exports fell 10.9 percent in June marking the fourth consecutive month of decline amid the fallout from the new coronavirus pandemic, data showed Wednesday, although the pace slowed as major economies around the globe slowly began to resume business activities. Outbound shipments came to $39.2 billion last month, compared with $44 billion posted a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The June tally marked the fourth straight

July 1, 2020

S. Korea’s coincident index plummets to lowest in 21 years

South Korea’s coincident index -- that summarizes current economic conditions -- plunged to the lowest level in 21 years in May amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data from Statistics Korea showed Tuesday. The nation’s industrial output slipped 1.2 percent on-month as well, remaining in the negative terrain since January, when the outbreak of the virus here broke its gain throughout the fourth-quarter of last year. Investment in infrastructure dropped 5.9 percent in the same period. Th

June 30, 2020

Banks' lending rates up in May

Lending rates on fresh bank loans rose slightly from a month earlier in May amid a sharp increase in corporate lending, while interest rates paid by banks on fresh deposits fell sharply on increased market liquidity, central bank data showed Tuesday. The average interest rate on new bank loans came to 2.82 percent in the month, up 2 basis points from 2.8 percent in April, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The slight increase follows four consecutive months of drop, p

June 30, 2020

Finance minister urges National Assembly to swiftly approve 3rd extra budget

SEJONG -- Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki n Tuesday called for the National Assembly to swiftly approve a third extra budget to revive the virus-hit economy, saying the budget would benefit more than 6.4 million people if implemented. Hong made the remarks in a parliamentary speech as the National Assembly ended a monthlong standstill and the ruling Democratic Party paved the way for a budget review. Earlier this month, South Korea proposed the extra budget of 35.3 trillion won ($29 billion),

June 30, 2020

S. Korea, Russia hold 5th round of FTA talks on service, investment

South Korea and Russia started another round of negotiations Tuesday to clinch a free trade agreement (FTA) in the service and investment sectors. During the videoconferences that run through Monday, the two will narrow down differences on details in the two segments, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Seoul and Moscow first launched their FTA negotiations in June last year to lower barriers for the service and investment segments. South Korea has been making efforts to

June 30, 2020

S. Korea's industrial output suffers extended slump in May amid virus pandemic

SEJONG -- South Korea's industrial output extended its slump in May as the coronavirus pandemic disrupted supply chains, but retail sales reported a robust gain, data showed Tuesday. The nation's overall industrial production fell 1.2 percent on-month in May, following a 2.8 percent on-month plunge in April, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea. Compared with a year earlier, overall industrial production also plunged 5.6 percent in May. Production in the mining, manufacturing, gas

June 30, 2020

Changes in economic structures may dent growth in post-virus era: BOK

South Korea is expected to see an accelerated slowdown of its potential economic growth rate, with domestic and global economic structures facing radical transformation in the post-coronavirus era, the central bank said Monday. “Due to COVID-19, Korea’s potential growth rate faces a sharp decline, with changes in economic structures regarding labor, trade and industries coupled with sluggish input of factors linked to labor and capital,” the Bank of Korea said in its latest r

June 29, 2020

WTO to discuss opening panel over Seoul-Tokyo trade row

SEOUL/GENEVA -- The World Trade Organization (WTO) plans to discuss the establishment of a panel to deal with the year-long trade row between South Korea and Japan, after Seoul reopened the case at the Geneva-based trade body amid a lack of progress in their bilateral talks. The WTO's Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) meeting over the panel establishment is slated for later in the day, according to trade officials here. But the panel is not likely to be opened immediately, as Japan is widely expe

June 29, 2020

Coronavirus to cause permanent changes in economy, business environment

The new coronavirus pandemic will likely have a lasting effect on various ways of life, such as where and how people shop, possibly leading to permanent changes in the global economy and trade, a central bank report suggested Monday. Some of the changes may be for the better for some countries, but some may be for the worse for others, it insisted. "The COVID-19 pandemic may not stop at causing an economic slump globally but is highly likely to cause changes in the behavior of economic a

June 29, 2020

Corporate direct financing up 40% in May

South Korean companies' stock and bond sales rose 40.1 percent in May from a month earlier, due mainly to a hike in sales of corporate debt, data showed Monday. Local companies raised a combined 16.07 trillion won ($13.4 billion) by selling stocks and bonds in May, up 4.6 trillion won from April, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The hike is mainly attributable to the 39.2 percent on-month increase in debt offerings to 15.89 trillion won, the FSS said. Last

June 29, 2020

[Contribution] S. Korea can make COVID-19 recovery greener

Countries all over the world have been rolling out large fiscal stimulus packages in response to the COVID-19 economic crisis. Some are using this as an opportunity to promote policies linked to environmentally sustainable growth, and build a greener, cleaner, and more resilient economy. The European Union announced a COVID-19 recovery package that places climate change at the center of what is considered the largest green stimulus program in history. By recently announcing its own recovery pl

June 28, 2020

Regulator further cuts maximum interest rate on loans by illegal lenders

South Korean financial authorities on Sunday said that illegal money lenders cannot impose annual interest rates of more than 6 percent, in a move to protect consumers in the pandemic-hit economy. The Financial Services Commission (FSC), the country's financial regulator, drafted a new set of regulations that lowers the maximum annual interest rate on loans extended by unregistered lenders to 6 percent from the current 24 percent. The modifications to related laws will be submitted to the Na

June 28, 2020

S. Korea to implement new global bank capital rules this month

South Korea will begin to implement new global bank capital rules this month, the country's financial regulator said Sunday, a move that could boost capital adequacy ratios of South Korean banks. The banking regulations, known as Basel III, were agreed upon by financial regulators around the world in 2017. The new rules, including revisions to calculation systems for capital requirements and credit risks, were set in the aftermath of the 2008-09 global financial crisis. The Financial Service

June 28, 2020

Consumer sentiment index rebounds on stimulus measures and rising stock prices: BOK

South Korea’s consumer sentiment rebounded for the second straight month in June, but was still far more pessimistic than the neutral view held at the beginning of the year, data showed Friday.  The Composite Consumer Sentiment Index, or CCSI, rose for the second consecutive month to 81.8, up 4.2 points on-month, according to data from the Bank of Korea. This was the highest level since it recorded 96.9 in February.  The CCSI is an economic indicator that measures consumers&r

June 26, 2020

S. Korea's trade terms improve in May on low oil prices

South Korea's trade terms improved in May from a year earlier due to low oil prices, central bank data showed Friday. The country's terms of trade index for products came to 99.82 in May, up 10.1 percent from 90.66 posted in the same month last year, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index measures the amount of imports a country can purchase for each unit of exports, showing how the country's exports are doing in comparison with those of others. The on-year hik

June 26, 2020

S. Korea approves $75.5m in aid for developing nations

SEJONG -- South Korea's finance ministry said Friday it has approved $75.5 million in health care aid for 13 nations to better combat the coronavirus pandemic. The approval is part of the nation's plans to provide more than $400 million in loans and grants to developing nations this year to help them push for health projects against the novel coronavirus. The 13 nations included Ethiopia and Myanmar, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement. The fund is expected to help dev

June 26, 2020