Financial holding firms aim to curb growth of household debt to 2%: sources

Five financial holding firms in South Korea have submitted their plan to financial authorities to curb the growth of household debt to less than 2 percent this year, informed sources said Thursday. The financial holding firms set the voluntary goal in a recent meeting with financial authorities, according to the sources. The government "asked the financial holding firms to help maintain household debts within the economic growth rate, and they each said they will limit their household debt

Jan. 18, 2024

Korea vows 'utmost efforts' to tame prices before Lunar New Year

The Korean government announced new measures to curb inflation ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, including cutting price growth for fresh fruits and vegetables and postponing price hikes for electricity. With this year's four-day Lunar New Year holiday starting on Feb. 9, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok announced a slew of measures aimed at stabilizing the livelihoods of ordinary people at a governmental meeting on Tuesday. “Though the Korean economy has been showing signs of a reco

Jan. 16, 2024

S. Korea to invest W3tr in robot industry by 2030

South Korea's industry ministry unveiled a plan Tuesday to invest 3 trillion won ($2.26 billion) in the robot sector with private businesses by 2030, with a goal of supplying 1 million robots to local industries. The plan for intelligence robots will focus on securing 80 percent of key robot parts locally by 2030, compared with the current estimate of 44 percent, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The country will also promptly lift around 50 regulations to pave the wa

Jan. 16, 2024

ICT exports up 8.1% in Dec. on higher chip demand

South Korea's exports of information and communication technology products rose 8.1 percent in December from a year earlier mainly thanks to a recovery in global chip demand, government data showed Tuesday. Outbound shipments of ICT products came to $18.3 billion last month, compared with $16.9 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT. The December tally marked the highest monthly figure for 2023 and the second consecutive month of on-year ga

Jan. 16, 2024

Complaint filed against Coupang over alleged unfair practices

11Street Co., a South Korean e-commerce company, said Tuesday it has filed a complaint with the anti-trust regulator over its bigger rival Coupang, Inc.'s alleged unfair practices. New York-listed Coupang has recently released the comparison between the maximum commission rates it receives from its product suppliers and competitors' rates to show its rates are lower than theirs. The comparison comes after a local newspaper report that Coupang receives hefty commissions from its supplie

Jan. 16, 2024

China's exports rise 2.3% in December amid uneven recovery, while consumer prices edged lower

HONG KONG (AP) — China's exports grew slightly for a second consecutive month in December even as deflationary pressures persisted, according to official data released Friday that underscored the uneven nature of the country’s economic recovery from the pandemic. Demand for Chinese exports has been weak since the Federal Reserve and central banks in Europe and Asia began raising interest rates last year to cool inflation that was at multi-decade highs. Exports rose 2.3 p

Jan. 12, 2024

Posco CEO, board members booked for investigation over luxurious overseas board meeting

Police have booked the CEO of South Korean steel titan Posco and a dozen other board members for investigations on charges of having subsidiary firms shoulder their overseas board meeting expenses worth some 700 million won ($532,244). The 16 board members of Posco holdings, includ ng its CEO Choi Jeong-woo, held a weeklong board meeting in Canada last year, which cost some 680 million won in total. Police suspect the expenses were shared by the company's subsidiaries, with Posco-Canada pay

Jan. 12, 2024

Taeyoung receives 96% of support from creditors for debt restructuring

Troubled builder Taeyoung Engineering & Construction Co. has received 96.1 percent of support from creditors to move forward with a debt restructuring program, its main creditor said Friday. The level of support was higher than the 75 percent that Taeyoung was required to have for the debt rescheduling program, allowing the builder to postpone the repayment of its debts until April 11. Under the program, due diligence will be conducted to figure out the financial status of Taeyoung and its v

Jan. 12, 2024

Creditors vote to allow troubled builder Taeyoung to move forward with debt restructuring

Creditors of debt-ridden Taeyoung Engineering & Construction Co. voted Thursday to allow the ailing builder to move forward with a debt restructuring program. Taeyoung, the 16th-largest builder in South Korea in terms of construction capacity, applied for a debt restructuring program late last month due to a liquidity shortage over real estate project financing (PF) loans. The state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) and other creditors held a meeting earlier Thursday to vote on whether to all

Jan. 11, 2024

Hana Bank to provide W356b in support for small businesses

Hana Bank announced Thursday that the company would provide 355.7 billion won ($270 million) in financial support for small business owners, who are struggling with high interest rates and the recent economic setback. Hana Bank said its support program will offer cashback on interest payments, subsidies on utility fees and consulting services to some 300,000 small business owners and self-employed individuals. Hana Bank has allocated 219.4 billion won for a cashback program on interest payments

Jan. 11, 2024

BOK kicks off 2024 by keeping interest rate steady

The Bank of Korea maintained the key rate at 3.5 percent for the eighth consecutive session at its first rate-setting meeting of the year on Thursday, confirming its unwavering will to combat inflation. The monetary policy board of the central bank decided to hold the rate through a unanimous vote, keeping the rate steady for nearly a year since February 2023. Though potential fallout from project financing loans in the construction industry looms with Taeyoung Engineering & Construction fil

Jan. 11, 2024

Top financial regulator says debt workout requires active, comprehensive support

The head of the country's financial regulator insisted Tuesday that a debt workout program requires support for more than just debt payment, as creditors call for ailing builder Taeyoung to present more self-rescue measures for the start of a debt restructuring program. Lee Bok-hyun, chief of the Financial Supervisory Service, also highlighted the need for the troubled firm to do its utmost to help itself. "Considering wide support for not only the debt of a debtor but also indirect li

Jan. 9, 2024

S. Korea logs current account surplus for 7th month in November

South Korea logged a current account surplus for the seventh straight month in November on the back of an increased trade surplus, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's current account surplus reached $4.06 billion in November, narrowing from the surplus of $6.8 billion the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. November's surplus came as the country's trade balance has remained in the black for eight consecutive months. The country's

Jan. 9, 2024

New industry minister vows proactive response to overseas protectionism

The new industry minister on Monday vowed to move "proactively" to address protectionism measures from major trade partners, as the country focuses on maintaining export recovery momentum. "We should respond proactively against trade measures from the European Union, China and the United States, and remove export-related hurdles in areas including finance, marketing and certification, to pave the way for exporters," Industry Minister Ahn Duk-geun said during his inauguration

Jan. 8, 2024

NPS set to post record-high returns in 2023

The National Pension Service is expected to have logged over 12 percent in returns in 2023, marking its highest-ever yield. According to news reports Friday, the state pension fund may have registered its highest profit since the National Pension Service Investment Management was founded in 1999. “We cannot confirm the exact figures as a regulatory filing has not been made yet. The exact numbers are to be released in late February,” an official from the NPS said. However, seeing th

Jan. 5, 2024

S. Korea to go all-out to achieve 2% inflation target in H1

The government will extend intensive policy support to bring inflation down below 3 percent in the first half of 2024 as prices are projected to ease slower than expected, the finance ministry said Friday. "Inflation is expected to moderate gradually to stay around 3 percent in the first half of this year. The government will maintain the intensive price stabilization scheme involving all ministries' concerns to achieve the 2 percent level at an early date," First Vice Finance Min

Jan. 5, 2024

Breaking down key points of Korea's 2024 economic policy

South Korea has set its economic priorities for the year, aiming to boost domestic consumption by supporting the real estate market and to encourage investment to ensure a steady economic recovery. In its economic policy directions for 2024 announced Thursday, the government expected that Asia’s fourth-largest economy will see slightly improved growth of 2.2 percent this year, compared with 1.4 percent in 2023, buoyed by an export bounce-back as demand for semiconductors rises. It lowe

Jan. 4, 2024

Shipping firms asked to consider detouring Red Sea

South Korea's industry ministry on Thursday asked shipping firms to consider delivering freights through alternative routes amid lingering tensions in the Red Sea. The remark came after Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen have been attacking commercial vessels in one of the world's most important waterways. "Amid the continued geopolitical risks in the Red Sea, we have requested shippers to proactively consider detouring, as the safety of our vessels and export products come as

Jan. 4, 2024

Total year-end taxes paid by foreign employees reaches record high

The total amount in year-end tax settlements submitted by employees of foreign nationality in South Korea reached a record high of 1.19 trillion won ($910 million) last year, the National Tax Service said Wednesday. All wage-earning workers of foreign nationality here, except for day laborers, are required to file their year-end tax settlements, as are those of Korean nationality. Foreign national taxpayers who submitted year-end tax settlements for income attributable to the year 2022 totaled 5

Jan. 3, 2024

Korean Air's Incheon-Ishikawa flights delayed after major earthquake hits Japan's western coast

Korean Air Co. said Tuesday its flights connecting Incheon and Japan's western prefecture of Ishikawa have been delayed after a major earthquake struck off Japan's west coast the previous day. According to the company, flight KE775 from Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, to Komatsu Airport in Ishikawa was delayed by around 2 1/2 hours in the morning following the previous day's 7.6 magnitude quake. The returning KE776 flight was also subsequently delayed by two hours to

Jan. 2, 2024