[News Focus] Will Korea return to apartment deregulation for stimulus?

SEJONG -- Over the past one or two months, many online commenters have raised the possibility that COVID-19 would pull down apartment prices in Seoul, pointing out that the Moon Jae-in administration had failed to do so. Some likened the current situation to a decade ago, when the real estate market was hit by the 2008 global financial crisis after continuing to spiral in the mid-2000s. Recent trading data showed that Seoul apartment prices stopped their 10-month continuous increase in the fi

April 5, 2020

S. Korea to dole out relief cash fund based on health insurance

The government decided Friday to make emergency cash payments to households in the bottom 70 percent income bracket, financially hit by the novel coronavirus, by using March health insurance premiums as key standard. The temporary, yet controversial scheme will provide 1 million won ($814) each to four-person households with salaried workers that paid March premiums below 237,000 won, according to the government. Though the households’ March insurance payments stand as a common standar

April 3, 2020

ADB trims S. Korea's growth outlook for 2020 amid virus pandemic

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday slashed its outlook for South Korea's economic growth for 2020 by 1 percentage point to 1.3 percent amid the new coronavirus pandemic. The ADB's latest downward revision hovers far below the 2020 growth outlook suggested by the Bank of Korea, which expects Asia's No. 4 economy to expand 2.1 percent this year, with a possibility of a further cut. The Manila-based lender had slashed South Korea's growth outlook by 0.1 percentage point in December. The

April 3, 2020

S. Korea speeds up supply of filters to boost mask production

South Korea said Friday it will supply around 10 tons of filters to mask producers to boost production of protective masks, which are in short supply due to the coronavirus pandemic. The filters, which will be enough to make at least 7 million protective masks, will be sent to 14 local mask producers, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. South Korea has imported 4.5 tons of filters, while another 5.7 tons have been produced by Toray Advanced Materials Korea Inc., an affilia

April 3, 2020

S. Korea starts 1st quantitative easing operation

South Korea’s central bank on Thursday funneled around 5.2 trillion won ($4.2 billion) of liquidity to the financial markets shaken by the novel coronavirus, through its first round of auctions held in conjunction with its “unlimited” repo operations. The Bank of Korea last week, in an unprecedented move, vowed to inject more liquidity into the market over the next three months through a repurchase agreement or repo operations, allowing securities to be sold and then repurch

April 2, 2020

Core inflation hits 20-year low amid stalled market sentiment

Suffering the full-blown impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea’s core inflation hit its lowest point in 20 years, as dining prices dwindled amid social distancing and the government’s tax cut measures brought down automobile prices, government data showed Thursday. Due to the country’s consistent rationing system, the average price of KF94 face masks leveled off in the offline market, indicating some cooling in the previous supply-demand imbalance. The consumer p

April 2, 2020

Asiana takeover 'on track' despite virus woes

HDC Hyundai Development Co., a midsized South Korean builder, said Thursday it is "on track" to acquire Asiana Airlines Inc. despite a growing coronavirus impact on the airline industry. On Thursday, HDC Hyundai Development reiterated its plan to complete the overall process to acquire Asiana Airlines by the end of this month, dismissing speculation that it may have difficulties in taking over the company due to fallout from COVID-19. "There is no change in our acquisition pl

April 2, 2020

S. Korea cuts rental fees for virus-hit airport business operators

South Korea will further cut rental fees for businesses operating at airports and duty-free shops, as part of continued efforts to support industries amid the fallout of COVID-19. It also vowed to soon finalize detailed guidelines concerning the emergency disaster relief fund, aiming to pay out the cash to distressed households by May. “The rental fee reduction rate for small businesses and owner-operators at airports will be raised to 50 percent from 25 percent,” said Deputy P

April 1, 2020

Korea urges G20 for more currency swap deals

South Korea’s top fiscal chief proposed more currency swap deals at a key G-20 meeting to help tackle the impending global economic recession, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Wednesday. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki’s remarks were made during a virtual meeting of the G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors on Tuesday. According to the ministry, Hong also stressed the need for reforms of the International Monetary Fund framework to

April 1, 2020

5G subscribers in S. Korea top 5m

The number of subscribers to the 5G mobile network in South Korea passed the 5 million mark in February, 10 months after its commercialization, government data showed Wednesday. Nearly 5.37 million South Koreans subscribed to the top-of-the-line wireless network as of end-February, up 8.1 percent from the previous month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT. The nation's three mobile carriers -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- have been aggressively

April 1, 2020

Individuals shun private equity funds over misselling scandal

South Korean individuals' investments into private equity funds declined for an eighth straight month in February following two major investment fiascos last year that undermined consumer trust, data showed Wednesday. Retail investors' monthly cash inflow into private equity funds came to 22.7 trillion won ($18.6 billion) in February, down 2.1 percent from a month ago, according to the Korea Financial Investment Association. After peaking at 27.3 trillion won in late June, the investment siz

April 1, 2020

Korean Air to suspend flights to Washington amid virus fallout

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's national flag carrier, said Wednesday it will suspend flights on the Incheon-Washington route from mid-April due to the impact of the coronavirus. Korean Air plans to stop serving flights from Incheon to Washington, D.C., starting April 13, with the suspension scheduled to last through the end of this month, a company spokeswoman said over the phone. The company currently flies from Incheon to US cities such as Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago

April 1, 2020

Global TV market tipped to shrink 9% in 2020 on virus impact

The global TV market is expected to contract for the first time in three years in 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, a report said Wednesday. In its latest market report, Omdia, formerly IHS Markit, predicted global TV shipments to decline 8.7 percent on-year to 203.5 million units this year. The projection is down from 9.7 percent from an estimate of 225 million units made at the start of the year. Global TV shipments fell to 217 million units in 2017 from 222 million a yea

April 1, 2020

S. Korea’s industrial output marks steepest drop in 9 years

South Korea’s industrial output, consumption and investment contracted in February, as the economic fallout of the new coronavirus spread has started unleashing its impact, government data showed Tuesday. The country’s industrial output shed 3.5 percent in February from a month earlier, according to the monthly industrial indexes compiled by Statistics Korea. This marked the sharpest drop since the 3.7 percent on-month fall observed in February 2011, when the foot-and-mouth dise

March 31, 2020

BOK minutes hint at additional rate cut

The Bank of Korea (BOK) may further cut its policy rate to help minimize the economic fallout from the new coronavirus pandemic, BOK minutes showed Tuesday. The central bank delivered a surprise rate cut in an emergency meeting of its monetary policy board held March 16, slashing the policy rate by a half percentage point to a new record low of 0.75 percent. "A rate cut itself may not be expected to promote consumption and investment by easing travel restrictions, but it is expected to he

March 31, 2020

Gasoline prices dip to 1-year low

Amid plunging crude oil prices, the nation’s gasoline retail prices dipped below 1,400 won ($1.15) per liter, the lowest level in a year, industry data showed Tuesday.  As of March 30, nearly 12,000 gas stations here are selling gasoline at 1,398 won per liter on average, the lowest since April last year when the South Korean government cut the fuel tax, according to the Korea National Oil Corp.’s oil information provider Opinet.  The weekly gasoline prices also continu

March 31, 2020

Banks' lending rates fall in Feb.

Lending rates on fresh loans extended by banks in South Korea continued to drop from a month earlier in February, central bank data showed Tuesday. The average interest rate on all new bank loans came to 3.08 percent in the month, down 11 basis points from 3.19 percent tallied in January, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The rate on all outstanding loans came to 3.35 percent, down 0.03 percentage point over the cited period. The rate on fresh loans has been on a decline sin

March 31, 2020

BOK cuts US dollar share of foreign assets in 2019

South Korea's central bank said Tuesday that it slightly reduced the portion of US dollar-denominated assets in its overall foreign assets from a year earlier in 2019. As of end-2019, dollar-denominated holdings accounted for 69.1 percent of overall foreign assets held by the Bank of Korea (BOK), the central bank said in its annual report. The reading marks a 0.7 percentage point drop from a year earlier. "The portion of US dollar-denominated assets slightly fell due to a rise in the por

March 31, 2020

BOK offers $8.7b to banks via US currency swap

The Bank of Korea (BOK) offered $8.72 billion to banks Tuesday in its first round of dollar lending using a currency swap line with the United States Federal Reserve in a bid to stabilize the currency market. The central bank held a 30-minute online auction to provide local banks and other financial institutions with $800 million in seven-day debt and $7.92 billion in 84-day loans. Bids undershot the BOK target of $2 billion in seven-day debt and $8 billion in 84-day loans, which the central

March 31, 2020

Daegu economy hit hardest by coronavirus in Q1

South Korea’s regional economies have noticeably shrunk in the first quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic, with epicenters of the outbreak hit worst, a Bank of Korea report showed Monday. According to the nation’s central bank, “Regional economies of Daegu and both Gyeongsang provinces shrunk marginally in the first quarter of the year, while the Seoul metropolitan area and others also saw a contraction compared with the previous quarter.” All provinces and areas s

March 30, 2020