Korea's current account surplus dips to $5.72b for Oct.

South Korea's current account surplus contracted in October from a year earlier due mainly to a decreased surplus in the goods account and an increased deficit in the service account, central bank data showed Tuesday.The country's current account surplus reached $5.72 billion in October, compared with a surplus of $7.69 billion a year earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.The BOK said the goods account surplus narrowed to $8.6 billion in October from $9.16 billion a y

Dec. 5, 2017

Govt. to submit KORUS FTA plan to parliament on Dec. 18

The South Korean government said Tuesday it will submit a plan on the renegotiation of the free trade agreement with the United States to the National Assembly on Dec. 18.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has completed two public hearings to collect opinions on the five-year-old deal called KORUS FTA and discussed related issues with 20 ministries and organizations Monday.Submitting a plan to the parliament would effectively wrap up the domestic procedures needed for opening talks with

Dec. 5, 2017

Korea becomes world's sixth largest exporter

South Korea has become the world's sixth largest exporter, moving up two notches from 2016, on the back of brisk sales of memory chips and a rally in oil prices, the trade ministry said Tuesday.Exports by Asia's fourth-largest economy jumped 16.5 percent in the first 11 months of this year, surpassing the $500 billion mark on Nov. 17, the fastest pace on record, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said.The ministry expected total outbound shipments to reach a record high of $575 billion t

Dec. 5, 2017

Damage from China's ban on Korean tours estimated at 7.5 tln won

China's economic retaliation against South Korea is estimated to have led to some 7.5 trillion won ($6.8 billion) in losses for the country's tourism industry, data showed Sunday.According to the data compiled by the National Assembly's Budget Office, South Korea's tourism and accommodation industries suffered a sharp decrease in their revenue over the January-September period on fewer Chinese visitors. Beijing earlier rolled out various economic retaliations against South Korea in protest of Se

Dec. 3, 2017

Rising expectations for 3% growth, GNI per capita of $30,000 next year

Expectations are rising that South Korea may achieve 3 percent on-year growth in nominal gross domestic product and surpass $30,000 in gross national income per capita in 2018, on the back of the strong global economy, experts said Sunday, citing data from financial institutions and think tanks.  The International Monetary Fund raised the economic outlook of Korea for 2018 to 3 percent in October, up 0.2 percentage point from that of April. On Tuesday, the Organization for Economic Cooperat

Dec. 3, 2017

Rate hike expected to weigh down personal debtors

South Korea's central bank's latest move to increase key rates is expected to raise the burdens for those with personal credit loans, market watchers said Sunday.The combined personal loans extended by the country's five major banks came to 97.4 trillion won ($89.6 billion) as of end-November, up 1.7 trillion won on-month, market data showed, rising at the sharpest pace this year. The combined personal credit debts is presumed to be higher when including those extended by online banks. As the Ba

Dec. 3, 2017

S. Koreans' overseas spending hits record high in Q3

South Koreans' overseas spending hit a record high in the third quarter as more people opted to go on overseas trips, data from the central bank showed Saturday.South Korean residents spent 8.58 trillion won ($7.88 billion) overseas in the July-September period, up 5.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea (BOK), The third-quarter tally marks the highest since the BOK began to compile related data in 1970.The accumulated overseas spending also hit a rec

Dec. 2, 2017

Strong exports boost optimism on economic growth for 2017

South Korea’s exports rose 9.6 percent in November, marking the 13th consecutive monthly gain and adding momentum to the optimistic growth rate for this year, government data showed Friday.Outbound shipments in November stood at $49.67 billion, up from $45.3 billion a year earlier, according to data jointly compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Customs Service. The total value of exports during the first 11 months of this year hit a record high of $528.4 bill

Dec. 1, 2017

Agriculture remains hot button issue at 2nd FTA public hearing

Some representatives of the farming sectors urged the Seoul government to refuse Washington’s demands to further open up the market or discard the bilateral trade pact completely during the second public hearing on the Korea-US Trade Agreement on Friday.　The latest round, held at Coex in southern Seoul, was held with only a brief moment of interruptions by protestors, unlike the first round last month that was suspended when a group of local farmers disrupted the forum in strong protest ag

Dec. 1, 2017

State pension fund to adopt 'stewardship code': welfare minister

South Korea's state pension fund operator will introduce a set of guidelines next year to promote its role as the nation's biggest institutional investor, the welfare minister said Friday.Health and Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo said it is a global trend to adopt the so-called stewardship code for state pension funds in order to protect their investment and boost their profitability over the mid and long term."Some 20 advanced nations, including the United States and Britain, have impleme

Dec. 1, 2017

Moon vows support for engineers, skilled workers

President Moon Jae-in on Friday promised additional support for engineers and skilled workers, saying the country's success in the fourth industrial revolution depends on them."At every juncture of the country's industrialization and major development in the manufacturing industry, there were skilled workers. Experienced skilled workers led the Republic of Korea to become a power house of technology and manufacturing," the president said.The remarks came in a meeting with the South Kor

Dec. 1, 2017

Households need to adjust to higher interest rates: BOK chief

South Korea's central bank chief Friday said local households need to adjust themselves to higher interest trends, following the first rate hike in more than six years.The Bank of Korea raised the base rate by a quarter percentage point to 1.5 percent Thursday for the first time since June 2011, citing clear signs of economic recovery and low inflation pressure.Mounting household debt, which surpassed 1,400 trillion won ($1.29 trillion) in September, was also a big mover."Maintaining low ra

Dec. 1, 2017

Korean economy grows 1.5% on-quarter in Q3: BOK

South Korea's on-quarter economic growth in the July-September period was the fastest in nearly seven years on brisk manufacturing and construction, central bank data showed Friday.The country's gross domestic product expanded 1.5 percent in the third quarter from the previous three months, up 0.1 percentage point from earlier estimates, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.The on-quarter growth accelerated from a 0.6 percent quarterly expansion three months earlier and marke

Dec. 1, 2017

Korea's exports up 9.6% in Nov. on memory chips

South Korea's exports rose 9.6 percent in November from a year earlier to mark the 13th consecutive monthly gain, fueled by strong demand for memory chips and machinery, government data showed Friday.Outbound shipments came to $49.67 billion for November, up from $45.3 billion a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Customs Service.The total value of exports in the first 11 months of this year hit a record high of $528.4 billion.Expo

Dec. 1, 2017

[Monitor] South Korea‘s industrial output dips

South Korea’s industrial output dropped in October from the previous month, ending three consecutive months of a rise mainly due to a slump in the auto industry, data by Statistics Korea showed Thursday.Compared to the previous year, industrial output also dipped 5.9 percent as of last month.Production of vehicles dipped 11.3 percent last month from September.Production dropped 1.1 percent on-month in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries, while the service sector also

Nov. 30, 2017

BOK hikes key rate for first time in more than 6 years

South Korea’s central bank on Thursday raised the nation’s key interest rate by 25 basis points from a record-low 1.25 percent to 1.5 percent, making the first hike in more than six years.The largely anticipated action, which came in spite of North Korea’s latest military provocation the previous day, signaled an end to years of an easy-money policy and indicated a tightening monetary stance in upcoming years.“The monetary policy board decided to increase the key rate fro

Nov. 30, 2017

Korea economy expected to grow more than 3% in 2017: BOK

The Bank of Korea forecast Thursday that Asia's fourth-largest economy will likely expand at a faster pace than its earlier growth target of 3 percent this year on a modest upturn in global trade and domestic demand."The near-term growth rate is likely to be slightly higher than that forecast in October, supported by sustained trends of moderate improvements in both consumption and facilities investment, while exports also picked up, fueled by the global economic recovery," the central

Nov. 30, 2017

Korea to hold 2nd public hearing on KORUS FTA

South Korea will hold a second public hearing on the free trade agreement with the United States, the trade ministry said Thursday, after the first gathering was disrupted by angry farmers and livestock breeders.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will host the public hearing on Friday at the Convention and Exhibition Center in southern Seoul. Policymakers, trade experts and citizens will take part in the talks to discuss issues related to the five-year-old deal.  The ministry last w

Nov. 30, 2017

[Breaking] BOK hikes key rate by 0.25% point for first time in more than 6 yrs

South Korea's central bank on Thursday raised the key rate by a quarter percentage point for the first time in more than six years amid clear signs of an economic recovery.In a widely expected move, the monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea voted to increase the base rate to 1.5 percent from a record low of 1.25 percent, ending 16 straight months of its wait-and-see stance after the last rate cut made in June last year.It also marked the BOK's first monetary tightening action since June 201

Nov. 30, 2017

NK's missile launch to have limited impact on financial market: Seoul

South Korea’s top financial policymaker said Wednesday that North Korea’s latest missile launch is expected to have limited impact on the nation’s financial market, but vowed swift actions if necessary.“I expect that North Korea’s provocations will not have a great impact on the domestic financial market,” Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said in a meeting with economic-related ministers at Seoul Government Complex.“But we will ke

Nov. 29, 2017