Korea's auto exports up in July

South Korea's auto exports continued to grow for six months in a row in July on rising demand from North America and Europe, government data showed Thursday.The total value of vehicles shipped overseas reached $3.65 billion last month, up 7.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The figure has remained in positive terrain since February when it rebounded to a 5.3-percent rise from a 4.8-percent fall in the previous month.Total

Aug. 10, 2017

Population aging, low birthrate to raise fiscal burden: report

South Korea's fiscal spending is expected to rise by about 3 trillion won ($2.63 billion) annually over the next five decades due to its rapid population aging and low birthrate, a report said Thursday.Asia's fourth-largest economy is estimated to fork up an additional 2.8 trillion won per year between 2016 and 2065 due to the country's demographic change, according to the report published by the Bank of Korea.The report is based on 2009-2013 data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation a

Aug. 10, 2017

Korea's tax revenue rises in H1

South Korea's national tax revenue continued to rise in the first six months of the year amid a steady pace of growth in Asia's fourth-largest economy, the finance ministry said Thursday.The government collected 137.9 trillion won ($121.2 billion) in taxes in the January-June period, up 12.3 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.It accounts for some 54.9 percent of the tax revenue of 251.1 trillion won earmarked for 2017, including some 11 trillion w

Aug. 10, 2017

Korea's trade surplus in chips soars through July

South Korea's trade surplus in chips more than doubled in the first seven months from a year earlier, data showed Thursday, casting concern over the country's excessive dependency on the industry.According to industry data, the country's semiconductor surplus through July came to $28.8 billion, rising sharply from $12.6 billion in the same period in 2016. The latest numbers already beat the combined surplus of $25.6 billion posted for 2016.By sector, memory chips accounted for $27.1 billion won,

Aug. 10, 2017

[Monitor] Korea’s GDP ranks 11th

South Korea’s gross domestic product ranked 11th in the world in 2016, with its per capita income based on purchasing power remaining unchanged, data from the World Bank showed Wednesday.The country’s global standing remained unchanged from the previous year.GDP refers to the total value of goods and services produced within the economy. Aside from ranking 10th in 2005, Korea’s GDP had stayed below the 11th rank for 11 straight years.Korea’s gross national income per capi

Aug. 9, 2017

New policies risk hurting fiscal soundness

Concerns have been raised that Korea’s long-term fiscal soundness will be undermined by President Moon Jae-in’s policies that are set to be accompanied by a sharp rise in government spending.His administration has made clear it will expand annual fiscal expenditure at a faster pace than the country’s nominal economic growth rate, which is equal to real growth rate plus inflation.On his campaign trail, Moon pledged to increase government spending by at least 7 percent annually t

Aug. 9, 2017

Newly employed rises by over 300,000 for 6 consecutive months

Amid the government’s continued struggle to tackle Korea’s high unemployment rate, the number of newly employed individuals reached 26.9 million last month, up 313,000 from the previous month, according to data released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday. 　It was the sixth consecutive month that the newly employed figure exceeded more than 300,000 on-month. July’s figure was also 15,000 more than the same month last year.　The number of newly employed surged by 243,000 in January,

Aug. 9, 2017

Currency market volatility rises in July

Volatility in South Korea's currency markets rose in July from a month earlier, though the stability of the global financial markets continued, the central bank said Wednesday.The session-over-session changes in the dollar-won exchange rates averaged 0.42 percent in July, compared with 0.28 percent a month earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement. "The won has fallen slightly against the dollar since July due to geopolitical risks" stemming from North Korea's missile and nuclear

Aug. 9, 2017

Korea's money supply up 5.9% in June: BOK

The money supply in South Korea jumped 5.9 percent in June from a year earlier, the central bank said Wednesday.The nation's M2 totaled 2,470.8 trillion won ($2.17 trillion) in June, compared to 2,334.2 trillion won a year earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.The money supply gained 0.4 percent on-month, the statement said.The growth rate of the money supply has been on the decline since October 2015 as companies decreased domestic credit.M2 is a measure of the money supply counting th

Aug. 9, 2017

Household loans up 9.4% in July

South Korea's household loans extended by banks rose 9.4 percent in July from a year earlier due to increased mortgages, central bank data showed Wednesday.Outstanding household loans from lenders came to 737.7 trillion won ($650 billion) as of the end of last month, compared with 673.7 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.Compared with June, the amount rose by 6.7 trillion won. Mortgages climbed 4.8 trillion won on-month to 554.6 trillion won in July du

Aug. 9, 2017

Korea to require insurers to raise capital reserves from December

South Korea's top financial regulator on Wednesday unveiled details of upcoming ordinances that will require insurers to gradually increase their capital reserves from December to help them better cope with changes in global accounting rules.The Financial Services Commission will also ease some requirements on risk-based capital ratios for insurers to help them comply with the rules under the new ordinances, which will take effect from Dec. 1.  South Korea is one of more than 100 nations th

Aug. 9, 2017

Tax office launches probe into 286 real estate-related tax dodgers

South Korea's tax office said Wednesday that it has launched a probe into 286 people suspected of evading taxes through illegal real estate transactions as part of the government's drive to curb property market speculation.Last week, the government announced stricter measures to stabilize the country's overheated housing market around the capital city of Seoul and its surrounding areas. It imposed an effective ban on bank loans given to multiple-home owners and forbid people from reselling an ap

Aug. 9, 2017

N. Korea issues have limited impact on market: finance minister

South Korea's finance chief said Wednesday that the government is keeping close tabs on the local financial market following the latest North Korean provocations, but predicted only a limited impact."We are watching the market around-the-clock, but its impact seems to be limited," Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said in a meeting with economy-related ministers in central Seoul. "We are mapping out plans for various scenarios."Geopolitical risks over North Korea's missile and n

Aug. 9, 2017

Korea-US meeting on possible change to FTA likely to be delayed: official

The US-proposed meeting of a joint committee on the South Korea-US free trade agreement to discuss possible changes to the trade pact will likely be delayed due to time needed for Seoul's new top FTA negotiator to prepare, a government official said Wednesday."No date or time has been set for the meeting," the official told Yonhap News Agency, speaking on condition of anonymity.In a letter, dated July 12, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer asked for the meeting to be held to con

Aug. 9, 2017

No new trade restrictions on Korean products reported in July

No new trade restrictions against South Korean products were reported in July, but it is premature to say the global protectionist trend has weakened, a local trade body said Wednesday.According to the Korea International Trade Association, July was the second month this year that no new trade barriers were erected against South Korean goods by importing countries. The last time was in January.There was one new restriction in February, two in March, five in April and May, and eight in June. KITA

Aug. 9, 2017

Korea's GDP ranks 11th worldwide in 2016

South Korea's gross domestic product ranked 11th worldwide in 2016, with its per capita income based on purchasing power remaining unchanged, data showed Wednesday.The country's GDP stood at $1.41 trillion last year, with its global standing remaining flat from the previous year, according to the data from the World Bank.GDP, the broadest measure of an economy's performance, refers to the total value of goods and services produced within the economy in a given period. South Korea's GDP placed 10

Aug. 9, 2017

Korea's jobless rate stays at 3.5% in July

South Korea's jobless rate remained unchanged in July from a year earlier amid some signs of recovery in the manufacturing sector, government data showed Wednesday.The unemployment rate stood at 3.5 percent last month, staying flat from the same month last year, according to the report compiled by Statistics Korea. From a month earlier, it dropped 0.3 percentage point.The number of employed people reached 26.92 million in July, up 313,000 from a year earlier, compared with a five-month low of a

Aug. 9, 2017

[Monitor] South Korea’s presence in China drops

South Korean goods are losing their presence in one of their largest overseas market, China, with the products taking up 9.4 percent of China’s import market in the first half of the year, the lowest since 2014, data from the Korea International Trade Association showed.The proportion was 10.4 percent and 10 percent in 2015 and 2016, respectively, until South Korean exporters were hit by Beijing’s alleged economic retaliation, such as boycotts and stronger regulatory inspections, upo

Aug. 8, 2017

Govt. to assess impact of all major projects on jobs

The government will evaluate all public entities, including state-run firms, and most of their projects for their impact on new and existing jobs that may determine the size of their budget in the future, a presidential committee on jobs said Tuesday.Starting next year, the public entities and their projects will be scored on the number of new, quality jobs they create.The scores will be reflected in the size of their budget for the following year, while private firms that create many new jobs m

Aug. 8, 2017

Punishment to be toughened for financial firms over false disclosure

South Korea's top financial regulator said Tuesday it will toughen punishment for financial holding firms over false disclosures of accounting books and other business reports.Under the toughened rule, which will take effect Oct. 19, fines against financial holding firms will be hiked by as much as 12 times if they violate relevant laws, the Financial Services Commission said in a statement. Currently, a financial holding firm is required to pay a fine of 5 million won ($4,447) when it violates

Aug. 8, 2017