Supreme Court rules in favor of Woori Financial Group head

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld lower courts’ decision to accept an injunction request by the head of Woori Financial Group against the financial watchdog's penalty for improperly selling derivatives-linked products. Since 2017, Woori Bank has been selling derivatives-linked products that were designed for investors to earn large amounts of money when the interest rates of major economies stay above a certain level. The problem occurred in 2019 when the interest rate around the

Dec. 15, 2022

US Fed’s half-point rate hike widens gap with Korea

The US Federal Reserve decided to slow down its interest rate hike pace, raising the benchmark interest rates by a half-point. The Korea-US gap widened, which could lead to the outflow of foreign funds and volatility in currency exchange. Upon concluding a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, the US central bank raised its benchmark rate by 50 basis points to a 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent target range. Expectations are growing over whether the central bank will take a step bac

Dec. 15, 2022

Public sector debt hit record high last year amid pandemic: data

South Korea's public sector debt exceeded the 1,400 trillion-won ($1.08 trillion) mark for the first time last year on the government's expansionary policy to cope with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, the finance ministry said Thursday. The country's public sector debt, known as D3, came to 1,427.3 trillion won last year, up 11.5 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the ministry. It was the highest level since the government began compiling related da

Dec. 15, 2022

Import prices down in Nov. on stronger won, fall in oil prices

South Korea's import prices fell for the first time in three months in November thanks to the local currency's rise against the US dollar and a fall in crude oil prices, central bank data showed Thursday. The import price index stood at 148.07 in November, down 5.3 percent from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. It was the first on-month decline following 3.4 percent and 1.2 percent gains reported for September and October, respectively. Compar

Dec. 15, 2022

Uncertainty still remains high even after Fed's rate hike: finance chief

The US Federal Reserve's latest interest rate hike was in line with market expectations, but uncertainty still remains high over high inflation and an economic downturn, Seoul's finance chief said Thursday. Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho made the remarks during an emergency macroeconomic meeting with Bank of Korea Govt. Rhee Chang-yong and top financial regulators after the Fed slowed the pace of its rate hike to a half-point Wednesday (US time) from its previous 75 basis point increas

Dec. 15, 2022

[Herald Interview] 'Vietnam stands to benefit from shifting supply chains'

HANOI, Vietnam -- In an era of shifting supply chains, Vietnam is poised for a bigger global role and its partnership with China will provide momentum for that, said the chief of the Southeast Asian country’s top economic think tank. “China has pledged to strengthen its economic cooperation with Vietnam and the partnership regarding the supply chain is a big part of that,” Bui Quang Tuan, director general of Vietnam Institute of Economics, told The Korea Herald, at his office

Dec. 14, 2022

ADB cuts 2023 growth outlook for S. Korea to 1.5%

The Asian Development Bank on Wednesday lowered its outlook for South Korea's growth for next year, citing the slowing global economy and soaring energy prices. In its report on next year's world economy, the Manila-based bank said South Korea's gross domestic product is expected to grow 1.5 percent in 2023, lower than its September forecast of a 2.3 percent rise. The latest outlook is below a 1.8 percent gain estimated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

Dec. 14, 2022

S. Korea adds 626,000 jobs on-year in November; job growth slows for sixth month

South Korea added jobs for the 21st straight month in November, but the growth continued to slow for the sixth month in a row amid concerns over an economic recession, government data showed Wednesday, The number of employed people stood at 28.4 million last month, up some 626,000 from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the highest growth for any November since the agency adopted the current research methods in 1999. The November figure, however, marked a slig

Dec. 14, 2022

S. Korea's economic policy to focus on taming inflation, creating jobs: minister

South Korea's finance minister said Wednesday the government will put its priority on combating inflation and creating jobs, while taking preemptive measures to cope with economic risks next year. "The South Korean economy is facing challenging situations at home and abroad. Difficulties are likely to further escalate in the first half of 2023," Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said during a meeting with economy-related ministers. "Inflation has passed its peak, and the upward

Dec. 14, 2022

Finance ministry renews calls to reform corporate tax policy

  SEJONG -- South Korea's finance ministry on Tuesday renewed its call for corporate tax reform that centers on simplifying the taxation bracket and cutting taxes for large-sized firms amid the simmering tensions at the parliament over the bill's passage.   The government and the ruling People Power Party have been pushing to lower the maximum tax rate to 22 percent to attract more investment in South Korea, while the main opposition demands to keep the current rate of 25 percent for e

Dec. 13, 2022

Foreign investors continue rush to local securities: BOK

Foreign investors remained net buyers of local securities, recording a net inflow of $2.74 billion (3.56 trillion won) in local securities in November, data from the central bank showed Friday. According to the Bank of Korea’s report on the international finance and foreign exchange market, foreigners purchased a net $2.1 billion worth of shares and $630 million worth of bonds in Korea in November, continuing the buying rush from the month before. The figure adds up to a total of $8.05 bil

Dec. 9, 2022

S. Korea posts current account surplus for second straight month but sharply smaller than year earlier

South Korea posted a current account surplus for the second consecutive month in October, but the amount was much smaller than the previous year amid expanded imports and outbound travel, central bank data showed Friday. The country's current account surplus came to $880 million in October, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. This marked the second straight month of a surplus, though the surplus was nearly halved from the previous month's $1.58 billion. It also re

Dec. 9, 2022

[Graphic News] Overseas card spending continues to grow on soaring outbound travel

South Koreans’ overseas card spending continued to grow in the third quarter as outbound travel spiked bolstered by eased pandemic curbs, central bank data showed. The amount of money spent overseas by South Koreans with cards, including credit and debit cards, came to $3.81 billion in the July-September period, up 4.1 percent from the previous quarter, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. Compared with a year earlier, consumption jumped 32.6 percent. The latest data marked the se

Dec. 9, 2022

FSS chief vows continued efforts to monitor short-term money market, take timely action against volatility

South Korea's financial regulator will keep up its monitoring on short-term money and remain ready to take action in case market volatility spikes amid lingering worries over a liquidity crunch, its chief said Wednesday. "The bond market has been stabilized more or less as a result of taking market stabilization measures in cooperation with relevant agencies, such as the finance ministry, the Financial Services Commission and the Bank of Korea," Lee Bok-hyun, head of the Financial

Dec. 7, 2022

Moody's cuts S. Korea's 2023 growth outlook to 2%

Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday lowered its outlook for South Korea's economic growth for next year to 2 percent from the previous 2.4 percent. The credit ratings agency said the revision came as South Korea is facing multiple external risks from China's slowdown, global inflationary pressure and aggressive monetary tightening by major economies. It also pointed to the country's rising household and corporate debts as one of major reasons for liquidity shortage to hamper

Dec. 6, 2022

[Herald Interview] More Korean staff will empower World Bank to deliver change

The World Bank Group seeks to hire more Koreans, especially women, in climate, energy, agriculture and economy in this post-pandemic era, Diarietou Gaye, the organization’s vice president for human resources told The Korea Herald in a recent interview. Gaye noted that the WBG is looking for young Koreans who could bring their experience and contribute to helping other countries end extreme poverty, in an exclusive interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Nov. 18. Gaye visited Seoul to

Dec. 5, 2022

S. Korea's 2022 exports likely to mark on-year growth but pace to slow down

South Korea is expected to post a growth in 2022 exports from a year earlier, but it is unlikely to meet its yearly target of $700 billion in outbound shipments due to sluggish sales of key items, like mobile devices and ships, government data showed Sunday. Exports of 15 major products, including semiconductors, ships, cars and petrochemicals, for the first 11 months of 2022 amounted to $490.6 billion, up 7.6 percent from the same period last year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry

Dec. 4, 2022

Exports of agro, food goods hit new high in 2022

South Korea's exports of agricultural and food products jumped to touch a new record high in the first 11 months of this year, government data showed Sunday. Outbound shipments of agricultural and food goods came to $8.08 billion in the January-November period, up 4 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the agriculture and fisheries ministries. Exports of instant noodles surged 14.5 percent on-year to $696 million in the cited period, the ministry said. Outbound shipment

Dec. 4, 2022

S. Korea's consumer prices up 5% on-year in November, lowest in seven months

South Korea's on-year growth in consumer prices sharply slowed in November from a month earlier at the lowest level in seven months, data showed Friday, hinting the country's inflationary pressure has passed its peak. Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 5 percent last month from a year earlier, compared with a 5.7 percent growth tallied in October, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the lowest on-year increase since 4.8 percent tallied in April. Consumer

Dec. 2, 2022

S. Korea's exports log steeper on-year fall in November

South Korea's exports fell for the second consecutive month on-year in November and the decline accelerated from the previous month due to the global economic slowdown and logistics disruptions over a truckers' strike, the trade ministry said Thursday. The country also suffered a trade deficit for the eighth straight month on high global energy prices, ringing an alarm over its growth momentum. Outbound shipments fell 14 percent on-year to come to $51.91 billion last month, following a

Dec. 1, 2022