Korea raises alarm for supply shortage in farm products

SEJONG -- Economic policymakers are poised to take countermeasures against possible issues in the supply of agricultural and livestock products and further price climbs in the wake of the recent heavy rainfall. At a vice-ministerial meeting in Seoul on Friday, First Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Bang Ki-sun pledged to take any necessary action, saying that “there are worries over a possible instability in the supply of agricultural and livestock products.” He also said the g

Aug. 12, 2022

Import prices fall for 1st time in 3 months in July on declining oil prices

South Korea's import prices fell for the first time in three months in July as global oil prices declined amid concerns about a global recession, central bank data showed Friday. The import price index inched down 0.9 percent in July from a month earlier, compared with a 0.5 percent on-month rise in June, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). This marked the first on-month decline since April, when import prices edged down 0.6 percent. Compared with a year earlier,

Aug. 12, 2022

Korea to expand food supply to tame prices ahead of Chuseok

SEJONG -- Economic policymakers said Thursday that they would seek to stabilize consumer prices ahead of the Chuseok holiday by greatly expanding supply and issuing discount coupons for agricultural, livestock and fishery products. They also decided to provide support funds worth 42.6 trillion won ($32.6 billion) for small- and mid-sized enterprises and small merchants before the Chuseok holiday period, Sept. 9-12. The measures were confirmed during a meeting presided over by President Yoon Su

Aug. 11, 2022

ICT exports inch down in July amid weakened smartphone, computer demand

South Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products inched down in July from a year earlier due to a slowdown of global demand in smartphone and computer products, government data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments of ICT products came to $19.34 billion last month, slightly down from $19.48 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT. South Korea's ICT imports in July grew 16.8 percent on-year to $13.22 billion

Aug. 11, 2022

Exports up 23.2% during first 10 days of Aug.; trade deficit widens

South Korea's exports jumped 23.2 percent on-year in the first 10 days of August on robust demand for petroleum products and autos, but the country saw its trade deficit widen on soaring fuel costs, data showed Thursday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $15.7 billion in the Aug. 1-10 period, compared with $12.7 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports grew 34.1 percent on-year to $23.4 billion during the cited period, resulting in a

Aug. 11, 2022

Household borrowing dips on higher rates and tighter curbs

Bank loans to households in South Korea fell for the first time in four months in July, as rising interest rates and tighter loan curbs prompt Koreans to refinance their budget without banks’ help, Bank of Korea data showed Wednesday. As of July, loans stood at an estimated 1,060.5 trillion won ($810.1 billion), down 300 billion won from the previous month. Mortgage loans soared 2 trillion won to 791 trillion won in July from the previous month, having risen faster than a 1.4 trillion-w

Aug. 10, 2022

FSC starts work on crypto framework

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission said Monday that efforts to set up a framework for digital assets like bitcoin were underway as part of its larger deregulation initiative to help companies start new businesses without having to worry about regulatory uncertainty. At a meeting with President Yoon Suk-yeol, the top financial regulator’s chief said his agency would divide cryptocurrencies into security and nonsecurity tokens, and use the existing law to regulate the former

Aug. 10, 2022

S. Korea's job growth slows in July amid economic uncertainty

South Korea reported job additions for the 17th straight month in July, but the pace of job growth slowed from the previous month amid heightened economic uncertainty, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people came to 28.48 million last month, up 826,000 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The July figure was the largest for any July since 2000, when 1.03 million jobs were added from a year ago. But the pace of job growth slowed for the second stra

Aug. 10, 2022

Inflation causes higher car repair, parking charges

SEJONG -- The nation’s transportation fees recorded double-digit growth on-year for the fifth consecutive month in the wake of a spike in international crude prices and a glitch in supply of raw materials, state data showed Tuesday. According to Statistics Korea, transportation-related fees such as cost of fuel, repair and parking climbed 15.3 percent in July, compared to the corresponding month of 2021. Transportation fees grew 12.7 percent in March, 13.8 percent in April, 14.5 percent

Aug. 9, 2022

Korea to expand foreign workforce quota, seek fast entry

SEJONG -- South Korea will push for fast inbound entry of foreign workers and expand quota for businesses to hire foreign workforces to resolve overall manpower shortages in the industrial sector, economic policymakers said Monday. The government plans to seek fast entry of 42,000 foreign workers, whose immigration process have been delayed during the period between 2020 and the first half of 2022. In addition, immigration checks for 20,000 expatriates, who are destined to visit Korea on work

Aug. 8, 2022

S. Korea to unveil inflation-fighting measures, housing supply plan this week

South Korea will unveil additional measures to tame inflation, and a package of housing supply plans, this week in an effort to help stabilize people's livelihoods, the finance minister said Monday. The government plans to roll out the soon-to-be announced inflation-fighting measures ahead of the Chuseok fall harvest holiday next month, as consumer prices ran at a near 24-year high in July due to high energy and food prices, according to Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho. South Korea's co

Aug. 8, 2022

S. Korea to sell state-owned idle assets over next 5 years

South Korea plans to sell state-owned unused and idle lands and buildings over the next five years in a bid to bolster public finances, the finance ministry said Monday. The government said it plans to push to sell assets worth 16 trillion won ($12.3 billion) and more in the coming years. The value of state-owned lands and buildings reached 701 trillion won as of end-2021, of which some 41 trillion won, or 6 percent of the total, is available for disposal, according to the ministry. The proceeds

Aug. 8, 2022

IFC names veteran insider as Asia chief

The International Finance Corporation said Friday that it named insider Ruth Horowitz as vice president for Asia and the Pacific, bringing in a veteran who most recently headed the group’s Asset Management Company, which invests in developing countries. Horowitz, who spent the last 13 years at the private sector investment arm of the World Bank, took office last Monday, highlighting fighting runaway fuel and food prices and climate change as her top priorities. “Now, with war-

Aug. 8, 2022

Exports of Korean instant noodles hit fresh all-time high in H1

South Korea's exports of instant noodles hit a fresh all-time high in the first half on the increasing popularity of Korean pop culture and a rise in demand for home-cooked food amid the pandemic, data showed Sunday. Exports of instant noodles, or "ramyeon" in Korean, came to $383.4 million in the January-June period, according to the data from the food industry and the Korea Customs Service. The amount was up 19.9 percent from the same period a year earlier when ramyeon exports r

Aug. 7, 2022

S. Korean economy faces heightened downside risks: KDI

The South Korean economy faces increased downside risks due to high inflation and worsening external economic conditions, a state-run think tank said Sunday. Asia's fourth-largest economy is on a mild recovery track, but downside risks are expanding in the manufacturing industry due largely to economic slowdowns in the US and China, the Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in a monthly economic assessment report. "External conditions have deteriorated as China's economic growth

Aug. 7, 2022

1 out of 8 mid-aged people borrowed money to tide over pandemic: survey

About one out of eight mid-aged people in South Korea has borrowed money due to economic challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a survey showed Sunday. According to the survey of 3,923 people by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, 12.5 percent of people in their 40s and 11.5 percent of those in their 50s said that they have taken out loans or borrowed from their acquaintances at least once due to economic challenges during the pandemic. The figure was much higher than 3.5

Aug. 7, 2022

Travelers to S. Korea get higher duty-free allowances

Travelers going to South Korea will be able to bring in duty-free goods worth up to $800, up from $600, as the Korean government seeks to reflect a surge in per capita income and help ramp up sluggish international tourism amid the pandemic. The Finance Ministry said Friday that the easing of customs regulations, which last took place in 2014, includes lifting a separate cap on duty-free liquor to 2 liters from 1 liter currently, but the value cap will remain at the previous $400. The 1-liter l

Aug. 5, 2022

S. Korea logs current account surplus for 2nd month; surplus shrinks amid mounting import costs

South Korea posted a current account surplus for the second straight month in June, but its amount sharply contracted from a year earlier amid mounting import costs emanating from high energy and commodity prices, central bank data showed Friday. The country's current account surplus stood at $5.61 billion in June, accelerating from the previous month's surplus of $3.86 billion, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the second straight month of a sur

Aug. 5, 2022

Wealth transfers to Koreans aged under 30 up 106% in 2021

SEJONG -- The tally for cases of wealth transfers to Koreans aged under 30 surged by 106 percent last year, compared to the previous year, after a gradual increase between 2017 and 2020, data from the national tax agency showed Thursday. According to the National Tax Service’s data, given to Rep. Kim Hoi-jae of the Democratic Party of Korea, the number of Koreans aged under 30 who reported capital transfers from their parents, grandparents, or others came to 70,115 last year, a 106 percen

Aug. 4, 2022

‘Big hike’ could drag down housing prices by 2.8%: BOK

Home prices could drop as much as 2.8 percent in two years once the Bank of Korea raises its policy rate by a full percentage point or 100 basis points, the central bank said in a report Wednesday. The report, which focused on analyzing how a rate change affects home prices without studying factors like mortgage rules and new supply, comes as Seoul apartment prices kept falling for the last nine weeks. Last week Seoul saw its largest weekly drop since April 2020, according to the Korea Real Est

Aug. 3, 2022