Korea’s Q1 GDP falls short on weak investment, consumption

South Korea’s economy grew 0.6 percent in the first quarter this year from three months earlier, lower than the 0.7 percent growth forecast in April, the Bank of Korea said Wednesday, citing weak investment and consumption as factors behind the revision. Growth in the gross domestic product for January-March, which slowed from 1.3 percent on-quarter in the previous cycle, expanded 3 percent on-year, also a drop from the 3.1 percent growth the central bank projected in April. “Data

June 8, 2022

S. Korea's economy grows slower than earlier predicted in Q1 amid weak investment, spending

South Korea's economy grew at a slightly slower pace than earlier predicted in the first quarter of this year as investment and spending weakened amid lingering worries over the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.6 percent in the January-March period from three months earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The growth rate was slightly down from 0.7 percent growth estimated in Apri

June 8, 2022

Crisis management expert named as new FSC chief

Kim Joo-hyun, chairman of the Credit Finance Association and a former bureaucrat experienced in crisis management at the Financial Services Commission, was tapped to lead the top financial policymaker under the Yoon Suk-yeol government. Kim helped South Korea ride out the 2008 financial crisis as the inaugural chief of policy at the FSC, which was set up in January that year as part of a government reshuffle carried out by then-President Lee Myung-bak, who took office a month later. In 2011, K

June 7, 2022

Bottom 20% households spend 42% of monthly disposable income on food

SEJONG -- The nation’s high inflation, which has led to a spike in consumer prices since the latter half of 2021, is weakening the purchasing power of households in the low-income bracket, as they spend a large portion of their monthly disposable income on daily necessities, state data showed Tuesday. According to the Finance Ministry and Statistics Korea, households which belong to the bottom 20 percent in terms of income level spent an average 42.2 percent of their monthly disposable in

June 7, 2022

Card spending climbs 11% in April on eased COVID-19 rules

Card use for settlement in South Korea swelled 11 percent in April on softer anti-coronavirus rules with spending on travel and transportation spiking, data showed Tuesday, in a sign of the country's consumption returning to pre-pandemic normalcy. Spending made with credit, debit and prepaid cards came to 90.3 trillion won ($71.9 billion) in April, compared with 81.3 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Credit Finance Association. The number of approved card se

June 7, 2022

Foreign reserves down in May for 3rd month amid forex market volatility

South Korea's foreign reserves declined for the third straight month in May as the government unloaded the greenback to prevent the local currency from sharply weakening, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's foreign reserves stood at $447.71 billion as of end-May, down $1.59 billion from the previous month, according to the data provided by the Bank of Korea (BOK). This marked the third straight month of on-month declines. The decline is blamed on the government's effor

June 7, 2022

Korea’s household debt highest among major economies: report

South Korea’s household debt topped 104 percent of gross domestic product, marking the highest level among 36 major economies, the Institute of International Finance’s data showed. Korea’s household debt fell to 104.3 percent of GDP in the first quarter of this year from 105 percent in the same period a year earlier, still outrunning rivals by a large margin, according to the report the Washington-based private financial industry association released May 18. Household debt l

June 6, 2022

Gasoline, diesel prices rise for 4th straight week amid tight supply

The weekly average prices of gasoline and diesel in South Korea both climbed for the fourth consecutive week on a continued energy crunch around the world, industry data showed Saturday. The average retail price of gasoline stood at 2,013 won per liter from May 29-June 2, up 19.3 won from a week ago, according to Opinet, a website operated by the state-run Korea National Oil Corp.  In Seoul, where oil prices are usually higher than other regions, the average retail price of gasoline

June 4, 2022

Inflation exceeds 5% for 1st time in 13 years

SEJONG -- Korea’s inflation surpassed 5 percent on-year last month in the wake of an ongoing glitch in global supply and rapid growth in domestic demand amid normalization from the pandemic, state data showed Friday. According to Statistics Korea, consumer prices climbed 5.4 percent in May compared to a year earlier. This posted the highest figure in more than 13 years, dating to August 2008, when 5.6 percent growth in prices was reported. This also marked the first time that on-year inf

June 3, 2022

Inflation growth hits nearly 14-year high in May on high energy prices

South Korea's consumer prices rose at the fastest clip in almost 14 years in May due to high energy and food costs over the protracted war between Russia and Ukraine and the economic recovery, data showed Friday. Consumer prices jumped 5.4 percent last month from a year earlier, accelerating from a 4.8 percent on-year spike in April, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the steepest on-year increase since August 2008, when consumer prices soared 5.6 percent. Inflation grow

June 3, 2022

BOK chief stresses post-pandemic role

Central banks should think about what they should do besides keeping prices stable as emerging economies including South Korea struggle to avert anemic growth once persistent inflation caused by the pandemic cools off, Bank of Gov. Rhee Chang-yong said Thursday at a conference. “To escape a low growth, low inflation trap, should emerging market economies, or Korea for that matter, follow the same advice professor Paul Krugman gave to central bankers in advanced economies, to ‘credib

June 2, 2022

Finance minister warns against wage, price hikes

SEJONG -- South Korea’s fiscal chief on Thursday called on businesses to refrain from raising product prices and wages amid lingering fears of rising inflation. The comments from Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho came during his meeting with heads of the nation’s six business lobby groups in Seoul. “Given that hikes in price tags and wages could bring about a vicious circle in inflationary pressure, (the government would like to ask you) to internally

June 2, 2022

BOK chief highlights central banks' post-pandemic role, worries about low inflation, growth in emerging economies

Central banks need to do more than their obligation of maintaining price stability as calls for them taking more social responsibility will continue to rise in the post-pandemic era, Seoul's top central banker said Thursday. At an international conference in Seoul, Rhee Chang-yong, head of the Bank of Korea (BOK), said South Korea and other emerging countries are facing a likelihood of returning to a "very low inflation" and "very low growth environment" after current hi

June 2, 2022

Trade deficit continues despite brisk exports

 SEJONG -- South Korea posted a trade deficit for the second consecutive month in the wake of spiraling import prices of raw materials, despite its brisk outbound shipments. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the nation’s exports increased by 21.5 percent on-year to record $61.5 billion in May. This marked the second-highest in history, behind the $63.8 billion posted in March this year. This was an all-time high performance since the nation started compiling t

June 1, 2022

Single-person households spend most on housing, utilities

Housing-related expenditures such as rent, water, electricity and gas accounted for the largest part of a single-person households’ spending in South Korea, government data showed Wednesday. For the first three months of this year, single-person households spent a monthly average of 300,000 won ($241.74) on housing-related expenditures, accounting for 20.5 percent of their total average monthly spending, a Statistics Korea data showed. Their total average monthly spending came to 1.46 mil

June 1, 2022

Exports up 21.3% in May; trade deficit extended on high energy prices

South Korea's exports rose 21.3 percent in May from a year earlier on solid demand for chips and petroleum products, but they suffered a trade deficit due to high global energy prices, data showed Wednesday. Outbound shipments stood at $61.52 billion last month, up from $50.73 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It is the highest tally for any May since the ministry began compiling related data in 1956. The previous record wa

June 1, 2022

Amid escalating uncertainty, output, spending, investment drop in April

SEJONG -- South Korea suffered a “triple” decline in industrial output, consumption and investment in April amid expanded economic uncertainty from global inflationary pressure and a glitch in supply, state data showed Tuesday. According to Statistics Korea, industrial output decreased by 0.7 percent in April on-month, private consumption (also called retail sales) by 0.2 percent and facilities investment by 7.5 percent. This marked the first simultaneous decline in the three secto

May 31, 2022

‘Jeonse’ no more? More Koreans opt for monthly rentals under debt burden

Monthly lease contracts exceeded half of South Korea’s home rentals and surpassed “jeonse” transactions for the first time in April, government data showed Tuesday, mostly due to greater debt burden sparked by soaring interest rates on loans. Of the total 258,313 lease transactions for apartments and houses, 50.4 percent of them were for monthly rentals in April, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Jeonse contracts -- a lump-sum returnable deposit

May 31, 2022

S. Korea suffers falls in production, consumption, investment in April

South Korea's industrial output, consumption and investment declined together for the first time in over two years in April in the latest sign that economic recovery momentum remains fragile, data showed Tuesday. Industrial production fell 0.7 percent in April from the previous month, compared with a 1.6 percent on-month rise in March, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Compared with a year earlier, industrial output grew 4.5 percent. Retail sales, a gauge of private spending, fel

May 31, 2022

Korea to lift tariff on food imports, raise LTV for first home seekers

SEJONG -- The government on Monday unveiled a package to the improve living conditions of households suffering from a spike in consumer prices, by slashing their expenditure burden for commodities and housing. A batch of countermeasures -- which are likely to cost about 3.1 trillion won ($2.5 billion) in state funds -- against the high inflation rate were confirmed during a meeting of economy-related ministers, presided by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho in Seoul. A co

May 30, 2022