BOK raises rate to pre-pandemic level, hints more rate hikes to come

South Korea’s central bank on Friday raised its base rate by 25 basis points to 1.25 percent, returning it to the level before the pandemic started, with its chief hinting at additional hikes. As a result of its first rate-setting meeting of the year, the Bank of Korea’s monetary policy board delivered its third pandemic-era rate hike, following its previous 25 basis point rate hikes in August and November, respectively. The move in August ended more than a year of record-low inter

Jan. 14, 2022

Tighter virus curbs to hamper recovery in domestic demand: finance ministry

The South Korean economy is on a recovery track on robust exports, but the spike in COVID-19 cases and strengthened social distancing rules are feared to hurt domestic demand, the finance ministry said Friday. Amid the fast spread of the omicron COVID-19 variant, external economic uncertainty has persisted as global supply chain bottlenecks have deepened and the Federal Reserve is ramping up a shift in its monetary policy, the ministry said in its monthly economic assessment report, called the

Jan. 14, 2022

Young Koreans may be left with no pension

South Koreans born after 1990 will not be able to claim their state pension if an overhaul of the current pension system is not carried out swiftly, a Seoul-based think tank said Thursday. With the nation’s state pension age remaining relatively low compared to other major economies and the lackluster amount of money being funneled into the fund, those set to receive the pension from 2055 will likely fail in claiming their contributions, a report by the Korea Economic Research Institute s

Jan. 13, 2022

Korea ranks 32nd of 38 OECD members in Q3 growth

SEJONG -- South Korea was found to have lagged far behind major countries in the latest economic growth, data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development showed Thursday. According to the French-based organization, Korea’s gross domestic product grew 0.3 percent -- as a provisional figure -- in the third quarter of 2021, compared to the previous quarter. This placed Asia’s fourth largest-economy at No. 32 of the total 38 OECD members in the quarterly GDP growth,

Jan. 13, 2022

Foreign purchases of Korean securities at 12-yr high in 2021

Foreign investors' net purchase of South Korean securities was the biggest in 12 years last year due largely to their buying spree of local bonds, central bank data showed Thursday. Foreigners bought a net $38.71 billion worth of Korean securities last year, sharply up from $3.47 billion the previous year, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the largest figure since 2009, when the corresponding figure came to $42.2 billion. Last year, foreigners sold Korean stocks to

Jan. 13, 2022

Delinquency ratio on banks' loans edges up in November

The delinquency ratio on loans extended by banks in South Korea inched up in November from a month earlier, the financial watchdog said Thursday. The rate for banks' won-denominated loans more than 30 days overdue stood at 0.25 percent as of end-November, up 0.01 percentage point from a month earlier, according to preliminary data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Compared with a year earlier, the November figure was down 0.09 percentage point, it showed. The ratio was measured ba

Jan. 13, 2022

Banks' household loans dip in Dec. amid rate hike, tight lending rules

South Korean banks' household loans declined in December due to the central bank's rate hike and tight lending rules, data from the Bank of Korea (BOK) showed Thursday. Outstanding bank loans to local households had come to 1,060.7 trillion won ($982 billion) as of the end of last year, down 200 billion won from the previous month, according to the BOK. The December reading compared with a 2.9 trillion-won on-month gain in November. It marked the first on-month decline for any December since

Jan. 13, 2022

Tax revenue rebounds in Nov.

South Korea's tax revenue rebounded in November last year from a year ago as corporate income tax increased amid the economic recovery, the finance ministry said Thursday. The government collected 16 trillion won in taxes in November, compared with 14 trillion won a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Tax revenue rebounded in the month after a fall of 6.2 trillion won in October when the government delayed the payment of some taxes by small merchants and firms hit b

Jan. 13, 2022

S. Korea to spend W6.3tr for corporate investment in vaccine development

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday the government plans to spend 6.3 trillion won ($5.3 billion) to support corporate facility investment in vaccine development by 2024. The move is aimed at nurturing the vaccine industry as a key sector at a similar level to the semiconductor industry as South Korea seeks to foster new industries to secure engines of growth, according to the finance minister. Hong said the government will continue to support the development of homegrown COVID-19 vacci

Jan. 13, 2022

Import prices down for 2nd month in Dec. on lower oil, raw material costs

South Korea's import prices fell for the second straight month in December from a month earlier as the costs of importing oil and other raw materials declined, central bank data showed Thursday. The import price index dropped 1.9 percent last month from November, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. This marked the second on-month decline following a 1 percent contraction in November. The December decline is attributed to lower costs of purchasing energy-related products

Jan. 13, 2022

510,000 jobs disappeared in food-lodging, wholesale-retail since COVID-19

SEJONG -- The number of employed people increased the most in seven years in 2021 on the back of the base effect after the coronavirus pandemic dealt a severe blow to the hiring market in 2020, state data showed Wednesday. But the number of jobs in sectors such as wholesale-retail and food service-lodging continued to decline last year, following the previous year. About 516,000 jobs disappeared in these four sectors during the period of 2020-2021. According to Statistics Korea, the number of

Jan. 12, 2022

Regulator reviews punitive measures against shippers' alleged price fixing

Regulator reviews punitive measures against shippers' alleged price fixingSouth Korea's antitrust regulator was holding a deliberation session Wednesday to decide punitive actions against HMM Co. and 22 other shippers over their suspected price fixing of freight rates. Since 2018, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has been looking into allegations that the country's top shipper HMM and 22 domestic and foreign shipping lines had colluded to fix higher freight rates for Southeast Asian sea routes.

Jan. 12, 2022

S. Korea reports largest job growth in 7 years last year amid economic recovery

South Korea added the most jobs in seven years in 2021 as the job market recovered to pre-pandemic levels due to the base effect and the economic recovery, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people reached 27.27 million last year, 369,000 more than a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the largest number since 2014, when the nation reported an on-year increase of 598,000 jobs. Last year's number was higher than the government's earlier estimat

Jan. 12, 2022

Brisk exports continue in first 10 days of 2022

SEJONG -- South Korea’s brisk export performance, which started in the fourth quarter of 2020 as a rebound or recovery, has continued during the first 10 days of 2022, state customs data showed Tuesday. According to the Korea Customs Service, the nation’s exports reached $13.9 billion during the period of Jan. 1-10, up 24.4 percent compared to $11.2 billion over the same period of 2021. By main item, outbound shipments of home appliances -- such as TVs, refrigerators, washing machi

Jan. 11, 2022

Corporate reshoring hits all-time high in 2021

The number of South Korean companies that returned home from their offshore operations and their investment at home hit an all-time high last year, the industry ministry said Tuesday. A total of 26 firms relocated their factories from overseas in 2021, compared with 24 the previous year, and their combined investment grew 22 percent on-year to 681.5 billon won ($570.63 million), according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The 2021 figures marked the largest since the ministry bega

Jan. 11, 2022

Insurers' risk-based capital ratio down in Q3

Insurance firms in South Korea saw their risk-based capital ratio fall in the third quarter of last year amid rising market interest rates, data showed Tuesday. The risk-based capital (RBC) ratio of local insurance firms stood at 254.5 percent as of end-September, down 6.4 percentage points from three months earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The fall came as a rise in market interest rates and stock market declines caused losses from their asset holdi

Jan. 11, 2022

Korea Customs Service offers support on RCEP

As the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership takes effect in February, the Korea Customs Service has come up with a set of measures to help exporters and importers make use of the world’s largest trade agreement among 15 Asia-Pacific nations. Only exporters who have been certified by the KCS for having the ability to manage and prove their products’ country of origin can get certificates of origin under the RCEP. Therefore, the KCS has begun accepting applications for certific

Jan. 11, 2022

[Herald Interview] Korea Customs Service champions big data analysis

At the Korea Customs Service, all administrative work is done through a massive computerized system. An average of 118,000 export and import reports are handled every day, and the accumulation of vast data allows KCS to make good use of big data analysis and artificial intelligence. “We plan to open a KCS big data portal for the public late this year, which will offer customized services for businesses through AI analysis of exporter and importer data as well as business support record

Jan. 11, 2022

Bond issuance in S. Korea down 1.8% in 2021

Bond issuance in South Korea fell 1.8 percent in 2021 from a year earlier due to decreased debt sales by the government, data showed Tuesday. The value of bonds sold in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 829 trillion won ($693 billion) last year, down 15.3 trillion won from 2020, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. State-bond issuance shrank 4 percent on-year to 228.4 trillion won, while sales of financial bonds surged 23 percent to 252.2 trillion won. Cor

Jan. 11, 2022

S. Korea logs current account surplus for 19th straight month in November

South Korea logged a current account surplus for the 19th straight month in November, but the surplus was much smaller than a year earlier due to increased imports driven by high energy and raw material prices, central bank data showed Tuesday. The current account surplus amounted to $7.16 billion in November, down from a surplus of $9.18 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the preliminary data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading marked the 19th straight month that the current ac

Jan. 11, 2022