S. Korea's exports rise 25.8% in 2021 to hit all-time high

South Korea's exports rose 25.8 percent in 2021 from the previous year to reach an all-time high on the back of solid demand for chips and petroleum products amid a global economic recovery, the industry ministry said Saturday. Outbound shipments stood at US$644.54 billion last year, compared with $512.5 billion a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It marked the highest annual figure since the country began compiling trade related data in 1

Jan. 1, 2022

S. Korea to prioritize supporting pandemic-hit merchants next year: finance chief

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Friday the government will ramp up its effort to support small merchants next year in a bid to help them tide over the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hong said the government will also prioritize strengthening social safety nets in 2022 in a bid to narrow deepening income gaps caused by the pandemic. "The government will focus on providing multilayered support to small merchants to help them overcome economic difficulties and make a leap forwa

Dec. 31, 2021

BOK chief vows to adjust monetary easing in line with economy

The chief of the nation’s central bank said Friday that monetary easing will be broadened in tandem with the pace of the economic recovery next year. “Additional moves related to monetary easing will be carried out after closely reviewing the development of economic growth and inflation,” Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said in his New Year’s address. “Imbalances in the financial market and shifts in monetary policies of key economies will be taken into considerat

Dec. 31, 2021

Korea’s consumer prices growth hits decade-high

SEJONG -- The on-year growth of consumer prices has reached the highest level in 10 years in 2021, aggravating the burden on the debt-saddled household sector. According to Statistics Korea, consumer prices climbed 2.5 percent this year compared to 2020. After reaching 2.2 percent in 2012, the growth ranged between 0.4 and 1.9 percent during the 2013-2020 period. The 2021 figure marked the highest since it peaked at 4 percent in 2011, posting over 2 percent for the first time in nine years sin

Dec. 31, 2021

Industry minister vows efforts for stable supply chains, economic security

Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook vowed Friday to make all-out efforts to ensure stable supply chains for key industry materials and to nurture next-generation sectors. He made the pledge in his message for the new year, saying the government will work further to make concrete steps that prevent any recurrences of the recent urea crisis. South Korea experienced a shortage of urea solution, an essential fluid used in diesel vehicles to cut emissions, after China imposed export curbs on urea in O

Dec. 31, 2021

Consumption falls steepest in 16 months

SEJONG -- Korean businesses, including those in the manufacturing and service industries, saw the index for their retail sales decline sharply last month despite brisk industrial output, state data showed Thursday. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki also commented on the weakening sentiment index over private consumption, picking negative factors like bolstered quarantine against the omicron variant of COVID-19. According to Statistics Korea, the nation’s retail sale

Dec. 30, 2021

Bank mortgage rates hit highest mark in over 7 years in Nov.

South Korean banks' mortgage rates hit the highest level in more than 7 years in November amid rising borrowing costs, central bank data showed Thursday, Banks' mortgage loan rate averaged 3.51 percent in November, up 0.25 percentage point from a month earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea (BOK) This marked the highest since July 2014, when the corresponding rate was 3.54 percent.   Banks' unsecured loan rate also rose 0.54 percentage point to 5.16 percent last month,

Dec. 30, 2021

S. Korean builder sentiment improves for 2nd month in Dec.

South Korea's construction business sentiment gained for a second month in December thanks to increased year-end orders, a poll showed Thursday. The construction business survey index (CBSI) came to 92.5 this month, up 4.1 points from the previous month, according to the survey by the Construction and Economy Research Institute of Korea. Yet the December figure remains below par. A reading below 100 indicates builders are pessimistic about the current state of the construction industry and out

Dec. 30, 2021

S. Korea's e-commerce imports hit new high in 2021 amid pandemic

South Korea's imports via e-commerce reached a new all-time high in 2021 as more people purchased foreign goods online, government data showed Thursday. The country's e-commerce imports stood at $4.15 billion in the first 11 months of this year, up 25.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. The amount for the 11-month period surpasses the full-year figure for 2020. The number of e-commerce transactions came to 79 million during the period, up 40.6

Dec. 30, 2021

40 biz groups fined for failure to adhere to public filing requirement

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Thursday it has imposed a combined fine of 912 million won ($769,500) on 107 affiliates of 40 conglomerates for their failure to properly make public filings on major business information. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said it has looked into whether 2,612 affiliates of 71 large business groups subject to public filing obligations have fully made public disclosures of key details about business operations. Large business groups with assets of 5 trillion

Dec. 30, 2021

Industrial output rises by most in 17 months in Nov. amid economic recovery

South Korea's industrial output increased by the most in 17 months in November in the latest sign that economic recovery momentum has been extended despite the pandemic, data showed Thursday. Industrial output grew 3.2 percent in November from the previous month, a turnaround from a 1.9 percent on-month fall in October, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the largest on-month gain since June 2020, when industrial output went up 3.9 percent. The rebound came after ind

Dec. 30, 2021

Deaths outnumber births for 24 consecutive months

SEJONG -- The number of deaths outstripped that of births for the 24th consecutive month in South Korea, data showed Wednesday, suggesting an obvious demographic downhill phase and the coming crisis over workforce. According to Statistics Korea, deaths outnumbered births by 7,047 -- 27,783 versus 20,736 -- in October, amid falling marriage rates and record-low fertility rates. The population decline for Korean nationals -- when changes in the tally for foreign residents in the nation were not

Dec. 29, 2021

NongHyup Bank introduces antiviral pin pad

NongHyup Bank said Wednesday that it has developed a pin pad that kills germs like the coronavirus with a UV light after customers have used it to enter their passcodes. The pad, the first of its kind adopted by a local bank, will be used at NongHyup branches nationwide after a trial run at its key offices in Seoul, the bank said. It added that the pad does not pose health risks. Meanwhile, Lotte Chemical also said it has come up with an antiviral plastic to be used for credit cards issued by

Dec. 29, 2021

ICT-powered use of healthcare data to have ‘dynamic effect,’ says vice minister

South Korea’s vice finance minister said Wednesday that the nation’s healthcare data combined with information and communications technology will have a “dynamic effect” on the economy. “With the passage of three data-related bills last year, enactment of the Data Framework Act and pursuit of the data dam project has allowed us to secure a systematic platform to enter a data economy,” Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-won said in a press conference for healthcare

Dec. 29, 2021

Trade terms hit near 9-year low in Nov.

South Korea's terms of trade hit a near nine-year low in November as import costs rose at a much faster pace than export prices, central bank data showed Wednesday. The nation's net terms-of-trade index for goods -- a gauge of overall trade terms -- came to 88.27 last month, down 10.1 percent from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The November tally represented the lowest level since March 2013. The figure is calculated by dividing the index for expor

Dec. 29, 2021

Corporate capital spending forecast to grow 3.6% in 2022

South Korea's corporate capital spending is expected to expand nearly 4 percent in 2022 on a recovery in manufacturing activity and private consumption, a poll showed Wednesday. The survey of 3,700 big, midsize and small companies, taken by the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), showed their combined facility investments will likely reach 186 trillion won ($158 billion) next year, up 3.6 percent from this year. "The country's corporate capital spending is likely to keep growing in th

Dec. 29, 2021

[Interactive] Exports of fishery goods up over 20% through October

South Korea’s exports of fishery products grew 20.5 percent on-year in the first 10 months of this year, data showed. Outbound shipments of fishery products reached $2.24 billion during the January-October period, compared to $1.86 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Exports to China rose 48.1 percent to $540 million, and those to the United States and the European Union surged 24.2 percent and 39.4 percent, respectively. Sales

Dec. 29, 2021

Manufacturers' biz sentiment improves for January amid robust exports

South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment improved for January on optimism that the country's exports remain strong despite the global pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday. The business sentiment index (BSI) for local manufacturers came to 92 for December, up from 88 for this month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index measures manufacturers' prospects for business conditions in the following month. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists.

Dec. 29, 2021

Number of female business leaders in Korea rises to 2.2 million

SEJONG -- The number of women representing small and large businesses in Korea increased by 366,000 over the past five years, data showed Tuesday. In particular, they outnumbered male presidents in private educational services and lodging and food services. According to Statistics Korea, the number of businesses in the nation came to 6.01 million at the end of 2020. About 2.2 million, or 36.7 percent, of them had female presidents, involving chief executives in the case of conglomerates. The

Dec. 28, 2021

870,000 small business owners quit amid pandemic

Some 870,000 small business owners failed to see out the pandemic in 2020, while their companies’ operating profits nearly halved in the same period, government data showed Tuesday. According to data from Statistics Korea and the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Startups, the number of people working as small business owners fell 13.5 percent, or 871,000, on-year to 5.5 million as of end-2020. The government throughout last year adopted strict quarantine and social di

Dec. 28, 2021