Taking impact from the panic buying trend in the local real estate market as well as explosive interest in a series of mega initial public offerings, South Korea’s household debt surged at a rapid pace in July.  Household debt gained more than 6 trillion won ($5.2 billion), despite government measures to tighten bank lending, industry data showed Tuesday.  The outstanding balance of household debt -- the total of financial loans plus credit card-based payment services extend

Market Aug. 3, 2021

Global credit appraiser Fitch Ratings on Monday raised NH NongHyup Bank’s long-term credit rating from A- to A, in recognition of its leading position in the local banking industry, while keeping the firm’s outlook at stable.  “As of last year, about 12 percent and 14 percent of the total credit loan applications and savings programs operated by local commercial banks were made through NH NongHyup Bank, respectively. The latest upgrade reflects the bank’s possibi

Market Aug. 2, 2021

Nationwide apartment transactions plunged in June ahead of the launch on Wednesday of a subscription program for newly built homes, which put the brakes on a buying spree in the local real estate market, data showed Friday.  According to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, a total of 88,922 apartment units changed hands across the nation last month, down 35.8 percent from 138,578 a year earlier.  In the Greater Seoul area, the transaction volume fell 44.

Market July 30, 2021

Global credit appraiser Fitch Ratings has raised Woori Bank’s long-term credit rating from A- to A in consideration of its sound business performance, the bank said Friday.  The rating agency had maintained the lender’s long-term credit rating at A- for 16 years since 2005. The latest upgrade reflects the company’s efforts to improve risk management skills, asset soundness, profitability and capital adequacy, which has led to a significant increase in earnings, it expl

Market July 30, 2021

The Bank of Korea said Thursday that a decision by the US Federal Reserve that left its benchmark rate unchanged had little impact on global financial markets. The central bank still added caution, saying that “financial market volatility could intensify as uncertainty remains over when major economies recover from the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic as well as virus variants. “The BOK will closely monitor internal and external risk factors and review countermeasures against them.&rdq

Economy July 29, 2021

Global ratings firm Moody’s has raised its rating outlook for JB Financial Group’s commercial banking units -- Jeonbuk Bank and Kwangju Bank -- from stable to positive, while keeping the provincial lenders’ ratings at A1, the banking group said Thursday.  “The outlook upgrade came as Jeonbuk Bank and Kwangju Bank have improved business performance by building various growth strategies centered on improving profits, while maintaining financial soundness,” JB

Market July 29, 2021

For Aaron, a 45-year old Canadian working as a university professor in Seoul, buying his own house in the city has been near the top of his bucket list. But his plan for a dream house has been let down by local banks rejecting his applications for a credit loan. Despite his status as a full-time instructor at the Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies for more than eight years, the banks have not been accommodating. “For the first time i

Market July 27, 2021

South Korea’s central government procurement agency has been stepping up efforts to support small and medium-sized enterprises in the health sector eyeing on the international procurement markets in the pandemic era. And its support is adding momentum to the nation’s exports of pandemic-related goods, a state-led recovery model from the virus, its chief said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald. “Since last year, local SMEs producing quarantine products such as face

Economy July 25, 2021

Tongyang Life Insurance sold its entire stake in Woori Financial Group on Friday to secure more capital, in preparation for a stricter rule on local insurers’ fiscal soundness. According to a regulatory filing, the company had decided to sell all of its 3.74 percent stake (27.04 million shares) in the banking giant to some 60 domestic and foreign institutions, during its shareholders meeting held Thursday. The sale price was 301.5 billion won ($262 million), which accounts 9.7 percent

Market July 23, 2021

South Korea‘s top financial regulator is considering disciplinary measures against overseas cryptocurrency exchanges that are not registered with the nation’s anti-money laundering body, according to the National Assembly‘s National Policy Committee on Thursday. “Business activities carried out by overseas cryptocurrency exchanges targeting local customers without reporting to the Financial Intelligence Unit -- an anti-money laundering unit under the Financial Services C

Market July 22, 2021

Despite state-driven efforts to strengthen ties with Southeast Asian nations, South Korea‘s trade and investment with the region still lag behind China and Taiwan, according to the Federation of Korean Industries Wednesday. Since President Moon Jae-in took office in May 2017, he pushed for elevating economic and investment cooperation with the 10 ASEAN countries -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- in so-called &rdquo

Economy July 21, 2021

A growing number of South Korean teenagers bought apartments in Seoul with financial support from their parents, data showed Monday.  People in their teens bought a total of 69 new homes for speculative purposes in the January-May period, a tenfold increase from a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport submitted to Rep. Park Sang-hyuk of the ruling Democratic Party. The young homeowners’ parents appeared to have handed cash to their

Market July 19, 2021

The fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to put the brakes on South Korea’s economic recovery, darkening the nation’s growth outlook for the third quarter, according to economists Sunday. "Daily new infections rose sharply during the summer vacation season, when private consumption is expected to grow. Possibilities remain that the local economy could contract in the third quarter, affected by the virus resurgence and the toughest Level 4 social distancing," sa

Economy July 18, 2021

It takes 20 years for the female employment rate to reach the same figure of female workers in their first year of marriage, suggesting that child births and rearing are still the main obstacles they face in continuing their careers, a report showed Tuesday. A survey conducted by the Korea Labor Institute, the employment rate among married women in the first year of marriage was 68.1 percent but the figure plunged to 40.5 percent when they reached the fifth year. The job rate of married women

Market July 13, 2021

Responding to rising demand for sustainability in corporate management, Woori Financial Group has decided to invest 100 trillion won ($87.3 billion) in financial products associated with environmental, social and governance, or ESG factors, including credit loans and bonds, by 2030, the banking giant said Monday.  The envisioned plan is part of the group’s mid-and long-term ESG strategies to promote sustainable growth under a new company vision titled “Good Finance for the Ne

Market July 12, 2021