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

Economy June 7, 2022

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

Economy June 6, 2022

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

Economy June 2, 2022

The South Korean government should help companies build a hydrogen economy because using the renewable energy ensures growth as businesses race to reduce their carbon footprint, Woo Tae-hee, vice chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Tuesday at a forum on green hydrogen. “I believe it is time for us to turn the climate crisis into an opportunity to secure the hydrogen market and improve our economy with strong commitment and collective wisdom,” Woo said at the

Industry May 31, 2022

Self-employed workers will likely bear the brunt of the Bank of Korea’s rate hike on Thursday, the fifth raise since August last year from the central bank’s record low of 0.5 percent amid persistent inflation, a credit ratings agency said Friday in a report. The self-employed in 2020 spent 46 percent of their annual income amid falling earnings to settle debt while households used 34 percent on average to do the same, according to Korea Investors Service. 

Economy May 27, 2022

South Korean men shop at a convenience store more often than women, with men in their 20s visiting most often among all age groups of both men and women, at nine times a month on average, according to data released by Samsung Card on Thursday. In the first quarter this year, men using the firm’s card visited a convenience store 6.3 times a month on average, while women shopped there 3.9 times a month on average. How many users were surveyed were not known but as of September last year,

Industry May 26, 2022

The Yoon Suk-yeol government is considering extending mortgage loan maturity terms for newlyweds and young Koreans aged 19-39 as part of efforts to follow through on a pledge to help young people acquire their homes, amid runaway housing prices in the Seoul metropolitan area. Under the new plan, young people would be able to repay their loan over 50 years, instead of 40 years, the longest repayment period currently offered to newlyweds and Koreans in that age group. “The 50-year loan sc

Economy May 25, 2022

South Korean households’ outlook for inflation in the next 12 months rose this month to the highest level in nine years and seven months, according to a Bank of Korea survey released Tuesday ahead of its rate decision Thursday. Survey respondents forecast inflation to average 3.3 percent, up from the previous record high of 3.1 percent in April. In a monthly survey of 2,500 households conducted May 10-17, the BOK said consumers have braced for higher borrowing costs ahead, wit

Economy May 24, 2022

As unprecedented stimulus packages to fuel South Korea’s COVID-hit economy run out, investors are increasingly worried over a possible bubble burst in stocks, property and cryptocurrencies that would make it harder for the already wobbly benchmark Kospi to return to its record highs a year ago. The Bank of Korea, which has already lifted interest rates twice this year to combat red-hot inflation, is expected to back another raise Thursday while eyeing more hikes later in the year. Rising

Market May 23, 2022

The Bank of Korea is likely to raise the benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 1.75 percent this Thursday as Asia’s fourth-largest economy combats persistent inflation and shrinking growth, according to eight out of nine economists polled by The Korea Herald. But the central bank, which usually changes its rate in 25-basis point increments, is unlikely to back a sudden 50-basis point raise because there’s ample room left for more hikes in the latter half of this year when inflation c

Economy May 22, 2022

The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office said Wednesday that it has reinstated the joint team on financial and securities fraud that was disbanded by the previous Moon government, a day after the new justice minister called for it at his inauguration. The joint team, which was set up in 2013 but dissolved in 2020 amid criticisms that prosecutors abused their authority, epitomized the power and influence wielded by the prosecution. The team, dubbed the market’s “angel of death,

Market May 18, 2022

A recent report that three employees had stolen 3 billion won ($2.3 million) from South Korea’s biggest cosmetics maker Amorepacific in the wake of other huge embezzlements at the country’s major banks is fueling calls for tougher oversight. The employees at the cosmetics maker had allegedly used the money to buy stocks, cryptocurrencies and gamble by falsifying company documents such as tax records, a local report said Tuesday. Amorepacific said the employees were facing disciplina

Economy May 17, 2022

The wealth gap between the richest Koreans in their 20s and 30s and their poorest peers increased more in 2021 than the previous year, a lawmaker said, citing data compiled by Statistics Korea. In 2021, the top 20 percent of wealthy Koreans in their 20s and 30s held 981.85 million won ($764,442) on average, 35.27 times that of the 27.84 million won held by the bottom 20 percent in the same demographic. That was an incremental increase from the 35.2 times in 2020, according to Rep. Kim Hoi-jae

Economy May 16, 2022

A Seoul court said Friday that it picked chemical conglomerate KG Group as the preferred bidder to acquire SsangYong Motor, a debt-ridden carmaker whose recent takeover by a local electric automaker fell apart. “We’ve looked at whether the bidder could really deliver the cash promised, given the fiasco months ago when the deal fell apart because of that,” SsangYong Motor said. The KG Group-led consortium, which includes Pavilion Private Equity, has enough cash to make the pur

Market May 13, 2022

The Korea Exchange is preparing to launch a carbon credit futures contract to help bring price signals to what it says would be the new derivatives market, officials said Thursday. “The spot trading in carbon dioxide quotas has surged, but a lack of liquidity is a cause for price volatility,” an official at the bourse operator said. The new market could also help solidify the government’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, the official added. The bourse operat

Market May 12, 2022