South Korea is now more likely to meet its annual growth goal of 4 percent, with the economy on faster-than-expected track to recovery, despite woes stemming from the fourth and worst wave of the virus, a central bank official said Thursday. The anticipation comes as the Bank of Korea announced on-quarter growth of 0.8 percent for the economy in the April-June period. The figure was 0.1 percentage point higher than expected, preliminary data from the BOK showed. “With the higher-then-e

Economy Sept. 2, 2021

With people preferring delivery services to abide by social distancing rules during the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea saw a record number of delivery workers last year, data showed Wednesday. The total number of delivery workers here gained 11.8 percent on-year to a record 390,000 as of end-December, Statistics Korea data showed. Those who are classified as delivery workers here are letter carriers, couriers, those who work for food delivery services, newspaper deliverers and more. The nu

Economy Sept. 1, 2021

The reports surrounding the US Federal Reserve’s plan to trim bond purchases over an extended period have had limited impact on the Korean market “for now,” First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-won said Tuesday. The remark follows some volatility observed in the nation’s main bourse in the events leading up to and after US Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at the Fed’s annual Jackson Hole gathering last week. The central bank may begin withdrawing some of i

Market Aug. 31, 2021

Standard Chartered said Monday it has launched a blockchain-based digital trade finance platform through a joint venture with Chinese supply chain financial technology firm Linklogis. The platform named Olea will be operated by the joint venture headquartered in Singapore, with a goal of bringing together “institutional investors seeking opportunities in an alternative asset class with businesses requiring supply chain financing." Amelia Ng, an official from SC Ventures, the fintec

Market Aug. 30, 2021

The central bank’s rate hike last week may signal an end to Korean investors borrowing heavily to invest -- and may even put retail stock investors at greater risk, according to market analysts Sunday. The trend, known as “bittoo” in Korean -- from the “bit” meaning debt and “tooja” meaning investment -- has created sustained, rapid growth in the value of assets. But there are signs that this may be softening. According to market researcher Infomax, th

Economy Aug. 29, 2021

South Korea’s central bank on Thursday carried out its first rate hike since the pandemic began, marking a major turnaround from its expansionary stance that had been proactively deployed to buttress the nation’s virus-hit economy for the last 15 months. The rate hike marked the first case of a central bank in a major Asia-Pacific economy tightening monetary policy, reflecting concerns over overheated markets and growing inflationary pressure.　 The Bank of Korea raised its benchma

Economy Aug. 26, 2021

The rupture of Japan’s bubble in the 1990s after a decade of economic prosperity has been cited as an important case study for the South Korean economy given the similarities between the two countries’ economic structures, and their financial and legal systems. The prosperity in Japan brought about a rapid acceleration of asset prices some 30 years ago, when real estate and stock market prices became “overheated.” After the bubble burst in 1992, Japan entered a long peri

Economy Aug. 25, 2021

Citibank Korea has decided for the second time to delay confirming its retail business exit plan, after apparently failing to agree on sales terms with potential buyers, industry sources said Tuesday. Following Citigroup’s decision in April to exit the consumer banking business in 13 global markets, including South Korea, local subsidiary Citibank Korea initially planned to confirm the exit plan in July. The firm then postponed the confirmation until a board meeting scheduled for Tuesday

Market Aug. 24, 2021

South Korean banks have started to temporarily halt their home-backed loans under pressure from financial authorities seeking to rein in the nation’s snowballing household debt, sources said Friday. NH NongHyup Bank, one of the country’s top five commercial banks, decided to suspend all mortgage lending from next week until Nov. 30. Switching and renewals of mortgages will be halted as well. Extension of personal loans will be tightened as well, with customers able to borrow up

Market Aug. 20, 2021

South Korea said Friday it has decided to place a new cap on commissions earned by real estate agents from October, as the nation’s heated housing market has led to a spike in broker fees, instigating public concern on the additional burden. The new measure will target broker fees on property purchases valued over 600 million won ($508,000) and lease deals over 300 million won, according to the latest announcement by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The commission rat

Economy Aug. 20, 2021

South Korea’s NH NongHyup Bank said Thursday it is collaborating with Samsung Electronics to accelerate digital transformation of its financial businesses. One of the country‘s top commercial banks and the global tech behemoth signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday that will help NH NongHyup efficiently utilize key emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and the metaverse. Designing digital, yet consumer-friendly brick-and-mortar branches, de

Market Aug. 19, 2021

South Korea’s potential growth rate has declined for decades, reflecting the nation’s aging society, slowing capital accumulation and changing job market, a think tank report showed Wednesday. Asia’s fourth-largest economy’s potential growth rate – gross domestic product per person aged 15 and over – by decade came to an average 2.1 percent in the 2010s, compared with 7.6 percent in the 1980s, according to the Korea Economic Research Institute. The figure has

Economy Aug. 18, 2021

Citibank Korea is likely to make its long-awaited announcement for its retail business exit plan on Aug. 26, after confirming the strategy at a scheduled board meeting, an industry source said Tuesday. The South Korean subsidiary of the US-based global banking giant had initially said it would confirm the plan in July, but the decision-making process was delayed on apparent conflicts of interest among the firm, its potential bidders and unionists. The firm is expected to decide whether it wil

Market Aug. 17, 2021

South Korea’s NH NongHyup Bank said Tuesday it launched a virtual Dokdo branch, which customers can visit on its mobile app and subscribe to financial products tied to the nation’s easternmost islets. The virtual space, designed to celebrate the bank’s 60th anniversary, offers users of All One Bank app with Dokdo-themed environmental, social and governance-related financial products. Users can also visit a virtual gift shop where they can purchase popular “Dokdo shrimp

Market Aug. 17, 2021

The state-run Industrial Bank of Korea’s Indonesian subsidiary, its largest ASEAN business, fell deeper into the red in the second quarter, while its Korean rivals are raking in robust profits from their businesses there. Flagging warning signs for its annual performance this year, Bank IBK Indonesia reported a net loss of 14.3 billion won ($12.2 million), failing to extend its growth momentum gained in the first quarter of 1.2 billion won in net profit. “In the early stages, net lo

Market Aug. 16, 2021