South Korea’s inbound shipments of Japanese consumer goods -- especially tobacco, beer and automobiles shrank considerably in July -- amid the continuing nationwide boycott, data showed Monday. The boycott spread like wildfire across the country since July last year, when Japan said it would regulate exports of three key materials needed for Asia’s fourth-largest economy’s chip and display manufacturing. The nation’s import of Japanese goods overall dropped 23.4 perc

Economy Aug. 10, 2020

South Koreans’ demand for jeonse loans -- designed for investors looking for two-year leases instead of purchases -- increased in July, due to government efforts to cool down the heated real estate market with loan restrictions, data showed Sunday. According to the data compiled by five major banks -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup -- the outstanding amount of such loans increased by 2.2 percent, or 2.02 trillion won ($1.8 billion), on-month to 94.55 trillion won as of e

Economy Aug. 9, 2020

With torrential rains battering South Korea’s central regions, local financial groups are lending a helping hand, including donations and staff volunteers to flood-hit regions. Woori Financial Group has sent food and water supplies and a volunteer group in North Chungcheong Province, one of the regions that was hardly hit by torrential rains. The group previously donated 100 million won ($84,100) for flood relief and sent support packages including hygiene, daily necessities and clothe

Market Aug. 9, 2020

South Korea saw its current account surplus narrow to an eight-year low in the first half of the year, with the coronavirus pandemic dealing a blow to the global trading system, data from the central bank showed Thursday. The current account surplus for the January-June period came to $19.17 billion, marking the smallest figure since the same period in 2012, the Bank of Korea said. The surplus came to $9.65 billion at the time. The current account surplus measures an economy’s imports

Economy Aug. 6, 2020

In a bid to calm real estate prices, South Korea’s ruling party said Monday it would seek legislation to levy a heavier tax on property speculation by foreign nationals. The Democratic Party of Korea and the government said the bill would impose a 20 percent acquisition tax on home purchases by foreign nationals if the buyers do not reside there for more than six months out of the year without an acceptable reason. The current law states that taxes for foreign nationals buying real est

Economy Aug. 5, 2020

Korean lenders’ personal credit loans extended to borrowers gained 2.3 percent on-month in July, following the largest-ever increase in June, data showed Tuesday, fueling concerns on the nation’s heated housing market and the dire job market amid the coronavirus pandemic. Outstanding personal loans extended to individual borrowers by five major lenders here rose a combined 2.28 percent, or 2.7 trillion won ($2.26 billion), from the previous month to 120.2 trillion won last month, in

Economy Aug. 4, 2020

Despite the nation’s monetary and fiscal policymakers’ measures to funnel liquidity into the market to offset risks from the coronavirus, cash flows into unexpected areas, such as bank deposits, have been fueling concerns of a liquidity trap, officials and experts recently noted. South Korea’s M2 money supply came to 3.065 quadrillion won ($2.56 trillion) in May, up 10.6 percent on-year, data from the Bank of Korea released in July showed. The figure marked the largest amou

Economy Aug. 3, 2020

The performance of South Korean financial groups was all over the map in the April-June period, and the coronavirus pandemic is prompting many to draw up digitalization plans for the second half of the year. The nation’s list of top groups by earnings got a reshuffle in recent weeks, with Shinhan Financial Group -- which had maintained the top spot for some time -- handing over the crown to KB Financial Group. Shinhan Financial said Friday it posted net profit of 873.1 billion won ($725

Market Aug. 2, 2020

South Korea’s industrial output gained 4.2 percent on-month in June, showing signs of recovery from the contractions prompted by the coronavirus pandemic in recent months, data from Statistics Korea showed Friday. Along with industrial output -- which had rebounded from a 1.2 percent on-month drop in May and a consistent five-month slide -- retail sales and facility investment inched up 2.4 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively, in the same period. This put the key indicators of the nati

Economy July 31, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic and the recent fund misspelling fiasco have reversed South Korea’s list of top financial groups, propelling those who dodged bullets to the top with better-than-expected second-quarter earnings, data showed Tuesday. Of the major institutions that have disclosed their second-quarter earnings, Woori Financial Group and Shinhan Financial Group -- which their flagship lender and brokerage units were accused of misselling either derivatives-linked funds or now-frozen

Market July 28, 2020

Woori Bank and Industrial Bank of Korea reported on Monday that their second-quarter net profit plummeted by 45 percent and 25 percent, respectively, weighed down by risks stemming from the coronavirus and hedge fund misselling. Woori Bank’s net profit for the April-June period slipped 45.28 percent on-year to 682.1 billion won ($570.2 million), while its operating profit fell 35.04 percent to 1.3 trillion won. But revenue increased 21.34 percent to 13.8 trillion won. The commercial ban

Market July 27, 2020

Buoyed by the recovery of global oil prices, South Korea’s producer price index rose 0.5 percent on-month in June, ending a monthslong slide, the nation’s central bank said Tuesday. The producer price index for all commodities and services here inched up 0.5 percent on-month to 102.52, data released by the Bank of Korea showed. It had remained flat in May after extending a decline in the February-April period, weighed down by the coronavirus pandemic. “The recovery of global

Economy July 21, 2020

South Korea has been seeing an increase in zombie firms -- especially those who have been incapable of covering annual borrowing costs for more than two years –- and they have been dragging down the manufacturing sector’s labor productivity, a report by the nation’s central bank said Monday. The Bank of Korea defined zombie firms as at least 10 years old and unable to cover debt servicing costs from current profits due to struggling with an interest coverage ratio below 1 for

Economy July 20, 2020

The South Korean unit of Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets hosted a virtual seminar on industrial safety awareness Thursday for companies receiving investments from its funds, it said Friday. The seminar was part of Safety Day, which the company holds annually in an effort to prevent industrial disasters and help companies understand related risks. It was carried out virtually this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the participation of officials from Macquarie Group and project

Market July 17, 2020

KB Financial Group said Friday that it has relocated its startup accelerator program to a WeWork branch here and plans to recruit its first tenants. The venue for the KB Starters program, dubbed the KB Innovation Hub, was relocated earlier this month to an approximately 1,000-square-meter space within WeWork Korea’s Sinnonhyeon branch in southern Seoul. Its previous venue was a 600-square-meter coworking space nearby. Cooperation with WeWork Korea will also allow program participants

Market July 17, 2020