South Korea's central bank chief Tuesday urged local financial institutions to brace for the possibility of growing credit risk from heavily indebted households and self-employed as the country will continue to tighten loose financial and monetary policy put in place to prop up the pandemic-hit economy. Lee Ju-yeol, governor of the Bank of Korea (BOK), made the remarks in his written New Year's greetings for the financial community, adding that such credit risk could get worse amid rising exter

Economy Jan. 4, 2022

The value of construction contracts in South Korea climbed more than 12 percent in the third quarter of 2021 thanks mainly to increased private projects, government data showed Tuesday. Civilian and public works contracts in Asia's fourth-largest economy were valued at 65.2 trillion won ($54.6 billion) in the July-September period, up 12.2 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Private deals swelled 12.9 percent on-year to 55 tri

Economy Jan. 4, 2022

Seoul's daily COVID-19 cases on Tuesday remained under 1,000 for the second consecutive day in light of the country's extension of tighter social distancing measures for two weeks, officials said. The number of cases in the capital was recorded at 938, 52 fewer than the 990 tally Monday and down 351 compared with a week ago, according to city health officials. Of the total, 903 were local infections and 35 were from overseas. On Monday, Seoul's daily COVID-19 cases fell below 1,000 for the fir

Social Affairs Jan. 4, 2022

South Korea's military on Tuesday confirmed four cases of COVID-19 among troops stationed in Lebanon and South Sudan, amid growing concerns over the omicron variant around the globe. Two service members stationed in the Dongmyeong unit in Lebanon and two others based in the Hanbit unit in South Sudan have tested positive, according to the defense ministry. All of them have mild symptoms, it noted. South Korea has a total of around 1,000 troops stationed overseas, including the Akh unit in the

Social Affairs Jan. 4, 2022

The US Department of Defense has said South Korea and the United States will proceed with their combined springtime exercise as previously agreed upon, according to Radio Free Asia. The statement by a Pentagon spokesperson came amid concerns that the exercise, if held, could dampen Seoul's efforts to resume dialogue with Pyongyang. The North has berated the allies' drills as a war rehearsal against it. "No changes to the training/exercise schedule as was discussed in the SCM," the sp

Defense Jan. 4, 2022

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases stayed below 4,000 for the third straight day Tuesday amid tightened social distancing rules, but health authorities are on high alert after the first omicron-linked deaths were reported a day earlier. The country added 3,024 new COVID-19 infections, including 2,889 local infections, raising the total caseload to 645,226, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The figure was down 105 from a day earlier and down 841 compared wi

Social Affairs Jan. 4, 2022

With one month to go before the Beijing Winter Olympics, South Korean bobsleigh pilot Won Yun-jong seems to be finally hitting his stride. After a series of mediocre showings, Won and his brakeman, Kim Jin-su, posted their first top-10 finishes of this season in the two-man bobsleigh at the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF) World Cup in Sigulda, Latvia, over the weekend. On New Year's Day, they ranked a season-high ninth with a combined time of 1:39.77 after two runs. Th

Olympic Games Jan. 4, 2022

The number of foreign tourists who visited South Korea last year is expected to have fallen below the 1 million mark due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. The data from the state-run Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) showed 877,000 foreigners visited the country from January to November, down 64.3 percent from a year earlier. Considering that only 94,000 foreigners visited the country in November, it is certain the yearly tally of foreign tourist arrivals fell below 1 million for the first ti

Social Affairs Jan. 4, 2022

Last month, a speeding car driven by an 80-something person rammed into another car and plowed into a grandmother and her granddaughter walking nearby in the southern port city of Busan, resulting in the death of the two pedestrians. Months earlier, multiple people were injured after a five-vehicle crash caused by a 73-year-old driver in the southeastern city of Changwon. Both drivers claimed their cars began suddenly accelerating without their control, but the accidents renewed safety concern

Social Affairs Jan. 4, 2022

Home transactions in South Korea tumbled nearly 43 percent on-year in November amid lending curbs and rising interest rates, government data showed Tuesday. The number of homes changing hands nationwide stood at 67,159 in November, down 42.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Compared with the previous month, the November tally was down 10.8 percent. The number of home transactions in the greater Seoul area, which includ

Economy Jan. 4, 2022

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Monday the government needs to mobilize all available policy means to tame inflationary pressure and stabilize the housing market in the new year. Hong also said the country will prioritize supporting small merchants hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and vulnerable people and strengthen social safety nets. "The government faces an urgent need to stabilize inflation and the housing market at an early date by mobilizing all available means," Hong said.

Economy Jan. 3, 2022

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker, said Monday its sales fell 11 percent last month from a year earlier amid global chip shortages. Hyundai Motor sold 334,242 vehicles in December, down from 375,193 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales declined 3.5 percent to 66,112 units from 68,486 during the mentioned period, as the lack of semiconductor parts continued to affect vehicle production and sales, it said. Overseas sales also dropped 13 percent t

Industry Jan. 3, 2022

SsangYong Motor Co. said Monday its sales fell 17 percent last month from a year earlier as a prolonged chip shortage continued to affect its vehicle production. SsangYong Motor sold 8,755 vehicles in December, down from 10,561 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales declined 31 percent to 5,810 units last month from 8,449 a year ago, while exports climbed 39 percent to 2,975 units from 2,142 during the same period, it said. For the whole of 2021, its sales dippe

Industry Jan. 3, 2022

South Korean pharmaceutical giant Celltrion Inc. said Monday that its antibody treatment candidate against COVID-19 has shown safety in its clinical trial. Celltrion said it has enrolled 24 healthy volunteers in its global phase one clinical trial and confirmed the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of CT-P63. Separately, Celltrion said that CT-P63 has maintained strong neutralizing ability against the omicron variant during pseudo-virus testing conducted by the U.S. National Institutes

Social Affairs Jan. 3, 2022

South Korea's antitrust regulator plans to take stern actions against unfair business activities by online platform operators in a bid to protect small merchants and consumers, its chief said Monday. Concerns have mounted that powerful online platform operators, such as Naver Corp. and Kakao Corp., have abused their dominant market status and engaged in unfair business practices against contractors, posing a threat to the survival of small merchants. "The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) will

Economy Jan. 3, 2022