South Korea’s central bank is expected to keep its base rate frozen near-zero at its regular monetary policy meeting scheduled Thursday, to avoid further aggravation of the local housing market, experts said Sunday. According to experts, the Bank of Korea will maintain its policy rate at the current record-low of 0.5 percent for the time being, despite rate cut pressures stemming from economic downturns due to the coronavirus pandemic coupled with the trend of low inflation. This is main

The South Korean economy is expected to contract 2.3 percent on-year in 2020, hit by the fallout of the new coronavirus outbreak, a local private think tank said Sunday. Asia's fourth-largest economy is forecast to have fallen 1.7 percent in the first half and to contract 2.9 percent in the second half, according to the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI). The yearly projection is the same as its earlier estimate made in March. It would mark the South Korean economy's first contraction

The delinquency rate for South Korean banks' loans inched down in June from a month earlier, but the fall was mainly attributed to a sharp rise in lending amid the new coronavirus outbreak, industry data showed Sunday. The rate for bank loans more than 30 days overdue against total lending by five major banks preliminarily stood at 0.21-0.33 percent as of end-June, down from 0.25-0.4 percent the month earlier, according to industry data. But industry watchers cautioned against reading too muc

Government rolls out 22nd set of measures to curb surging house prices

With Asian cities rushing to take Hong Kong’s title as regional financial center, Seoul seems to have no concrete plan in place

South Korea urged the Group of 20 countries to establish a stronger global financial safety net to overcome both ongoing and upcoming risks stemming from the latest coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Thursday. “(Establishment) of a global financial network is a strong measure that could help stop the spread of the crisis by supporting developing countries dealing with liquidity issues,” Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said at an o

South Korea and Cambodia agreed Thursday to launch official negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), paving the way for Asia's No. 4 economy to penetrate deeper into the Southeast Asian market and boost its virus-hit exports. The announcement came more than a year after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen proposed to make preparations for a free trade deal during his summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Phnom Penh in March 2019. The two countries have carried out a

South Korea plans to invest 5 trillion won ($4.2 billion) in research and development for new growth-engine sectors, including semiconductor and biotechnology, the trade ministry said Thursday. The industry ministry also expanded a list of materials, parts and equipment to 338 to reduce the country's reliance on Japanese imports and cope with a change in global supply chains after the coronavirus pandemic. Previously, South Korea had listed 100 local materials, parts and equipment that it a

Growth may be curbed if virus continues to proliferate

South Korea’s consumption has recovered slightly on the back of the government’s emergency cash handout, but its economic activity and exports remain sluggish, still weighed down by risks stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, a state-run think tank said Wednesday. “The slowdown in Korea‘s consumption has decelerated, but economic activity remains sluggish due to falling external demand on the global spread of COVID-19,” the Korea Development Institute said in it

South Korea said Wednesday it will push for the conclusion of a mega Asia-Pacific trade deal this year to help boost ailing exports and cope with the growing protectionism around the globe in the face of the new coronavirus pandemic. The country plans to participate in another round of online talks with members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on Thursday to address remaining agenda items, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. ASEAN and its dialogue

The value of Japan's exports to South Korea sank to a near 11-year low in May due to the coronavirus pandemic and Tokyo's export controls, data showed Wednesday. Japan shipped 329.3 billion yen ($3 billion) worth of goods to its neighboring country in May, down 18 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) and the Japan Tariff Association. The value of Japan's exports to Seoul rose to 415 billion yen in February from 371.6 billion

South Korea's energy demand is expected to drop for a second year in 2020 due to the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak, a report said Wednesday. The country's annual energy consumption is likely to contract 1.4 percent on-year this year, according to the report from the Korea Energy Economics Institute. Last year, overall energy consumption in Asia's fourth-largest economy fell 1.3 percent on-year to 303.5 million tons of oil equivalent (TOE), the first decline since the country's foreign

South Korea accounted for the biggest share of imports to China in 2019, but its slice has been shrinking in recent years due to intensifying competition with other Asian players, a think tank said Tuesday. While South Korea accounted for 8.42 percent, the largest share, of China's overall imports in 2019, the portion marked a slight drop from 9.65 percent posted a year earlier, according to the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP). Instead, Association of Southeast Asian

South Korea collected 31.9 trillion won ($26.6 billion) in taxes in May, down 13.2 trillion won from a year earlier, the finance ministry said Tuesday. Income tax revenue amounted to 7.8 trillion won in May, down 3.5 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Dues collected from companies reached 4.4 trillion won in the month, down 10.8 trillion won from a year earlier. Value-added tax revenue reached 2 trillion won in May, up 1 trillion won from a