South Korea’s central bank chief nominee Rhee Chang-yong on Thursday pledged to carry out a balanced monetary policy as the nation deals with a growing economy and inflation risks. Rhee, director of the Asia and Pacific department at the International Monetary Fund, and tapped by outgoing President Moon Jae-in as the next Bank of Korea governor, expressed concerns of existing external uncertaint...

South Korea's financial regulator called Thursday for local insurers to increase their loan loss reserves as part of efforts to better cope with potential risks facing the industry amid increasing financial market uncertainty. Jeong Eun-bo, head of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), made the call in a meeting with top officials of insurance firms in Seoul and voiced worries that there are ...

The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday hailed the nomination of a South Korean IMF official, Rhee Chang-yong, to be the head of South Korea's central bank, calling him an outstanding leader and champion of analytical rigor. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Rhee will step down as director of the Asia and Pacific Department (APD) early next month to be consid...

Corporate direct financing in South Korea plunged nearly 44 percent in February from the previous month due mainly to a base effect, data showed Thursday. Local companies raised a combined 15.5 trillion won ($12.7 billion) by selling stocks and bonds last month, down 43.7 percent from January, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Direct financing refers to raising funds...

Wrapping up 8 years as central bank chief, Lee says timing of additional rate hikes more important than ever

Nomination intensifies power struggle as Yoon denies Cheong Wa Dae’s claim of having prior consultation on the matter

South Korea's overseas direct investment hit a record high last year as the global economy recovered from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Wednesday. The value of investments made by South Korean companies reached $75.87 billion last year, up 32.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It marked the highest since the governmen...

South Korea said Wednesday it plans to ease tax burdens on owners of a single home amid growing public discontent about the government's housing policy amid skyrocketing home prices in recent years. The measures -- which are set to be announced at 11 a.m. -- are meant to prevent the owners of one home from additionally shouldering the burden of paying real estate-related taxes. The government p...

South Korea's producer prices grew for the second straight month in February, as high energy costs drove up the prices of factory-produced goods, central bank data showed Wednesday. The producer price index, a major barometer of consumer inflation, stood at 114.82 in February, up 0.4 from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the second strai...

The fate of Yongsan-gu, Seoul’s geographically central district set to see a changing landscape in years to come, is clouded again as the feud over whether to house a new presidential office there escalates between the outgoing and incoming presidents. President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is rushing to relocate the presidential office to the Defense Ministry complex in Yongsan before taking office on M...

SEJONG -- President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s transition team is scheduled to receive a policy briefing from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport over real estate issues later this week, government officials said Tuesday. In line with Yoon’s earlier pledges to supply 2.5 million housing units nationwide for five years if elected, the Land Ministry’s report could possibly include the ma...

Card use for settlement in South Korea jumped 9.4 percent last year as consumption rebounded from a pandemic-caused slowdown and people reduced reliance on hard currency, central bank data showed Tuesday. The daily average settlement made through credit card and other card services came to 2.76 trillion won ($2.26 billion) last year, up from 2.52 trillion won tallied a year earlier, according to...

Sales at franchise outlets in South Korea declined 5.5 percent on-year in 2020 due to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, led by a slump in sales at dining-out brands, the corporate watchdog showed Tuesday. Sales at franchise outlets averaged 311 million won ($254,400) in 2020, compared with 329 million won the previous year, according to the Fair Trade Commission. Average sales at dining-out...

South Korean banks' nonperforming loans shrank in 2021 due in part to debt rollovers aimed at helping pandemic-hit businesses, data showed Tuesday. Bad loans at local banks came to 11.8 trillion won ($9.7 billion) at the end of December, down from the previous year's 13.9 trillion won, according to the preliminary data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The regulator attributed the d...

SEJONG -- The three major cash payment pledges made by President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol are drawing wide attention, as the support targets make up a large portion of the population: seniors, soldiers and young parents. Yoon pledged that he, if elected, would raise the basic pension (also known as age pension) payouts for the elderly and wage for draftees. He also promised to pay parents with newbor...