Young Koreans born between 1980 and 1995, called “Gen MZ” to refer to both millennials and Generation Z, earned a little more but faced bigger debt in 2018 than people at the same age in 2000, the Bank of Korea said in a report. In 2018, Gen MZ -- aged between 23 and 38 -- earned 1.4 times more than what was earned by the same-age peers in 2000. But debts were 4.3 times greater in 2018 than 2000...

Some sellers scrap house sale plans as they wait for new tax plan by new administration

South Korea's import prices grew for the second straight month in February as crude oil and other commodity prices jumped, central bank data showed Tuesday. The import price index gained 3.5 percent in February from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The rise followed a 4.4 percent rise in January. The rise came as the ongoing war between Russia and Ukrai...

South Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products soared 24 percent in February on the back of strong global demand for chips and displays, data showed Monday. Outbound shipments of ICT products reached $18.88 billion last month, up 23.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. The figure represents the largest ever ...

Six out of 10 South Korean companies want the incoming government of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol to focus on creating jobs to support the economic recovery, a survey showed Sunday. Of 157 local companies, 95, or 60.5 percent, picked job creation as the top policy priority for the new government, according to the Mono Research poll commissioned by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), the ...

Will W1.05b loan be possible for purchase of W1.5b apartment?

Trade volume of goods between South Korea and the United States grew nearly 70 percent, and bilateral investment more than doubled over the past decade since their free trade agreement, Seoul's industry ministry said Friday. The Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) marked its 10th anniversary this month, as the trade deal came into force in March 2012. The bilateral trade of goods stood at...

South Korea's exports rose 14.9 percent in the first 10 days of March from a year earlier on the back of demand for chips and petroleum products, customs data showed Friday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $18.7 billion in the March 1-10 period, compared with $16.3 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports gained 15.3 percent on-year to $20....

South Korea continued to post a current account surplus in January, but the surplus sharply declined compared with a year earlier as imports expanded sharply amid soaring oil and commodity prices, central bank data showed Friday. The current account surplus came to $1.81 billion in January, marking the 21st straight month that the current account has remained in the black, according to the preli...

Household loans extended by banks in South Korea shrank for the third straight month in February as the central bank delivered a series of interest rate hikes to rein in inflation and household debt, central bank data showed Thursday. Outstanding bank loans to households came to 1,060.1 trillion won ($865.4 billion) as of the end of February, down 100 billion won from the previous month, accordi...

South Korea's central bank said Thursday that it cannot rule out the possibility of inflation running high for a longer period due to sky-high energy prices that could further rise amid heightened geopolitical risk from Ukraine. In a report submitted to the National Assembly, the Bank of Korea (BOK) also said that the country's exports growth could slow slightly this year due to continued global...

Gasoline prices in South Korea rose to the highest level in more than eight years Thursday as the deepening conflict between Russia and Ukraine pushes global oil prices higher amid growing supply concerns. The average retail gas price had reached 1,904.35 won ($1.55) per liter as of 9:10 a.m., up 11.95 won from the previous day, according to Opinet, a crude oil price provider run by the state-ru...

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Thursday cited the Ukraine crisis, high inflation and currency volatility as the biggest risks to the South Korean economy, his office said. Hong called for thorough policy efforts to better tackle the economic fallout of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and cope with growing inflationary pressure amid surging energy costs. He also called attention to increased exter...

Market keen for president-elect’s housing policy, but lessons from Moon‘s failure should make new leader ponder, experts say

Debt growth outpaces expansion of the real economy, fueling concerns about Korea’s increased exposure to stagflation