South Korea saw its number of “non-regular” workers with four-year college degrees grow to an all-time high in August, data showed Monday, sparking concerns about the quality of jobs being created. According to data from Statistics Korea, the number of workers holding degrees from four-year colleges but employed on temporary or part-time contracts stood at 2.84 million, up 320,000, or 12.7 perce...

South Korea’s financial authorities have called on local banks to take action to ensure a stable supply of credit loans and tighter supervision of household debts, officials said Sunday. The policymaking Financial Services Commission and the market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service reportedly advised the nation’s commercial banks to submit the action plans, which can be either monthly or qu...

The nation‘s top financial regulator on Thursday vowed policy efforts to forge an integrated online platform for conventional players to accelerate digital transformation of their financial services in face of rising big tech companies. “The growth of contactless banking transactions, the so-called ‘unbundling’ as well as ‘rebundling’ trend, and the entry of tech giants into financial services h...

The policymaking Financial Services Commission said Wednesday that Citibank Korea’s plans to gradually phase out its consumer banking operations are not subject to the regulator’s authorization. “According to the current banking act, Citibank Korea‘s withdrawal of retail business in phases is not regarded as a ‘shutdown of banking business,’ which falls under the FSC‘s approval,” the authority s...

South Korea’s fiscal policy chief said Wednesday that the nation’s overheated housing market is showing signs of cooling down with the government’s tightened grip on ample liquidity amid the COVID-19 pandemic as well as its home supply plans. “Affected by a series of government measures, including announcements of housing supply plans, benchmark interest rate hike and tougher household debt cont...

South Korea’s top financial regulator on Tuesday said it will implement stricter lending calculations for mortgage loans, called the “debt-service ratio,” or DSR, months earlier than expected as part of additional debt control measures. The DSR gauges how much borrowers pay for principal and interest in proportion to yearly income. Since July, a 40 percent DSR has been applied to borrowers seek...

Citibank Korea, the South Korean unit of Citigroup, said Monday that it has decided to shut down its consumer banking operations in phases, instead of selling them off as planned. Citing constraints in finding potential buyers with intentions to buy the units in one piece, the bank said plan B is to minimize customer inconvenience and protect employees’ jobs. The announcement, however, has drawn...

The amount of “jeonse” loans for homes extended to Koreans in their 20s and 30s surged by nearly 60 trillion won ($50.9 billion) in the last five years, raising alarm over the growing household debt burden among young borrowers, a lawmaker said Friday. Jeonse is a housing lease system unique to Korea whereby tenants pay a lump-sum deposit instead of monthly rent on a two-year contract. The outs...

South Korea will temporarily cut fuel taxes to soften the blow of skyrocketing gasoline prices, which put upward pressure on inflation, First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said Friday. “The government will temporarily lower fuel taxes. We’ll finalize further details, including the extent of fuel tax cuts and when the envisioned measure will take effect, as soon as possible,” Lee said, addin...

The Bank of Korea’s August decision to raise its key rate has sent a market signal that the pandemic-triggered liquidity party in South Korea could be nearing an end. The International Monetary Fund, a global organization striving for financial stability, however, remained cautious about the central bank’s hawkish turn to fight rising inflationary pressure and soaring household debt, advising it...

Stock-secured borrowing by the families of South Korea’s conglomerate founders amounted to almost 5 trillion won ($4.3 billion), led by managerial transfers and business restructuring, data showed Monday. According to local market analysis company Leaders Index, as of October the nation’s 29 family-controlled conglomerates had received a combined 4.82 trillion won worth of loans backed by stocks...

South Korea‘s major banks are set to loosen control on extension of “jeonse” loans for homes, but their tightened grip over personal credit loans will continue under pressure from financial authorities, industry sources said Sunday. Jeonse is a housing lease system unique to Korea whereby tenants pay a lump-sum deposit instead of monthly rent on a two-year contract. NH NongHyup Bank, which in A...

The International Monetary Fund maintained its forecast for South Korea’s economic growth for this year at 4.3 percent, while revising down its projection for the global economy, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Tuesday. The IMF’s latest outlook for Asia’s fourth-largest economy remained unchanged from the earlier figure suggested in July. It is well above the growth estimates made by th...

Even with the government’s 20 percent rate cap on loans to ease financial burdens on low-income borrowers, major private lenders have maintained high interest rates for credit loans, a lawmaker said Friday. The balance of personal credit loans at the nation’s 20 leading private lenders, including Apro Financial, Sanwa Loan and Welcome Creditline, stood at 4.41 trillion won ($3.35 billion), as of...

The Korean Pension Association, a group of experts conducting research on the nation‘s public and private pension systems, on Thursday held a joint seminar with the Finnish Center for Pensions based in Helsinki, Finland, a research institute dedicated to developing the nation’s earnings-related pension scheme. Titled “International Symposium on the Pensions of South Korea and Finland: Demographi...