Yeo Han-koo, who has been tapped as South Korea's new trade minister, is tasked with a mission to maintain a recovery in exports amid the virus pandemic and expand its trade portfolio with emerging economies. The 51-year-old bureaucrat has served various positions at the trade ministry, before taking the current position as the presidential secretary for New Southern and New Northern policies. "We anticipate that Yeo will successfully carry out pending issues, including coping with the ne

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday the government will discuss with local banks whether to further roll over the debt and interest payments of small merchants hit hard by the pandemic. Since April last year, the government has encouraged local banks to extend loan maturity and hold off interest payments for micro business owners to help them cope with the fallout of the pandemic. The measures, which have been extended by six months twice, are set to expire at end-September. "The g

Despite the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic striking a blow to the South Korean economy, global credit appraiser S&P Global Ratings said it would keep the country’s economic growth rate outlook for 2021 and credit rating unchanged, citing robust exports. The agency projected Asia’s fourth-largest economy to grow 4 percent and kept the credit rating at AA, same as estimates from last month and in April. “Overall economic forecasts for South Korea are still looking f

The Bank of Korea (BOK) is expected to conduct two rate increases this year as its policymakers have turned more hawkish on an economic rebound, global investment bank JP Morgan said Wednesday. In a revised forecast on the BOK's rate policy, JP Morgan forecast the country's central bank could start its rate increase at this month's policy-setting meeting slated for Aug. 26. The BOK is also likely to raise the country's benchmark interest rate once during the fourth quarter of the year with ano

SEJONG -- The number of multi-level marketing (MLM) firms operating in South Korea dropped in 2020 from a year earlier in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the antitrust watchdog said Wednesday. There were 122 MLMs in Asia's fourth-largest economy as of end-December, down eight from a year earlier, according to the Fair Trade Commission (FTC). Last year's drop represents a turnaround from the uptrend in the number of MLMs in the country, which started in 2017. The FTC said the 2020 decrea

Online shopping in South Korea hit a record high in the second quarter as more people used e-commerce shopping platforms amid a contactless trend caused by the pandemic, data showed Wednesday. The value of online shopping transactions stood at 46.9 trillion won ($40.8 billion) in the April-June period, up 25.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Amid an economic recovery and a non-contact consumption trend, online purchases of goods and services gained gro

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea rose 23 percent in July from a year earlier despite the extended COVID-19 pandemic, an industry association said Wednesday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles climbed to 24,389 units last month from 19,778 a year ago on strong sales of German vehicles, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. The three bestselling models last month were Mercedes-Benz's E 250 sedan and E220d 4MATIC sedan and

South Korea's foreign reserves rose to an all-time high in July as a weaker US dollar raised the value of non-dollar assets, central bank data showed Wednesday. The nation's foreign reserves came to $458.7 billion as of end-July, up $4.58 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bullion. The BOK sai

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Tuesday the country will sharply increase imports of eggs in August and September in a bid to help stabilize high prices amid a pick-up in consumer inflation. The country plans to bring in 100 million eggs in August and September, respectively, more than the 70 million eggs imported in June, according to the finance ministry. South Korea brought in 144 million eggs between January and May to ease the supply shortage caused by the outbreak of bird flu here. Hi

Central bank pressured to hike rate as inflation picks up speed faster-than-expected

The number of South Korean companies affiliated with large business groups under tight supervision rose by 41 in the May-July period, data showed Tuesday, as conglomerates expanded their business scopes to search for new growth engines. The total number of affiliates on the Korea Fair Trade Commission's (KFTC) list reached 2,653 as of end-July, compared with 2,612 three months earlier, according to the data compiled by the antitrust regulator. Major business groups newly launched or acquired 1

South Korea's consumer prices grew more than 2 percent for the fourth straight month in July on higher prices of farm and oil products, data showed Tuesday, raising expectations that the central bank will hike its key rate within this year. The consumer prices rose 2.6 percent on-year in July, accelerating from a 2.4 percent on-year gain the previous month, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The pickup in inflation was due largely to last year's low base and the tight supply o

Political opponents, experts urge government to reveal ‘hidden’ numbers in pension balance sheet, saying younger Koreans may end up paying more for less benefits

Asia’s fourth-largest economy to shed an annual 1.1% or $7 billion in exports if carbon border tariff imposed, central bank says

South Korea has recouped 69.7 percent of the public funds it spent to bail out troubled financial firms since the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, the financial regulator said Monday. The country retrieved 327.9 billion won ($284.3 million) in the second quarter out of the 168.7 trillion won in state funds spent to save firms from bankruptcy, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC). The recovery rate was up from 69.5 percent recorded at the end of March, it added. The government