Exports rise for 11th straight month in August on strong chip demand

South Korea's exports extended their on-year gains for the 11th straight month in August, driven by strong demand for semiconductors, data showed Sunday. Outbound shipments rose 11.4 percent on-year to $57.9 billion last month, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports increased 6 percent on-year to $54 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $3.83 billion. South Korea has maintained a trade surplus for 15 consecutive months. By sector, exports of ch

Sept. 1, 2024

Nearly 60% of major Korean companies have no immediate hiring plans in H2

Some 57.5 percent of major corporations in South Korea have either not set up plans to recruit new employees in the second half of this year or do not plan to hire at all, a survey showed Thursday. In a recent survey of the top 500 companies by sales, 40 percent said they do not yet have plans to hire college graduates while 17.5 percent said they are not looking for recruits. The poll was conducted on Aug. 5-19 by local pollster Research and Research, under the commission of the Federation of

Aug. 31, 2024

Tax revenue falls 8.8 tr won through July on weak corporate earnings

South Korea's tax revenue fell 8.8 trillion won ($6.59 billion) from a year earlier over the first seven months of 2024, due to the lackluster corporate earnings, data showed Friday. The government collected 208.8 trillion won of taxes over the January-July period, down 4 percent from the same period last year, according to the data from the Ministry of Economy and Finance. In July alone, however, the country's total tax revenue increased 1.2 trillion won from a year earlier, reaching

Aug. 30, 2024

Industrial output falls 0.4% in July on weak demand for chips, cars

South Korea's industrial output fell for the third consecutive month in July due to sluggish production in the semiconductor and automobile sectors, data showed Friday. Industrial output decreased 0.4 percent on-month in July, following a 0.1 percent drop the previous month, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea. Compared with a year earlier, however, industrial output increased 2.7 percent in July, the data showed. "While industrial output has decreased for three consecutive

Aug. 30, 2024

Combined net loss of savings banks widens in H1

Savings banks in South Korea saw their combined net loss widen in the first half from a year earlier, due largely to a sharp increase in loan-loss reserves set aside for real estate project financing (PF) loans, data showed Friday. The banks posted a combined net loss of 380.4 billion ($284.5 million) in the January-June period, sharply up from a net loss of 96.5 billion won over the same period last year, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Their interest income came t

Aug. 30, 2024

Nearly 60 pct of big firms have no plan or undecided over hiring in H2: survey

Nearly 60 percent of big companies in South Korea have either not yet established a recruitment plan for the second half of the year or do not plan to hire at all, a poll showed Thursday. According to the survey carried out by polling agency Research & Research on the country's top 500 companies by sales from Aug. 5-19, 57.5 percent of responding firms said they have yet to come up with recruitment plans or don't plan to hire new college graduates during the remainder of the year.

Aug. 29, 2024

Korea's economy to stop growing without drastic labor change: FKI

South Korea’s economy is expected to stop growing and hit a negative mark in less than 40 yeares if a plunging birth rate and rapidly aging population continue, according to the Federation of Korean Industries on Wednesday. The FKI, a major economic organization, projected that the potential growth of Asia’s fourth-largest economy would sink to minus 0.1 percent in 2061 and afterward. However, the expansion of the labor supply could drive up the potential growth of Asia’s fourt

Aug. 28, 2024

Govt. to provide record amount of foodstuffs, discount for Chuseok holiday

The government plans to supply a record amount of 170,000 tons of high-demand foodstuffs and provide a discount worth 70 billion won ($52.63 million) for the upcoming Chuseok holiday, the finance ministry said Wednesday. These measures are part of a broader effort to support the livelihoods of the people and curb inflation ahead of the major traditional holiday. The plan also includes providing financial support to small and midsized companies and micro-business owners. According to the plan, th

Aug. 28, 2024

Trump presidency to boost Korea-US chip alliance: Heritage Foundation VP

Derrick Morgan, executive vice president of the US think tank Heritage Foundation, said he expected that economic cooperation between South Korea and the US would deepen, focusing on shipbuilding and semiconductors, if Donald Trump wins the 2024 US presidential race. “The US and the rest of the world is overly dependent on Taiwan for semiconductors. … The innovation coming out of Korea these days is amazing and should be applauded,” he said during an event hosted by the Kore

Aug. 27, 2024

Another tight year ahead for Korea in 2025 with 3.2% budget increase

The Ministry of Economy and Finance has proposed a 677.4 trillion won ($509.2 billion) budget for next year, focusing on fiscal consolidation while bolstering public welfare and investing in strategic emerging industries. The budget, proposed by the finance ministry and endorsed by the Cabinet on Tuesday, represents a 3.2 percent hike from this year, reflecting the government's commitment to spending control and improved fiscal health. "Once known for its strong fiscal soundness, Korea

Aug. 27, 2024

Korea's 'value-up' efforts stall on 0.7% corporate participation

Nearly three months after the government launched the "Corporate Value-up Program" in May, participation by South Korean companies remains minimal. As of Friday, just eight companies had released value enhancement disclosures, representing a mere 0.3 percent of the 2,585 firms listed on the Kospi and Kosdaq, according to Korea Exchange data. Including the 10 firms that have preannounced disclosures, just 0.7 percent have joined the program. The "value-up" initiative, rolled o

Aug. 25, 2024

National, household debt surpasses 3,000 tr won amid lower state revenue

The combined debt of the government and households in South Korea has surpassed 3,000 trillion won ($2.26 trillion) for the first time, driven by lower tax revenue, increased bond issuance and aggressive borrowing from households for real estate investments, government data showed Sunday. According to data from the finance ministry and the central bank, the country's combined national debt and household debt reached a record 3,042 trillion won as of the end of the second quarter. This amoun

Aug. 25, 2024

Korea's private consumption to pick up after H2: BOK

South Korea’s domestic consumption is expected to recover gradually after the latter half of this year, but an aging population and sluggish self-employed businesses could dampen the rebound hope, the country’s central bank said Friday. The Bank of Korea said that the recovery of private consumption remains delayed as the debt repayment burden has risen due to high prices and interest rates in a report analyzing the current economic situation. It said deferral in corporate performa

Aug. 23, 2024

BOK keeps rate at 3.5%, cuts growth projection to 2.4%

The Bank of Korea kept the base rate steady at 3.5 percent Thursday while slashing the projection for economic growth by 0.1 percentage point to 2.4 percent due to slow domestic demand. All members of the monetary policy board agreed on the rate freeze. Of the six members, excluding BOK Gov. Rhee Chang-yong, four suggested leaving room for a rate cut within the next three months, according to Rhee. With the rate decision, the BOK has kept the rate steady for the 13th straight time since it raise

Aug. 22, 2024

S. Korea will expand free trade deals with emerging markets: PM

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Thursday that South Korea will push to expand free trade agreements (FTAs) with emerging markets in Asia and Africa to boost the export-driven economy and enhance supply chain resilience. Han unveiled the trade policy road map during a ministerial meeting to address challenges from the rapidly changing global trade environment and supply chain disruptions. "We will expand the FTA network in major emerging markets, including Asia and Africa, to support local

Aug. 22, 2024

Top financial regulator highlights need to overhaul credit payment system

The chief of the financial regulator on Thursday emphasized the need to reform the country's online payment system following massive payment delays at two e-commerce platforms. Kim Byoung-hwan, head of the Financial Services Commission, said the government will also seek to establish new regulations governing payment gateway (PG) service providers. "The recent TMON and WeMakePrice incident was a problem that occurred under the complex payment system in a newly emerging industry such as

Aug. 22, 2024

'Vast majority' of Fed policymakers signal likelihood of September rate cut: minutes

The "vast majority" of the US Federal Reserve's policymakers indicated it might be appropriate to start lowering the benchmark interest rate next month should progress on inflation continue, the minutes of the central bank's monetary policy meeting last month showed Wednesday. The Fed released the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on July 30-31. At the meeting, the bank held its key rate at the 5.25 to 5.50 percent range for an eighth consecutive time, but

Aug. 22, 2024

Exports rise 18.5% from Aug. 1-20 on strong chip demand

South Korea's exports increased 18.5 percent on-year in the first 20 days of August, data showed Wednesday, on the back of solid outbound shipments of chips. Outbound shipments reached $33.1 billion in the Aug. 1-20 period, compared with $27.9 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports grew 10.1 percent on-year to $34.6 billion during the period, resulting in a trade deficit of $1.47 billion. By sector, exports of semiconductors jumped 42.5

Aug. 21, 2024

Fuel tax cut to be extended by 2 months on Middle East tensions

The finance ministry said Wednesday it will extend the tax cut on fuel for automobiles by another two months until the end of October as concerns linger over the Middle East crisis. South Korea has been applying a 20 percent discount on gasoline consumption and a 30 percent discount on diesel and liquefied petroleum gas consumption, which were supposed to expire at the end of this month. While the country previously applied a 25 percent and a 37 percent cut on gasoline and diesel prices, respect

Aug. 21, 2024

Percentage of younger employees drops at major Korean companies: report

Major South Korean companies are seeing an increase in the percentage of employees aged 50 or older, while that of employees in their 20s is declining, a recent report by corporate analysis firm Leaders Index showed Tuesday. The firm analyzed 2021-23 data of 141 companies among the top 500 in the country in terms of sales, compiling the report on 123 companies that also revealed the ages of their employees. The total number of employees at those companies went from 1.38 million in 2021 to 1.42 m

Aug. 20, 2024