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S. Korean top nuke envoy holds virtual talks on N. Korea with senior US dip...
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Retail sales up 6% in Jan. on strong online sales
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Army soldier tests positive for COVID-19
Green witch works her magic in Korea
S. Korea reports another highly pathogenic bird flu case, total now at 102
PM calls for active participation in COVID-19 vaccine program
[Graphic News] Samsung remains No. 2 chip buyer in 2020: report
Provisioning, relief measures to support S. Korean banks’ performance: Fit...

Today Markets

Provisioning, relief measures to support S. Korean banks’ performance: Fitch

US credit rating agency Fitch Ratings said on Wednesday that the near-term performance of South Korea's four major banks will be supported by loan-loss provisioning already made in 2020 and sustained relief measures introduced by the regulator. The pressure on their financial profiles, however, may persist as the ramification of last year’s pandemic-induced recession is likely to linger and affect the banks' asset quality and profitability, according to the company. “The prelimina

BOK keeps key rate at record low amid lingering uncertainties

South Korea's central bank on Thursday held its benchmark policy rate unchanged at a record low of 0.5 percent, as the third wave of the new coronavirus undermined the scope of sustaining an economic recovery. As widely expected, the monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea (BOK) voted to leave the base rate steady in this year's second rate-setting meeting. In a statement, the BOK said South Korea's economy has continued to recover at a modest pace, supported by exports and facility invest

Today
Economy
Seoul stocks open steeply higher on US Fed Chairman's soothing comments

South Korean stocks opened steeply higher Thursday as the US Federal Reserve chairman's comments soothed inflation worries. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 47.82 points, or 1.6 percent, to 3,042.8 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks lifted largely on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's overnight reiteration that the world's largest economy still has a long way to go to recover from the pandemic's fallout. The rebound came a day after the key

Today
Markets
NPS gains W72tr for 2020

South Korea’s public pension fund, the National Pension Service, has logged a 9.7 percent return last year to gain 72.1 trillion won ($65 billion) in its preliminary estimate, the government said Wednesday. Health Minister Kwon Deok-chul, who chairs NPS’ Fund Management Committee, added that the world’s third-largest pension fund was managing 833.7 trillion won worth of assets as of end-2020, in a committee meeting held in Seoul. The estimate will be finalized in June, accordi

Feb 24, 2021
Money
KIPO to strengthen IP protection for digital innovation drive

South Korea’s patent protection agency is seeking to sharpen the nation’s industrial edge by overhauling intellectual property policies amid the rapid digital transformation brought on by the COVID-19 era. Artificial intelligence and data have emerged as essential means of generating intellectual property, but uncertainties surrounding related laws and a lack of institutional support are hindering the use of such technologies. The acceleration of the transition to a digital econo

Feb 24, 2021
Economy
Bitcoin moves with extreme volatility amid warnings

Price plunges more than 20% within two days

Feb 24, 2021
Money
Seoul stocks dip more than 2% to nearly 1-month low on foreign selling binge

South Korean stocks tumbled by more than 2 percent to dip below the 3,000-point threshold Wednesday on massive foreign selling, largely due to concerns over a US bond yield hike that drove the key stock index down for the past few sessions. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dipped 75.11 points, or 2.45 percent, to close at 2,994.98 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.5 billion shares worth some 16.7 trillion won ($17.7

Feb 24, 2021
Markets
Commercial real estate investment to reach W17tr

The entire volume of commercial real estate investments in the South Korean market is forecast to reach 17 trillion won ($15.3 billion), similar to last year’s level, analysts predicted. “Foreign investors are paying keen attention to the local market due to the country’s relatively successful containment of the pandemic, and Seoul was named in the top three most attractive markets, according to CBRE’s 2021 Asia Pacific Investor Intentions Survey,” said Don Lim,

Feb 24, 2021
Markets
[Herald Interview] S. Korea to ramp up rights protection of digital technology: IP office chief

The chief of the nation’s intellectual property office vowed Wednesday to reinforce intellectual property rights protection of digital inventions to contribute to South Korea‘s efforts to become a pacesetting nation in the digital era. “In the era of digital economy, business realms driven by digital intellectual property are forecast to expand rapidly. A transition to digital economy depends on active creation of patents for innovative digital technologies across indus

Feb 24, 2021
Economy
Number of new firms hits all-time high in 2020

The number of newly established companies in South Korea climbed more than 15 percent to a new high in 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Wednesday. A total of 1.48 million new businesses were set up last year, up 15.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Startups. The ministry attributed the surge to a sharp increase in the number of real estate firms in the wake of a requirement for the registrat

Feb 24, 2021
Economy
‘Good landlords’ get tax breaks extended

South Korea’s Finance Minister said Wednesday that the state tax benefit program for “good landlords” – those who voluntarily reduce rent to ease burden on tenants – would be extended by another six months to support businesses hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The voluntary program – launched in April last year – has been rewarding landlords with a tax credit of 50 percent-to-reduction of rent. The program’s deadline has been already extended once f

Feb 24, 2021
Economy
Average monthly income of wage earners up 4.1% in 2019

The average monthly income of South Korean wage earners rose 4.1 percent in 2019 from a year earlier amid a hike in the minimum wage, data showed Wednesday. Salaried workers earned 3.09 million won ($2,800) per month on average in 2019, compared with 2.97 million won in 2018, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Median income of wage earners amounted to 2.34 million won in 2019, up 6.3 percent from the previous year. Median income is a measure of a mid-point income that divides

Feb 24, 2021
Economy
BOK governor strikes back at FSC chief over online payment data

Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol on Tuesday reiterated his opposition to a revision bill that would enable the Financial Services Commission to collect online payment data, lamenting that the regulator lacks understanding of the separate but complementary roles of the two institutions. Lee was striking back at FSC chief Eun Sung-soo, who refuted the central bank’s open criticism of the bill it likened to “Big Brother” of George Orwell’s landmark dystopian novel “1984

Feb 24, 2021
Economy
Watchdog orders banks to compensate investors for damages from Lime misselling

South Korea’s financial watchdog on Wednesday ordered two Korean commercial banks -- Woori Bank and the Industrial Bank of Korea -- to compensate end-investors for at least half of the damages they incurred in a 1.7 trillion won ($1.5 billion) misselling scandal involving now-defunct hedge fund Lime Asset Management. The authorities held the banks accountable for “poor efforts in the exercise of their duties to protect investors” when they sold nearly 300 billion won worth of

Feb 24, 2021
Money
Trade terms up for 10th straight month in January

South Korea's terms of trade gained for the 10th consecutive month in January, as export prices rose at a faster pace, central bank data showed Wednesday. The nation's net terms-of-trade index for goods -- a gauge of trade terms -- increased 7 percent last month from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the 10th straight month of an on-year rise since April last year, when the trade terms logged the first on-year hike in over two years on low oi

Feb 24, 2021
Economy

The Korea Herald by Herald Corporation

Address : Huam-ro 4-gil 10, Yongsan-gu,Seoul, Korea
Online newspaper registration No : Seoul 아03711
Date of registration : 2015.04.28
Publisher. Editor : Kwon Chung-won
Juvenile Protection Manager : Yang Sung-jin
Tel : 02.727.0114