About one out of eight mid-aged people in South Korea has borrowed money due to economic challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a survey showed Sunday. According to the survey of 3,923 people by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, 12.5 percent of people in their 40s and 11.5 percent of those in their 50s said that they have taken out loans or borrowed from their acquaintances at least once due to economic challenges during the pandemic. The figure was much higher than 3.5

Seoul shares closed higher for the third consecutive day Friday on continued foreign buying. The South Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 17.69 points, or 0.72 percent, to close at 2,490.80. The figure is up 1.6 percent from a week ago. Trading volume was moderate at 400.63 million shares worth 7.4 trillion won ($5.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 595 to 241. Foreigners and institutions bought a combined net 418.5

Travelers going to South Korea will be able to bring in duty-free goods worth up to $800, up from $600, as the Korean government seeks to reflect a surge in per capita income and help ramp up sluggish international tourism amid the pandemic. The Finance Ministry said Friday that the easing of customs regulations, which last took place in 2014, includes lifting a separate cap on duty-free liquor to 2 liters from 1 liter currently, but the value cap will remain at the previous $400. The 1-liter l

South Korea posted a current account surplus for the second straight month in June, but its amount sharply contracted from a year earlier amid mounting import costs emanating from high energy and commodity prices, central bank data showed Friday. The country's current account surplus stood at $5.61 billion in June, accelerating from the previous month's surplus of $3.86 billion, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the second straight month of a sur

Seoul shares ended on foreign buying on Wednesday. The South Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 11.66 points, or 0.47 percent, to close at 2,473.11 points. Trading volume was moderate at 393.27 million shares worth 7.4 trillion won ($5.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 466 to 382. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.3 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.6 percent on robust economic data showing the

SEJONG -- The tally for cases of wealth transfers to Koreans aged under 30 surged by 106 percent last year, compared to the previous year, after a gradual increase between 2017 and 2020, data from the national tax agency showed Thursday. According to the National Tax Service’s data, given to Rep. Kim Hoi-jae of the Democratic Party of Korea, the number of Koreans aged under 30 who reported capital transfers from their parents, grandparents, or others came to 70,115 last year, a 106 percen

Seoul shares opened higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, as jitters over US-China tension, caused by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Taiwan visit, eased somewhat. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 8.91 points, or 0.36 percent, to trade at 2,470.36 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.29 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 2.59 percent on firm economic data showing the world's largest eco

Home prices could drop as much as 2.8 percent in two years once the Bank of Korea raises its policy rate by a full percentage point or 100 basis points, the central bank said in a report Wednesday. The report, which focused on analyzing how a rate change affects home prices without studying factors like mortgage rules and new supply, comes as Seoul apartment prices kept falling for the last nine weeks. Last week Seoul saw its largest weekly drop since April 2020, according to the Korea Real Est

Customer requests to reevaluate credit scores rise, but acceptance rates fall

SEJONG -- The Middle East was found to have contributed the most to South Korea’s all-time high trade deficit for the first seven months of the year, state data showed Wednesday, reflecting the export-driven economy’s ongoing high reliance on crude oil.　 According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Korea suffered a cumulative deficit of $51.7 billion in trade with countries in the Middle East during the period of January-July. The figure was higher by 244 percent, compa

Seoul shares ended higher on gains in automakers and battery makers on Wednesday, with investors eyeing the fallout from US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan amid global recession worries. The South Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 21.83 points, or 0.89 percent, to close at 2,461.45 points. Trading volume was moderate at 463.71 million shares worth 6.6 trillion won ($5.03 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers

Seoul shares opened higher Wednesday, bucking overnight losses on Wall Street, with investors staying wary of any ripple effect of US House speaker's trip to Taiwan on the financial markets. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 0.48 point, or 0.02 percent, to trade at 2,440.10 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Escalating tension between China and the United States over US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan on Tuesday could further weigh on inv

The combined workforce of large South Korean companies expanded 1.5 percent in the first half of the year from a year earlier amid eased COVID-19 restrictions, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. The number of workers hired by 459 out of the country's top 500 firms by sales totaled 1.55 million as of end-June this year, up around 12,500, from a year earlier, according to CEO Score. The tally excludes 41 out of the country's leading 500 companies, which reported changes of 10 percent or

South Korea's foreign reserves increased for the first time in five months in July, thanks to increased operation profits and expanded deposits in foreign currency, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's foreign reserves came to $438.61 billion as of end-July, up $330 million from the previous month, according to the data provided by the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund re

Board members of South Korea's central bank underlined the need for raising the policy interest rate to a neutral level as quickly as possible to curb fast-rising inflation pressure as they delivered a first-ever "big-step" rate increase last month, minutes from their latest rate-setting meeting showed Tuesday. In the meeting on July 13, the monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea (BOK) voted unanimously to hike the policy rate by half a percentage point to 2.25 percent. That re