SEJONG -- The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday predicted that the growth of the Korean economy would stay in the mid 2 percent range this year in the wake of the war between Ukraine and Russia, alongside the ongoing pandemic. In its latest world economic outlook report, the IMF revised down its forecast on the gross domestic product growth of Korea by 0.5 percentage point from its earlier suggestion of 3 percent to 2.5 percent. The figure is lower than the growth prediction of 2.7 percen

LX International Corp., the trading arm of South Korea's LX Group, said Tuesday it has bought a major stake in a local biomass power plant operator as it pushes to expand its renewable energy business. LX International will take over a 63.3 percent stake in Poseung Green Power Co., in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, from DL Energy Co. for 95 billion won ($76.7 million), a deal that was approved by its board earlier in the day, the company said in a release. A biomass power plant produces st

Former IMF economist says household debt growth is slowing, but the amount is still high

The number of employees in the food service segment rose 1.2 percent on-year in October last year as the job market improved amid the economic recovery, data showed Tuesday. The number of people employed at restaurants and eateries reached 1.56 million last October, up 19,000 from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea. The tally slowed from an on-year increase of 65,000 six months earlier. But it marked an improvement from October 2020, when such workers fell by a record number of 179,00

Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea fell in March as South Korean companies withdrew US dollars for their planned overseas investments and individuals sold their dollars for profit-taking, central bank data showed Tuesday. Outstanding foreign currency deposits held by banks in South Korea reached $92.71 billion as of end-March, down $5.43 billion from a month ago, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign deposits include those held by foreigners who have s

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday despite overnight losses on Wall Street as foreigners and individuals picked up large-cap shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 25.21 points, or 0.94 percent, to reach 2,718.42 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Monday (local time), US stocks fell in volatile trading amid the possibility of monetary policy tightening by the US Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.11 percent, the S&P 500 lost 0.0

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday that he would work to bring a stronger economy to protect South Korea’s national security interests once he takes office on May 10, at a roundtable with academics, industry leaders and former high-level government officials. “We will lay the groundwork for ‘economic security,’” Yoon said, referring to a strategy to deal with fallout from the unprecedented economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 and the Ukraine war, at a

SEJONG -- The first phase of real estate policy of the incoming Yoon Suk-yeol administration will be unveiled in an appropriate timing, said Ahn Cheol-soo, chairman of the presidential transition team, on Monday. But the transition team said that the unveiling timing will be later than this week, suggesting that internal discussions were still underway. It also denied the rumors that the comprehensive housing policy will be publicized before lawmakers at the National Assembly. Spokespeopl

City’s long-cherished dream may come true, backed by upcoming government, eased regulations

South Korea's antitrust regulator plans to put off its review of punitive measures over shippers' alleged collusions to fix freight rates as some foreign players have faced difficulty in doing business amid COVID-19 lockdowns in China, industry officials said Monday. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) has been investigating allegations that around 20 domestic and foreign shippers colluded to fix higher freight rates for the Korea-China and Korea-Japan sea routes since early 2000. The FTC was suppos

South Korean shares opened lower Monday amid concerns that the Fed may raise rates at a faster and stronger-than-expected pace. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) went down 3.87 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,692.19 as of 9:15 a.m. Expectations are high that the Fed may raise interest rates aggressively in the coming months. The US markets were closed on Friday. On the Seoul bourse, shares traded mostly lower. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics inched down 0.15 percent and

SEJONG -- Policymakers on Friday have unveiled a monthslong consumption campaign offering discount vouchers for the leisure and sports sectors, as the country eases social distancing and slowly returns to normal. At a meeting to monitor consumer prices and economic policies on Friday, Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said the government will provide households with discount vouchers that can be used when booking lodging facilities and buying tickets to watch professional sports leagues. He s

The South Korean economy is on a recovery track on robust exports, but it faces growing inflationary pressure as the protracted war in Ukraine has jacked up energy prices, the finance ministry said Friday. External economic uncertainties have heightened as global price pressure has risen due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while major central banks are expected to accelerate monetary tightening, the ministry said in its monthly economic assessment report, called the Green Book. "The Sout

South Korean shares opened lower Friday, tracking overnight Wall Street losses amid concerns that the Fed may raise rates at a faster and stronger than expected pace. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) shed 25.4 points, or 0.93 percent, to 2,691.31 as of 9:15 a.m. Overnight, the US stock markets ended down as investors faced renewed risks of the Fed's monetary tightening to curb the highest inflation in four decades. The 10-year Treasury yields rose to 2.8 percent, the highe

South Korea will step up checks on foreigners buying and selling homes here amid accusations that some of them deliberately evaded property taxes because of lax oversight, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s transition committee said Thursday. The team said once the Yoon government takes over on May 10, foreigners will have to report to authorities how many homes they have here, because multiple-home owners pay more taxes. Whether they have family members living with them here will be reporte