South Korea is expected to see its national debt grow at the fastest clip relative to the size of the economy among major countries, while its growth rate of potential output per capita will fall to the near-zero range without policy changes, according to economic reports Monday. Sparking concerns over a further loss of momentum for the country’s economy, the International Monetary Fund estimated that Korea’s general government gross debt to gross domestic product would increase t

South Korea and Singapore agreed Monday to conclude their digital trade pact this year in a move to deepen broader trade and economic ties, Seoul's trade ministry said. The agreement was made during the meeting between Seoul's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and Singaporean Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng held in Seoul. "The two sides agreed to speed up working-level negotiations with a goal to conclude the Digital Partnership Agreement (DPA) within this year, as their talk

South Korean stocks lost for the second straight session Monday as financial, bio and tech stocks plunged. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 9.07 points, or 0.31 percent, to close at 2,960.2 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 551 million shares worth some 10.2 trillion won ($8.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 502 to 352. Foreigners sold a net 122 billion won, while retail investors bought 366 billion w

Korbit, a local cryptocurrency exchange, said Monday that it adopted a “play to earn” scheme as part of efforts to upgrade its nascent metaverse platform. Play to Earn, commonly known as P2E, is a system in which players can gain rewards for playing games within the platform. Korbit’s attempt to incorporate P2E is a move meant to attract not only cryptocurrency traders, but also to reflect growing interest in the metaverse. “In Korbit Town, people without any exposur

South Korea’s initial public offering market is expected to regain momentum as a number of big players are set to go public next year. But the stock market needs to gain its upward momentum first to revive investor interest, according to investment banking sources and market experts Monday. Some mega deals, such as lithium-ion battery maker LG Energy Solution, local builder Hyundai Engineering, and online grocery delivery platforms SSG.com and Market Kurly, are getting ready for listings

Hospitality industry faces generational shift with ultraluxury hotels replacing decades-old business hotels

In a bid to ease its urea shortage, South Korea said Monday it plans to import 200 metric tons of the main component of diesel exhaust fluid from Vietnam next week, and fly in an additional supply from Australia. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the government has decided on how much powdered urea it plans to import from the Southeast Asian nation, while adding 7,000 liters to the initial 20,000 liters of solution it seeks to fly in from Australia. On top of all that, it is cu

The megahit Netflix series “Squid Game” depicts a dystopian world where 456 people compete in a series of extreme survival games on a remote island. The sole winner takes all the prize money, while everyone else bites the dust. In the real world, all the “Squid Game” deaths would be eligible for insurance coverage, according to a local insurance company. The question is whether those death benefits would differ depending on how the player died, it added. According to a

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday on losses in financial, bio and tech stocks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 23.41 points, or 0.79 percent, to 2,945.86 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a weak start amid foreign and institutional sell-offs. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics edged up 0.14 percent to 70,300 won, while No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix retreated 2.34 percent to 104,500 won. Hyundai Motor, the country's largest carmaker,

South Korea's national debt ratio is expected to gain at the fastest clip among 35 advanced nations over the next five years despite its high financial soundness, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report said Monday. Seoul's ratio of national debt to its gross domestic product (GDP) is likely to reach 66.7 percent in 2026, up 15.4 percentage points from the end of this year, according to the IMF report. The expected growth pace is the highest among 35 nations that the Washington-based inter

Citibank Korea, the South Korean unit of Citigroup, has ramped up efforts to gain an upper hand in sustainable financing, focused on environmental, social and governance factors, to support local companies’ ESG management, the lender said Sunday. Sustainable financing refers to a bank’s financial services, ranging from loans to bonds, designed to provide financial support for sustainable economic activities and projects of private companies or public entities. The prolonged COVID-19

Lenders offer lucrative early retirement packages to slash labor costs

Green washing refers to abusive marketing activities that exaggerate, misrepresent and mislead about the company’s eco-conscious behavior, products or financing. The tendency of companies to oversell is expanding from environmental to social areas and coining new color-themed names. It is true that false ESG communication could happen unintentionally. Companies must carefully pick the words they use in communicating corporate sustainability practices because inspectors and civil society ar

Stocks that began trading through blockbuster initial public offerings this year might see a downturn in stock prices as lockup periods that hindered large shareholders from selling expire this week, according to market insiders Sunday.　 A stock lockup is a device to prevent large shareholders from selling their shares too quickly and causing a sudden change in stock prices after a company goes public. Institutional investors are expected to trade roughly 11 trillion won ($9.3 billion) worth o

Financial firms say digital assets ‘too big to ignore’