South Korea's exports fell 24 percent on-year in the first 10 days of August amid the fallout from the new coronavirus outbreak, customs data showed Tuesday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $8.7 billion from Aug. 1-10, down from $11.4 billion during the same period of last year, the Korea Customs Service said in a statement. The daily average exports during the 10-day period declined 13 percent on-year to $1.25 billion from $1.43 billion, it said. The pandemic has disrupted trade

South Korea’s inbound shipments of Japanese consumer goods -- especially tobacco, beer and automobiles shrank considerably in July -- amid the continuing nationwide boycott, data showed Monday. The boycott spread like wildfire across the country since July last year, when Japan said it would regulate exports of three key materials needed for Asia’s fourth-largest economy’s chip and display manufacturing. The nation’s import of Japanese goods overall dropped 23.4 perc

Business sentiment in Korea falls to 11-year low in June

NH-Amundi Victorious Korea Equity Fund has recorded a 56.1 percent return for retail investors in a year, its parent company said Monday. The public fund which is managed by NH-Amundi Asset Management -- with the most noteworthy investor being South Korean President Moon Jae-in -- was launched on Aug. 14, 2019. It has overrun the depressed stock market trend. Korea’s main bourse Kospi rose 22.1 percent over the cited period. The trust fund manages 123 billion won ($103.7 million) worth o

Foreign investors were net buyers of stocks and bonds in July, as the local currency is stabilizing and retail investors are showing more interest, data showed Monday They returned to the South Korean stock market, net buying 582 billion won ($490.6 million) worth of listed shares in a turnaround from net sales for five consecutive months, according to data by the Financial Supervisory Service. This is in sharp contrast to the February-June period, when they net sold a combined 26.58 trillion

South Korea is forecast to climb up three notches to ninth in global gross domestic product rankings this year, despite its negative growth of 3.3 percent in the second quarter, data showed Monday.  Asia’s fourth-largest economy is likely to see 1.8 percent decline in its nominal GDP to reach $1.54 trillion this year on the condition that the country circumvents a second wave of the coronavirus, according to data from Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The OECD

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles to address the Moon Jae-in administration’s “Green New Deal” policy, one of the key pillars of the so-called “Korean New Deal” economic stimulus package. -- Ed. Responding to the unprecedented socioeconomic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea has adopted a new weighty policy keyword this year -- “Korean Green New Deal.” Despite the rosy pictures suggested by policymakers, there are

Downtrend decelerates, but uncertainties persist amid US-China tension

South Koreans’ demand for jeonse loans -- designed for investors looking for two-year leases instead of purchases -- increased in July, due to government efforts to cool down the heated real estate market with loan restrictions, data showed Sunday. According to the data compiled by five major banks -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup -- the outstanding amount of such loans increased by 2.2 percent, or 2.02 trillion won ($1.8 billion), on-month to 94.55 trillion won as of e

With torrential rains battering South Korea’s central regions, local financial groups are lending a helping hand, including donations and staff volunteers to flood-hit regions. Woori Financial Group has sent food and water supplies and a volunteer group in North Chungcheong Province, one of the regions that was hardly hit by torrential rains. The group previously donated 100 million won ($84,100) for flood relief and sent support packages including hygiene, daily necessities and clothe

Korea ranks 4th in growth of household income tax in 2016-2018

The government is drawing up a budget for next year, with its size likely to top 550 trillion won ($463 billion), up 8 percent from this year's, as the country is drumming up efforts to boost the pandemic-hit economy, sources said Sunday. According to the sources, the finance ministry is set to report next year's budget draft to President Moon Jae-in this week. This year's budget was set at 512.3 trillion won, but the government has drawn up three rounds of supplementary budgets to shield Asi

South Korean stocks have room to rise further this week, helped by ample liquidity and expectations that the US stimulus package is nearing a deal. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,351.67 points on Friday, up 4.55 percent from 2,249.37 points a week ago. The last session marked the highest reading in nearly two years since Sept. 27, 2018. The index gained every session this week, largely on US stimulus hopes and estimate-beating earnings by Kakao, SK Telec

South Korea’s public debt is expected to surge until next year due to aggressive government spending to revive the sluggish local economy, according to the International Monetary Fund on Friday.  The IMF said the country’s general government debt-to-gross domestic product ratio -- an indicator of economic health and sustainability of government borrowing -- will surpass 46 percent this year, up 5.5 percentage points from 40.7 percent estimated last year. The pace of the ri

South Korean shares extended gains to a fifth session on Friday, as expectations for a US stimulus package underpinned investor sentiment. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 9.06 points, or 0.39 percent, to close at 2,351.67. The reading marks the highest since Sept. 27, 2018.  Trading volume was high at about 802 million shares worth some 17.3 trillion won ($14.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 382 t