The following is the full text of the Bank of Korea's statement on its monetary policy decision. The central bank's monetary policy board decided Thursday to cut the base rate by a quarter percentage point to a fresh record low of 0.50 percent. Monetary Policy Decision The Monetary Policy Board of the Bank of Korea decided today to lower the Base Rate by 25 basis points, from 0.75% to 0.50%. Currently available information suggests that the global economy has contracted significantly due to co

South Korea should map out measures to help cushion the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on its economic growth and employment, a private think tank said Thursday. The novel coronavirus outbreak, which started in China in December, has led to lockdowns across the globe, crippling economic activity and touching off concerns over mass job cuts. "The outbreak of COVID-19 is feared to eat into South Korea's production base and lead to job losses," said the Korea Economic Research Inst

South Korea's central bank slashed its policy rate by a quarter percentage point to a record low of 0.50 percent Thursday as the country's economy is expected to grow at the slowest pace in over two decades amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The move came a little over two months after the Bank of Korea (BOK) cut the base rate to 0.75 percent from 1.25 percent in its first emergency rate cut since October 2008. "Economic growth in Korea has slowed considerably," the BOK said in its stateme

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, taking a cue from overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 13.77 points, or 0.68 percent, to 2,044.97 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The gains were led by the US tech stock rally overnight, triggered by global chipmaker Micron Technology Inc.'s estimate-beating earnings guidance, analysts said. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 553.16 points, or 2.21 percent, to close at 25,548.27 on Th

With South Korea’s sovereign wealth fund sparking a media debate over its investment in marijuana producers, some experts here said Wednesday that the case can hardly be seen as breaching its commitment to socially and environmentally responsible investing. Marijuana production itself cannot be the target of criticism, although it carries a heavy social stigma in Korea where the recreational use of marijuana is banned. Even if the investment was made by sovereign wealth fund Korea Investm

South Korean companies' stock and bond sales fell 28.8 percent in April from a month earlier, due mainly to a decline in sales of corporate debt, data showed Thursday. Local companies raised a combined 11.47 trillion won ($9.3 billion) by selling stocks and bonds in April, down 4.6 trillion won from March, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The decline is attributable to the 27 percent on-month fall in debt offerings to 11.42 trillion won, the FSS said. Last

SEJONG -- South Korea will set up a guarantee fund of 500 billion won ($405 million) to provide more loans to auto parts companies that have been hit by the coronavirus pandemic, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday. The fund, which will be financed by the government and carmakers, will provide guarantees for loans for auto parts firms, Hong said. The public sector will buy 9,500 cars by the end of September to prop up auto parts firms, Hong said. To boost private consumption, the gove

Weighed down by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, South Korean manufacturers saw their business confidence sink to the lowest level in over 12 years for the upcoming month, central bank data showed Wednesday. The business sentiment index -- BSI -- for the domestic manufacturing sector came to 49 for June, down from 50 for this month, according to the Bank of Korea. While a reading below 100 indicates a pessimist market sentiment, the latest figure marked the lowest since February 2009, in the

In 12 weeks, Kospi surges nearly 40%, but rising Sino-US conflict is burden: analysts

SEJONG -- South Korea will maintain its aggressive fiscal spending as it is set to unveil the third extra budget early next month to minimize the economic pain from the coronavirus pandemic, Vice Finance Minister An Il-whan said Wednesday. The third extra budget is aimed at focusing on reviving economic growth and creating jobs, An told a meeting with fiscal experts earlier in the day. The budget is also designed to provide financial support to small- and medium-sized enterprises hit by the

Financial giant’s drive to become ‘mega’ investment bank to gain momentum

South Korean stocks finished a tad higher Wednesday despite escalating tension between the United States and China, as investors sought to scoop up bargains amid growing hopes of an economic recovery. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 1.42 points, or 0.07 percent, to close at 2,031.20, extending its winning streak to a third consecutive session. Trading volume was high at about 1.16 billion shares worth some 12.5 trillion w

South Korea’s global GDP ranking slipped to 10th place last year, the first drop since the 2008 global financial crisis, data showed Wednesday.  According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the country’s nominal GDP stood at $1.64 trillion in 2019 ranking No. 10 out of 38 OECD member countries, two rungs down from 2018. Asia’s fourth-largest economy was outpaced by Canada and Russia last year, which ranked eighth and ninth, respectively. 

One Equity Partners, a spinoff of JPMorgan dedicated to middle market investment, is reportedly looking to unload part of its stake in South Korea’s drug distributor Celltrion Healthcare through a block trade for roughly 350 billion won ($283.6 million). The price of some 4 million Celltrion Healthcare shares, a 2.6 percent stake, was set at between 85,000 won and 87,000 won per share after the market closed Tuesday, according to news reports. The price was lower than the Tuesd

South Korean listed companies' dividend payouts slipped nearly 2 percent in 2019 from a year earlier amid a business slump, data showed Wednesday. Cash dividends paid out by 1,094 firms listed on the country's main and secondary stock markets totaled 22.6 trillion won ($18.3 billion) last year, down 1.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository. The number of dividend-paying corporations was down 12 from the previous year. The tally covers compan