The size of floating funds in the market reached a record high of 1,117.3 trillion won ($999.8 billion) as of late June, with the total unlikely to come down in the near future, official data showed Sunday.The numbers provided by the Bank of Korea and domestic financial investment firms showed that of the total, some 99 trillion won was cash, 231 trillion won was in demand deposits and 532 trillion won was in money market deposit accounts. The tally also covered money market funds, certificate o

Earned income support provided by the government to offset low wages will rise a sharp 260 percent from this year to near 5 trillion won ($4.47 billion) in 2019, official data showed Sunday.The increase in earned income tax credit comes as payment method changes will go into effect along with the move to offer assistance set aside for the first half for next year in advance, the finance ministry said.Seoul provided 1.34 trillion won in credit this year, which went to encourage people to work and

Shrugging off concerns over overvaluation and uncertainties regarding accounting regulations, South Korea's pharmaceutical and bio companies have shown signs of regaining their presence on the stock market.On Friday, Samsung BioLogics, a biopharmaceutical affiliate of the country's largest conglomerate, Samsung, spiked 3.7 percent to end at 463,000 won ($415.66). Celltrion also surged 1.31 percent to 270,000 won, and Hanmi Pharmaceutical grew 1.84 percent to 497,500 won.  The upturn came af

President Moon Jae-in called Saturday for an unswerving reform drive despite a falling approval rating and controversies over his economic policy.He was speaking at an unprecedented gathering of all ruling party lawmakers, Cabinet members and presidential officials.It came two days after Moon's first Cabinet shake-up to replace five ministers, including the defense chief and the top education policymaker. Late last month, the Democratic Party of Korea picked Rep. Lee Hae-chan, a seven-term

South Korea's exports increased 8.7 percent in August compared with a year ago on upbeat sales of semiconductors and petrochemical products, government data showed Saturday.Outbound shipments reached $51.2 billion last month, a record high for August, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Imports surged 9.2 percent on-year to $44.3 billion last month for a trade surplus of $6.9 billion, marking 79 straight months in which the country's exports have exceeded

Central bank holds key rate at 1.5% for nine consecutive months

The following is the full text of the Bank of Korea's statement on its monetary policy decision for August. The central bank's monetary policy board decided Friday to hold its base rate steady at 1.5 percent for the month.-----------------The Monetary Policy Board of the Bank of Korea decided today to leave the Base Rate unchanged at 1.50 percent for the intermeeting period.Based on currently available information the Board considers that the global economy has continued its robust growth. In th

South Korea's central bank on Friday froze its policy rate for August on sluggish economy data and low inflation pressure.The monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea voted to keep the policy rate unchanged at 1.5 percent as widely expected.The BOK has taken a wait-and-see stance since November last year, when it adjusted up the key rate for the first time in more than six years, citing the economic recovery.Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said the July decision was not unanimous as Lee Il-houng, part of the

Woori Bank will become South Korea’s first commercial bank to shorten its workweek to 52 hours, a step to be implemented within a yearlong grace period under a government statute designed to help employees achieve a better work-life balance.Following an agreement between the bank’s management and its labor union, Woori Bank will begin phasing in the new policy in October. Teams or branches that require assistance will be reinforced with more employees, according to the bank. In addit

South Korean brokerage house Samsung Securities is expanding the global network for esports market research to local investors amid its growing presence in the sports industry. Esports refers to a form of competition using multiplayer video games. The ongoing 2018 Asian Games feature esports as a demonstration sport. ESports will debut as a medal event at the forthcoming 2022 Asian Games.  Samsung Securities analyzes the world’s esports market by two sectors -- game software developer

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday urged local governments to step up their own efforts to create more jobs while promising increased support from the central government."The people's concerns are growing due to a drop in recent job indicators. Many regions are also facing difficulties from the fallout of restructuring. Creating jobs, especially good jobs, is the current issue facing both the central and local governments," the president said in a meeting with the heads of 17 provincial

A senior presidential official raised the need to curb speculative demand in the property market Thursday, vowing to take stronger measures if needed.Jang Ha-sung, the presidential chief of staff for policy, made the remark at a meeting with senior officials from the government and the ruling Democratic Party over the economy."The government will step up its efforts to thoroughly curb speculative demand in the property market while protecting real buyers," Jang said at the start of the

South Korea’s brokerage house KB Securities was slapped the highest number of disciplinary actions among financial firms here since 2015, data showed Wednesday.  From 2015 to the end of June this year, KB Securities, which was renamed after KB Investment & Securities’ merger with Hyundai Securities, were given 18 penalties from authorities -- the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service, the Korea Exchange and the Fair Trade Commission. This accounted

President Moon Jae-in again sought to promote his much disputed income-led growth policy Wednesday, calling it a matter of survival, not choice."We can never ensure sustainable growth with the current (economic) structure that creates polarization," the president said in a special meeting with the heads of and other officials from some 240 public organizations, including state-run firms and government commissions."Change is not a matter of choice but a matter of survival," Mo

South Korea’s trade minister will be attending key economic meetings with his counterparts in Southeast Asian countries this week as part of the government’s ongoing efforts to strengthen economic ties with the emerging region, his office said Tuesday.Minister Kim Hyun-chong is to visit Singapore from Thursday to Saturday to attend a series of meetings: the ASEAN economic ministers’ meeting, ASEAN plus three (along with China and Japan), the East Asia Summit and the Regional Co