Korea's central bank chief said Monday that the country's monetary policy tools will be used to support the economy and maintain financial stability at the same time."It is necessary to manage monetary policy in such a way as to make the financial system more stable and help the momentum for recovery," Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said in an inaugural ceremony for his second four-year term. He was reappointed by President Moon Jae-in last month."The central bank will keep the ac

Last year, the increase rate of loans taken out by the the self-employed surpassed by tenfold the rise of the number of self-owned businesses, data by Statistics Korea and the Bank of Korea showed.With the anticipated rise of interest rates, the debt repayment burden is expected to augment for those running their own businesses.A total of 5,682,000 are registered as self-employed as of the end of last year, up 1.2 percent from the previous year.According to data from the Bank of Korea, some 535.

Local banks reduced their workforces and branch offices last year by the greatest number since 2000, with digitalization-driven downsizing accelerating, data from the financial regulator showed Sunday.The number of employees in the banking sector at the end of last year totaled 111,173, down 3,602 from the previous year, according to the data from the Financial Statistics Information System operated by the regulator Financial Supervisory Service. The level of downsizing is the biggest since 5,20

South Korea's exports rose 6.1 percent last month from a year earlier to mark the largest monthly tally for March, government data showed Sunday.Outbound shipments reached $51.58 billion in the one-month period, up from $48.64 billion a year ago, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.They increased for the 17th consecutive month, with the total being the highest for all March figures.Imports gained 5 percent on-year to $44.72 billion. South Korea's tra

Loans extended by the nation's five major banks to individuals for home rentals jumped 38.5 percent on-year in February amid the government's tightening of mortgages for new homes, according to industry data Saturday. Outstanding loans extended by the five lenders, including Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank, specifically for home rentals amounted to about 49 trillion won ($46.1 billion) as of the end of last month, up 13.6 trillion won from a year ago, the data showed.  The rise is apparently

South Korea's top financial regulator on Friday nominated a veteran civic activist and former lawmaker to head the Financial Supervisory Services, officials said.Kim Ki-sik, 52, who had served various posts at the nongovernmental organization People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy until 2011, was tapped for the post, the Financial Services Commission said in a statement.If President Moon Jae-in approves Kim's nomination, he will succeed Choe Heung-sik, who resigned earlier this month ov

South Korea's industrial output increased in February from a month earlier on a rise in production in the automaking and retail sectors, government data showed Friday.Production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries rose 1.1 percent on-month in February, following an adjusted 0.9 percent on-month gain in the previous month, according to the data by Statistics Korea.From a year earlier, industrial output plunged 6.4 percent in February, following a 4.3 percent on-year gain

The South Korean government on Thursday demanded the US correct a recent statement concerning the Korea-US bilateral free trade deal amendment, saying that the trade negotiation did not involve a currency cap deal.The refutation came in the wake of reports from Washington late on the previous day that both states had agreed to prohibit deliberate currency devaluation on the sidelines of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement renegotiation, in which case Seoul’s export-dependent economy would be

The number of marginal companies stuck in the financial quagmire with little room for profitability growth has been on the rise, further bogging down the economy as it anticipates rate hikes, the Bank of Korea said on Thursday. Korea refers to firms with interest costs outweighing operating profits for at least three consecutive years as “marginal companies.”The number of such firms in 2016 came to 3,126, taking up 14.2 percent of all Korean non-financial firms subject to external au

Korea reiterated on Thursday that it has been in talks with the United States to improve the transparency of the country's currency market, once again stressing that the discussion is not related to the bilateral trade deal with the world's largest economy."The currency rate issue is not a bilateral one. It should rather be dealt with in a multilateral frame," said a senior official at the finance ministry, asking not to be named.The official said Seoul has expressed "deep" r

A total of 1,711 senior government and public officials declared an average 1.35 billion won ($1.26 million) of personal assets, up about 83 million won from a year earlier, the government gazette showed Thursday.Under an anti-corruption law, senior officials at government agencies and national universities as well as other high-level public office holders are required to report the status of their assets to the Government Ethics Committee once a year.According to this year's declaration carried

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump on Wednesday hailed the revised free trade agreement with South Korea as a "great deal" for workers in both countries.In a tweet sent shortly after the revision was formally announced, Trump said, "@USTradeRep just announced an agreement in principle with South Korea on KORUS!" KORUS is shorthand for the Korea-US free trade agreement that went into effect in 2012. Trump has slammed it as a bad deal that took away American jobs and widen

Korea is moving to free itself of the possibility of being designated by the US as a currency manipulator, which remains an uncertain factor for its exporters after the two countries this week reached an agreement on amending their bilateral free trade deal and exempting Korea from US steel tariffs.The Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Bank of Korea said in a joint statement earlier this month they had studied plans to advance the foreign exchange market in the country.No decision has bee

South Korea‘s nominal gross national income per capita came to $29.745 as of 2017 upon the sharpest on-year rise in six years, while the national economy grew by 3.1 percent, preliminary data by the Bank of Korea showed Wednesday. Such robust macroeconomic readings indicate Asia’s fourth largest economy is on track to be placed on par with developed nations, giving the country more room to carry out stronger measures for social welfare, according to the central bank. In 2017, Korea&l

High levels of paralytic toxins have spread along South Korea's southeastern coast and contaminated shellfish, the maritime ministry said Wednesday, vowing to tighten oversight over the harvesting of the seafood.Earlier this month, paralytic toxins were detected in waters near the southern port city of Busan and Geoje Island for the first time this year and have continued to spread to adjacent areas, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.A total of 28 regions are now confirmed to be