South Korea's industrial output rebounded in March after two straight months of decline, but retail sales fell on-month amid the fast spread of the omicron variant, data showed Friday. Industrial production increased 1.5 percent in March from the previous month, compared with a 0.3 percent on-month drop in February, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Compared with a year earlier, industrial output rose 3.1 percent. Asia's fourth-largest economy has been on a recovery track on the back

SEJONG -- Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Thursday sent a signal that the financial authority would move to intervene in the foreign exchange market as the Korean currency sharply lost value against the US dollar recently. During a meeting to map out countermeasures against the current economic situation in Seoul, Hong said the won lost ground against the dollar at a fast pace this week. The rising dollar prices were attributed to the possibility of faster-than-expect

Retail sales in South Korea rose 7.1 percent in March from a year earlier on the back of growing demand for foodstuff, daily items and luxury goods amid the worst wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry ministry said Thursday. The combined sales of 25 major offline and online retailers reached 13.69 trillion won ($10.81 billion) last month, up from 12.8 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Sales from offline stores rose 6.

South Korea's exports of autos declined for the first time in seven quarters in the January-March period amid global supply chain disruptions and Russia's war with Ukraine, customs data showed Thursday. The country's outbound shipments of cars came to $10.93 billion in the first quarter, down 0.6 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Autos accounted for some 7 percent of South Korea's exports. It marked the first on-year fall since the second qu

Auto parts, machinery projected to suffer disadvantages

The issuance of asset-backed securities (ABSs) in South Korea shrank 20.2 percent on-year in the first quarter due to decreased sales of mortgage-backed securities, data showed Wednesday. The ABS issued during the January-March period came to 10.9 trillion won ($8.7 billion), down 2.8 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). ABS refers to securities based on such assets as mortgages, auto loans, credit card receivables and student loan

South Korea's consumer sentiment improved for the third straight month in April as the country lifted most social distancing rules as part of efforts to return to normal from the pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday. The composite consumer sentiment index came to 103.8 in April, up 0.6 point from the previous month, according to data from the Bank of Korea. A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists. The April figure marked the third straight on-month rise of the index. Las

SEJONG -- A possible glitch in imports of palm oil is expected to further fan inflationary pressure in South Korea and constrain household consumption, which could hamper the growth of the gross domestic product. Palm oil is used for producing Korean instant noodles and snacks. Its largest producer Indonesia said it would issue a ban on exports of palm oil later this week. The Indonesian government made it clear that the decision was aimed at maintaining a stable domestic supply. As products

The government will provide funds to help startups grow into unicorns, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s transition team said Tuesday. Unicorns are privately-held startups worth at least $1 billion. In South Korea, they have long relied on foreign capital in their late-stage funding to raise their market value “This is part of broader efforts to nurture a new ecosystem for startups, where jobs are created and economic growth is guaranteed, all without interruption,” said K

South Korea’s economy expanded by a lackluster 0.7 percent in the first three months of this year, compared with the previous quarter, weighed down by the spread of the omicron variant and the risks stemming from the Ukraine crisis, central bank data showed Tuesday. Asia’s fourth-largest economy’s growth momentum nearly halved compared with the fourth quarter of 2021, when it saw a 1.2 percent expansion, preliminary data from the Bank of Korea showed. In terms of on-year growt

Expanding the high-tech sector will be the way to ensure sustainable economic growth, and the government will ease rules to make that happen, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s transition team said Monday at a press briefing amid concerns over shrinking economic growth. “Building on the high-tech sector involves two things: We help the existing industries go high-tech or go green and digital, because that leads to better products,” said Ahn Cheol-soo, the chief leading the team.

South Korea's exports of instant noodles soared 20 percent on-year in March on the global popularity of Korean pop culture amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Asia's fourth-largest economy exported $71.58 million worth of instant noodles, or "ramyeon" in Korean, last month, up from $59.62 million a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and industry sources. From the previous month, overseas shipments of ramyeon shot up 35.8 percent. March mar

The International Monetary Fund said inflation in South Korea would hit 4 percent this year, second behind only New Zealand in a list of eight advanced economies in the Asia and Pacific region, in part because of the war in Ukraine. The projection was made public this month as Asia’s fourth-largest economy is seen as sliding into stagflation, a condition where rising inflation and shrinking economic growth coexist. In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF forecast inflation of

South Korea’s top economic policymaker has requested the global index provider Morgan Stanley Capital International to place the country’s stock market on the watch list for the developed market status during its review in June, his office said Saturday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the remarks during his meeting with senior officials from MSCI in New York on Friday (local time) as South Korea is pushing again to win the MSCI developed market status. MSCI has classified the So

SEJONG -- Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki expressed worries over the nation’s real estate market during his stay in Washington, D.C. for international ministerial meetings, saying that home prices are rebounding. Hong said Friday (Korean time) that the government had failed to tame housing prices during the early part of his term since December 2018, when he took office, despite a variety of policy attempts. “(Later), I was encouraged by the situation that ho