South Korea's consumer prices are estimated to have grown at a faster pace in March as Russia's invasion of Ukraine has driven up oil prices, a senior government official said Friday. Inflationary pressure is likely to remain high for the time being as external economic uncertainty has heightened, according to First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon. "Expectations are growing that inflation growth will pick up in March, led by a jump in prices of petroleum products," Lee said at a gov

Home transactions in South Korea plunged more than 50 percent on-year in February amid tough lending curbs and rising interest rates, data showed Friday. The number of homes changing hands nationwide stood at 43,179 units in February, down 50.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Compared with the previous month, however, the February tally was up 3.5 percent. Home transactions in the greater Seoul area, which includes the w

SEJONG -- Korea’s industrial output declined for the second consecutive month in the wake of a glitch in imports of raw materials as well as the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, state data showed Thursday. According to Statistics Korea, industrial output decreased by 0.2 percent in February, compared to the previous month. It posted a 0.3 percent drop in January. This marked the first time in 21 months dating to May 2020 that industrial output fell for two consecutive mo

JB Financial Group, a Jeonju-based financial holding company offering consumer and commercial banking services, said Thursday that its incumbent chief has been elected for a second term to carry on efforts to improve profit margins. CEO and Chairman Kim Ki-hong, who took over the company headquartered in North Jeolla Province in March 2019, helped to more than double the net income between 2018 and 2021, the group said, noting the board unanimously voted in favor of his second term late last ye

Rates on mortgage loans extended by South Korean banks rose to the highest level in about nine years in February in line with interest rate hikes by the central bank, data showed Thursday. Banks' mortgage loan rate stood at 3.88 percent per year on average in February, up 0.03 percentage point from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). This marked the highest since March 2013, when the home-back loan rate rose to as high as 3.97 percent. Mortgage rates have been on

Prices of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in South Korea will increase nearly 2 percent in April due to rising international energy prices, the industry ministry said Thursday. LNG rates for households, restaurants, hotels and other commercial users will go up by an average 1.8 percent on April 1, according to the ministry. With the rate increase, households are expected to pay 860 won ($0.71) more per month, with the burden for commercial users likely to rise by the same amount. The rate hike comes

South Korea is reviewing whether to further cut fuel taxes as inflationary pressure has built up amid surging energy costs, the finance minister said Thursday. The government is considering whether to lower fuel taxes by 30 percent from the current 20 percent as oil prices have spiked amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Early this month, the country decided to extend fuel tax cuts by three months until end-July in an effort to curb inflation. "We are in the final stage of reviewing whether t

SEJONG -- Economic policymakers are reportedly mapping out measures to ease the burden of households and microbusiness owners, as the nation’s gasoline and diesel prices have surged in the wake of spiking international crude oil prices. A core interest in the market is whether the Ministry of Economy and Finance will decide to expand the rate of tax cut on fuel from the current discount. A Finance Ministry official was quoted by a news provider on Wednesday as saying that the government

Asset management firms in South Korea saw their 2021 combined net earnings jump 67.1 percent from a year earlier thanks to a rise in commission revenue, data showed Wednesday. The combined net income of 348 firms came to 2.16 trillion won ($2.01 billion) last year compared with 1.3 trillion won a year earlier, according to the preliminary data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The rise came mostly from an increase in commission revenue from their fund management and investment

IMF recommendation diverges from Yoon’s deregulatory policy

After another failed attempt by SsangYong Motor to find a new owner, now all eyes are on whether the state-run Korea Development Bank will change its mind and bail out the ailing carmaker under the incoming Yoon Suk-yeol administration. SsangYong Motor, the Korean unit of Indian auto giant Mahindra & Mahindra, on Monday called off its merger and acquisition talks with Edison Motors, a local electric bus maker, after Edison missed a March 25 deadline to pay for the deal price worth 304.8 bi

More than seven in 10 South Korean firms are planning to hire new employees this year amid an economic recovery, a poll showed Tuesday. The survey of 508 companies with 100 or more workers showed 72 percent of the respondents replying they have plans to recruit new employees this year. Some 17 percent answered they have no hiring plans for this year, with about 11 percent remaining undecided. Commissioned by the Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF), South Korea's largest business lobby by membersh

South Korea said Tuesday it plans to focus its fiscal policy for next year on propping up the economic recovery and strengthen fiscal soundness amid mounting national debt. Under the 2023 budget guidelines, approved by the Cabinet, the government plans to normalize COVID-19 related emergency spending to pre-pandemic levels and make efforts to secure fiscal space to support new policy goals by the incoming government, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Government ministries and age

Tax exemptions and incentives are expected to increase by 3.6 trillion won ($2.9 billion) this year as the government seeks to underpin the economic recovery and support vulnerable people, the finance ministry said Tuesday. The value of the tax exemptions and credit is estimated at 59.5 trillion won this year, up from the 55.9 trillion won tentatively provided last year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The percentage of tax subsidies against total tax revenue and tax benefits i

The nominee for the new central bank chief on Tuesday underlined the importance of having "insight" on any changes in international order to better respond to rising external uncertainty. Rhee Chang-yong made the remarks sent to reporters before leaving Washington, D.C. for Seoul for a confirmation hearing. He was nominated as the new chief of the Bank of Korea last week while serving as director of the Asia and Pacific department at the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IM