South Korea's central bank held its key interest rate steady Thursday amid worries that the upsurge in COVID-19 infections and heightening geopolitical risks stemming from Eastern Europe could undercut economic recovery momentum. The Bank of Korea (BOK), however, sharply revised upward its inflation outlook for this year, raising the possibility that it could hike the interest rate in the months to come. As widely expected, the seven-member monetary policy board of the central bank voted to fr

SEJONG -- A longer-than-expected standoff between Ukraine and Russia involving a possible war could deal a severe blow to the Korean economy, Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said Wednesday. During a task force meeting in Seoul, Lee said that particular impacts have yet to be seen in the local market at the current stage, despite the escalating tension between the two countries. “But (worsening geopolitical risk) over a long period would have negative effects on the nation’s over

South Korea's overseas financial assets reached an all-time high last year on the back of increased stock investments and investment returns, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's external financial assets came to $2.16 trillion as of end-December, up $198.2 billion from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The net international investment position also hit a record high of $637.9 billion at the end of December, up from $466.1 billion the previo

South Korea's finance minister said Wednesday the country's housing prices are on a downward trend after being stabilized amid the central bank's rate hikes and tighter lending rules. Minister Hong Nam-ki said the government will implement its real estate policy with a focus on expanding the home supply and rooting out property speculation in a bid to support a fall in home prices. "Stabilizing trends of housing prices have become more evident, and price falls have been accelerating,"

South Korean's business sentiment improved slightly for March but remained below par amid the fast spread of the COVID-19 omicron variant, a central bank poll showed Wednesday. The business sentiment index (BSI) for local companies came to 88 for March, up three points from the previous month, according to the survey by the Bank of Korea (BOK). The BSI for manufacturers climbed to 93 from 90 over the cited period, and that for non-manufacturing businesses also gained two points to 84. The index

SEJONG -- At least 1 in 2 South Koreans were found to have predicted home prices to go down in the coming year, amid a variety of tight regulations and rising interest rates, data from the Bank of Korea showed Tuesday. According to the monthly consumer survey conducted by BOK, the index for households’ outlook on housing prices sat at 97 in February, down three points from a month earlier. The index indicates that the number of households predicting a decline in housing prices was higher

South Korea's household debt reached a fresh high in the fourth quarter of last year, but it grew at a slower pace from the three months earlier amid tightened lending rules, central bank data showed Tuesday. Household credit came to 1,862.1 trillion won ($1.56 trillion) as of end-December, up 1 percent, or 19.1 trillion won, from three months earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The gain slowed from a 1.9 percent on-quarter increase in the third quarter. Household credit

5.2% of Korean workers paid over 8 million won a month

South Korea will hold its annual consultation meetings with global rating agency Moody's Investors Service this week over the country's economic conditions, Seoul's finance ministry said Monday. The Moody's credit rating team, led by Gene Fang, associate managing director of the agency, will hold a series of meetings with the finance ministry, the central bank and other agencies starting Monday through Feb. 28. During the meetings, the two sides will discuss the country's recent economic situati

South Korea's exports grew 13.1 percent on-year in the first 20 days of February on the back of demand for chips and petroleum products, customs data showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $34.30 billion in the Feb. 1-20 period, compared with $30.34 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports rose 12.9 percent on-year to $35.98 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $1.68 billion during the cited period, the data showed. By sector, ou

South Korea’s fiscal deficit reached over 100 trillion won ($83 billion), while national debt logged a deficit of 240 trillion won, as the country was bogged down by COVID-19 woes in the past two years, data from the Finance Ministry showed Sunday. With an additional 70 trillion won in fiscal deficit and 100 trillion won of national debt projected to be added this year, based on the size of the supplementary budget currently being discussed by officials and lawmakers, onlookers are expre

SEJONG – Economic policymakers are moving to tame consumer prices under their assessment that inflationary pressures would continue this month, Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said Friday. Several policy measures set to be taken include making price tags of food products at large-scale dining franchises publicized and extending fuel tax redemption. “Prices of dining out increased by 5.5 percent in January on-year. This marked the highest growth (in almost 13 years) since 5.

Global DRAM shipments dropped nearly 6 percent in the fourth quarter from three months earlier, a report showed Friday, amid sluggish demand from manufacturers that had hoarded up the key consumer electronics component over continued chip shortages. DRAM shipments during the October-December period were valued at $25 billion, down 5.8 percent globally from the previous quarter, according to the data provided by industry tracker TrendForce. Declining purchasing momentum, it said, also led to a dr

South Korea's economy is on a recovery path on the back of robust exports, but the fast spread of the omicron variant is feared to hurt the recovery of private spending, the finance ministry said Friday. External economic uncertainties also heightened as oil prices have surged and volatility in the financial market has increased amid geopolitical risks between Russia and Ukraine, the ministry said in its monthly economic assessment report, called the Green Book. "South Korea's exports have

South Korea's money supply rose 0.7 percent on-month in December due mainly to an increase in savings boosted by rising interest rates and brisk exports, central bank data showed Thursday. The country's M2, a key gauge of the money supply, stood at 3,613 trillion won ($3.02 trillion) on average in December, up 23.8 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The growth rate slowed down in December compared with the previous month. From a yea