SEJONG -- Gasoline prices in South Korea climbed for the 30th consecutive day in tandem with international crude prices, adding to the burden on households and businesses. According to the Korea National Oil Corp., the price of gasoline rose to 1,688.19 won ($1.41) per liter on Tuesday. This marked a rebound stretching 30 consecutive days, starting from Jan. 10 after posting 1,621.3 won on Jan. 9. The current level marked the highest in more than two months -- since Nov. 22, when it reached 1,

Some 400,000 people were found to have left Seoul to move to neighboring metropolitan areas last year, government data showed Tuesday, with surging housing prices being cited as the key reason behind the exodus. According to Statistics Korea, a total of 406,975 people submitted change-of-address requests from Seoul addresses last year. Of the total, 362,116 moved to Gyeonggi Province, while 44,859 left for Incheon. The latest data corresponds with the Seoul city government’s data relea

South Korea's finance minister said Tuesday global credit appraisers are concerned about the growth pace of the country's national debt, which could negatively affect its sovereign rating over the medium term. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki also reiterated his opposition to political parties' push for sharply jacking up a proposed extra budget of 14 trillion won ($11.7 billion), citing concerns about fiscal soundness. Ahead of the March presidential election, political parties are calling for a

South Korea and Britain have agreed to launch talks this year to upgrade their free trade deal in a move to deepen ties in digital trade and other new issues, Seoul's trade ministry said Tuesday. The agreement was made during an initial meeting of the South Korea-Britain free trade agreement (FTA) committee in London on Monday. The meeting was attended by South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and Britain's Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan. The two nations cli

South Korean oil refiners' key profitability measure has been rising sharply this year on a global economic recovery, boding well for their earnings, industry sources said Tuesday. The benchmark Singapore complex gross refining margin (GRM) stood at $7.5 per barrel for the first week of this month, up sharply from the $1-2 range a year earlier. Usually, South Korean refiners turn a profit if the refining margin is above at least $4 per barrel. Hit by a plunge in oil demand due to the coronavi

South Korea’s top financial regulator has contracted COVID-19, the Financial Services Commission said Monday. Financial Services Commission Chairman Koh Seung-beom tested positive for the novel coronavirus before noon despite having received three doses of a vaccine, the FSC said in a statement. Koh has no plans to be hospitalized at the moment and is currently self-isolated at home. He has yet to show any signs of severe symptoms, according to the FSC. The financial regulator has supp

SEJONG -- The average yearly wage for foreign workers in South Korea is estimated to have surpassed 30 million won ($25,000) for the first time in 2021, state data showed. The prediction is based on the year-end tax adjustments of foreign employees for their earnings in 2020 and 2019. According to the National Tax Service, about 545,000 foreign employees in the nation carried out year-end tax adjustments for their earnings in 2020. Their average wage posted 29.26 million won per annum, with th

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea fell 22 percent in January from a year earlier as chip shortages continued to disrupt vehicle production, an industry association said Monday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles fell to 17,361 units last month from 22,321 units a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. "Sales declined last month as chip supply issues continued to weigh on vehicle production and there was low

South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo will visit London and Geneva this week to explore ways to enhance trade cooperation with Britain and various international organizations, his office said Monday. During his two-day visit to London beginning Monday, Yeo is scheduled to hold an initial meeting of the South Korea-Britain free trade agreement (FTA) committee with his British counterpart to check the implementation of the bilateral trade pact and plans for negotiations for its possible revisi

South Korea's online food market jumped more than 35 percent to touch an all-time high in 2021 amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. The value of online food transactions in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 58.5 trillion won ($48.8 billion) last year, up 35.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea and industry sources. The tally covers online transactions of food, groceries, farm produce, meat and fisheries goods, as well as food delivery se

South Korea's foreign reserves shrank for the third straight month in January due to a decline in dollar-converted value of holdings in other currencies, central bank data showed Monday. The country's foreign reserves came to $461.5 billion as of end-January, down $1.6 billion from the previous month, according to the data provided by the Bank of Korea (BOK). This marked the third straight month that foreign reserves have contracted since October when the amount hit a record high of $469.2 bil

The proportion of apartments bought by people in their 30s or younger reached an all-time high last year amid "panic buying" over soaring housing prices, data showed Sunday. The buyers of this age group accounted for 31 percent of the country's total apartment sales in 2021, up from 29.2 percent in 2020, according to the data compiled by the Korea Real Estate Board. The agency began compiling the related data in 2019, and the figure for the year came to 28.3 percent. In Seoul, 41.7

Goldman Sachs expects the Bank of Korea to raise its benchmark rate twice more in the second half of this year to 1.75 percent, and later continue hikes to 2.5 percent, according to a report published by the US bank Friday. “We continue to expect the rate curve to steepen along with gradual monetary policy normalization,” the report said. Korea continues to see elevated inflation but the risk is contained by moderating import prices, weakening housing prices, and measures to counte

SEJONG -- The nation’s consumer prices climbed 3 percent or more for the fourth consecutive month, despite the Bank of Korea’s three interest rate hikes between August 2021 and January. Statistics Korea said Friday that consumer prices grew 3.6 percent in January, compared to a year earlier. After the growth breached a 3 percent threshold -- 3.2 percent -- for the first time in more than nine years in October, it rose to 3.8 percent in November and 3.7 percent in December. This mar

South Korea plans to sell 4 trillion won ($3.33 billion) worth of Treasury bills this month to support its fiscal policy, the finance ministry said Friday. The bills, which have a maturity of 63 days, will be sold in three separate auctions in February, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Treasury bills are usually floated to raise money to cover short-term financial shortfalls and are generally sold with a maturity of less than a year. (Yonhap)