South Korean consumers are ramping up credit and debit card balances and their spending could exceed 1,000 trillion won ($832 billion) for the first time this year, data showed Friday. South Koreans spent 977 trillion won on credit and debit cards last year, up 10 percent from the previous year. The uptrend in spending has been the norm since 2018, when it totaled at 810 trillion won, according to the Credit Finance Association, a group of local card companies. “COVID-19 is accelerating

Card spending in South Korea rose more than 10 percent in 2021 from a year earlier amid the coronavirus pandemic, industry data showed Friday. Spending made with credit, debit and prepaid cards stood at about 977 trillion won ($811 billion) last year, up 10.3 percent from the same quarter a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Credit Finance Association. Card spending in Asia's fourth-largest economy has been on a steady increase in recent years with the annualized growth rate r

South Korea's consumer prices rose more than 3 percent for the fourth consecutive month in January due mainly to high prices of oil products and dining out amid soaring energy prices and a global supply chain crisis, data showed Friday. The consumer prices advanced 3.6 percent on-year last month, compared with a 3.7 percent gain in December, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The country's consumer inflation has increased more than 3 percent every month since October last year

South Korea’s central bank said Thursday that the global market was relatively stable during the three-day Lunar New Year holiday this week, but external risks remain high on the Korean market. “During the Lunar New Year holiday, which took place this year from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, stocks and rates in major economies rose, alongside a weak dollar trend, due to easing of the global risk-avoidance tendencies,” BOK Senior Deputy Gov. Lee Seung-heon said after a meeting to review th

K-Bank, a South Korean internet-only bank, on Thursday reported its first profit since its launch in 2017 thanks to a sharp increase in customers and interest income. Net profit came to 22.4 billion won ($18.6 million) in 2021, a turnaround from a loss of 105.4 billion won a year earlier, according to the company's interim earnings report. This marked the first annual net profit that the internet-only bank has posted since it was launched in 2017. K-Bank is controlled by a consortium of teleco

Online shopping in South Korea hit a record high in 2021, led by strong demand for food delivery services and electronics amid the pandemic, data showed Thursday. The value of online shopping transactions stood at 192.9 trillion won ($160 billion) last year, up 21 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the largest value since the statistics agency began compiling related data in 2001. Purchases made through smartphones, tablets and other mobile

South Korean builders' business sentiment hit the lowest level in one year and five months in January due to seasonal and several negative factors, a poll showed Thursday. The country's construction business survey index (CBSI) stood at 74.6 last month, down 17.9 points from the previous month, according to the survey by the Construction and Economy Research Institute of Korea. The January figure was the lowest mark in 17 months and represented the first on-month decline in three months. The i

South Korea's air passenger traffic fell 7.7 percent in 2021 from a year earlier due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the transport ministry said Thursday. A total of 36.36 million passengers, including 3.21 million on international routes, flew with full-service and low-cost carriers in 2021 mainly for business purposes, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The number of passengers on international routes plunged 78 percent on-year last year as countries maintai

South Korea will earmark 841 billion won ($697.4 million) for research and development of key materials and parts this year in a move to reduce dependency on foreign supplies and boost competitiveness of local industries, the industry ministry said Thursday. It is up 22 percent from last year's budget, as the country has been ramping up efforts to nurture the materials and parts industry, particularly after Japan's control on exports of key products in 2019. Of the budget, 321.8 billion won wi

South Korea should stay vigilant on the possibility of heightening financial market volatility amid persistent worries over inflation in major economies and other risk factors, though the markets showed signs of stability in recent days, a senior central bank official said Thursday. The Bank of Korea (BOK) held a meeting to monitor global financial market situations following the five-day Lunar New Year holiday that ended on Wednesday during which local stock and currency markets were closed. T

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday the country's housing prices are expected to pick up their declining pace amid the central bank's rate hike and tighter lending rules. Hong said the government is committed to implementing its current real estate policy with a focus on increasing the home supply in a bid to stabilize housing prices. "We think housing prices need to undergo a downward correction to some degree, given that home prices have excessively risen. The government plans to

The ratio of the self-employed and other nonwage workers in South Korea touched an all-time low in 2021 amid the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Thursday. Asia's fourth-largest economy had 6.52 million unsalaried workers as of the end of December last year, marking the 23rd consecutive year of decline, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The number accounted for 23.9 percent of the country's total employed people, the lowest tally since data tracking began in 1963.

South Korea's new vehicle registrations fell 9 percent last year from a year earlier as chip shortages affected vehicle production and sales, the transport ministry said Wednesday. The number of newly registered vehicles declined 173,000 units to 17.43 million in 2021 from 19.16 million a year ago, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement. Of the annual total, registrations of locally produced passenger cars fell 11 percent to 14.29 million last year from 1.60 mil

South Korea faced a reduced number of import curbs from trade partners last year for the first time in a decade amid the pandemic, a trade body said Wednesday. The country was subject to 206 import regulations from 28 countries as of end-December, down 22 from a year earlier amid a decline in global trade during the pandemic, according to a report from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). It marks the first on-year decline from the largest-ever number of import restrictions tar

　 The employment rate of the nation’s full-time employees working 40 hours a week has remained in the 50 percent rage for two consecutive years, raising concerns over deteriorating labor market amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, a lawmaker said Monday.  The “full-time equivalent” employment rate for 2021 posted 58.8 percent, nearly unchanged from 58.6 percent estimated a year earlier, according to Rep. Yoo Gyeong-joon of the main opposition People Power Party, citing