South Korea temporarily lowered fuel taxes Friday in an effort to ease the impact of surging oil prices on the country's consumer inflation and people's lives. Government officials said the 20 percent reduction in taxes on gasoline, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will remain in place for six months until the end of April next year. Under the move, the fuel tax on gasoline drops to 656 won ($0.55) per liter from 820 won, with that on diesel falling to 466 won from 582 won. Taxes accou

South Korea’s central bank chief said Thursday that the economy is likely to see faster-than-expected inflation for the time being, due to the global supply bottleneck and the spike in oil prices. In an opening speech at an economic meeting with investment bankers and experts, Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol pointed to the nation’s spiking consumer prices, which gained 3.2 percent on-year -- the sharpest rise since January 2012, when the corresponding figure stood at 3.3 percent.

The South Korean economy is forecast to grow 3 percent next year as private spending is likely to pull off a robust recovery amid the vaccine rollout, the Korea Development Institute (KDI) said Thursday. KDI's 2022 growth outlook, which remained unchanged from its estimate in May, is on par with the 3 percent growth estimates by the government and the Bank of Korea (BOK). The International Monetary Fund forecast 3.4 percent growth for Korea. "On the back of the COVID-19 vaccination drive,

South Korea's exports grew 29.3 percent on-year in the first 10 days of November on the back of solid demand for chips and petroleum products, customs data showed Thursday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $18.3 billion in the Nov. 1-10 period, compared with $14.1 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports jumped 59 percent on-year to $21.2 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $2.98 billion during the cited period, the data showed. By se

South Korea's economy remains on a recovery path driven by robust exports but faces an expanded "unknowable uncertainty" associated with global supply chain disruptions and concerns over inflation, the country's central bank chief said Thursday. Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol made the remarks in a meeting with economic experts from major think tanks, adding that next year will be an "important turning point" toward a "new balance" after a prolonged fight against th

The number of employed people in South Korea grew for the eighth straight month in October, marking the lowest unemployment rate in eight years and signaling a gradual recovery in the country’s labor market from the effects of the pandemic, data showed Wednesday. According to the data from Statistics Korea, the number of hired workers surged by 652,000 on-year to 27.7 million, showing a continual increase since March. Unemployment was 2.8 percent, down from 3.7 percent last year -- the l

South Korea's central bank chief will hold a meeting with economic experts this week to exchange views on recent economic trends, officials said Wednesday. Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol will meet seven economic experts from major think tanks, including the Samsung Economic Research Institute, at a Seoul hotel Thursday, according to the bank officials. Lee occasionally held the "discussion on economic trends" with experts from various economic sectors, but no such meetings have been

The steelmaking conglomerate Posco has promised to create 25,000 new jobs over the next three years as part of the government's youth job and education support project, the Prime Minister's Office said Wednesday. Posco and its affiliates will hire 14,000 people annually for three consecutive years and run support programs for partners and startups to recruit 11,000 people over that period. The plan was revealed during a partnership announcement event between Posco and the Prime Minister's Offi

The pace of household debt growth in South Korea slowed down in October, while the yields on both short-term 3-year and benchmark 10-year Treasury notes saw gains in the same period, data showed Wednesday. The outstanding household loans extended by banks here gained 5.2 trillion won ($4.3 billion) on-month to 1,057.9 trillion won, Bank of Korea data showed. The gain was less sharper compared with a 6.4 trillion won on-month gain observed in September, an on-year increase of 10.6 trillion won

South Korean banks' loans to households grew at a slower pace in October, central bank data showed Wednesday, amid the government's tightened regulations on lending amid worries about soaring household debt. Banks' household loans stood at 1,057.9 trillion won ($897.3 billion) as of end-October, up 5.2 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea. The on-month growth slowed from a 6.4 trillion won rise in September. It is also much smaller than an increase of 1

Bond issuance in South Korea rose sharply in October from the previous month due to increased debt sales by financial firms and the government, data showed Wednesday. The value of bonds sold in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 65.4 trillion won ($55.4 billion) last month, up 8.4 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. Last month's increase compares with a 9.6 trillion-won on-month plunge recorded in September. Sales of fi

The members of the South Korean central bank's rate-setting board have voiced concerns inflation could be higher than current levels if housing costs are taken into consideration, minutes from the latest policy meeting showed Wednesday. The Bank of Korea issued the minutes of the Oct. 12 meeting when its seven-member board held its key policy rate unchanged at 0.75 percent. "In August, the consumer prices in the US grew 5.3 percent, much higher than a 2.6 percent rise in our country, whic

South Korean multiplex operators suffered huge losses in the third quarter amid the protracted COVID-19 pandemic, but their bottomline is expected to improve thanks to the nationwide move to return to normalcy, financial data showed Wednesday. CJ CGV, the No. 1 multiplex operator under the wing of entertainment giant CJ Group, said its operating loss reached 77.5 billion won ($65.7 million) over the July-September period, narrowing from an operating deficit of 96.8 billion won a year ago. Its

South Korea's exports to India shrank 3.5 percent in the first nine months of this year from 2019 due to import controls and a delay in the recovery of the emerging economy, a top business lobby said Wednesday. Overseas shipments to Asia's third-largest economy came to $11.41 billion in the January-September period, compared with $11.82 billion during the same period two years earlier, according to the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI). The decline contrasts with a 16.5 percent on-year sur

South Korea reported job additions for the eighth straight month in October in the latest sign the country's economic recovery has continued despite the fourth wave of the pandemic, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people reached 27.74 million last month, 652,000 more than a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The reading was lower than an on-year increase of 671,000 in September when South Korea reported the largest job additions in more than seven y