South Korea's current account surplus sharply widened in May as exports maintained strong growth and companies received dividends from overseas affiliates, central bank data showed Wednesday. The current account surplus reached $10.97 billion in May, widening from a surplus of $1.91 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade. Since the country logged a deficit of $3.33 billion in April last year, the large

South Korea will take preemptive actions to manage its sovereign debt to maintain sound fiscal health, the country’s top economic policy maker said during an annual consultation meeting with global rating agency Fitch Ratings on Tuesday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the ratio of national debt to gross domestic product is expected to fare better than projected earlier. The government drew up this year’s second supplementary budget without a debt sale and had paid some debts o

South Korea said Tuesday it plans to consider normalizing eased rules on banks' foreign exchange (FX) derivative positions as FX liquidity conditions have improved amid the global economic recovery. In March 2020, the country relaxed rules on banks' FX forward positions after the country's FX and swap markets suffered a severe dollar crunch caused by market routs over the pandemic. Last year, the country raised the cap on the holding of local banks' FX forward positions to 50 percent of their

23% surge seen in Seoul, 33% in Gyeonggi

South Korea's top economic policymaker and the head of the central bank will attend a Group of 20 (G-20) meeting of finance ministers and top central bankers this week, the finance ministry and the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Tuesday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol will head to Venice, Italy, on Wednesday to attend the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' meeting set for Friday and Saturday, according to the ministry and the BOK. The meeting will center on eco

South Korea will lower the maximum interest rate this week as part of efforts to ease financial burdens on low-income people, the financial regulator said Tuesday. The maximum legal interest rate that private lenders can charge will be cut to 20 percent from the current 24 percent Wednesday, according to the Financial Services Commission. It will mark the second cut in the maximum legal interest rate in three years. In 2018, the government cut the lending rate ceiling to 24 percent from 27.9 p

The number of counterfeit South Korean banknotes dropped to a new record low in the first half as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the decline of cash use, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Tuesday. In the January-June period, the number of fake banknotes found here came to 38, down from 161 a year earlier and marking the lowest since the BOK began releasing such data in 2000. By denomination, 5,000-won counterfeit bills accounted for more than half of all counterfeit bills found here, with 22 bil

Online shopping in South Korea hit a record high in May as more people used e-commerce shopping platforms amid the pandemic-induced contactless trend, data showed Tuesday. The value of online shopping transactions stood at 16.1 trillion won ($14 billion) in May, up 26 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The May reading marked the largest since November 2001, when the statistics agency began compiling related data. Amid an economic recovery and a non-conta

SEJONG -- South Korea's exports of agricultural products shot up to set a new record in the first six months of 2021, data showed Tuesday, on the back of stronger global demand for healthier foodstuffs amid the new coronavirus pandemic. Outbound shipments of such goods in the January-June period came to $4.15 billion, up 15.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs. Exports of fresh products advanced 11.4 percent over

A majority of South Korean retailers expect their business conditions to improve further in the third quarter of 2021 than three months earlier as more people get vaccinated against the new coronavirus, a poll showed Tuesday. The Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry said its retail business survey index (RBSI) stood at 106 for the July-September period, up from 103 three months earlier. It marks the second consecutive quarter that the country's RBSI has remained above par. In the second qua

Fiscal chief says national interest comes first over new digital taxes

South Korean auto parts maker Mando Corp. said Monday it has received an "A" environmental, social and governance (ESG) rating form global index provider Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) for its environmentally friendly growth value. Mando said the company is the first among South Korean auto and auto parts manufacturers to have been awarded such an ESG rating by MSCI. MSCI grants an A ESG rating to companies with a mixed or unexceptional track record of managing the most

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea fell 4.2 percent in June from a year earlier amid the extended COVID-19 pandemic, an industry association said Monday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles fell to 26,191 units last month from 27,350 a year ago as the prolonged pandemic weighs on consumer demand, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. The three bestselling models last month were Volkswagen's T-Roc 2.0 TDI SUV, Mercedes-Benz

South Korea said Monday it will provide financial and policy support to local construction firms to help them achieve the $30 billion target of overseas orders this year. The government unveiled a set of comprehensive measures to support local builders as the overseas construction market is expected to rebound this year following slumps caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the finance and land ministries. The global construction market is estimated at $12.4 trillion this year, up 12.2

South Korea's foreign reserves declined in June as the US dollar's strength reduced the value of non-dollar assets, central bank data showed Monday. The nation's foreign reserves came to $454.1 billion as of end-June, down $2.35 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bullion. The FX reserves decli