South Korea's manufacturing industry saw its added value shrink at the fastest clip in 21 years in 2019 on falling prices of chips and other key products, government data showed Friday. The added value of the country's manufacturing and mining sectors came to 559.8 trillion won ($507 billion) last year, down 1.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It was the largest annualized contraction since the 2.1 percent fall recorded in 1998 in the wake of the count

South Korean institutions' investments in foreign securities rose in the third quarter from three months earlier as global financial markets recovered from pandemic-driven losses, central bank data showed Friday. The combined value of foreign securities held by institutional investors came to $345.4 billion as of end-September, up $8.9 billion from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked a gain for the second straight quarter after a $9.5 billion fall in the firs

South Korean banks' lending rates stayed flat in October, despite rising market rates, central bank data showed Friday. The average interest rate charged on new bank loans came to 2.66 percent in October, unchanged from the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). In September, banks' lending rates rose for the first time in four months. The rates declined for the third straight month since June due to the impact of the central bank's policy rate cut in May.

SEJONG -- Foreign ownership of South Korean land has continued to increase over the past few years, data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport showed. As of December 2019 foreigners owned 248.6 million square meters of land, or 248.6 square kilometers, which is the latest figure available. This was a 3 percent increase from a year earlier in terms of land owned, as opposed to the value of the real estate. Compared with December 2016, when the figure was 233.5 million square m

Govt seeks to include food delivery apps in dining coupon program amid social distancing

Central bank holds interest rate steady at record low in a year-end move

South Korea said Thursday it plans to reduce the operation of some coal-powered plants over the winter in line with efforts to cut the emission of fine dust. Under the plan, the country will halt the operation of from nine to 16 coal-powered plants over the season, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy. Other plants will be required to maintain their power output at 80 percent of capacity depending on demand. South Korea first adopted the reduction scheme last year. Throug

The South Korean central bank on Thursday held its policy rate unchanged at a record low of 0.5 percent, while slightly revising up this year's economic outlook, amid growing concerns over a winter wave of coronavirus infections. As expected, the monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea (BOK) voted to leave the base rate steady in this year's final rate-setting meeting. Driven by signs of a modest recovery in exports, the BOK revised up this year's economic growth outlook to 1.1 percent cont

Nonperforming loans at South Korean banks edged down in the third quarter from three months earlier due to a decline in overdue corporate loans, data showed Thursday. Nonperforming loans came to 14.1 trillion won ($12.7 billion) at the end of September, down 900 billion won from the end of June, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Overdue corporate loans reached 12 trillion won at the end of September, compared with 12.8 trillion won from a quarter earlier, the

South Korea's exports are expected to rebound by rising 6.6 percent on-year in November following a brief fall in the previous month, on the back of stronger demand for chips and automobiles, a poll showed Thursday. The country's outbound shipments are estimated to reach $46.9 billion this month, according to the poll by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. The survey was conducted on eight local brokerage houses. Imports were estimated at $40.3 billion this month, res

Household expenditure on alcohol and cigarettes hit a new high in the July-September period, data showed Wednesday, with the “stay-at-home” situation amid the coronavirus pandemic apparently fueling the spending. Monthly spending on tobacco and liquor by local households of two or more people gained 10.7 percent on-year to an average 42,980 won ($38.70), in the three-month period, data compiled by Statistics Korea showed. The figure marks the largest since the government started

South Korea's terms of trade rose for the seventh consecutive month in October, as import prices fell at a faster pace than export prices, central bank data showed Wednesday. The nation's net terms-of-trade index for goods -- a gauge of trade terms -- came in at 97.76 in October, up 7.6 percent from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the seventh straight month of an on-year rise since April, when the trade terms posted the first on-year gain

South Koreans' overseas card spending plunged 54.8 percent on-year in the third quarter on a sharp decline in the number of outbound travelers amid the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday. The amount of money spent overseas by South Koreans with cards, including credit and debit cards, totaled $2.17 billion in the July-September period, compared with $4.79 billion for the same period last year, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Compared with three months ea

South Korea said Wednesday it has joined forces with local shippers to operate five additional vessels by the end of this year to lend hands to exporters facing troubles from a hike in freight costs and supply shortages in shipping services. Under the cooperation with local shippers, South Korea will begin using the five ships that have a total capacity to carry 16,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) worldwide through the special shipping schedules by the end of this year, according to the M

SEJONG -- South Korea's household spending on alcohol and cigarettes reached a new record high in the third quarter as the coronavirus outbreak forced more people to stay home, government data showed Wednesday. Local households spent an average of 42,980 won ($38.7) on liquors and cigarettes during the July-September period, up 10.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marks the largest quarterly amount since the agency began tracking related data in 200