The daily foreign exchange (FX) trading by banks in South Korea declined 4.7 percent in the third quarter from three months earlier amid the local currency's gain against the US dollar, central bank data showed Wednesday. The daily FX turnover came to an average $49.56 billion in the July-September period, down $2.46 billion from the second quarter, according to the data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). The drop came as an inflow of foreign investors' stock funds slowed amid the won's gain and FX d

SEJONG -- The number of babies born in South Korea slipped 7.8 percent in August from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday, in the latest sign underscoring the low birthrate that has plagued the nation for more than a decade. The data compiled by Statistics Korea showed that 22,472 babies were born in August, compared with 24,371 tallied in the same month of 2019. It marks the lowest number of newborns for any July since the statistics agency started compiling monthly data on newborns in 1981.

South Korean banks' lending rates rebounded for the first time in four months in September amid rising market rates, central bank data showed Wednesday. The average interest rate charged on new bank loans came to 2.66 percent in September, up from 2.63 percent the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The tally marked the first rebound after banks' lending rates declined for the third straight month since June due to the impact of the central bank's policy

South Korea's free trade agreement (FTA) partners have played a key role in helping the country maintain its trade surplus and volume this year amid the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Wednesday. Asia's fourth-largest economy registered a trade surplus of $40.4 billion with its FTA partners in the January-September period, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. In contrast, South Korea posted a $12.8 billion trade deficit with non-FTA partners, resulting in an overa

South Korea's exports of air purifiers and other home cleaning appliances spiked in the first nine months of the year amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Wednesday. Outbound shipments of air purifiers shot up nearly 60 percent on-year to $157 million in the January-September period, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Exports of dishwashers surged 22.5 percent to $169 million over the cited period, and those of clothes dryers rocketed 72 percent to $556 million. Export

South Korea and Russia vowed Wednesday to bolster their ties in the hydrogen industry as both countries seek to utilize more environment-friendly resources and break away from traditional fossil fuels. The consensus was reached in a videoconference between Deputy South Korean Trade Minister Park Ki-young and his Russian counterpart, Aleksandr Morozov, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. "There is great potential for cooperation between South Korea and Russia, which ca

S-Oil Corp., a major oil refiner in South Korea, said Wednesday its third-quarter net profit plunged 41.3 percent from a year earlier due to decreased cracking margins. S-Oil posted a net profit of 30.2 billion won ($26.7 million) in the July-September period, compared with a net profit of 51.5 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. The company said decreased cracking margins caused by weak demand amid the coronavirus pandemic are to blame for the sharp decline i

South Korea said Wednesday it targets doubling the country's current number of companies to be spun off from research institutes to 2,000 by 2025 and creating over 6,000 new positions as part of its efforts to create more jobs. Under the new plan, South Korea seeks to foster the sector in line with its New Deal program designed to create 1.9 million jobs by spending 160 trillion won ($141.6 billion) by 2025. In 2005, South Korea introduced a policy to create such firms with an equity investme

South Korean companies' bond sales rose 12.9 percent in September from a month earlier and their share offerings jumped 49.1 percent, data showed Wednesday. Local businesses raised 16.47 trillion won ($14.6 billion) by selling bonds in September, up 1.88 trillion won from August, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Increased sales of debt by financial and nonfinancial companies led the overall rise, offsetting a fall of 409.3 billion won in the issuance of asset

South Korea's consumer sentiment rose by the most in nearly 12 years in October as the economic outlook improved amid relaxed social distancing measures, central bank data showed Wednesday. The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI) came in at 91.6 for October, up 12.2 points from 79.4 recorded for September, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading marks the largest on-month increase since April 2009 when the index rose by 20.2 points. It also marks the highest mark since Februar

Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo on Tuesday stressed the importance of consumer protection in the coronavirus era amid surging financial investment activities by retail investors taking advantage of ultralow interest rates. “Consumer protection is more important than ever as retail investors have increasingly invested in high-profit financial products amid the low interest rate environment triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Financial Services Commission C

BOK calls for prudence amid uncertainties; finance minister expresses hope for recovery

Doosan Mobility Innovation (DMI), a producer of portable fuel cell power packs for drones, said Tuesday it will make inroads overseas to expand its presence in the power cable-checking system. To that end, DMI signed a preliminary deal with the Korea Electric Power Research Institute (KEPRI), a R&D subsidiary of the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), the company said. Under the deal, both sides plan to share their patent technologies and sales networks, and KEPRI's automated p

Corporate ownership of land in South Korea has been on a steady rise in recent years amid rising criticism of conglomerates' real estate investment, government data showed Tuesday. South Korean companies owned 6.953 square kilometers of land in 2019, up 1.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. It represents 11.3 percent of the country's total land area, up from a 10.1 percent share in 2012. Corporate land ownership had bee

Business sentiment in South Korea improved for November as domestic consumption expands on eased social distancing rules amid the coronavirus pandemic, a local think tank said Tuesday.   The business survey index (BSI) of the country's top 600 companies by sales came to 99.5 for November, up from the 84.6 for October, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement. "Eased social distancing rules have helped improve companies' profitability. But it's too early