SEJONG -- South Korea said Wednesday it is still open to talks with Japan to settle the yearlong trade spat with the Asian neighbor but hinted that it has no intention to drop its complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO). "We are always open to talks and communications with Japan. But we have not yet received any requests from Tokyo," Na Seung-sik, deputy minister for trade and investment at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said during a meeting with reporters. &qu

South Korean insurance companies saw their financial health worsen slightly in the first quarter as share price falls eroded capital, data showed Wednesday. The risk-based capital (RBC) ratio of insurance firms stood at 267.2 percent at the end of March, down 2.4 percentage points from three months earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). A key yardstick of financial stability, the RBC ratio -- the actual solvency capital divided by the minimum solvency cap

South Korea's exports fell 10.9 percent in June marking the fourth consecutive month of decline amid the fallout from the new coronavirus pandemic, data showed Wednesday, although the pace slowed as major economies around the globe slowly began to resume business activities. Outbound shipments came to $39.2 billion last month, compared with $44 billion posted a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The June tally marked the fourth straight

South Korea’s coincident index -- that summarizes current economic conditions -- plunged to the lowest level in 21 years in May amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data from Statistics Korea showed Tuesday. The nation’s industrial output slipped 1.2 percent on-month as well, remaining in the negative terrain since January, when the outbreak of the virus here broke its gain throughout the fourth-quarter of last year. Investment in infrastructure dropped 5.9 percent in the same period. Th

Lending rates on fresh bank loans rose slightly from a month earlier in May amid a sharp increase in corporate lending, while interest rates paid by banks on fresh deposits fell sharply on increased market liquidity, central bank data showed Tuesday. The average interest rate on new bank loans came to 2.82 percent in the month, up 2 basis points from 2.8 percent in April, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The slight increase follows four consecutive months of drop, p

SEJONG -- Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki n Tuesday called for the National Assembly to swiftly approve a third extra budget to revive the virus-hit economy, saying the budget would benefit more than 6.4 million people if implemented. Hong made the remarks in a parliamentary speech as the National Assembly ended a monthlong standstill and the ruling Democratic Party paved the way for a budget review. Earlier this month, South Korea proposed the extra budget of 35.3 trillion won ($29 billion),

South Korea and Russia started another round of negotiations Tuesday to clinch a free trade agreement (FTA) in the service and investment sectors. During the videoconferences that run through Monday, the two will narrow down differences on details in the two segments, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Seoul and Moscow first launched their FTA negotiations in June last year to lower barriers for the service and investment segments. South Korea has been making efforts to

SEJONG -- South Korea's industrial output extended its slump in May as the coronavirus pandemic disrupted supply chains, but retail sales reported a robust gain, data showed Tuesday. The nation's overall industrial production fell 1.2 percent on-month in May, following a 2.8 percent on-month plunge in April, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea. Compared with a year earlier, overall industrial production also plunged 5.6 percent in May. Production in the mining, manufacturing, gas

South Korea is expected to see an accelerated slowdown of its potential economic growth rate, with domestic and global economic structures facing radical transformation in the post-coronavirus era, the central bank said Monday. “Due to COVID-19, Korea’s potential growth rate faces a sharp decline, with changes in economic structures regarding labor, trade and industries coupled with sluggish input of factors linked to labor and capital,” the Bank of Korea said in its latest r

SEOUL/GENEVA -- The World Trade Organization (WTO) plans to discuss the establishment of a panel to deal with the year-long trade row between South Korea and Japan, after Seoul reopened the case at the Geneva-based trade body amid a lack of progress in their bilateral talks. The WTO's Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) meeting over the panel establishment is slated for later in the day, according to trade officials here. But the panel is not likely to be opened immediately, as Japan is widely expe

The new coronavirus pandemic will likely have a lasting effect on various ways of life, such as where and how people shop, possibly leading to permanent changes in the global economy and trade, a central bank report suggested Monday. Some of the changes may be for the better for some countries, but some may be for the worse for others, it insisted. "The COVID-19 pandemic may not stop at causing an economic slump globally but is highly likely to cause changes in the behavior of economic a

South Korean companies' stock and bond sales rose 40.1 percent in May from a month earlier, due mainly to a hike in sales of corporate debt, data showed Monday. Local companies raised a combined 16.07 trillion won ($13.4 billion) by selling stocks and bonds in May, up 4.6 trillion won from April, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The hike is mainly attributable to the 39.2 percent on-month increase in debt offerings to 15.89 trillion won, the FSS said. Last

Countries all over the world have been rolling out large fiscal stimulus packages in response to the COVID-19 economic crisis. Some are using this as an opportunity to promote policies linked to environmentally sustainable growth, and build a greener, cleaner, and more resilient economy. The European Union announced a COVID-19 recovery package that places climate change at the center of what is considered the largest green stimulus program in history. By recently announcing its own recovery pl

South Korean financial authorities on Sunday said that illegal money lenders cannot impose annual interest rates of more than 6 percent, in a move to protect consumers in the pandemic-hit economy. The Financial Services Commission (FSC), the country's financial regulator, drafted a new set of regulations that lowers the maximum annual interest rate on loans extended by unregistered lenders to 6 percent from the current 24 percent. The modifications to related laws will be submitted to the Na

South Korea will begin to implement new global bank capital rules this month, the country's financial regulator said Sunday, a move that could boost capital adequacy ratios of South Korean banks. The banking regulations, known as Basel III, were agreed upon by financial regulators around the world in 2017. The new rules, including revisions to calculation systems for capital requirements and credit risks, were set in the aftermath of the 2008-09 global financial crisis. The Financial Service