South Korea vowed Tuesday to tighten regulations on stock short selling to stabilize the market amid increased volatility caused by the spread of the new coronavirus, and also the sudden drop in global oil prices. “As a market stabilizing action, (the government) will alleviate the requisites for (designating) overheated short selling and expand the transaction ban period (for these stocks),” Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki was quoted as saying in a minist

Young South Korean students' spending on private education spiked to a 10-year high in 2019, data from the Ministry of Education and Statistics Korea showed Tuesday, reflecting undiminished parental enthusiasm for their children's academic achievements. Elementary, middle and high school students spent 20.99 trillion won ($17.6 billion) on private education last year, up 7.8 percent from the previous year's 19.48 trillion won and marking the largest amount since 2009, when 21.6 trillion won wa

Will cash transfer to citizens for tackling COVID-19 get Korea’s economy back on track?

Government vows ‘zero tolerance’ for mask hoarders after grace period

The Bank of Korea said Monday that it had appointed Lee Hwan-seok, the incumbent head of its research department, as its new deputy governor, a senior post within the central bank that had been vacant for nearly two months. Lee, 55, joined the BOK in 1991 and built his career in its policy departments, including research and monetary policy, the bank said. He also served as monetary policy board secretariat within the bank’s planning and coordination department and chief of staff withi

South Korea and Japan plan to hold another meeting this week to discuss their monthslong trade dispute, but they are unlikely to reach a compromise anytime soon as the global outbreak of the new coronavirus has led to more jitters in the bilateral relationship. The two Asian neighbors are set to hold their first trade meeting in around three months on Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. While the meeting was planned to be held in Seoul, it was later replaced with

The outbreak of the new coronavirus here may further undermine South Korea's economic growth if it is lasts for a significant amount of time, reports suggested Monday, while some said the virus may already have nearly halved the country's economic growth. "Household spending in Japan and Korea are set to weaken further and slower growth in the US and Europe will add to external headwinds," S&P Global Ratings said in an article titled "COVID-19 Now Threatens More Damage to As

Assuming the worst-case scenario regarding the ongoing new coronavirus outbreak, South Korea could see its GDP contract by as much as 1 percent this year, according to the Asian Development Bank. In its latest report “The Economic Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Developing Asia,” the multilateral agency suggested four possible scenarios to assess the economic fallout that the fast-spreading epidemic may have on major Asian economies. The categories were classified into

FSS’ lack of legal authority creates uncertainties in the financial sector

Critics blame central bank for ‘complacent’ approach to coronavirus crisis

Price for 80 percent of masks set at 1,500 won, ID check mandatory for purchase

  South Korea's current account surplus narrowed sharply in January on shrinking exports, central bank data showed Thursday. The country's current account surplus came to $1.01 billion in the month, compared with a surplus of $4.33 billion the previous month and a $3.3 billion surplus the same month last year, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The drop was largely attributed to a dip in South Korea's goods account surplus, which shrank to $1.93 billion in January from $5

  South Korea’s financial watchdog is likely to slap sanctions on the tobacco giant KT&G over accounting fraud allegations, according to officials Wednesday.  The Financial Supervisory Service sent a preliminary notice to KT&G last month, concluding that the firm violated financial reporting standards by reporting its Indonesian affiliate Trisakti in its consolidated financial statements even though it exerts no actual influence. The notice, which recommends prosecuto

South Korea’s central bank on Wednesday decided to hold its base rate at 1.25 percent for the time being, but hinted at a possible rate cut following the US Federal Reserve’s emergency action on mounting COVID-19 fears. The US central bank cut its base rates to a target range of 1 percent to 1.25 percent earlier in the day, in a move prompted by risks stemming from the novel coronavirus outbreak. This marks the first such emergency move since the 2008 financial crisis. “The

Govt. allocates three-quarters to expenditures as economic stimulus