The head of South Korea's central bank will head to Switzerland this week to attend a Bank for International Settlement meeting, the Bank of Korea said Thursday.BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol will head to Basel on Friday for the meeting of governors from 60 BIS member central banks. The bimonthly meeting will be held Sunday and Monday."During the meeting, Gov. Lee will discuss current conditions facing the global economy and financial market," the bank said."Also as a member of the BIS Boar

South Korea faced more trade barriers last year amid growing protectionism around the globe spearheaded by the US-China trade war, with steel and chemical industries being primary victims, data showed Thursday.The number of newly added import regulations targeting South Korean goods reached 41 cases in 2019, doubling from just 20 cases a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association.The trade barrier includes anti-dumping tariff, countervailing duty an

Korea’s financial authorites bolster monitoring amid Iran’s retaliation

But government reduces amount of budget to be spent in first half, citing time constraints

South Korea's state tax income reached 276.6 trillion won ($234.8 billion) in the first 11 months of last year, 3.3 trillion won less than the previous year, the finance ministry said Wednesday.Tax revenue was tallied at 16.2 trillion won in November last year, 300 billion won less compared with a year earlier. Income tax revenue amounted to 10.9 trillion won in November last year, 1 trillion won more than a year earlier, due to a rise in wages. Dues collected by companies were unchanged at 1.5

Strategic oil reserves may be released if necessary

South Korea said Tuesday that foreigners are also subject to tightened mortgage rules in a move to plug any possible loopholes in its efforts to stabilize home prices.The Financial Supervisory Service said the tightened mortgage rules are being applied to both South Koreans and foreigners.Under last year's measures, mortgage loans will be banned when buying a house worth over 1.5 billion won ($1.3 million) in "speculative and overheated speculative" areas, and the loan-to-value ratio f

South Korea’s current account surplus came to $5.97 billion in November, marking a surplus for the seventh consecutive month, amid sluggish exports, data from the Bank of Korea showed Tuesday.The central bank’s preliminary data showed that the nation’s current account surplus in November grew $840 million. It recorded a surplus in May 2019 after posting a deficit in the previous month. The surplus in November marks the first on-year surplus growth in nine months.  The grow

South Korea's exchange traded fund market posted solid growth last year, with net assets of ETFs surpassing 50 trillion won ($42.9 billion) for the first time, the bourse operator said Tuesday.The net asset value of the country's ETFs increased 26.1 percent last year from a year earlier to amount to 51.7 trillion won, according to the Korea Exchange .Representing a basket of stocks that reflect an index, an ETF can be traded on stock exchanges, allowing more flexibility in making investments and

South Korea will spare no efforts to help conclude a mega Asia-Pacific trade deal by the end of this year by forging deeper ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as the country strives to revitalize its ailing exports, Seoul's trade ministry said Tuesday.In line with the efforts, Yeo Han-koo, deputy minister for trade negotiations, plans to visit the headquarters of ASEAN in Indonesia on Wednesday to meet the regional bloc's Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi, according to the Minist

South Korea's current account surplus grew from a year earlier in November as its service account deficit narrowed, while its primary income account surplus expanded, central bank data showed Tuesday.The country's current account surplus came to $5.97 billion in the month, up $840 million from the same month last year, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.November marks the seventh consecutive month the country's current account has been in black. The figure, however, marks a dro

South Korea's financial watchdog said Monday that it will give more time to six banks to decide whether to accept a proposal meant to resolve disputes over currency-related derivatives.The move came two days before a deadline by which the six banks are required to decide whether to accept and honor the arbitration proposal by the dispute settlement board of the Financial Supervisory Service.The watchdog has said the deadline can be extended if requested by the relevant parties. So far, none of t

Debt incurred by households and self-employed businesses in South Korea is estimated to surpass 2,000 trillion won ($1,713 billion) as of September last year, according to central bank data on Sunday. Outstanding household loans came to 1,481 trillion won at the end of last September, up 13.6 trillion won from three months earlier, the Bank of Korea data showed. Debt incurred by self-employed businesses reached 670 trillion won at the end of last September, up 16.3 trillion won from three months

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Friday called for banks and other financial firms to improve their risk management processes and channel more funds into the real economy. Hong made the remarks at a meeting for the new year with heads of economic and financial institutions, including Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol and Finance Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo. "The trend of an economic recovery is anticipated for this year, but we must remain vigilant due to uncertainties over the gl

The head of South Korea's central bank on Friday called for efforts by the financial industry to prepare for the fourth industrial revolution, as well as imminent demographic changes that he said will increasingly become bigger and more serious."It is not easy to predict changes that will come over the next decade. But it is easy to expect that the impact of changes in population and technological developments will become much greater while this trend of a new normal continues," Bank o