Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho on Thursday reiterated his call for local truckers to return to work, stressing that their strike is causing severe damage to the country's economy, already hurt by uncertainties. The remark came after South Korea invoked a return-to-work order on truckers of the cement industry earlier on Tuesday, as thousands of truckers have been on strike since last week, demanding the government guarantee what they call a "wage for safe operation." "If (the

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Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang met with Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong on Monday and discussed the economic situation amid high inflation and interest rates, the industry ministry said. During their first one-on-one meeting, the officials reviewed difficulties in the real economy weighed down by high prices, interest rates and the weak local currency, and agreed on close consultations to help overcome challenges, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. South Korean compani

South Korea plans to reduce the issuance of bonds by state-run companies, the finance ministry said Monday, in line with the country's efforts to stabilize the bond market hit by uncertainties. The plan was announced during an emergency meeting of economy-related ministers in Seoul earlier in the day, presided over by Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. "Under cooperation with the banking sector, we will seek to have state-run organizations

The Bank of Korea raised its policy rate by 25 basis points Thursday, returning to its usual pace of tightening as growth and credit markets falter in the face of 24-year-high inflation running close to three times the central bank’s 2 percent target. The unanimous decision the seven-member board reached to put the current rate at 3.25 percent -- a rise of 275 basis points since August last year -- underscored the central bank’s commitment to more increases despite their impact on gr

South Korea's inflation expectations edged down on-month in November ahead of the Bank of Korea's widely-anticipated rate increase this week aimed at bringing price growth under control, a central bank survey showed Tuesday. Ordinary people predicted that consumer prices will grow 4.2 percent over the next year, down 0.1 percentage point from 4.3 percent surveyed the previous month, according to the poll the BOK conducted early this month. The figures are closely watched as their upwar

South Korea's exports fell 16.7 percent on-year in the first 20 days of November due mainly to weak outbound shipments of chips and mobile devices, data showed Monday. The country's monthly exports stood at $33.2 billion in the Nov. 1-20 period, compared with $39.8 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports also went down 5.5 percent on-year to $37.6 billion during the cited period, resulting in a trade deficit of $4.4 billion. South Korea had

South Korea plans to draw up a five-year development plan for the country's service industry in line with its efforts to foster new growth engines amid protracted economic challenges, the finance minister said Friday. "Recently, various cultural and entertainment content, such as BTS and 'Squid Game,' have gained popularity around the globe, emerging as new growth and export engines," Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said during a meeting with economy-related ministers. &q

South Korea under greater pressure to reduce dependency on China

South Korea's imports of kimchi touched an all-time monthly high in October amid runaway inflation in the country, government data showed Wednesday. Inbound shipments of the spicy Korean traditional side dish stood at a record $17.02 million last month, up 50.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. It was also up 16.2 percent from the previous month and marked the first time for South Korea's monthly kimchi imports to surpass the $17 million

South Korea’s import prices rose annually at their slowest pace in 15 months in October, fueling speculation over an inflation peak ahead of the central bank’s rate hike next week -- the last one for the year in the face of 24-year-high inflation. Preliminary data from the Bank of Korea showed Tuesday that import prices rose 19.8 percent, at the slowest rate since July 2021, though they edged up for the second straight month in October on higher energy import costs. The depreciating

South Korea's import prices rose for the second straight month in October on high energy prices and the weak local currency that drove up overall import bills, central bank data showed Tuesday. The import price index rose 1.5 percent in October from a month earlier, following a 3.4 percent on-month increase in September, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. Compared with a year earlier, the index jumped 19.8 percent. The BOK attributed the increase to high crude oil pri

South Korea’s top financial watchdog said Monday that the local banking giants should seek more transparency in how they elect their chief executives, a week after the Financial Supervisory Service’s disciplinary move against one of the chiefs over “junk funds.” The chief of Woori Financial Group -- one of the five biggest banking groups -- is now banned from holding a job in finance for up to five years as part of punishment for having sold funds the regulator says shoul

South Koreans' working hours may have decreased by 10 percent compared to a decade ago, but the country still works longer hours than most of its OECD peers, ranking fifth among them, data found Monday. According to the recent OECD's data, Koreans worked 1,915 hours last year, the fifth-longest among 38 OECD member countries. The hours marked a 10.3 percent decline from 10 years earlier, when the country topped the list with 2,136 hours in 2011. Despite the decrease in average annual hours worke

A monetary policymaker of the Bank of Korea on Friday underlined the need for "simple" and "direct" communication when the central bank tries to send signals to the market on its future policy directions. Park Ki-young, one of the BOK's seven-member monetary policy board that determines the key policy interest rate, also raised the need for more research for the central bank's effective communication with market participants. "Such practical restrictions as the