An absolute majority of bond mavens in South Korea expect the country's central bank to raise its key interest by a quarter point in August in line with the US Federal Reserve's hawkish stance, a poll showed Tuesday. According to the survey of 100 bond experts by the Korea Financial Investment Association, 97 of the respondents forecast the Bank of Korea (BOK) to jack up its policy rate at a policy meeting slated for Thursday. Of the total, 91 percent predicted a 0.25 percentage-point

South Korea's inflation expectations declined for the first time in eight months in August, amid hopes that the country's fast-rising inflation hike may peak later this year, a central bank survey showed Tuesday. Ordinary people expected consumer prices will grow 4.3 percent over the next year, which was down from an all-time high of 4.7 percent a month ago, according to the poll conducted by the Bank of Korea (BOK). This marked the first monthly decline since December 2021. "Consumer senti

EJONG -- The Yoon Suk-yeol administration would drastically reduce South Korea’s fiscal deficit starting from next year by restricting expansionary policies to improve the nation‘s fiscal soundness. According to government officials on Monday, the Ministry of Economy and Finance has set the goal of slashing the ratio of fiscal deficit to gross domestic product to 3 percent or under -- the first time in four years -- in its national budget plan for 2023. In addition, the Finance Mi

South Korea's exports rose 3.9 percent on-year in the first 20 days of August on robust demand for petroleum products and autos, but the country saw its trade deficit widen on soaring fuel costs, data showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $33.4 billion in the Aug. 1-20 period, compared with $32.2 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports jumped 22.1 percent on-year to $43.6 billion during the cited period, resulting in a

Self-employed people and small businesses who have suffered major economic disruptions due to the pandemic will receive government support in writing off their debts as long as they pass a thorough screening process, the Financial Services Commission said Thursday. The plan -- revealed earlier to help the group repay loans they had taken out since the pandemic -- aims to reduce their debts, which the agency says needs to happen now because they could soon go bankrupt. But critics have said too

South Korea will expand economic cooperation with African countries and promote local businesses’ advancement into the continent, the nation’s top economic policymaker said Friday. At a ministerial meeting to discuss operation plans for the Economic Development Cooperation Fund in Seoul, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said the nation “is seeking to find new trading partners in Africa, whose growth potential is big.” He expressed hopes that Kore

South Korea said Friday it plans to preemptively tackle a rise in the short-term foreign debt and volatility of cross-border capital flows as heightened external economic uncertainty could pose risks to its external soundness. The government also said the pace of the South Korean currency's weakness against the US dollar is not steep, compared with other major currencies such as the yen and the euro. "South Korea's external soundness remains relatively good even in the midst of he

South Korea's economy is feared to lose growth momentum as the country is grappling with high inflation and export growth could slow down amid heightened external economic uncertainty, the finance ministry said Friday. The Federal Reserve's fast rate hikes, China's economic slowdown, and the protracted war between Russia and Ukraine have increased downside risks to the global economy, the ministry said in its monthly economic assessment report, called the Green Book. "Domesti

SEJONG -- The number of state-run agencies are expected to be reduced substantially under a government plan to streamline efficiency and performance.  The Ministry of Economy and Finance on Thursday proposed a total of 42 institutions, or 32 percent of the nation’s 130 government-affiliated institutions, to be converted into “a third group” public agencies with more autonomy and responsibility. 　 Currently, those with assets worth 1 billion won ($757,000), a yearly earnin

An American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM) delegation has discussed economic security and partnerships, including the new US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), with US government officials and lawmakers during their recent visit to Washington, AMCHAM said Thursday. The 14-member delegation made the three-day trip to the United States starting July 27 as part of its annual business-promoting program that resumed after a two-year hiatus over COVID-19. They met with senior officials

SEJONG -- Spiraling import prices of grain are expected to bring about further price hikes in local processed food products and food offered at restaurants, with a state-run agency predicting a continuous climb of grain prices in the third quarter of the year. In a recent report, the Korea Rural Economic Institute forecasted that grain import prices would climb 16 percent in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter. A peak in the international prices of grains such as wheat, corn and

A top financial regulator said Wednesday that it is necessary to step up global cooperation in effectively responding to crimes involving digital assets as transactions take place across borders with their impact on traditional financial markets fast expanding. Kim So-young, vice chair of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), highlighted the need in the inauguration meeting of the recently launched private-government task force on digital assets, adding that more efforts should be made to pro

SEJONG -- South Korea's contraband trade shot up 60 percent in the first half of the year on a spike in tariff evasion and country-of-origin violations, the customs agency said Wednesday. The Korea Customs Service (KCS) said it detected and confiscated about 3 trillion won (US$2.3 billion) worth of illegal goods and unlawful transactions in the January-June period, compared with 1.9 trillion won a year earlier. Yet the number of contraband cases sank 28 percent on-year to 849 in the six-mon

Yoon’s first housing policy aims to tackle supplies in metropolitan area

SEJONG -- South Korea's antitrust regulator said Tuesday it plans to focus on how to swiftly address damage to victims of unfair business acts, rather than punishing companies, in an effort to overhaul its law enforcement procedures. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) also said in a policy briefing to President Yoon Suk-yeol that it plans to take stern actions against tech giants' abuse of their market dominant status or companies' collusion to fix prices. The regulator said it plans