About one out of eight mid-aged people in South Korea has borrowed money due to economic challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a survey showed Sunday. According to the survey of 3,923 people by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, 12.5 percent of people in their 40s and 11.5 percent of those in their 50s said that they have taken out loans or borrowed from their acquaintances at least once due to economic challenges during the pandemic. The figure was much higher than 3.5

Travelers going to South Korea will be able to bring in duty-free goods worth up to $800, up from $600, as the Korean government seeks to reflect a surge in per capita income and help ramp up sluggish international tourism amid the pandemic. The Finance Ministry said Friday that the easing of customs regulations, which last took place in 2014, includes lifting a separate cap on duty-free liquor to 2 liters from 1 liter currently, but the value cap will remain at the previous $400. The 1-liter l

South Korea posted a current account surplus for the second straight month in June, but its amount sharply contracted from a year earlier amid mounting import costs emanating from high energy and commodity prices, central bank data showed Friday. The country's current account surplus stood at $5.61 billion in June, accelerating from the previous month's surplus of $3.86 billion, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the second straight month of a sur

SEJONG -- The tally for cases of wealth transfers to Koreans aged under 30 surged by 106 percent last year, compared to the previous year, after a gradual increase between 2017 and 2020, data from the national tax agency showed Thursday. According to the National Tax Service’s data, given to Rep. Kim Hoi-jae of the Democratic Party of Korea, the number of Koreans aged under 30 who reported capital transfers from their parents, grandparents, or others came to 70,115 last year, a 106 percen

Home prices could drop as much as 2.8 percent in two years once the Bank of Korea raises its policy rate by a full percentage point or 100 basis points, the central bank said in a report Wednesday. The report, which focused on analyzing how a rate change affects home prices without studying factors like mortgage rules and new supply, comes as Seoul apartment prices kept falling for the last nine weeks. Last week Seoul saw its largest weekly drop since April 2020, according to the Korea Real Est

SEJONG -- The Middle East was found to have contributed the most to South Korea’s all-time high trade deficit for the first seven months of the year, state data showed Wednesday, reflecting the export-driven economy’s ongoing high reliance on crude oil.　 According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Korea suffered a cumulative deficit of $51.7 billion in trade with countries in the Middle East during the period of January-July. The figure was higher by 244 percent, compa

The combined workforce of large South Korean companies expanded 1.5 percent in the first half of the year from a year earlier amid eased COVID-19 restrictions, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. The number of workers hired by 459 out of the country's top 500 firms by sales totaled 1.55 million as of end-June this year, up around 12,500, from a year earlier, according to CEO Score. The tally excludes 41 out of the country's leading 500 companies, which reported changes of 10 percent or

Board members of South Korea's central bank underlined the need for raising the policy interest rate to a neutral level as quickly as possible to curb fast-rising inflation pressure as they delivered a first-ever "big-step" rate increase last month, minutes from their latest rate-setting meeting showed Tuesday. In the meeting on July 13, the monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea (BOK) voted unanimously to hike the policy rate by half a percentage point to 2.25 percent. That re

Consumer prices in July accelerated to an almost 24-year high of 6.3 percent on higher energy and food prices, as South Korea battles soaring inflation dragging down the export-led economy. According to Statistics Korea data released Tuesday, the July consumer price index edged 0.3 percentage point higher than in June. The last time the annual price gain neared such a level was in November 1998, when it reached 6.8 percent amid the Asian financial crisis. But the pace of monthly inflation sho

SEJONG -- The nation’s tax agency has pledged to take stern actions against tax evasion practices via virtual assets, including cryptocurrency, and online platforms. The National Tax Service, in its policy briefing before the strategy and finance committee of the National Assembly on Monday, clarified that the kind of new tax evasion is hampering justice in the market as well as fairness in taxation. More and more people are reportedly seeking to dodge taxes by investing in virtual asset

South Korea's consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in almost 24 years in July due to high energy and food prices, data showed Tuesday, raising expectations that the central bank will continue to raise the policy rate to tame inflation. Consumer prices soared 6.3 percent last month from a year earlier, accelerating from a 6 percent on-year spike in June, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the sharpest on-year increase since November 1998, when consumer inflation jumped 6.8

Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong told lawmakers Monday that the central bank will deliver the usual 0.25 percentage point interest rate hikes this year, while acknowledging that the economy would fall short of the 2.7 percent annual growth for 2022. The central bank a month ago backed its biggest single rate raise of 0.5 percentage point to tame persistent inflation prompted by a global surge in materials and food costs. The bank holds three more board meetings, each in August, October and No

SEJONG -- South Korea posted a trade deficit for the fourth consecutive month in the wake of a noteworthy decline in exports to China as well as the spiraling import prices of raw materials, with the cumulative deficit for the first seven months of the year hitting the highest in 66 years. In particular, the nation recorded all-time high imports in July due to a spike in energy prices, which has worsened the trade balance, state data showed Monday. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry

South Korea's central bank said Monday it is "appropriate" to raise its key interest rate in small increments going forward as long as inflation and growth trends do not deviate much from the expected paths. The Bank of Korea (BOK) provided the broad guidance on the future trajectory of monetary policy in a report to the National Assembly after it delivered an unprecedented 0.5 percentage-point rate increase last month to rein in surging inflation. It was the sixth rate hike since

South Korea suffered a trade deficit for the fourth consecutive month in July over high global energy prices, though its exports rose 9.4 percent on-year on solid demand for chips, data showed Monday. Outbound shipments stood at $60.7 billion last month, up from $55.5 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It is the highest tally for any July since 1956, when the ministry began compiling related data. The previous record was set a ye