Men aged 60 and over account for 32% of total increase

Global investment bank JP Morgan on Wednesday forecast that South Korea's central bank could take a "big step" of raising its interest rate by 50 basis points as part of efforts to keep a lid on growing inflation pressure. JP Morgan also expected the Bank of Korea (BOK) to continue the sequence of its rate hikes in the months to come and raise the rate to as high as 3 percent by the end of the year. The forecast is based on its analysis of minutes the BOK disclosed a day earlier o

South Korea's car exports rose 19.1 percent in May from the previous year on the back of global popularity of eco-friendly cars, data showed Wednesday. Outbound shipments of automobiles stood at 182,869 units last month, compared with 150,894 units a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of value, auto exports grew 18.9 percent on-year to $4.15 billion last month, which is a record-high figure for May. Car exports marked on-year growth

South Korea's global competitiveness ranking fell by four notches this year from the previous year amid the economic slowdown and a continued rise in the national debt, a report showed Wednesday. South Korea ranked 27th in terms of global competitiveness among 63 countries surveyed, according to the 2022 report by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD). The IMD, a Switzerland-based international institution, has been releasing the report every year since 1989 based on

President Yoon Suk-yeol pledged Tuesday to make all-out efforts to curb soaring inflation by resolving issues on the “supply side.” “The administration plans to take all possible steps to resolve issues on the supply side as the inflationary pressure is stemming from the supply side,” Yoon told reporters as he arrived at the presidential office. Tuesday’s vow follows Yoon’s orders to officials “to seek ways to ease the burden on Koreans as higher infl

South Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products rose 13.9 percent in May from a year earlier on brisk overseas demand for chips and displays, data showed Tuesday. Outbound shipments of ICT products came to $20.2 billion last month, up from $17.73 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT. It marked the highest-ever tally for May since the government began compiling related data in 1996. The country has seen dou

South Korea's central bank said Tuesday it plans to "actively" take steps to stabilize the financial market hit hard by fears about the Federal Reserve's more aggressive rate hikes than previously thought. Global financial markets have been roiled this week amid the growing prospect that the Fed may hike interest rates by a larger-than-expected margin of 0.75 percentage point this week to tame high-flying inflation. "As volatility in South Korea's financial markets is expected to

Korea’s exports fall 12%, imports up 17% during June 1-10

South Korea's exports fell 12.7 percent on-year in the first 10 days of June due largely to fewer working days, and the country suffered a trade deficit due to high fuel costs, data showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $15.07 billion in the June 1-10 period, compared with $17.3 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. The fall in exports came as the number of working days in June was fewer than a year earlier due to public holida

Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong on Friday backed a “timely” rate hike to avoid fallout from a belated decision, ahead of a policy board meeting in July, in an address to mark the 72nd anniversary of the bank’s founding. The central bank has already lifted interest rates three times this year, doing so at every policy meeting except for the one in February -- a decision experts say demonstrates the central bank’s determination to alleviate the increasing burden on

Price tag approaching all-time high of 2,083.51 won per liter

South Korea's top central banker on Friday emphasized the importance of timely action to fight rising inflation in the latest hint at further rate hikes amid worries that prices could fast rise amid high energy and commodity prices. Gov. Rhee Chang-yong of the Bank of Korea (BOK) made the case for the role of central banks as inflation fighters at a time when global upward inflation pressure has been mounting for a significant period of time. "In the short term, rate hikes could increa

SEJONG -- The nation’s fiscal chief said Thursday that the Ministry of Economy and Finance will unveil the economic policy direction of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration next week, which highlights a full-fledged deregulation scheme for businesses as well as measures to tame inflation. At a ministerial meeting at the government complex, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho commented on the external uncertainty, which involves a slowdown in global economic recovery and p

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Wednesday forecasted that the growth of the South Korean economy would stay in the 2 percent range this year in the wake of the inflationary pressure and the prolonged war between Ukraine and Russia. Further, the France-based organization predicted that South Korea’s inflation would reach an upper 4 percent range this year. In its latest world economic outlook report, the OECD revised down its prediction on the gross domestic

South Korea’s economy grew 0.6 percent in the first quarter this year from three months earlier, lower than the 0.7 percent growth forecast in April, the Bank of Korea said Wednesday, citing weak investment and consumption as factors behind the revision. Growth in the gross domestic product for January-March, which slowed from 1.3 percent on-quarter in the previous cycle, expanded 3 percent on-year, also a drop from the 3.1 percent growth the central bank projected in April. “Data