High-income households in South Korea -- those who earn between 70 million won ($59,000) and 120 million won before tax annually -- saw their assets increase by 19 percent, or 150 million won on average, from last year, a study showed Sunday. According to the study conducted by Woori Financial Research Institute, which is run by Woori Financial Group, its 4,000 clients classified as “mass affluent” saw their assets rise to 917 million won on average.  The size of debt on avera

The head of South Korea's top financial regulator has said he will make continued efforts to bring household debt growth down to pre-pandemic levels, as fast increasing debt has emerged as a major risk that could threaten the country's economy. Koh Seung-beom, chief of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), still noted he will use some "flexibility" in managing the debt issue by taking into consideration economic, financial market situations and minimizing hurdles for people in actu

Online shopping in South Korea hit a record high in October on the back of solid demand for food delivery services and electronic goods amid the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Friday, in the latest sign that a growing number of people are using computers and mobile devices to buy things, ranging from clothes to electronic goods. The value of online shopping transactions stood at 16.9 trillion won ($14.35 billion) in October, up 21.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statis

South Korea's foreign reserves shrank for the first time in five months in November due to a decline in the dollar-converted value of assets denominated in other foreign currencies, central bank data showed Friday. The country's foreign reserves came to $463.91 billion as of end-November, down $5.3 billion from the previous month, according to the data provided by the Bank of Korea (BOK). This marked the first time in five months that the foreign reserves have shrunk. The decline stemmed part

New home permits in South Korea surged more than 24 percent in the first 10 months of the year amid high housing prices, government data showed Friday. Construction permits issued for new homes came to 405,704 units in the January-October period, up 24.4 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. New construction permits in the South Korean capital of Seoul spiked 54.7 percent to 70,578 over the cited period. New home permits issued

SEJONG -- The growth in consumer prices posted the highest in almost a decade last month with prices of daily necessities such as diesel and agricultural products surging, sparking concerns over its impact on households. Statistics Korea said Thursday that consumer prices climbed 3.7 percent on-year in November, which marked the highest increase since the 4.2 percent growth in December 2011. Consumer prices increased over 3 percent for the second consecutive month, following a 3.2 percent gro

South Korea's consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in nearly 10 years in November due to surging energy costs and high prices of farm products, data showed Thursday, underscoring a build-up in inflationary pressure amid economic recovery. The consumer prices increased 3.7 percent in November from a year earlier, accelerating from a 3.2 percent on-year gain in October, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Consumer inflation rose 0.4 percent in November from a month ago. It m

Outlook on US, China, Japan revised downward

Yearly exports likely to mark all-time high in 2021

South Korea's manufacturing activity remained in the expansionary phase for 14 months running in November on brisk exports, a global market researcher said Wednesday. The purchasing managers' index (PMI) of the country's manufacturing sector came to 50.9 last month, up 0.7 point from the previous month, according to a survey by IHS Markit. Since October 2020, South Korea's PMI, a key measure of factory activity in a country, has been above the 50-point mark that separates contraction from expa

A semiconductor industry tracker on Wednesday cut in half its growth projection of the global memory chip market next year. World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS), a nonprofit organization of chipmakers, forecast the memory market to expand 8.5 percent year-on-year to $171.6 billion next year, down from a growth rate of 18.4 percent with $190.7 billion it forecast in its August report. While the agency did not elaborate, falling DRAM prices and an expected slowdown in memory demand are be

South Korea's exports spiked 32.1 percent on-year to reach an all-time monthly high in November on the back of strong global demand for chips and petro products, data showed Wednesday. Outbound shipments came to $60.44 billion, compared with $45.75 billion from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It marked the highest monthly figure since the country began compiling the data in 1956, and it is the first time that the monthly tally surpa

Two major foreign investment banks (IBs) have revised down their targets of South Korea's key stock index for 2022 amid rising market volatility following the discovery of the omicron coronavirus variant, industry sources said Wednesday. In a recent report on South Korea, Goldman Sachs has cut its 2022 target of the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) to 3,350 from an earlier estimate of 3,700. Goldman Sachs said its downgrade reflects the characteristic of the South Korean sto

ESG and impact investment will offer a new way for investors to make financial returns while leaving a positive, social and environmental impact, and South Korea hopes to spread the practice of “responsible investment,” Korea Investment Corp. CEO Jin Seoung-ho said Tuesday. The chief of the country’s sovereign wealth fund said ESG investment, which looks at environmental, social and governance factors, and impact investment, which aims to make money and measureable social chan

South Korea's top economic policymaker said Tuesday the country's snowballing household debt is posing limited risks to the economy, given borrowers' capability to repay debt and banks' financial health. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the remarks during his meeting with the delegation of S&P Global Ratings, led by Kim Eng Tan, senior director of Asia-Pacific sovereign ratings at the global credit appraiser. The delegation kicked off its annual consultations with the Korean government Mo