Today

S. Korea to set aside W500b in guarantee fund program for auto parts firms

Seoul makes all-out efforts to boost consumption in public, private sectors

Today

Number of paid employee jobs rises 3.2% in Q4 last year

The number of jobs for wage and salary workers in South Korea gained 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter of last year thanks to increased social welfare and public administration jobs, government data showed Thursday. South Korea's economy had 19.08 million paid worker jobs in the October-December period, up 592,000 from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Jobs in the social welfare sector came to 2.02 million, up 8.6 percent from a year ago, with public administration

Today

S. Korea launches W40tr fund for backbone industries

South Korea on Thursday launched a fund worth 40 trillion won ($32.2 billion) to provide timely financial assistance to the country's backbone industries amid the economic fallout of the new coronavirus. The government has said airlines, shippers and others hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic are eligible for the fund's financial support if they have more than 500 billion won in debt and more than 300 employees per company. Among others, South Korea's two full-service carriers -- Korean Air Lin

Today

Full text of BOK statement on monetary policy decision in May

The following is the full text of the Bank of Korea's statement on its monetary policy decision. The central bank's monetary policy board decided Thursday to cut the base rate by a quarter percentage point to a fresh record low of 0.50 percent. Monetary Policy Decision The Monetary Policy Board of the Bank of Korea decided today to lower the Base Rate by 25 basis points, from 0.75% to 0.50%. Currently available information suggests that the global economy has contracted significantly due to co

Today

Govt. urged to brace for virus-caused weaker growth, job losses

South Korea should map out measures to help cushion the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on its economic growth and employment, a private think tank said Thursday. The novel coronavirus outbreak, which started in China in December, has led to lockdowns across the globe, crippling economic activity and touching off concerns over mass job cuts. "The outbreak of COVID-19 is feared to eat into South Korea's production base and lead to job losses," said the Korea Economic Research Inst

Today

BOK trims key rate to record low amid grim growth outlook

South Korea's central bank slashed its policy rate by a quarter percentage point to a record low of 0.50 percent Thursday as the country's economy is expected to grow at the slowest pace in over two decades amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The move came a little over two months after the Bank of Korea (BOK) cut the base rate to 0.75 percent from 1.25 percent in its first emergency rate cut since October 2008. "Economic growth in Korea has slowed considerably," the BOK said in its stateme

Today

Corporate direct financing down 29% in April

South Korean companies' stock and bond sales fell 28.8 percent in April from a month earlier, due mainly to a decline in sales of corporate debt, data showed Thursday. Local companies raised a combined 11.47 trillion won ($9.3 billion) by selling stocks and bonds in April, down 4.6 trillion won from March, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). The decline is attributable to the 27 percent on-month fall in debt offerings to 11.42 trillion won, the FSS said. Last

Today

S. Korea to set up W500b fund for auto parts firms

SEJONG -- South Korea will set up a guarantee fund of 500 billion won ($405 million) to provide more loans to auto parts companies that have been hit by the coronavirus pandemic, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday. The fund, which will be financed by the government and carmakers, will provide guarantees for loans for auto parts firms, Hong said. The public sector will buy 9,500 cars by the end of September to prop up auto parts firms, Hong said. To boost private consumption, the gove

May 27, 2020

Manufacturers’ sentiment marks record-low since 2009

Weighed down by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, South Korean manufacturers saw their business confidence sink to the lowest level in over 12 years for the upcoming month, central bank data showed Wednesday. The business sentiment index -- BSI -- for the domestic manufacturing sector came to 49 for June, down from 50 for this month, according to the Bank of Korea. While a reading below 100 indicates a pessimist market sentiment, the latest figure marked the lowest since February 2009, in the

May 27, 2020

S. Korea to keep aggressive spending to address coronavirus pandemic

SEJONG -- South Korea will maintain its aggressive fiscal spending as it is set to unveil the third extra budget early next month to minimize the economic pain from the coronavirus pandemic, Vice Finance Minister An Il-whan said Wednesday. The third extra budget is aimed at focusing on reviving economic growth and creating jobs, An told a meeting with fiscal experts earlier in the day. The budget is also designed to provide financial support to small- and medium-sized enterprises hit by the

May 27, 2020

S. Korea’s global GDP ranking slips to 10th place: data

South Korea’s global GDP ranking slipped to 10th place last year, the first drop since the 2008 global financial crisis, data showed Wednesday.  According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the country’s nominal GDP stood at $1.64 trillion in 2019 ranking No. 10 out of 38 OECD member countries, two rungs down from 2018. Asia’s fourth-largest economy was outpaced by Canada and Russia last year, which ranked eighth and ninth, respectively. 

May 27, 2020

Listed firms' dividends dip 1.9% in 2019

South Korean listed companies' dividend payouts slipped nearly 2 percent in 2019 from a year earlier amid a business slump, data showed Wednesday. Cash dividends paid out by 1,094 firms listed on the country's main and secondary stock markets totaled 22.6 trillion won ($18.3 billion) last year, down 1.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository. The number of dividend-paying corporations was down 12 from the previous year. The tally covers compan

May 27, 2020

Coronavirus dents major business sectors' Q1 output

More than half of South Korea's 29 major business sectors suffered setbacks in output in the first quarter due to the new coronavirus outbreak, boding ill for their second-quarter earnings, a market tracker said Wednesday. CEO Score said aviation, smartphone, display and 14 other industrial sectors saw their production shrink in the January-March period from a year earlier. The aviation sector was hit hardest with a 35.9 percent tumble as travel demand tanked following lockdowns and business

May 27, 2020

Korea's May exports tipped to dip 22.5% on pandemic: poll

South Korea's exports are expected to dip nearly 23 percent in May from a year earlier and post a trade deficit for the second consecutive month, a poll showed Wednesday, as the new coronavirus continued to disrupt global supply chains. The country's outbound shipments are estimated at $35.4 billion this month, falling sharply from $45.9 billion posted a year earlier, according to the poll by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. The survey was carried out on eight loca