Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol (Yonhap)A little less than a decade ago, the job of a central banker could be described as important but simple: With one tool -- short-term interest rate -- they targeted inflation. In a downturn economy, when signs of low inflation emerged, they loosened the monetary policy, lowering interest rates. In an upcycle, they prevented economic overheating and high inflation with monetary tightening by raising the rates.  Nowadays, the job is much more complex, with s

Kakao, Korea’s fast-sprawling mobile empire built on the omnipresent phone messaging service KakaoTalk, is in the public spotlight for fat paychecks. The KOSDAQ-listed firm was the highest-paying workplace among the top 100 companies by market capitalization in Korea last year, leading by a big margin a pack of older and larger corporate players such as Samsung Electronics.According to data compiled by CEO Score, an online business information provider, Kakao employees took home an average of 17

A controlling 49 percent stake in Daewoo Securities Co. is up for sale. YonhapMirae Asset Securities Co. is the likely winner of the bid for Daewoo Securities Co., local reports said Monday, in a deal that could create a new leader in Korea’s brokerage industry. In the bid which closed Monday, Mirae Asset, part of the eponymous asset management-focused group, offered to pay about 2.4 trillion won ($2 billion), substantially higher than the amounts that its three competitors have penciled in, Yon

An average Korean household spends nearly 24 percent of its total disposable income on meeting debt obligations data showed Monday, amid concerns over record-level household debt.    As of March, an average Korean household has 342 million won ($290,800) in total assets, 61.8 million won in debt and an annual disposable income of 39 million won. All three grew modestly from a year ago, but the income marked the fastest gain of 2.7 percent.   (123rf)These are some of the key findings contained in

Deputy Prime Minister Choi Kyung-hwan speaks at a press conference in Seoul on Sunday. (Yonhap)Deputy Prime Minister Choi Kyung-hwan said Sunday that Moody’s recent upgrade of Korea’s credit rating mitigates the potential risk of capital flight from Korea, a key concern for emerging economies after the U.S. initiated its first interest rate hiking cycle in nearly a decade.  "There have been worries that Korea could be at the same risk with newly emerging markets, but Moody’s move could be seen a

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen speaks at a press conference in Washington on Wendesday. YonhapSeoul officials heaved a sigh of relief Thursday, as a U.S. move to end the seven-year era of near-zero interest rates led to no major turmoil in global and local markets as some feared. On the contrary, financial markets rallied across Asia, as the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday delivered just what markets had expected -- a small rise in interest rates and a clear signal of a slow tighteni

The Bank of Korea on Wednesday set the inflation target for the next three years at 2 percent, as the economy braces for a future of low growth and lower price levels. The annual target for the 2016-2018 period is higher than this year’s projected inflation of 0.7 percent. The rise in consumer prices stayed below 1 percent for 11 months this year until November, when it reported an uptick to a 1 percent gain from a year ago. In October, the central bank projected next year’s inflation rate at 1.

As the countdown begins for the U.S. interest rate hike, Korea is on edge to guard against its potential fallout on local financial markets. The Bank of Korea is in an emergency response mode -- monitoring global markets round-the-clock since Monday -- getting ready to intervene if there is excessive volatility. After a two-day policy meeting, the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to increase its benchmark borrowing rate Wednesday, ending a seven-year era of near-zero interest rates that h

Local property app Zigbang has raised 38 billion won ($33 million) from Goldman Sachs and other investors, the company said Tuesday. The U.S. investment bank’s private equity arm led the investment, its second funding of a Korean start-up after last year’s 40 billion won investment in food delivery app Baedal Minjok. Zigbang, launched in 2002, links realtors and customers across the country on its mobile platform that is equipped with a handy search engine, lots of photos and an aggregate listin

Citibank Korea signed an agreement with Apro Service Group to sell its consumer finance subsidiary Citigroup Capital Korea Inc., as part of the U.S. banking group’s efforts to streamline businesses and divest non-core assets, the company said Tuesday.The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016 subject to regulatory approvals. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Citigroup Capital Korea accounted for less than 5 percent of Citi’s total revenues in Korea

Lee Kyung-seobNH Financial Group has picked its incumbent vice president Lee Kyung-seob as the new CEO of its banking arm NH Bank, the country’s fourth-largest banking group by assets said Wednesday. The group’s special CEO selection committee, meeting earlier in the day, decided to recommend Lee, its vice president since January last year, as the sole candidate for the job. The appointment is subject to endorsement by the board of directors and shareholders, who are likely to approve it without

Korea will front-load 68 percent of spending in its 2016 budget, as Asia’s fourth-largest economy is expected to grow slower next year amid bleak global trade outlook, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday. According to the plan, endorsed at a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day, the government will aim to complete 40.1 percent of expenditure for public projects earmarked in the budget by the end of March, worth 128 trillion won ($108.7 billion), and 68 percent, or 224 trillion won, by the end of Jun

Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol holds the central bank's monthly interest rate-setting meeting at its head office in Seoul on Nov. 12. (Yonhap)With the U.S. Federal Reserve widely expected to make a major shift in its monetary policy next week, ending the world’s largest economy’s historic era of near-zero interest rates, many in Korea are trying to gauge its possible impact on the local economy and how to best cope with it.  Yet, the job inherently falls in the lap of the Bank of Korea. The BOK

Guess what sector of the Korean economy expanded at the fastest pace in the past four years? It wasn’t automobiles or memory chips. According to a report released Sunday, it was pharmaceuticals, with front-runner Hanmi Pharmaceutical making some big strides this year into a global industry long considered an exclusive league of richer and more advanced economies. The combined market cap of bio and health care companies on Korea’s main bourse KOSPI came in at 28.53 trillion won ($24.57 billion) a

(Millennium Seoul Hilton)Children joined Santa Claus, the Millennium Seoul Hilton mascot and hotel employees to see a Christmas train, now in its 20th year of operation, in the hotel’s lobby on Sunday. Over 80 local and international businesses sponsored the Christmas train this year, and all proceeds have been donated to local orphanages and charities. The Christmas tree and train display will be available for viewing until Jan. 17.   　

BTS performs their concert “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life On Stage” at the SK Handball Gymnasium in Seoul. (Big Hit Entertainment)The arena at boy band BTS’ concert “BTS Live: The Most Beautiful Moment in Life On Stage” was lit more brightly than most K-pop concerts, and it was clear why.At their first concert in Korea in 11 months, the members of BTS gleefully ran around the main stage and the protruding T-shaped stage as well as the aisles between the audience floors, making it impossible

Hyosung Group, a South Korean industrial conglomerate specializing in textiles, industrial materials and chemicals, has been transforming itself as one of the largest imported car dealers in Korea since it took over Forza Motors Korea, the importer and distributor of Ferrari and Maserati cars, last March. The conglomerate, which has already run dealership businesses for Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Lexus cars, inked 605.9 billion won ($523.6 million) in sales from the business last year. Maserati G

Canadian pianist and composer Steve Barakatt and the Herald Philharmonic Orchestra are combing forces once again in performance of the musician’s new visually revamped 16-movement symphony “Ad Vitam Aeternam” in January. 　Canadian pianist and composer Steve Barakatt poses during an interview with The Korea Herald at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul. (Chung Hee-cho/The Korea Herald)Barakatt’s upcoming concert follows the pianist’s previous concert in March, in which he celebrated 20 years since his debut

The snowy scenery of Buyongji viewed from Yeonghwadang in Changdeokgung Palace by Bae Bein-u (Leeum)A step inside Changdeokgung Palace at the heart of Seoul after sunset and the city of skyscrapers just seems to disappear. Moonlight illuminates Joseon era royal buildings standing harmoniously with the surrounding green and natural formations of gardens that reflect its original terrain. Subtle rays from lamps inside the buildings reveal details in geometric window bar patterns and the balanced b

Kimchi, a spicy, fermented cabbage dish, is served at almost every Korean meal. (Korea Tourism Organization)Trucks loaded with piles of napa cabbages carry the season’s fresh produce to grocery stores. Makers of red rubber gloves go all out to ensure sufficient supply, while the nation’s weather agency releases a special forecast, predicting the ideal dates for kimchi-making. All for the love of Korea’s national side dish. From mid-November till early December, before the cold fully sets in, Kor