Renault Samsung, the South Korean unit of French carmaker Renault, has successfully brought back its popular XM3 model to the market after dealing with technical issues, officials said Thursday. The subcompact SUV comeback follows after facing a string of challenges right from the beginning. Its launch in March last year came amid the country’s first mass outbreak of COVID-19 but the automaker managed to pull off the event by introducing contactless promotion and sale strategies. Anot

South Korea’s central bank on Thursday slashed the country’s economic growth outlook for this year, forecasting a 0.2 percent on-year contraction amid the persisting COVID-19 pandemic. It also cut the policy rate to an unprecedented 0.5 percent, further down from the previous record low of 0.75 percent, keeping pace with the government’s expansionary fiscal actions to shore up the virus-hit economy. The Bank of Korea’s decision-making body -- Monetary Policy Board --

The Bank of Korea and the US Federal Reserve Board on Thursday signed bilateral currency swap arrangements totaling at $60 billion, to be effective for the next six months, South Korea's central bank said. "The latest (US-Korea) currency swap deal seeks to reduce the strain upon the recently struggling global dollar currency market," the BOK said in a late night release. The US Fed conventionally had permanent currency swap deals with five other central banks -- Canada, B

Amid growing concerns over COVID-19, South Korea’s key interest rate plunged below 1 percent for the first time in history as the central bank cut it by 50 basis points to a record low of 0.75 percent. The decision came hours after the US Federal Reserve took the drastic step of slashing its benchmark interest rate to near zero to offset the economic fallout from the novel coronavirus. “The US Fed in recent days lowered its interest rate by 150 basis points, which was a swift mo

After struggling with a record-low growth pace last year, South Korea’s economy was aspiring to make a rebound in 2020, hopefully on the back of global trade improvements and a chip industry recovery -- until suffering the harsh blow of the novel coronavirus. As of December, major global organizations and policy institutes here forecast that Korea’s economic growth pace for 2020 will be in the 2.2-2.4 percent range. While the International Monetary Fund suggested a conservative 2.

Responding to public anxiety over prolonged fallout of the novel coronavirus, the government distinctly turned to all-out countermeasures, marking a turn from its early optimism. But its policy direction that people should resume consumption has raised controversy, as the country continued to see additional cases of infection this week. “(The government) is mobilizing all available policy actions under the grave awareness that (the given circumstances) correspond to an economic emer

We are now facing the biggest turn in history. What we are confronting is a fundamental change, in which everything we thought was true over the past 100 years is on the verge of collapse. The advertising industry can be no exception. It is now more likely than ever that the basic principles of advertising -- those set forth in marketing textbooks for decades -- will undergo changes.Rise of millennials, evolution of personal mediaAdvertising is a means of communication that delivers creative con

South Korea’s central bank on Wednesday cut the country’s key interest rate to 1.25 percent, reflecting the sluggish economic growth, low inflation and declining exports.Its second rate cut in three months -- to the lowest ever level -- is in line with the global trend toward monetary easing.“We have cut the base rate considering the lower-than-expected growth outlook and low inflation,” said Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol in a press conference. The BOK’s rate-setti

South Korea’s government said Monday that it will insert more than 2 trillion won ($1.64 billion) of the budget next year to help local industries respond to Japan’s economic retaliations and consequent challenges on trade fronts.Also, President Moon Jae-in subscribed to an equity fund that invests in local materials and parts makers, in a supportive gesture for such aggressive fiscal actions.“(The government) will play its due fiscal role, even at the cost of temporary fiscal

The central bank has issued a new art catalogue, offering a periodic introduction to South Korea’s currency, officials said Sunday.The Bank of Korea’s Money Museum has published “Korea’s Money,” a catalogue that lists the country’s currencies dating back to the Goryeo Dynasty. The latest catalogue, a new edition of its previous art books, includes large- pictures of various currency designs, according to the BOK.“The focus was to improve the visual effec

Credit card companies will be able to send payment notices to customers via mobile messengers, a change that may save up to 3 billion won ($2.7 million) a year, officials said Thursday.The Credit Finance Association said that it has revised the standard clauses concerning mobile text messages, allowing credit card operators to use mobile messengers such as KakaoTalk, Line and WiBee Talk.(Yonhap)Credit card service providers have been using text messaging to notify their customers of their card u

When Sohn Tae-seung took office as Woori Bank CEO in December last year, his leadership had seemed to face multiple hurdles ahead, ranging from prolonged recruitment irregularities that led to the resignation of his predecessor to the uncertainties lingering in the domestic financial market.Over the past year, however, South Korea’s third-largest commercial lender in terms of operating profit has successfully gained new momentum under Sohn’s lead -- renewing its net profit record, to

South Korea’s small and medium-sized enterprises are finding it increasingly difficult to hire foreign workers amid rising minimum wages and a prolonged economic downturn, a survey by a local business federation showed Sunday.According to the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, or KBIZ, a majority of companies that opted not to hire foreign nationals this year cited a deteriorating business environment as their main concern.The latest survey was conducted from Monday to Wednesda

South Korea’s central bank chief on Monday urged Asia-Pacific economies to reinforce their resilience against potential external risk factors amid a fluctuating global financial environment.“We must enhance the general resilience of the regional economy so that drastic changes in capital flows stemming from external risks do not lead to systematic risks,” Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said in a conference jointly held at Seoul’s Plaza Hotel by the BOK and the Bank for In

South Korea’s economic growth will slow down in the upcoming years, weighed down by the global slowdown amid weak demand and ongoing trade conflicts, according to Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday.Despite the downward pressure, most local nonfinancial companies here are likely to see stable corporate earnings next year on the back of strong macroeconomic conditions, the credit ratings agency said.“While South Korea’s exports are exposed to the US-China trade tensions v

For South Korean financial companies looking out for new growth momentum, the “New Southern Policy” -- the key foreign economic policy of the Moon Jae-in administration -- came as a timely opportunity to create synergy with the fast-growing Southeast Asian market.The overseas net profit of domestic financial companies last year totaled $934 million, up 42 percent from a year earlier and exceeding 1 trillion won in Korean currency for the first time, the Financial Supervisory Service

President Moon Jae-in on Saturday started his nine-day tour to five European states to attend a series of international meetings and bilateral summits with key countries, according to presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.Moon departed from Seoul Air Base in Seongnam on Saturday morning, headed for Paris. He will then move on to Italy, Vatican, Belgium, and Denmark.During the nine-day trip, the president is slated to sit in bilateral summits in France, Italy and Denmark, as well as with the European

South Korea has seen one of the fastest expansion paces for its household debt against its gross domestic product this year, despite a series of policy actions focused on lending restrictions, data showed Wednesday.According to data compiled by the Bank for International Settlements, Seoul’s household debt was equal to 95.2 percent of its GDP as of end-March this year, up 2.3 percentage points from a year prior.This growth rate marked the third fastest among 43 key economies across the wor