The market price of large-sized apartments in Seoul surpassed the 2 billion won ($1.69 million) mark in August, reflecting the unsubdued housing price rally in popular areas, industry data showed Friday. According to the monthly housing price trend report by KB Kookmin Bank, the average transaction price for large-sized apartments came to 2.03 billion won, exceeding the milestone for the first time since the bank started tallying such data in 2016. The latest figure was up 171.54 million w

South Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday that the government will work to diversify the current parental leave system, allowing parents to split their leave period according to needs. “In order to respond to the decreasing number of productive age population, it is crucial that we should encourage everyone to participate in economic activities,” Hong said in a meeting of economy-related ministers held at Seoul Government Complex.

South Korea’s government and ruling party have agreed to allocate more than 20 trillion won ($16.85 billion) of the 2021 state budget to financing the “Korean New Deal” stimulus package, party officials said Wednesday. They also vowed to keep up the current expansionary fiscal policy tone throughout next year, bracing for a prolonged economic downturn. The decision came during a meeting held at the National Assembly between the government and the ruling Democratic Party o

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles to address the Moon Jae-in administration’s “Green New Deal” policy, one of the key pillars of the so-called “Korean New Deal” economic stimulus package. -- Ed. While giving momentum to its “Green New Deal,” the South Korean government should now strive to make tangible commitments in order to involve the private sector in green financing, according to a top representative of the European Union here

With the second wave of COVID-19 outbreak fast approaching amid reinforced social distancing measures, pessimism is mounting once again on South Korea’s economic growth outlook this year. According to previously suggested scenarios by key global institutes and local think tanks, the country could see its economy contract as much as 2 percent. Some market watchers and the central bank, however, also warned against excessive fear and pessimism, claiming that the latest turnouts will not

The Bank of Korea promoted Deputy Gov. Lee Seung-heon to replace Senior Deputy Gov. Yoon Myun-shik, whose three-year term in office just ended, officials said Thursday. Lee will henceforth be the No. 2 decision-maker in South Korea’s central bank, next to Gov. Lee Ju-yeol. “During recent years, Lee has successfully displayed capacities in key management agendas such as the establishment of the BOK’s financial network and the construction of the bank’s annex,” the

South Korean authorities Wednesday urged banking circles to sustain their financial situation amid the prolonged epidemic crisis. “We should learn from the 2008 global financial crisis that individual actions by financial companies may affect the entire economic system,” Sohn Byung-doo, vice chairman of the regulator Financial Services Commission, said in a financial risk management meeting held at the Korea Federation of Banks in central Seoul. During an economic downturn, the

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles to address the Moon Jae-in administration’s “Green New Deal” policy, one of the key pillars of the so-called “Korean New Deal” economic stimulus package. -- Ed. The COVID-19 crisis, as devastating as it is for the world today, has also served as a reminder for the global community to foster sustainable growth and build resilient economies. For the World Bank, which supports countries in the East Asia and Pacif

Hannam The Hill, a premium residence located in central Seoul’s Hannam-dong, continued to stand as the most expensive apartment in South Korea, extending its record for five consecutive years, data showed Friday. According to data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, one unit of the apartment with an exclusive use area of 240.305 square meters was valued at 7.3 billion won ($6.16 million) in April this year. The latest amount was up 200 million won from the

The South Korean government announced Thursday it will create at least 50 new job categories in the upcoming years, while providing necessary legal and fiscal support to tide over the worsening employment situation. It also pledged to inject 4.6 trillion won ($3.89 billion) into export-oriented service industries and adjust the government’s fiscal support regulations which have been focused on the manufacturing sector. “We hope to raise the country’s service sector export

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles to address the Moon Jae-in administration’s “Green New Deal” policy, one of the key pillars of the so-called “Korean New Deal” economic stimulus package. -- Ed. “Green” has fast risen as the new buzzword for South Korea’s financial players as they strive to adapt to the Moon Jae-in administration’s “Green New Deal” initiative. They are striving to move away from thermal pow

After approving several sets of additional fiscal injections so far this year to deal with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea is facing mounting calls for yet another extra budget amid the recent flood damages. While political parties unanimously called for an additional budget injection, the finance minister expressed disapproval over what he saw as reckless spending amid growing deficits. The government, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and the presidential office Cheo

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles to address the Moon Jae-in administration’s “Green New Deal” policy, one of the key pillars of the so-called “Korean New Deal” economic stimulus package. -- Ed. Responding to the unprecedented socioeconomic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea has adopted a new weighty policy keyword this year -- “Korean Green New Deal.” Despite the rosy pictures suggested by policymakers, there are

South Korea vowed Wednesday to strengthen surveillance over the transactions of expensive apartments, in a move to curb rampant speculative buying practices and to steady snowballing housing prices here. It also said that it will push ahead with its latest housing supply plan in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, regardless of the apparent discord with the municipal government over eased redevelopment rules. “(The government) will tighten control on (irregular practices in the housing mark

South Korea will add 132,000 residential units in Seoul and its surrounding metropolitan area, in continued efforts to improve the demand-supply imbalance and to curb housing prices, according to the nation’s fiscal chief on Tuesday. It also promised to ease some of the disputed construction regulations, allowing timeworn apartments to be redeveloped into skyscrapers under certain conditions, but refused to remove the development ban on most greenbelt areas, citing preservation needs. &

Debates are heating up in the housing market and among political parties over the merits of the recently introduced tenant protections laws. While the ruling party saw the new rules as a vital step in stabilizing the bubble-prone market, opposition parties blamed the demanding new rules for further cutting back on the supply of housing. “The new tenant protection laws were effectuated in an unprecedented speed in order to minimize market confusion,” said Lee Hae-chan, chairman

South Korea will provide over $5 million through the World Bank to assist emerging economies amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Friday. “We will deliver $5.15 million, which is around 6 billion won, to six emerging economies to help them deal with COVID-19 and (to pursue) digital and green (development) projects,” the ministry said in a release. “This latest approval for official development assistance will enhance international cooperatio

South Korea on Thursday unveiled a financial package to inject some 40 trillion won ($33.48 billion) into 1,000 selected innovative businesses over the next three years. The plan seeks to promote synergies between the financial sector and actual industries, and to ultimately shore up the so-called “Korean New Deal” -- the country’s midterm economic stimulus program worth 160 trillion won. “(The government) will designate 1,000 innovative business pioneers from various

Notwithstanding the Moon Jae-in administration’s efforts to cool down the real estate market, ordinary homeseekers are feeling overwhelmed by escalating prices in Seoul, industry data showed Wednesday. The consumer sentiment for housing prices this month hit the second-highest level, prolonging an uptrend for two months straight. According to the monthly housing price trend report compiled by KB Kookmin Bank, the average price of small-sized apartments in Seoul came to 413.8 million wo

South Korea’s lenders saw savings by customers climb rapidly during the first six months of the year, along with household and corporate loans, central bank data showed Monday. Such a visible rise was seen as a signal that the ample liquidity triggered by expansionary fiscal and monetary policies did not spill out into the market, despite policy intentions. According to data from the Bank of Korea, the credit balance of domestic banks came to 1.86 quadrillion won ($1.55 trillion) as