The accelerating spread of the novel coronavirus, unless terminated swiftly, is likely to weigh down on South Korea’s economy, the nation’s chief fiscal policymaker said Monday. With this latest stance, Seoul’s government tightened its guard from its earlier suggestion that the economic impact of the epidemic would remain limited. “Unless terminated in its early stage, the novel coronavirus will act as downside pressure on the economy” Deputy Prime Minister an

The Moon Jae-in administration’s continued efforts to curb skyrocketing housing prices were mostly attempts to divert the market’s liquidity towards innovative industries, to reduce the widening wealth gap, and to cut back on the nation’s snowballing household debts. But in light of the approaching parliamentary elections, slated for April this year, skepticism has been mounting that the government’s heavy-handed push may be populist gestures to divide political camps an

The Financial Supervisory Service on Thursday unveiled its reshuffle blueprint, focusing on consumer protection and innovative finance.The move came amid the ongoing controversy regarding the so-called derivatives-linked fund fiasco -- the improper sales of products by local banks and securities. The FSS is slated to announce its sanction decision for two major banking chiefs later this month.“To respond to the stronger consumer protection needs and enhance the supervisory functions over

South Korea’s mobile payment platform Kakao Pay has got preliminary approval to enter the securities business, according to the financial regulator Thursday.The Securities and Futures Commission, under the Financial Services Commission, has given its temporary approval to Kakao Pay to become the majority shareholder of local brokerage Baro Investment & Securities. A final decision will be made at the commission’s next meeting, slated for Feb. 5.Having got the nod to acquire a loc

South Korea’s economy in 2019 marked the slowest growth pace in a decade, mostly weighed down by the US-China trade tensions, the central bank said Wednesday.The nation’s gross domestic product expanded 2.01 percent on-year, according to advance data from the Bank of Korea.While the government’s 2-percent target has been attained, it fell short of the potential growth rate of 2.5-2.6 percent. This also was the slowest on-year growth since 2009, when the economy grew 0.8 percen

Hana Financial Group will take over The-K Non-Life Insurance, the insurer affiliated with the Korea Teachers Credit Union, in a move to expand its nonbanking business portfolio.The banking group, in a directors’ meeting held Monday, decided to acquire a 70 percent stake in the insurer for an estimated 70 billion won ($60 million), officials said Tuesday. Hana Financial was the only bidder.Considering the relatively low selling price and the lack of competitors, Hana’s takeover of the

South Korea’s central bank maintained the country’s base interest rate at 1.25 percent, prolonging its wait-and-see approach amid mounting expectations of an economic recovery this year. The Bank of Korea’s Monetary Policy Board announced Friday that the key rate will be kept at the record low of 1.25 percent, largely conforming to market expectations.The rate-setting board carried out two rate cuts last year, reducing by 0.25 percentage point each time, in July and October.In

KEB Hana Bank and Woori Bank, the two major commercial banks blamed for the misselling of high-risk derivative-linked financial products, were caught in a heated last-minute debate to minimize the level of sanctions on their top executives.The Financial Supervisory Service on Thursday convened its sanctions committee to review sanctions for the two banks and their chiefs: Woori Financial Group Chairman Sohn Tae-seung and Hana Financial Group Vice Chairman Ham Young-joo.The two banks, along with

South Korea’s government will be initiating the registration process for the annual meeting of the Asia Development Bank, to be held here in May this year, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Thursday.“We have finished reorganizing the official website for the operation of the 53rd ADB Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors,” said Jung Byung-sik, operation head of the ministry’s task force, adding that registration starts Friday.While official registration is throu

An increasing number of South Korean investors are picking foreign investment funds, seeking alternative profits amid slow growth and low interest rates here, data showed Tuesday.The total amount invested in FIFs tallied 183.7 trillion won ($159.3 billion) as of last year, accounting for 28.3 percent of total fund deposits, according to the Korea Financial Investment Association.Of them, private equity funds accounted for 79.5 percent with 146 trillion won, while public funds stood at 20.5 perce

South Korea’s growing longevity has had the effect of lowering the country’s actual interest rate by 3 percent over the past 20 years, central bank data showed Monday.According to the latest report issued by the Bank of Korea’s Economic Research Institute, Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw its ratio of senior citizens -- those aged 65 or older compared to those aged 20 to 64 -- soar to 19.4 percent in 2015 from 9.6 percent in 1995.In a causal relationship with such demogr

A series of key macroeconomic data due to be released this week is giving cold sweat to fiscal policymakers, as they could throw light on South Korea’s economic outlook this year.Market watchers are paying close attention to whether employment in the manufacturing sector will show an uptick, along with a recovery in exports and construction investments.  On Wednesday, Statistics Korea will present its employment report for December and for the entire year.The number of newly added job

The state-run Korea Minting and Security Printing & ID Card Operating Corp. added 69 new intellectual property assets in 2019, bringing its total to 830, officials said Thursday. The affiliated technology research institute applied for 77 IP registrations, including 32 patents, 17 design rights, 16 computer programs, and nine trademarks in 2019. Of them, 69 were approved by the Korean Intellectual Property Office.The accumulated IP assets of KOMSCO as of end-December were up 9.1 percent from

Shinhan Financial Group said Thursday it has created a tailor-made fund worth $200 million with global private equity fund operator Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.The move reflected Shinhan’s efforts to grow beyond the local market and promote its global alternative investment capacity down the road.It also came in line with a memorandum of understanding on global alternative investment partnership that the two counterparts had signed in September 2018. The latest fund, tailor-made exclusively fo

Reflecting the slower-than-expected recovery of trade, the World Bank has lowered its forecast for this year’s global economic growth pace by 0.2 percentage point, South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance said Thursday.In its biannual Global Economic Prospects report issued in Washington, the World Bank predicted that the world economy will expand 2.5 percent in 2020, down from its earlier outlook in June 2019.This annual growth rate is anticipated to rise gradually to 2.6 perce

South Korea has allocated more than 60 percent of its state budget for the first half of the year, in a rush to revitalize the stalled economy through active fiscal spending, the finance minister said Wednesday.Though this latest figure was down from an earlier suggested target of 71 percent, the government said the front-loading policy was crucial to achieve an economic rebound. “(The government) will make all-out efforts to execute the economic revitalizing budget as swiftly as poss

Dispelling concerns about the economic ramifications of the latest US-Iran conflict, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Tuesday that the geopolitical tensions would have limited impact on domestic oil supplies.Acknowledging the increased level of volatility, however, it said it would consider the release of the country’s strategic oil reserves if necessary. “So far, there have been no setbacks in trade and shipments of Middle Eastern crude oil (for South Korea),” sai

The Korean Intellectual Property Office on Tuesday released a statement to dispel the latest concerns that the trademark for “Pengsoo,” a YouTube celebrity penguin character, may be acquired by an irrelevant third party.“An increasing number of third parties have been submitting trademark applications (ahead of the original content creators), seeking to make profits,” the IP office said.“Following news reports related to the Pengsoo trademark issue, we felt the need

The state-run Industrial Bank of Korea on Friday faced a dispute over the appointment of its new chief, as its labor union protests what it called the government’s “abuse of authority.” On Friday, newly appointed CEO Yoon Jong-won, 59, a former senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, failed to enter the bank’s headquarters in central Seoul amid protests by union members, who barricaded all entrances to the building starting early in the morning. The previ

At the turn of each year, Korean people buzz about the new animal of the year based upon the Chinese zodiac and everything it stands for.The deep-rooted culture, which goes all the way back to ancient totemism, has been transfigured in modern society into a wish-making slogan or marketing keyword.Following the year 2019, which marked the year of the “Golden Pig,” this is the year of “White Mouse,” a symbol of wealth, fortune and prosperity. While the mouse is the first an