South Korean household wealth jumped 8 percent on-year, with net worth per household estimated at 544.7 million won ($415,593) thanks to a surge in house prices, a Bank of Korea report showed Thursday. Real estate made up 75 percent of household wealth. The net worth of households, nonprofit organizations, financial and nonfinancial companies and the government came to 19,000 trillion won, up 2,030 trillion won, or 11.4 percent, from the previous year. That is the biggest annual increase since

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said work-life balance plays a key role in shaping a work environment that is appealing to women, who she described as still underrepresented in workplaces, at a meeting with the Bank of Korea’s female workers held Tuesday in Seoul. “Work-life balance is a tremendous problem. I guess it’s a huge problem here, too,” Yellen said, describing having a family while working in challenging jobs as a hurdle for women pursuing a career. The meet

South Korea’s top financial regulator said Monday that its plan to help low-income earners reduce their debt burdens does not encourage reckless investments in stocks or real estate, amid criticism that young Koreans who have made losses from such investments could repay debts with taxpayers’ money. “We’re not helping those who have had to cut their losses on stocks and cryptocurrencies to pay for loans (taken out for investment),” Kim Joo-hyun, chairman of the Fin

The South Korean won could further depreciate against the US dollar in months to come as long as the US backs aggressive monetary tightening to fight raging inflation, analysts said, as the Korean currency weakened to a 13-year low of 1,326.1 won per US dollar Friday. The breach of the 1,300 won psychological threshold -- prompted by rising US rates luring investors and soaring demand for the safe-haven asset amid global economic uncertainty -- is the latest indication that policymakers in Seou

President Yoon Suk-yeol pledged Thursday to help low-income earners with their mounting debt burdens, a day after the central bank made its biggest single rate hike to tame persistent inflation, at a weekly meeting he convened for the second time. The meetings deal with pressing economic issues affecting what they call a “vulnerable group” of self-employed people, small business owners and those fresh out of college. Policymakers discussed inflation last week. This week, they unveil

South Korea’s top financial policymaker on Monday hinted at banning short selling again to prevent a jumpy stock market, but some market analysts say the plan should be reexamined since its effect on long-term market stability is still debatable.　 The ban -- which was temporarily put on the benchmark Kospi and junior Kosdaq in March 2020 over pandemic-induced volatility -- was partially lifted in May 2021, when the bearish investment practice was allowed on the Kospi 200 and the Kosdaq 15

The Bank of Korea delivered a half-point interest rate hike Wednesday, the biggest increase since 1999, to tame unruly inflation, despite growing concerns the move could trigger soaring debt burden and an abrupt economic slowdown. The hike, which comes after inflation hit a 24-year high of six percent in June and takes the current policy rate to 2.25 percent, adds strain to the world’s highest household debt that amounts to a little over 104 percent of Korea’s gross domestic product

South Korea’s overheated housing market is showing signs of cooling down, as Seoul housing prices have inched down in recent months with persistent inflation and soaring interest rates squeezing household budgets. According to the Land Ministry on Monday, apartment prices in Apgujeong-dong, a wealthy neighborhood in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, dropped by as much as 300 million won ($230,000) in June from the previous month. A price slowdown was palpable in other affluent Seoul districts like Son

Kim Joo-hyun, the new chief of the Financial Services Commission, said Monday that he would use all resources and cooperate with authorities for market stability at his inauguration, which took place after a divided National Assembly failed to hold a confirmation hearing.  Kim underscored mounting concerns that aggressive rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve would further dampen investor optimism here. “Rapid inflation is eating into the economy. Economic and political factors,

Six in 10 South Koreans planning to buy homes believe house prices will start to fall in the second half of this year, as rising interest rates will worsen repayment burdens, according to a survey by local property technology firm and listing platform Zigbang. In a survey conducted on 1,727 Zigbang app users from June 20 to July 4, 1,069 respondents (61.9 percent) said they expect the prices of houses in their neighborhood to fall, amid speculation over a sharper-than-expected rate hike the cen

Korea Exchange CEO Sohn Byung-doo said Thursday that the bourse operator will set out guidelines on the way listed companies should report their progress on environmental, social and governance issues. The sustainability disclosures become mandatory as early as 2025. “The ESG initiative is one of the four goals we plan to see take place. We will refer to the global guidelines,” Sohn said at a forum, held to discuss the ways Korean companies can better navigate the low-carbon transit

South Korea’s current account swung back into the black in May from a deficit the previous month that snapped 23 months of surplus booked since May 2020, but the latest surplus of $3.86 million marked a fall from a year earlier, preliminary data from the Bank of Korea showed Thursday. Soaring coal, oil and gas import costs was the reason Asia’s fourth-largest economy, which heavily relies on imports for energy, posted the annual drop. The surplus in goods trade also declined to $6.6

Hana Bank, one of the five biggest banks in South Korea, and Kyung Hee University launched a philanthropic campaign Wednesday to ask people to bequeath their fortunes to charity, amid growing awareness of charity pledges leaving behind positive social impact. The bank will help those seeking to put money into philanthropic causes draw up a financial plan in advance while the university will look for potential candidates by offering them programs that show how charitable donations have served th

The Bank of Korea is emboldened to raise its benchmark rate by 50 basis points for the first time next week, as consumer prices in June increased 6 percent from a year earlier, the highest level since November 1998, when they jumped 6.8 percent on-year amid the Asian financial crisis. Data from Statistics Korea released Tuesday found the June consumer price index topped the 5.4 percent marked in May, in line with the central bank chief’s earlier warning that prices would rise faster in Ju

The Finance Ministry said Monday that the government would respond to any signs of economic weakness before it turns into a crisis by closely tracking indicators pointing to a worsening outlook, like inflation or recession, ahead of the Bank of Korea’s rate hike next week. The country’s five economic chiefs -- the finance minister, President Yoon Suk-yeol’s economic adviser and three separate chiefs from the central bank, top financial policymaker and financial watchdog -

Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said Sunday that he would help Korean companies sell more goods overseas by offering more loans at a time when Korea’s exports snapped 15 months of double-digit growth in June, stocking recession worries. The trade deficit in January-June this year reached $10.3 billion, the highest level ever recorded in the first six months of a year, despite record-high exports in the same period, as soaring energy prices offset the export gains. “I am not quite su

The average daily trading volume of retail investors on the main board Kospi in June dropped to its lowest level since February 2020, data from the Korea Exchange showed Sunday. The fall comes as investors are bracing for a growth slowdown from the US Federal Reserve’s rate hikes. The value of shares investors bought and sold in a day on average on the benchmark index reached 4.3 trillion won ($3.3 billion) last month. That is a little more than 3.7 trillion won recorded in February 2020

KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo said Friday that he would better serve customers by giving them what they need amid worsening inflation pushing up interest rates, at a biannual meeting with executives held in-person for the first time since January 2020. “The mission of financial institutions like us is to offer protection to clients, like having whatever they have with us stay unharmed in the event of a crisis,” Yoon said, describing client protection as the top priority

The US slowdown is set to cause economic headwinds for South Korea over the next year, though analysts said it would have less impact than the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Fei Xue, an Asia analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, told The Korea Herald that the US and EU represent “two major export markets” for Korea and the deceleration expected to take place there soon would lead to waning demand for chips, cars and other export items. For now, such exports alongside stronger do

South Korean consumers raised their outlook this month for where inflation will be in one year to the highest level in 10 years, a Bank of Korea survey showed Wednesday, reinforcing expectations that the central bank would be emboldened to back a steeper-than-expected rate hike in July. In a monthly survey of 2,500 households conducted June 13-20, consumers forecast inflation to average 3.9 percent, up from the previous 3.3 percent in May. The monthly increase is also the largest gain seen sinc