SEJONG -- Market insiders are raising the possibility that dozens of local businesses will suffer a downgrade in their credit standings next year in the wake of economic slowdown as well as worsening liquidity in their financial statements among many in the corporate sector. Their prediction is based on the situation that three major credit rating agencies have recently increased the number of watch list for potential downgrades. According to the lists held by Korea Investors Service, Korea Rati

SEJONG -- South Korea on Wednesday unveiled a road map to take the lead in the global hydrogen industry over the next seven years, stressing the energy business would drive the growth of the nation's economy. At the meeting, presided over by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said the plan is to have 600 hydrogen businesses of global competitiveness, from the current 52, by 2030. To achieve this goal, the government will ease "unreasonable regulatio

SEJONG -- South Korea's state-run think tank warned Tuesday that the nation's economy could slow practically to a standstill in 2050 unless its falling productivity is elevated through structural reform efforts. The Korea Development Institute released a report on the long-term outlook of the Korean economy. According to the report, the nation's economic growth rate is likely to be just 1.3 percent in the 2030s and 0.7 percent in the 2040s per annum in the wake of a rapid decline in the workin

SEJONG -- The chief of Korea’s tax administrative agency said Monday that the transition to a non-face-to-face economy during the COVID-19 pandemic further increased the importance of digital-based tax administration. National Tax Service Commissioner Kim Chang-ki stressed the digitization of tax administration during the second South Korea-South and Central Americas Digital Tax Administration Forum, which kicked off on the day and is scheduled to run through Thursday at a hotel in Seoul.

SEJONG -- The nation’s top economic policymaker on Friday unveiled plans to help facilitate investments in cash-strapped startups, suggesting hefty tax benefits for both corporate and individual investors. At a ministerial meeting in Seoul, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho pointed to the situation whereby the private sector’s investments in startups have contracted in the wake of externally and domestically unfavorable factors in the economy. “Venture

SEJONG -- South Korea’s consumer price growth, a key indication of inflation, posted a higher figure in October compared to the previous month in the wake of sharp hikes in public utility charges despite decelerated growth in energy prices, state data showed Wednesday. According to Statistics Korea, consumer prices grew 5.7 percent on-year in October. This tied with the figure for August, and was higher than the 5.6 percent recorded in September. Though consumer price growth somewhat dec

SEJONG -- South Korea suffered a negative growth in exports for the first time in two years in the wake of sharply contracted demand for semiconductors around the globe and China’s economic slowdown, state data showed Tuesday. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the nation’s exports posted $52.4 billion in October, falling by 5.7 percent compared to a year earlier. This monthly tally marked the first decline in two years since its outbound shipments fell by 3.9

SEJONG -- The number of seniors engaging in economic activities has increased, seemingly due to their worsened living conditions involving lower-than-expected annuity income as well as reduced cash support from their children, a central bank report showed Monday. According to an analysis on factors of rising employment rate among seniors from the Bank of Korea, the tally for employed people aged 60 or over increased by 2.66 million during the period of 2010-2021. This made up 82 percent of the

SEJONG -- Negative growth in the nation’s home prices expanded during the third quarter, compared to the previous quarter, in the wake of rapid rate hikes, the Korea Development Institute said Thursday. The state-run think tank, in its recent report, predicted the decline in home prices will continue through the first half of next year. But it raised a possibility of a different phase starting from the second half of 2023. It said the average trading price of homes in the Greater Seoul a

SEJONG -- South Korea and the Asian Development Bank agreed to expand cooperation on global issues, including climate change, on the occasion of Korea taking the chair for the upcoming meeting of the global development bank set to be held in Songdo, west of Seoul, next year, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday. At a meeting in Seoul, Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho signed a memorandum of understanding with ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa to collaborate for

SEJONG -- South Korea’s chipmakers are likely to suffer losses from US sanctions against the Chinese semiconductor industry, as Korea has invested far more in China than the US, an opposition lawmaker said Monday. According to data handed over to Rep. Kim Hoi-jae of the Democratic Party of Korea by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Samsung Electronics invested $3.8 billion in the US market between 1997 and 2020. This was equal to just 22.2 percent of the chipmaker’s inves

SEJONG -- South Korea’s public firms are poised to sell off assets, including real estate and stocks -- worth more than 20 trillion won ($14 billion) -- over the next five years, state data showed Friday. According to the combined innovation plan, which was handed over to Rep. Koh Yong-jin of the Democratic Party of Korea by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the nation’s 350 state-run firms were planning to dispose of assets worth 22.5 trillion won by 2027. Assets to go up for s

SEJONG -- Financial policymakers on Thursday said banks' foreign currency liquidity conditions remain stable, but raised concerns that the weak won against the US dollar could undermine the asset soundness of financial firms. The remarks were made at a meeting with senior officials from the Finance Ministry, the Bank of Korea, the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, which was held at the Korea Center for International Finance in Seoul. At the meeting, First Vic

South Korea has been outpaced by most members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development regarding key labor-related indicators, a local business lobby found Tuesday. According to the Federation of Korean Industries, Korea ranked 29th for its employment rate among 37 OECD members in 2021, a drastic fall from the 23rd position it had maintained between 2016 and 2000. Though Korea saw its ranking for men’s employment rate climb from 20th in 2000 to 12th in 2016, it slid t

SEJONG -- Unlike carmakers in South Korea, local producers of solar energy-related items will possibly enjoy benefits from the US Inflation Reaction Act which has strengthened regulations on Chinese products, a Seoul organization representing exporters said Monday. According to a report from the Korea International Trade Association, Korean producers' share of US imports of solar cells surged to 47.8 percent in 2021, compared to 1.9 percent in 2011. Over the corresponding 10-year period, the s

SEJONG -- The chief of the International Monetary Fund on Friday dismissed the possibility that South Korea would face a financial crisis, seemingly suggesting that the current economic situation of the nation is different from the 1997 or 2008 crises. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the remarks of IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva came during a meeting with Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho in Washington. Georgieva picked the nat

SEJONG -- South Korea’s top economic policymaker on Thursday called for close collaboration between the Korean government and the World Bank Group to address major global issues, such as tackling climate change. In his meeting with WB Group President David Malpass in Washington, DC, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho stressed the role of World Bank's local liaison office at the Free Economic Zone in Incheon’s Songdo-dong, to bolster the bilateral coordination.

SEJONG -- South Korea’s economic policymakers said the government will allow foreign-based financial firms to “directly” participate in the local foreign exchange market during a meeting with global investment bank executives. Saying that the policy is a part of the government’s effort to provide a foreign investor-friendly environment, the officials reiterated that Korea is mapping out details on the upcoming extension of the foreign exchange market’s opening hour

SEJONG -- The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday suggested a gloomy prediction for the 2023 economy of the world as well as South Korea, citing protracted downside risks such as high inflation and cheap currencies against the US dollar. In its World Economic Outlook, the US-based organization revised its forecast on the 2023 gross domestic product growth of global economy down to 2.7 percent, from its earlier suggestion of 2.9 percent. It also slashed its outlook on Korea by 0.1 percentage

SEJONG -- More than 80 percent of all apartment purchases by foreigners over the past seven years were made by US and Chinese nationals, an opposition party lawmaker said on Monday. According to relevant documents, which were handed over to Rep. Yang Kyung-sook of the Democratic Party of Korea from both the Land Ministry and the Korea Real Estate Board, foreigners bought 29,792 apartments in the local property market between January 2015 and August 2022. Of them, Chinese nationals bought