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Lee Kyung-min

Korea Times AI content 2 team Reporter

Value context and insight. lkm@koreatimes.co.kr

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Economy

Ukraine feud poses downside risk to Korea

A cargo vessel carrying liquefied natural gas. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min Concerns are mounting that escalating tensions in Ukraine could pose downside risks to Korea, an emerging market highly vulnerable to an exodus of foreign capital triggered by global financial market uncertainties.A closer look at the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, the world's largest natural gas exporter, shows that the standoff involves Moscow and Western countries, a reason why market watchers are paying close attention to how big of an impact a war over geopolitical hegemony could have on the energy market. Natural gas prices in Europe have spiked six-fold this year, due to supply chain uncertainties. The price volatility increased further after the U.S. delayed the operation of gas pipes connecting Germany and Russia to tame its military aggressions. Europe relies on Russia for about 40 percent of its total natural gas supply.Energy crisis concerns are mounting, since Korea will not be able to indefinitely delay paying higher energy costs. The government froze electricity fees for the first qua

Dec 27, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Ukraine feud poses downside risk to Korea
Economy

Contribution Korea's economic journey as OECD member

Vincent KoenBy Vincent KoenIn 2021, Korea celebrated the 25th anniversary of its OECD membership. There is indeed much to be proud of, even though momentous challenges, old and new, loom large.Korea joined the OECD in 1996, after over three decades of stellar growth based on its export-oriented economy, its hard-working and increasingly well-educated workforce and high savings and investment rates. The so-called “Miracle on the Han River” had transformed one of the world's poorest countries at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War into an economy where per-capita income matched that of some European countries. Nevertheless, it was still far below the OECD average in 1996. Over the past 25 years, Korea has carried out major economic reforms, aligned its policies on OECD best practices in many areas, increased its integration into the global economy and further enhanced its technological and human potential. GDP per capita converged to the OECD average and overtook Japan's, and Korea became the world's 10th-largest economy. GDP per capita has caught up with the OECD averageCons

Dec 27, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
[Contribution] Korea's economic journey as OECD member
Economy

Robot-related stocks on the rise

Boston Dynamics CEO Robert Playter, left, speaks about Spot, a four-legged, dog-like robot developed by the firm. Korea Times file By Lee Kyung-min Robot-related shares are showing signs of overheating, as evidenced by around a 70-percent increase in value over the past few months in a clearly bearish market. Behind the steep rise lies market expectations of the rapid growth of the new technology-driven business, as confirmed by Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong announcing a three-year investment plan to the tune of 240 trillion won in future tech industries, including robots and artificial intelligence. Market watchers say that Samsung beginning the mass production of robots will fan the prospect of mergers and acquisition (M&A) opportunities for small technology developers and robot manufacturers. Also advancing the resolve of the global conglomerate's future tech business is the establishment of a robot business team. Such a team is an organization

Dec 27, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Robot-related stocks on the rise
Economy

NFTs emerge as new value investments

An electronic trading board shows the prices of bitcoin, Oct. 21. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), a type of blockchain-mediated digital asset, are emerging as value investments, propped up by the steady inflow of pandemic-induced liquidity and robust growth of the cryptocurrency market, in which a variety of new virtual assets are being generated.The growth prospects of the digital tokens as a new asset class could brighten further, as proven in part by a sharp increase in share prices of entertainment and gaming firms after their announcements of hefty investments into the new investment vehicle. Also bolstering the view is a rapid increase in the number of young investors who have increasingly been embracing the digital token as a viable method of asset increase ― a result of gains from crypto investments over the past few years. Some equity market analysts say that a large portion of key investors will prefer NFTs to stocks ― an understandable choice given the gradual yet firmly hawkish monetary policy direction of the Bank of Korea in recent months.It

Dec 26, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
NFTs emerge as new value investments
Banking & Finance

Green library

Shinhan Card Brand Strategy Division head Lee Byung-ho, right, and Songpa District Office chief Park Sung-soo hold a sign celebrating the opening of a library in Seoul containing furniture made of recycled materials, Dec. 24. Courtesy of Shinhan Card

Dec 26, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Green library
Economy

Contribution It's not stagflation. It's steady-state expansion

Deyi Tan / Courtesy of Morgan StanleyBy Deyi TanIn 2021, the Korean economy was in what we call a “Goldilocks” phase. In this phase, GDP growth accelerated to being above-trend. Inflation remained benign, and policies were big and easy, with active fiscal policies and loose financial conditions aided by the Bank of Korea's monetary accommodation.As we approach 2022, markets are debating the likelihood of stagflation, given growth headwinds and upside inflation risks. Indeed, on the growth front, downside concerns stem from the implications of China's regulatory action and property market deleveraging. More recently, there are also concerns over the Omicron variant and how it may impact the recovery trajectory. Then there are the supply-side constraints, which have led to fears that this situation could amount to a constraint on growth and continue to lead inflation to surprises on the upside. Also related to upside inflation risks are how the Bank of Korea and other central banks may respond, especially against the backdrop of a faster Fed taper and whether that could pos

Dec 26, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
[Contribution] It's not stagflation. It's steady-state expansion
Economy

Samsung Electronics bounces back on foreign buying spree

By Lee Kyung-min Samsung Electronics shares climbed back to an intra-day high of 80,000 won ($67.30), Thursday, on the back of a foreign buying spree and eased concerns over a slowdown in the semiconductor industry. Investor sentiment got a further boost after global chipmaker Micron announced upbeat profit guidance figures. The Korean electronics giant's stock price exceeded the psychologically significant 80,000 won mark for the first time since Aug. 10 when it stood at 82,200 won. The shares closed at 79,900 won, up 0.63 percent from the previous session.The recent increase in the tech giant's share price has been driven by foreign investors who net purchased 2.57 trillion won since the beginning of this month.Market watchers say the price will continue its uptrend for the time being, led by a rebound in DRAM prices along with expectations for a solid fourth-quarter performance. Samsung shares rose more than 11 percent this month, up from 71,300 won. The double-digit increase is more than double that of the benchmark KOSPI which rose 5.1 percent in the same period. The much-awaite

Dec 23, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Samsung Electronics bounces back on foreign buying spree
Economy

Over 4 in 5 Korean firms 'discriminated' against in China: FKI report

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Kyung-min More than four out of five Korean firms in China find the local investment conditions worse than 10 years ago and believe that they are being discriminated against by their Chinese business counterparts, a survey showed Wednesday.According to a survey released by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) of 131 companies with over 10 years of business presence in China excluding financial services firms, 85.5 percent said their investment conditions have deteriorated compared with a decade ago, with only 6.9 percent indicating otherwise.About 63.4 percent said they agreed with the statement that conditions have worsened, while 22.1 percent said they have deteriorated significantly.The combined 85.5 percent is 12.4 times more than the 6.9 percent that said conditions have improved.Over a third said the deterioration is attributable to Chinese government risk (38.1 percent). This was followed by discrimination between Chinese firms and foreign firms (20.5 percent), the deepening U.S.-China trade feud (18.2 percent), tightening environmental regulations (

Dec 22, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Over 4 in 5 Korean firms 'discriminated' against in China: FKI report
Global Community

Nearly 9 in 10 foreign nationals in Korea want to extend their stays

Over half at least somewhat satisfied with jobs By Lee Kyung-min Almost nine out of 10 foreign nationals in Korea without permanent residency want to extend their stay, government data showed Tuesday.Data from Statistics Korea showed that 88.2 percent of foreign nationals without F-5 visas said that they wanted to continue to remain in Korea as of May, up 1.7 percent from the previous year.They wanted to do so by extending their current visas (53.6 percent), followed by acquiring permanent residency (14.6 percent) and acquiring Korean nationality (11.1 percent).The data also showed that the number of residents of foreign nationality stood at over 1.33 million, similar to the figure last year.The number of employed foreign nationals was 855,300, up about 7,000 from a year ago. This marks the first increase since 2018, when the number of employed foreign nationals stood at 884,300.This year's increase is attributable to a rebound in the overall number of workers in the country due to a partial recovery in the labor market from last year's rapid job losses.“Many people were unabl

Dec 21, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Nearly 9 in 10 foreign nationals in Korea want to extend their stays
Economy

Korea to maintain expansionary fiscal policy in 2022

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki speaks during a press briefing at the Seoul Government Complex, Monday. YonhapFiscal spending to focus on revitalizing economy, bolstering innovative growthBy Lee Kyung-min The government will continue to maintain its expansionary fiscal policy next year, to provide the impetus for an economic recovery in the first half by frontloading 63 percent of the massive 608 trillion won ($509.8 billion) annual budget, the finance ministry said Monday.The decision comes as part of the 2022 Policy Directives unveiled by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, aimed at spurring growth momentum and revitalizing Asia's fourth-largest economy, which has been underpinned by exports.Under the plan, the government will place a priority on supporting the recovery of domestic demand, by expanding tax incentives on credit card use and extending discount coupon schemes. Another focus will be placed on ensuring green and innovative growth by spending up to 33.1 trillion won in related industries, including businesses that advance green and carbon neutrali

Dec 20, 2021By Lee Kyung-min
Korea to maintain expansionary fiscal policy in 2022
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