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Lee Kyung-min

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Economy

Korea should brace for oil price volatility

Fears growing over export drop, deflation By Lee Kyung-min Oil prices will continue to fluctuate due to heightened uncertainty over how the recent conflict between major oil producers will unfold, with the rapid spread of the new coronavirus remaining a major risk crushing demand, analysts said Tuesday. Oil prices fell over 30 percent March 9, the biggest fall since the 1991 Gulf War. The price shock came as Saudi Arabia slashed its export oil prices over the weekend after Russia refused to agree to further production cuts. The global oil benchmark Brent crude was at $33.09 (39,500 won) a barrel on Monday (local time), a fall of 27 percent. U.S. crude fell 27 percent to $30. While Goldman Sachs has warned that the price of oil could tumble further to as low as $20 a barrel, local analysts view such a scenario as unlikely. “Our baseline scenario is that the price will move between a range of 35 and 45 dollars per barrel,” Meritz Securities chief economist Stephen Lee said.“The coronavirus will spread but will eventually be contained in a month or two. Although the di

Mar 11, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Korea should brace for oil price volatility
Economy

Coronavirus weighs on Korean job markets

March to see more pronounced impact of virus By Lee Kyung-min The number of those who took temporary leave soared in January, while the service sector added fewer jobs, sparking fears that the economic fallout of the rapid-spreading novel coronavirus is creeping into the nation's sluggish job market, government data showed Wednesday. The unexpected global health crisis poses a major downside risk to Asia's fourth-largest economy that has yet to see any material impact of the fiscal stimulus package set up to counter damage from the drawn-out U.S.-China trade feud. Statistics Korea data showed Korea added 492,000 jobs in February form the year before, reporting over 300,000 jobs for the seventh consecutive months. However, people in their 40s were still isolated from what the government is eager to call a job market recovery as that group lost 104,000 jobs. Young people aged between 15 and 29 also lost 49,000 jobs, mostly due to weak demand for travel and need-based contract services. Policymakers and economists expect that Korea will see more dreadful job data in March as the COVID-1

Mar 11, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Coronavirus weighs on Korean job markets
Economy

The cost of an entry ban on China

Song Yeong-kwanBy Song Yeong-kwan Should Korea impose an entry ban on China to contain COVID-19? Certainly Hwang Kyo-ahn, chairman of the main opposition United Future Party, and his party think so. Fueled by growing fears over the spread of coronavirus, more than 760,000 Koreans signed a petition ― filed on Jan. 23 ― demanding that the Moon administration take a “preemptive” stance by stopping the inflow of Chinese nationals into the country.But is it prudent for Korea to close its borders to the Chinese in its fight against this potential pandemic? China is the epicenter of the virus. Since the World Health Organization (WHO) was alerted to several cases of unusual pneumonia in Wuhan on Dec. 31, the COVID-19 outbreak has continued to grow, infecting more than 110,000 people in at least 112 countries. Of the total number of confirmed cases, China takes the lion's share with just over 80,000, followed by Korea with roughly 7,500 to date. These staggering figures have prompted the U.S. Trump administration to prohibit entry to any foreign national who has traveled to China

Mar 10, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
The cost of an entry ban on China
Economy

Virus, China slowdown to hammer Korean economy

Organizations rush to cut Korea's growth outlookBy Lee Kyung-min Korea is expected to suffer a sharper-than-expected drop in economic growth due to a toxic mixture of the fast-spreading coronavirus and disruptions in the China-centered global supply chain, economists said Tuesday. They expect that Asia's fourth-largest economy will certainly be one of the hardest hit due to its dependence on China for exports, which have more than doubled over the past two decades. The decline in exports is feared to offset the much-awaited recovery in the semiconductor industry, which accounts for around 20 percent of the country's total exports. While Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries are fast emerging as Korea's new trading partners, the prolonged virus scare will also dampen the trade sentiment with them. According to a report from Hyundai Research Institute (HRI), Korea's growth prospects will be seriously marred by what it identified as a fear of double c ― coronavirus and China.“China's growth will far underperform market consensus amid the ongoing downward spiral

Mar 10, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Virus, China slowdown to hammer Korean economy
  • Cushioning blow from supply chain disruptions
  • Preemptive strategies needed to handle virus crisis
  • Japan's travel ban could impact Korean firms
  • Korea tightens short-selling rules
Economy

KAMCO to foster innovative in-house ventures

KAMCO CEO Moon Sung-yu, fifth from left, poses with the firm's senior officials after signing an agreement to foster innovative in-house ventures at the firm's head office in Busan International Finance Center, March 10. Courtesy of KAMCOBy Lee Kyung-min Korea Asset Management Corp. (KAMCO) signed a memorandum of understanding with the firm's senior officials to foster in-house ventures, the state run organization said Tuesday. Under the memorandum, the firm will mobilize financial and manpower support to help successfully launch and provide for the stable operation of such entities tasked with enriching innovative corporate spirit and sustainable growth model development.It will improve efficiency in manpower allocation to best help the workers stay motivated to learn and develop corporate strategies needed not only to stay competitive but also fulfill corporate responsibilities by creating jobs.Consultations will be arranged with in-house and outside experts whose specialties encompass IT, software development and business management.It will increase funding to bolster effective co

Mar 10, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Economy

Red tape baffles virus-hit SMEs

In this March 4 photo, a sign on the door of the Daegu Small Enterprise and Market Service says it cannot process any new coronavirus-related hardship loan applications for the day as the daily limit of 200 had already been lodged. YonhapCash-strapped small biz irked by lack of manpower By Lee Kyung-min Many small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) hit hard by the rapid spread of the new coronavirus continue to experience difficulty in taking out loans, due mostly to a lack of manpower to process their requests coupled with overall administrative inefficiency.Experts said Sunday that the supposed fiscal stimulus, utterly lacking in follow-up execution measures, is leading to a faster deterioration of the livelihoods of the most vulnerable in the economy. They added that the focus should have been on how best to help the most in need in an effective and efficient manner rather than obsessing over how much money should be allocated. According to Small Enterprise and Market Service (SEMS), a quasi-government organization supervised by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, it takes up to

Mar 8, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Red tape baffles virus-hit SMEs
  • 'Rate cuts not enough to keep economy on track as virus spreads'
Economy

Gold investors rake in profit amid virus scare

gettyimagesbank By Lee Kyung-min Gold has generated the most handsome returns over the past few months amid the fast-spreading new coronavirus, data showed Sunday.The double-digit profit margin over the past three months of the safe-haven asset is expected to continue as the global economy scrambles to fight against the heightened uncertainty involving the rapid spread of the virus. According to the gold bourse of the Korea Exchange (KRX), the price of gold stands at 64,010 won ($53.74) per gram as of March 6, a whopping 13.21 percent year-to-date increase from 56,540 won Dec. 31 2019. This is the highest year-to-date profit derived among other investments. The gold price hit a record-high touching 64,800 won Feb. 24, all the while the local stock market dipped by 3.87 percent amid corona virus fears. The volatile stock market saw a 7.16 year-to-date drop, after the primary KOSPI fell below 2,050, pushing down the related indices along with it. KODEX 200, an exchang

Mar 8, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Gold investors rake in profit amid virus scare
  • 'Rate cuts not enough to keep economy on track as virus spreads'
Economy

FSS appoints five new deputy governors

Cho Young-ikBy Lee Kyung-min Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Yoon Suk-heun named five new deputy governors in a regular reshuffle, Thursday, whose three-year term begins today. Former FSS spokesman Cho Young-ik will be in charge of financial consumer protection, a function of growing importance following a series of investment scandals involving the mis-selling of financial products, including derivative-linked funds (DLF). Cho's extensive experience heading the oversight bureau is expected to strengthen the FSS's consumer protection, one of the key areas Yoon has focused on since his inauguration.Kim Jong-minThe FSS organization's planning and management will be overseen by Kim Jong-min, whose previous role as a planning and policy coordination bureau head will be extended to improve organizational efficiency and innovation. Kim has a bachelor's degree in economics from Seoul National University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Arizona.Lee Jin-seok will be in charge of the strategic oversight division, while Park Sang-wook and Kim Don

Mar 6, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
FSS appoints five new deputy governors
Economy

Government to ban export of face masks

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun bangs a gavel at the beginning of the Cabinet meeting in Daegu, Thursday.Manufacturing, distribution to be controlled By Lee Kyung-min The government will ban the export of face masks from today, as part of emergency measures to curb the continued spike in their prices and a shortage of what many consider a daily necessity to prevent any further spread of the coronavirus here, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Thursday.The measures will remain effective until June 30.The government will control the manufacture and distribution of the masks to help guarantee their availability at an affordable price to those in need.“The country’s mask manufacturers are bracing for weeks of overnight work to meet the rapidly increasing demand,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said at a Cabinet meeting in Daegu, Thursday.“The government will implement all measures possible to help the public feel that masks are being made available fairly to those in need.”The administration plans to ease rules on daily mask manufacturing limits and the m

Mar 5, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Government to ban export of face masks
  • Government under fire for failing to tackle mask shortage
  • Koreans cynical about China's mask donations
  • China coronavirus infections up in Wuhan
Economy

NTS audits 52 suspected mask hoarders

National Tax Service (NTS) Assistant Commissioner for Investigation Lim Kwang-hyun, left, give a press briefing at the NTS in Sejong, Tuesday. YonhapBy Lee Kyung-min The National Tax Service launched an audit into a group of sellers and brokers over suspicions that they hoarded protective face masks, pushing up the price of what many consider a daily necessity to prevent further spread of the fast-spreading coronavirus, Tuesday.Individuals engaged in what the authorities deem “mass purchase that manipulates regular market circulation” will be subject to an audit of their past five years of records and referred to related authorities if any irregularities are discovered. The investigation comes amid brewing public criticism over the shortage of masks despite the combined maximum capacity of the country's 140 mask manufacturers standing at 10 million per day.The tax agency said 258 officials were dispatched early Tuesday to look into 52 online sellers and middlemen in the chain of distribution for suspicion that their illicit acts led to a spike in the price and shortage of

Mar 3, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
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