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  • Economy

    Fed's hawkish hold strengthens case for BOK's hike in November

    The U.S. Federal Reserve's hawkish decision to hold interest rates steady has strengthened the case for the Bank of Korea (BOK) to raise its benchmark rate as early as next month, as stronger-than-expected growth and persistent inflation reinforce the need for further monetary tightening, analysts said Thursday. The Fed kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.75 to 4 percent on Wednesday (local time), but signaled that inflation remains elevated and reaffirmed its commitment to bringing inflation back to its 2 percent target. The decision has kept markets focused on the possibility of another Fed rate hike in December, raising the prospect that the BOK could pursue further tightening before its U.S. counterpart makes its next move. The BOK held its benchmark rate at 3 percent at its rate-setting meeting last Thursday, saying it needed more time to assess domestic and external economic conditions and the effects of two previous rate hikes. Recent economic data have strengthened the case for further tightening. Korea's real gross domestic product grew 1 percent in the third quarter

    2 MIN READBy Lee Hyo-jin
    Fed's hawkish hold strengthens case for BOK's hike in November
  • Economy

    Banks' household mortgage lending rates up for 5th month in Sept.

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Banks' household mortgage lending rates up for 5th month in Sept.
  • Economy

    Korea to closely monitor impact of upcoming US midterm elections

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Korea to closely monitor impact of upcoming US midterm elections
  • Policy

    Gov't to designate new housing zones for over 76,000 homes near Seoul

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Gov't to designate new housing zones for over 76,000 homes near Seoul
  • Economy

    Seoul stocks down 3% late Thursday morning after weaker-than-expected Samsung earnings

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Seoul stocks down 3% late Thursday morning after weaker-than-expected Samsung earnings
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World Dagachi platform expands tailored services for foreign residents

Kwon Hae-suk, CEO of World Dagachi, operator of Dagachi, an artificial intelligence (AI) multilingual communication platform, said he hopes the platform would help provide foreign residents of Korea with easy access and practical information related to jobs, housing, visas and daily life. The mobile app- and web-based service is available in 16 languages including English, Chinese and Vietnamese. “Our goal is to improve access for foreign students and workers in Korea, delivering useful information and knowledge in an easy and understandable way,” he said. "The recent signing of a memorandum of understanding with Shinhan Bank will go a long way to advancing that goal" The two firms signed a strategic partnership to strengthen financial services for foreign residents, to better meet the growing demand for more foreign-friendly banking services. Under the agreement, the two firms will expand the bank’s foreign customer base, enhancing service quality by linking financial services with everyday living support platforms used by foreign residents, migrant workers and international stude

Feb 25, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
World Dagachi platform expands tailored services for foreign residents
Economy

Daiso to join BOK-led project to test central bank digital currency

Daiso, a popular Korean discount retailer, will join the second round of an experimental project to test the feasibility of central bank digital currency (CBDC), according to the Bank of Korea (BOK) and industry officials on Tuesday. A CBDC is a digital form of a country’s sovereign currency, issued and regulated directly by a central bank, and is considered more secure and stable than private or decentralized digital currencies. Dubbed Project Hangang, the BOK-led pilot involving Daiso will follow the first round that took place in 2025. “We expect this year’s test program will help the BOK accelerate the collection of transaction data from a range of customers,” an industry official said. He added that Daiso is popular in Korea among people of all ages, especially those in their 20s and 30s, offering a wide range of miscellaneous goods. Its affordable prices have also been attracting foreign tourists, making it a must-visit destination. Under the project, the BOK will issue CBDC to commercial banks, which will then create deposit tokens backed by the CBDC for consumers to use at

Feb 24, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Daiso to join BOK-led project to test central bank digital currency
Economy

Investor-friendly policies, surging KOSPI drive higher dividend payouts

Investor-friendly return policies, along with a bullish stock market, are driving higher dividend payouts, which rose by more than 6 trillion won ($4.14 billion) last year among major listed companies, according to market observers and economists on Tuesday. They said dividend payouts are expected to rise further in 2026, noting that the Lee Jae Myung administration is reinforcing policies to empower investors while the benchmark KOSPI is rising faster than in 2025. “The pace of growth in shareholder returns could surpass 6 trillion won again this year,” said Jung Eui-jung, head of the Korean Stockholders’ Alliance, referring to data released by corporate tracker Leaders Index. The data showed that 694 major companies out of 2,651 listed companies paid 47.99 trillion won in dividends in 2025, marking an increase of 15.3 percent or 6.37 trillion won from 2024. Among the 694 companies, 371 increased their dividends, 106 kept their dividend amounts unchanged from the previous year and 65 began paying dividends after not doing so in 2024. The remaining 152 companies reduced their divid

Feb 24, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Investor-friendly policies, surging KOSPI drive higher dividend payouts
Others

Older homeowners dependent on rental income worry about Lee's move to deny loan extensions

Choi Sung-ho, 67, who has lived in a small apartment in northern Seoul for nearly three decades, said the thought of being left without monthly rental income keeps him up at night. He is currently renting out a unit in a four-story building, commonly called a “multi-family villa,” nearby. The sleepless nights began when President Lee Jae Myung posted a message on social media questioning the fairness of extending loans to people who own multiple homes. Choi's anxiety deepened as news reports said financial authorities were moving quickly to hold meetings, outlining measures to deny loan extensions for those registered as rental business operators. “Am I a greedy speculator? I don’t think so. I don’t own multiple expensive homes — just one for my wife and me to live in, and one that gives us a steady monthly income so we can maintain our dignity in retirement without asking our children for money. We’re not luxury investors with high-rise buildings. That monthly rent is what pays for groceries and hospital bills.” Choi has a bank loan tied to the rental property. He took i

Feb 24, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Older homeowners dependent on rental income worry about Lee's move to deny loan extensions
Policy

Cabinet approves decree resuming heavier capital gains tax on owners of multiple homes

SEJONG — The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a revision to the enforcement decree of the Income Tax Act that will end a temporary exemption from heavy capital gains taxes for owners of multiple homes. Under the revision, a maximum tax rate of up to 75 percent will apply to capital gains from the sale of homes owned by multiple-property holders in designated speculative areas, mostly in the wider capital region, starting on May. 9. The heavy taxation, which was temporarily postponed under the previous President Yoon Suk Yeol administration, will resume after nearly four years. President Lee Jae Myung has emphasized the need to stabilize rising housing prices and curb real estate speculation, particularly in the greater Seoul area. The government, however, will provide a grace period of four to six months in certain cases where tenants currently occupy properties. Under the measure, a four-month grace period will be given for properties in Seoul's upscale Gangnam and Yongsan districts and up to six months for newly designated speculative zones in all other Seoul districts and some areas of th

Feb 24, 2026By Yonhap
Cabinet approves decree resuming heavier capital gains tax on owners of multiple homes
Economy

Seoul gains from Tokyo’s pain over Lunar New Year

HONG KONG/SEOUL — For his family’s first overseas trip together, Tang Junjie carefully planned a holiday in Japan during China’s longest Lunar New Year break on record. Flights were booked months in advance by the 22-year-old from Sichuan province, who had already made three solo visits to the nearby country that has long been a draw for Chinese tourists. But a sudden deterioration in Sino-Japanese relations changed everything. “The original plan was to transit through Seoul on our way to Japan,” Tang said. “But the airline couldn’t refund the tickets at the time, so we decided to stay in Seoul and not continue on to Japan.” Tang and his family were among the influx of Chinese tourists who visited Korea during the holiday period, which began on Feb. 15 and ended on Monday. Beijing and Tokyo have been embroiled in a diplomatic dispute since November, when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that Tokyo could respond militarily to a potential attack on Taiwan. In response, Beijing has advised citizens to avoid traveling to Japan. Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports a

Feb 24, 2026By Lee Yeon-woo
Seoul gains from Tokyo’s pain over Lunar New Year
Economy

US tariff ruling has limited impact on Korean stock market: analysts

The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs is expected to have a limited impact on the Korean stock market, though effects may vary across sectors, analysts here said Monday. On Friday (local time), the U.S. court ruled Trump's use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose sweeping tariffs as unlawful, making a major setback for his trade policies. Following the ruling, Trump announced a new temporary global tariff of 15 percent and vowed to issue "new and legally permissible" duties to replace the nullified reciprocal tariffs. "The court's ruling on reciprocal tariffs will not have a huge impact on the Korean stock market," Kang Dae-seung, an analyst at SK Securities, said, noting the newly raised blanket 15 percent tariff rate is of the same level as what was agreed upon in the Seoul-Washington trade deal last year. Market watchers also noted that Washington would not want to escalate trade tensions with its trading partners, especially ahead of the United States' midterm elections slated for November. Despite the overall m

Feb 23, 2026By Yonhap
US tariff ruling has limited impact on Korean stock market: analysts
Economy

Korea's trade watchdog recommends accepting Japanese, Chinese steel companies' price hike pledge as remedy

Korea's trade watchdog on Monday decided to recommend the government accept a proposal from Japanese and Chinese steel companies to raise export prices of their hot-rolled carbon and alloy steel products over the next five years as part of anti-dumping remedies. The Korea Trade Commission (KTC) said it will make such a recommendation to the Ministry of Economy and Finance for three Japanese and six Chinese steel exporters that made price adjustment proposals. The companies have proposed a price undertaking after the KTC reached a preliminary decision in September to impose anti-dumping duties, having determined that the exporters inflicted damage on the Korean steel industry through dumping practices. The nine companies accounted for about 81 percent of Korea's imports of hot-rolled steel products from 2022-24. The KTC said it will recommend the ministry levy anti-dumping tariffs of up to 33.43 percent for the next five years on other Japanese and Chinese companies that did not make such proposals. Trade authorities launched an investigation into the case in March last year, about three m

Feb 23, 2026By Yonhap
Korea's trade watchdog recommends accepting Japanese, Chinese steel companies' price hike pledge as remedy
Others

KOSPI marches toward historic 6,000 points

The benchmark KOSPI surged past 5,900 points during intraday trading on Monday, moving closer to the unprecedented 6,000-point mark just about a month after finishing above 5,000 points for the first time. The main index got off to a strong start, rising 1.63 percent to open at 5,903.11 points and quickly climbing to 5,931.86 points, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last week against so-called "reciprocal" tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. The index later pared gains and closed at 5,846.09 points. Retail investors were net buyers of more than 1.08 trillion won ($749.39 million) in stocks, while foreign and institutional investors were net sellers of over 1.09 trillion won and 142 billion won, respectively. Hyundai Motor posted the steepest gain among the top 10 stocks, rising 2.75 percent to 523,000 won after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump’s sweeping duties last Friday. Sister company Kia gained 0.52 percent to 172,700 won, as the Korean auto industry had been among the hardest hit by the tariffs, which varied by country and product. Market bellwether Samsun

Feb 23, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
KOSPI marches toward historic 6,000 points
Others

Parents rush to open stock accounts for children as KOSPI hits highs

Kim, a 39-year-old office worker in Seoul, recently set up a brokerage account in the name of his 5-year-old daughter as the benchmark KOSPI continues to hit record highs. He said putting money into his child’s account early and within the tax-exempt gifting limit seemed like a smart way to pursue long-term investment. “Since the assets will eventually go to my child anyway, I thought it would be better to start investing sooner,” he said. Lee, a 43-year-old office worker living in Gyeonggi Province, also opened accounts for her two elementary school children late last year. She said she plans to invest mainly in IT-related stocks to build funds for her children’s future wedding expenses over time. “It feels less burdensome to invest gradually rather than keep the money in cash,” she said. With Korea’s benchmark index repeatedly hitting record highs, more parents are following suit by opening accounts for their underage children, industry officials said Monday. Many are aiming to transfer assets early while keeping taxes low and maximizing long-term returns. Even so, market

Feb 23, 2026By Jun Ji-hye
Parents rush to open stock accounts for children as KOSPI hits highs
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