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  • Economy

    Expected BOK rate hike prompts concern over rising interest burdens on households, firms

    Expectations of imminent interest rate hikes by the Bank of Korea (BOK) are adding to pressure on households and businesses already struggling with rising borrowing costs, analysts said Sunday. Lending rates at major banks have continued to climb as BOK Gov. Shin Hyun-song struck a hawkish tone following a Monetary Policy Board meeting on May 28, reinforcing market expectations that the central bank could begin raising rates as early as July. According to banking industry data, fixed-rate mortgage loans offered by the country's five major lenders — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup — carried interest rates ranging from 4.39 percent to 7.33 percent as of Friday. The upper end of the range was up 0.33 percentage point from a month earlier, when rates stood between 4.4 percent and 7 percent. It marked the first time since October 2022 that the highest fixed mortgage rate among the five major lenders exceeded 7.3 percent. Personal credit loan rates have also moved higher. As of Friday, interest rates on personal credit loans for top-tier borrowers with one-year maturities ra

    2 MIN READBy Lee Hyo-jin
    Expected BOK rate hike prompts concern over rising interest burdens on households, firms
  • Policy

    Top policymakers vow stern action against speculative FX market activities as won weakens

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Top policymakers vow stern action against speculative FX market activities as won weakens
  • Cryptocurrency

    Bithumb's bitcoin payout blunder results in $1.6 mil. compensation

    2 MIN READBy Lee Hyo-jin
    Bithumb's bitcoin payout blunder results in $1.6 mil. compensation
  • Economy

    S. Korean retail investors sell over $641 bil. in overseas stocks in 1st week of June

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    S. Korean retail investors sell over $641 bil. in overseas stocks in 1st week of June
  • Economy

    Seoul stocks, won hammered by massive foreign selling

    2 MIN READBy Park Han-sol
    Seoul stocks, won hammered by massive foreign selling
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Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin inches down ahead of Fed's rate hikes

A real-time price chart for Bitcoin between July 23 and 24 / Screenshot from CoinMarketCap By Lee Min-hyung U.S. Fed Chair Jerome Powell / AP-Yonhap Bitcoin has extended a slight loss ahead of a possible giant rate hike of 75 basis points by the U.S. Fed this week, with investors remaining cautious due to fears concerning the after-effects of the hawkish move. The price of Bitcoin fell by more than 1 percent as of 2 p.m. Sunday from a day earlier. The world's largest cryptocurrency was traded at around $22,700, showing no clear signs of a rebound. Ethereum also lost ground. The two major cryptocurrencies have been trapped in a boxed-in range after their values steeply tumbled following May due to freezing market sentiment caused by the Fed's rate hikes.The weak performance was attributable to heightened financial uncertainty as the July 26-27 Federal

Jul 24, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Bitcoin inches down ahead of Fed's rate hikes
Cryptocurrency

Prosecutors raid Terraform's parent firm in probe into Luna-Terra crash

Illustration shows Terra logo and U.S. dollars / Reuters-YonhapProsecutors have raided the parent company of Terraform Labs as part of a broadening investigation into the massive collapse of the firm's Luna and TerraUSD cryptocurrencies, sources said Sunday.Last week, an investigation team of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office conducted the search and seizure at the parent company currently headed by Terraform co-founder Daniel Shin, according to the legal sources.As part of the raid, prosecutors also searched the home of the chief of another Terraform-related company suspected to be serving as its Korean branch as well as a Terraform subsidiary, the sources said.Terraform is under an investigation for alleged fraud and tax evasion after investors in TerraUSD and Luna filed complaints against Terraform Labs' CEO Do Kwon and co-founder Shin in May, accusing them of fraud over the loss of billions of won following the crash of both coins earlier that month.Last week, the investigation team raided seven local cryptocurrency exchanges, including Upbit, Bithumb and Coinone, an

Jul 24, 2022
Prosecutors raid Terraform's parent firm in probe into Luna-Terra crash
Economy

Why does sale of Mom's Touch attract more attention than peers?

A promotional image from Mom's Touch / Courtesy of Mom's Touch Local chicken burger franchise's profitability exceeds those of rivals By Anna J. Park While most of the major burger franchises in Korea are also currently up for sale in the M&A market, local chicken burger franchise Mom's Touch is drawing the most attention from potential buyers for its superior profitability. The local burger franchise business has been posting better operating profit rates than its main competitors ― the Korean operation units of McDonald's, Burger King and KFC ― which are all up for sale as well. According to financial industry officials, Friday, KL & Partners, the local private equity firm that acquired Mom's Touch in 2019, selected Bank of America Merrill Lynch on Thursday as its main M&A advisory firm for managing the sale of the franchise operation. The global investment bank's track record for successful M&A deals as well as its networking capacity to attract worldwide investo

Jul 22, 2022By Anna J. Park
Why does sale of Mom's Touch attract more attention than peers?
Economy

Producer prices grow for 6th month in June on high energy, service costs

A customers shops at a retail outlet in Seoul, July 20. YonhapKorea's producer prices gained for the sixth straight month in June, driven by rising prices of oil, coal and services, central bank data showed Friday.The producer price index, a major barometer of consumer inflation, stood at 120.04 last month, up 0.5 percent from the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).From a year earlier, the index spiked 9.9 percent, marking the 19th consecutive month of on-year rises.Energy and raw material prices remained high due to prolonged supply disruptions sparked by the coronavirus pandemic, which was compounded by the ongoing war in Ukraine.Prices of coal and oil-related products surged 4.7 percent on-month in June, with those of farm, forest and fisheries goods climbing 0.7 percent. In the service sector, costs of food and lodging expanded 0.7 percent. Excluding volatile food and energy, producer prices increased 0.2 percent in June from a month earlier, slowing from a 0.6 percent gain in May.An increase in producer prices is feared to add to upwar

Jul 22, 2022
Producer prices grow for 6th month in June on high energy, service costs
Economy

Korea to expand tax incentives for highly-skilled foreign engineers

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho, second from left, speaks during a tax policy deliberation committee meeting at the Korea Federation of Banks in central Seoul, Thursday. To his right is CJ Group Co-chairman Sohn Kyung-shik who heads the committee. The ministry announced a tax code revision proposal aimed at revitalizing the economy on the same day. YonhapGov't to lower maximum corporate tax rate to 22% from 25%By Yi Whan-wooThe government will extend a 50-percent cut on income taxes for highly-skilled foreign engineers to 10 years from the current five years in a bid to attract more talented workers from abroad and encourage such people to stay longer amid growing concerns of a population decline.The government will also offer a flat income tax rate of 19 percent for foreigners who work in Korea.The flat income tax rate has only been offered to foreigners who have worked for five years or less in Korea. They are subject to normal progressive income tax rates of between 6 percent and 45 percent afterward.The new measures come as Asia's fourth-la

Jul 21, 2022By Yi Whan-woo
Korea to expand tax incentives for highly-skilled foreign engineers
Economy

S. Korea's national assets hit new high in 2021

Getty Images BankSouth Korea's overall wealth grew more than 11 percent on-year to a new record high in 2021 thanks mainly to increased property prices, central bank data showed Thursday.The country's national assets had come to 19,808.8 trillion won ($15.08 trillion) as of the end of last year, up 11.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the national balance sheet from the Bank of Korea (BOK).It marked the highest on-year growth rate since 2007, when national assets surged 13.3 percent.The BOK attributed the increase mainly to a sharp rise in the value of non-productive assets, such as land and homes.The net value of non-financial assets purchased last year expanded by 229 billion won from the previous year.Real estate accounted for 74.4 percent of the national assets last year, compared with 74.8 percent a year earlier.The central bank also estimated the country's per-household net assets at 544.8 million won in 2021, up about 8 percent from the prior year thanks to higher property prices.Land, homes and other buildings took up 75.3 percent of local households' net worth, acc

Jul 21, 2022
S. Korea's national assets hit new high in 2021
Economy

INTERVIEW Korea unlikely to suffer drastic capital outflow: S&P

This article is the first in a three-part series of interviews with chief economists covering the Korean economy at the Big Three credit rating agencies to analyze the state of Asia's fourth-largest economy amid rising interest rates and high inflation _ ED.Recovery in domestic demand stronger than expected By Kim Yoo-chulA faster-than-expected U.S. monetary tightening has heightened jitters across global financial markets, while market observers here are paying keen attention to whether such volatility will lead to a sudden capital outflow from Korea.Capital outflows happen when various types of assets and real money move to another country attracted by favorable investment returns, such as higher interest rates.The central Bank of Korea (BOK) is facing mounting pressure to move much faster to address growing concerns of capital outflows as the won weakens against the USD and the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) continues to take big steps in hiking rates.S&P Global Ratings Asia-Pacific Chief Economist Louis KuijsThe Fed is widely seen to be heading toward more aggressive rate hikes.

Jul 21, 2022By Kim Yoo-chul
[INTERVIEW] Korea unlikely to suffer drastic capital outflow: S&P
Cryptocurrency

Prosecutors raid cryptocurrency exchanges in probe into Terraform crash

Illustration shows Terra logo and U.S. dollars / Reuters-YonhapProsecutors raided local cryptocurrency exchanges on Wednesday as part of an investigation into a fraud case in connection with the collapse of Terraform Labs' digital coins, TerraUSD and Luna, officials said.A team of investigators from the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office began seizing transaction records and other material from Upbit and other local exchanges around 5 p.m., they said.Investors in TerraUSD and Luna filed complaints against Terraform Labs' CEO Do Kwon and co-founder Daniel Shin in May, accusing them of fraud over the loss of billions of won following the crash of both coins earlier that month. (Yonhap)

Jul 20, 2022
Prosecutors raid cryptocurrency exchanges in probe into Terraform crash
Economy

Consumer complaints over indemnity insurers soar

gettyimagesbankInsurers apply stricter evaluations to overcome chronic deficits from indemnity plans By Anna J. ParkThe number of consumer complaints against insurance companies has been soaring lately, as local insurers have been strengthening evaluation processes to minimize paying out on claims. The rising conflicts between insurers and insurees don't look to have any end in sight, as the former aim to eradicate their chronic deficits from indemnity insurance products.According to the local non-life insurance industry, the number of complaints filed during the first quarter of this year stood at 10,727, up 15.6 percent from the same period last year. The number of complaints on claim settlements rose by 34.5 percent year-on-year. Among the various types of consumer complaints, the leading category turned out to be complaints about insurers' handling of medical indemnity insurance plans, under which insurance companies usually compensate an insured party for their medical costs. Recent data by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) showed the number of complaints filed during the

Jul 20, 2022By Anna J. Park
Consumer complaints over indemnity insurers soar
Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin, Ethereum regain momentum for rally

Seen above is a three-month price chart of Bitcoin until July 20. Screen capture from CoinMarketCap By Lee Min-hyungThe prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum are on a solid recovery track on growing hopes for the U.S. Federal Reserve to slow down the pace of its monetary tightening as the year-end approaches.Bitcoin bounced back to the 30 million mark ($22,800) Wednesday for the first time in more than a month. This is an increase of 22 percent from this year's low of 25.16 million won in mid-June when the market sentiment dipped to the lowest ebb amid a series of crypto bank-run scandals from market players.Ethereum also displayed resilience. The world's second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization soared above 2 million won on the same day. This is also an outstanding rebound from its earlier plunge on the first week of July when its value tumbled to around 1.4 million won.Crypto experts here and abroad expect the market to have recently reached close to a bott

Jul 20, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Bitcoin, Ethereum regain momentum for rally
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