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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
  • Economy

    KRX issues circuit breaker for KOSPI on sharp fall

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    KRX issues circuit breaker for KOSPI on sharp fall
  • Economy

    Seoul shares open over 8% lower on inflation, tech slump woes; trading halted for 20 minutes

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Seoul shares open over 8% lower on inflation, tech slump woes; trading halted for 20 minutes
  • Others

    AI-fueled Samsung affiliates reshape KOSPI market cap rankings

    2 MIN READBy Jun Ji-hye
    AI-fueled Samsung affiliates reshape KOSPI market cap rankings
  • 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
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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

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Economy

Fed hawks signal downshift in US rate hikes after July

Federal Reserve Board building on Constitution Avenue is pictured in Washington, D.C., in this Mar. 19, 2019, file photo. Reuters-YonhapTwo of the Federal Reserve's most vocal hawks on Thursday said they would support another 75 basis-point interest rate increase later this month but a downshift to a slower pace afterward, even as both downplayed the risk of higher borrowing costs pushing the U.S into recession."I am definitely in support a doing another 75 basis-point hike in July," Fed Governor Christopher Waller said during a discussion with the National Association for Business Economics."Probably 50 in September," Waller added, "and then after that we can debate whether to go back down to 25s or if inflation just doesn't seem to be going down, we have to do more."At a separate event in Little Rock, Arkansas, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard also said a 75 basis-point hike at the U.S. central bank's next policy-setting meeting on July 26-27 would "make a lot of sense."The move would bring the policy rate to a range of 2.25 percent-2.5 percent, about a percentage point short

Jul 8, 2022
Fed hawks signal downshift in US rate hikes after July
Economy

Biz leaders identify data & analysis as most important tech: EY Korea

gettyimagesbank By Anna J. Park More than half of local business leaders point to data and analysis as the most important investment as well as technology that is expected to create the highest value to corporations during the next two years. This is according to “EY Tech Horizon 2022,” a global survey of more than 1,600 senior executives, including in Korea, on the role of technology in their business transformation strategies.Of the surveyed local business leaders, 53 percent chose data and analysis as the area of top priority for the sake of establishing innovative strategic goals. Other tech infrastructures were also selected as key areas of investment, including the internet of things by 51 percent of the local respondents, cloud services by 47 percent, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning by 42 percent and blockchain technology by 18 percent. While only 21 percent of the Korean businesses surveyed said they've completed transformations towards bec

Jul 8, 2022By Anna J. Park
Biz leaders identify data & analysis as most important tech: EY Korea
Economy

Wage gap between large, small firms widens amid inflation

Jobseekers review a list of programs during a job fair for mid-sized companies at COEX in southern Seoul, Tuesday. YonhapBy Yi Whan-wooThe wage gap between conglomerates and smaller businesses is widening, raising concerns that it will deepen wealth inequality as soaring inflation reduces real income and therefore hits low-income earners hardest. This gap accordingly is spurring debate on whether conglomerates should refrain from raising salaries, as suggested recently by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho, under the premise of taming inflation.Choo's suggestion was highly controversial, as it was interpreted as putting the financial burden on salaried workers through a possible pay freeze, although wage raises are less responsible for price increases compared to the weight of the energy crunch, supply chain disruptions and other external economic risks.“The wage difference by the size of the company is indeed a serious problem that should be tackled right away, although I disagree with the deputy prime minister concerning the idea of curbin

Jul 7, 2022By Yi Whan-woo
Wage gap between large, small firms widens amid inflation
Economy

Financial consumer protection law to be strengthened

Financial Services Commission (FSC) headquarters at the Government Complex in central Seoul / YonhapBy Anna J. Park Financial companies will be facing more limitations in soliciting investments when they attempt to sell high-risk financial products to general consumers.This is according to Thursday's preliminary announcement by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) on the revision of the nation's Financial Consumer Protection Act, which will take effect sometime later this year. In principle, the current law prohibits investment solicitations, unless there's a request made on the part of consumers. However, as enforcement ordinances of the law allow a wide range of exceptions to the prohibition, such investment solicitations on most products are actually possible, other than for over-the-counter derivatives products. Aiming to prevent an excessive increase of solicitations on financial consumers, the revision of the act will allow only exceptional cases of consumer persuasion by financial firms on the condition of acquiring consumer consent in advance. Even when they succeed at get

Jul 7, 2022By Anna J. Park
Financial consumer protection law to be strengthened
Economy

Customs agency chief attends meeting hosted by European commerce chamber

Korea Customs Service (KCS) Commissioner Yoon Tae-sik, second from left, poses with European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ECCK) Chairperson Dirk Lukat, third from left, and other key participants of a meeting hosted by the ECCK at Grand Hyatt Seoul hotel in central Seoul, Thursday, to discuss Korea-EU trade cooperation. Courtesy of KCSBy Yi Whan-wooKorea Customs Service (KCS) Commissioner Yoon Tae-sik attended a meeting hosted by the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ECCK) in Seoul, Thursday, to facilitate communication with European businesses here. A career bureaucrat, Yoon built his expertise in international finance and trade, foreign exchange and other global economy-related issues at the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The meeting took place at the Grand Hyatt Seoul hotel, with the participation of about 30 CEOs and executives from ECCK member companies. They included ECCK Chairperson Dirk Lukat, who is also CEO of the Seoul branch of Germany-headquartered multinational logistics company Schenker.“The meeting was intended to share a range of thoughts and opinions o

Jul 7, 2022By Yi Whan-woo
Customs agency chief attends meeting hosted by European commerce chamber
Economy

Korea eyes belt-tightening policy to improve fiscal health

President Yoon Suk-yeolKorea said Thursday it plans to implement a belt-tightening policy in a shift from years of an expansionary fiscal policy stance in an effort to improve fiscal health impaired by the growing national debt.President Yoon Suk-yeol's government unveiled a five-year plan to enhance fiscal soundness amid concerns that the country's debt has grown at an alarming pace and high indebtedness could negatively affect its sovereign rating.The move marks a departure from the expansionary fiscal policy that the previous Moon Jae-in government had maintained over the past five years in a bid to prop up economic growth and cope with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.At a fiscal strategy meeting presided over by Yoon, the government said it plans to lower its fiscal deficit to pre-pandemic levels.To this end, the finance ministry aims to reduce the fiscal deficit to a size equivalent to less than 3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), from the 5.1 percent estimate for this year.The country also set the goal of cutting the debt-to-GDP ratio to around "the midpoint" of

Jul 7, 2022
Korea eyes belt-tightening policy to improve fiscal health
Economy

'Green stocks are China's next tech stocks'

Phil Lee, head of Asia Pacific research at Mirae Asset Global Investments, refers to data during an interview with The Korea Times at the company's office in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Kim Bo-eun Long-term outlook positive for internet stocks, Mirae Asset chief researcher says, also referring to value of EV supply chain and solar power sharesBy Kim Bo-eunHONG KONG ― China's internet stocks have been top picks for investors around the world for years, but the government's regulatory stance toward the companies has led the shares to plunge over the past year. Stocks of Big Tech companies such as Alibaba have begun recovering in recent weeks, but analysts have referred to China's green energy stocks as holding greater investment value.Phil Lee, head of Asia Pacific research at Mirae Asset Global Investments, said the outlook for China's Big Tech firms could be positive in the long-run, as their focus increases on cloud and artificial intel

Jul 7, 2022By Kim Bo-eun
'Green stocks are China's next tech stocks'
Economy

Korea logs current account surplus in May, turnaround from April deficit

A port in Korea's southern city of Busan, July 1. YonhapKorea posted a current account surplus in May, turning around from the previous month's deficit, but its surplus was still much smaller than a year earlier as import bills remained high amid soaring energy and commodity prices, central bank data showed Thursday.The country's current account surplus amounted to $3.86 billion in May, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).It marked a reversal from the previous month when Korea registered a current account deficit of $80 million ― the first shortfall since April 2020 ― due in part to such one-off factors as expanded overseas dividend payments.The May surplus is still much smaller than a year earlier when the country posted a surplus of $10.41 billion, the data showed.The on-year contraction is blamed on mounting import bills caused by a jump in prices of oil and other key commodities that Korea mostly buys from overseas.Imports totaled $58.96 billion in May, up from $44.55 billion tallied a year earlier. The inbound shipments grew at a faster pace than expor

Jul 7, 2022
Korea logs current account surplus in May, turnaround from April deficit
Economy

KDI chief hints at resignation out of frustration with PM's remarks

Korea Development Institute (KDI) President Hong Jang-pyo speaks during a conference in December, 2019. NewsisBy Anna J. ParkKorea Development Institute (KDI) President Hong Jang-pyo hinted at the possibility he might resign from the post, criticizing Prime Minister Han Duck-soo's recent comment that Hong, who designed the previous Moon administration's income-led growth economic plan, does not fit with the Yoon administration. In a press release on Wednesday, the chief of the public research institute said there is no reason for him to stay in the post if the prime minister decides to close his ears to different opinions. “I was very disappointed by the prime minister's remarks that suggest his disapproval of any difference between the government and the state-run research institute,” Hong stated in the document. “I have never heard anyone who says out loud that a state-run research agency should have the same opinion as the government,” Hong said, stressing that the KDI is not the think-tank of any particular administration. “The prime minister's remar

Jul 6, 2022By Anna J. Park
KDI chief hints at resignation out of frustration with PM's remarks
Economy

Investors advised to boost cash holdings amid stock market uncertainty

Dealers at Hana Bank work at a dealing room at the lender's headquarters in Seoul, Wednesday. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungStock investors are advised to increase cash and other safer assets such as gold and dividend stocks in their asset portfolio, as growing fears of a recession will keep posing a risk to the benchmark KOSPI, analysts said. The main bourse has been on a sharp decline, falling to around 2,300 points for the past month. It closed at 2,292.01 Wednesday, down 49.77 points from the previous day. However, market analysts predicted Korean stocks might tumble further, at least until the end of this year.The outlook came as multiple risk factors, such as the war between Russia and Ukraine, China's zero-COVID policy and strong monetary tightening, have put downward pressure on the economy.Daishin Securities analyst Lee Kyoung-min expects the KOSPI to suffer a bigger loss until the first quarter of next year.“The likelihood of recession will keep growing, as rising prices and hawkish monetary policies here and abroad are feared to weaken economic growth and corporate earnings

Jul 6, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Investors advised to boost cash holdings amid stock market uncertainty
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