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  • Economy

    Inflation to remain above 3% in 2nd half despite US-Iran deal: BOK

    Korea's consumer inflation is expected to remain around 3 percent in the second half of the year as the impact of elevated oil prices stemming from the Middle East conflict continues to filter through the economy, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Wednesday. Although a ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran has raised hopes for an end to the monthslong war, the BOK said price pressures fueled by higher energy costs are likely to spread beyond petroleum products to other goods and services in the coming months. "Although geopolitical tensions have eased somewhat following the ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran, upside risks to inflation remain," BOK Gov. Shin Hyun-song said during a press briefing. "It could take considerable time for energy supply chains to normalize and for oil prices to stabilize. Higher energy costs could also gradually spill over into other goods and services," he said. Despite recent declines in oil prices as expectations rise that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz will normalize, Shin said the central bank would look beyond short-term mark

    2 MIN READBy Lee Hyo-jin
    Inflation to remain above 3% in 2nd half despite US-Iran deal: BOK
  • Economy

    KOSPI hits record closing high as SK hynix extends rally

    2 MIN READBy Lee Yeon-woo
    KOSPI hits record closing high as SK hynix extends rally
  • Policy

    Stock rally halts Korea's pension reform debate

    2 MIN READBy Lee Yeon-woo
    Stock rally halts Korea's pension reform debate
  • Economy

    Auto exports down nearly 6% on auto parts supply disruptions

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Auto exports down nearly 6% on auto parts supply disruptions
  • Economy

    Gov't to review tax incentives for young workers at SMEs: finance minister

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Gov't to review tax incentives for young workers at SMEs: finance minister
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Economy

KOSPI unlikely to avoid negative impacts from global stagflation shock: analysts

Employees pass by monitors set up in the dealing room of Hana Bank's headquarters in central Seoul, Thursday. Korea's benchmark KOSPI index started Thursday's session at 2,576.24, a 1.89-percent fall from the previous session. YonhapBy Anna J. Park As the U.S. stock market saw its biggest daily drop in nearly two years on Wednesday, Korea's main index, the KOSPI, fell below the 2,600-point mark on Thursday, with strong sell-offs from institutional and foreign investors, shedding the two previous sessions' gains. The index ended at 2,592.34, a 1.28-percent decline from the previous session, while the tech-heavy KOSDAQ finished at 863.80, a 0.89-percent fall from Wednesday's closing. Korea's benchmark index started off Thursday's session at 2,576.24 points, a 1.89-percent fall from the previous session. The index recovered slightly during the session, as it climbed up to 2,597.79 at around two in the afternoon, mainly owing to net-buying from retail investors.“The KOSPI fell to as low as 2,568.54 during Thursday's session. Yet the index gained some strength in the afternoon, redu

May 19, 2022By Anna J. Park
KOSPI unlikely to avoid negative impacts from global stagflation shock: analysts
Economy

Luna fiasco escalates into class action by victims

A Bitcoin price chart is displayed at a customer service center of Bithumb in Seoul, Wednesday. Crypytocurrencies are widening their losses in the wake of the collapses of Terra and Luna. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungThe devastated investors of Terra and Luna are moving to take class action against Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, which developed the scandal-tainted cryptocurrencies. LKB & Partners, a Seoul-based law firm, sued him and filed a provisional attachment of his assets, Thursday, holding him responsible for the recent crash of the two coins, the values of which have in about a week plummeted to near zero.A group of 1,700 victims of the fiasco also share the same plan to sue Kwon and Shin Hyun-sung, better known by his English name, Daniel Shin, the co-founder of the company, to Seoul Southern District Court.As the cryptocurrency industry is still in a legal grey area here, it is not clear whether the investors will be able to get any compensation from Kwon and his company.Despite the investors moving to take legal action, Kwon recently shared his plan to launch a decent

May 19, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Luna fiasco escalates into class action by victims
Economy

INTERVIEW Reviving currency swap deal with US is matter of restoring trust: ex-FSC chief

Institute for Global Economics Chairman and CEO Jun Kwang-woo speaks during an interview with The Korea Times in early May at his office in Gangnam District in southern Seoul. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukJun welcomes Korea's decision to join US-led IPEF amid emergence of economic security By Yi Whan-wooThe possible revival of a currency swap deal between Korea and the United States has emerged as a hot issue mainly due to concerns over the weakening Korean won against the U.S. dollar. But it is also a matter of restoring bilateral trust, says Institute for Global Economics (IGE) Chairman and CEO Jun Kwang-woo, in the lead-up to the first summit between the leaders of Korea and the U.S. after President Yoon Suk-yeol took office on May 10. Also a former Financial Services Commission (FSC) chairman and a former World Bank chief financial economist, Jun says such trust is becoming more crucial as the economy and national security are becoming inseparable.Jun accordingly welcomes the new Korean administration's decision to join the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), aim

May 19, 2022By Yi Whan-woo
[INTERVIEW] Reviving currency swap deal with US is matter of restoring trust: ex-FSC chief
Economy

Household income grows at fastest pace in Q1 on economic recovery

gettyimagesbankHousehold income grew at the fastest pace on record in the first quarter on the back of the economic recovery and state relief funds for pandemic-hit merchants, data showed Thursday.The average household earned 4.83 million won ($3,800) per month in the January to March period, up 10.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea.This was the fastest year-on-year gain since 2006, when the statistics agency began compiling related data. Household income also grew for the third straight quarter.Last quarter, household income earned through wages and business operations gained ground as the economy has extended its recovery momentum, the agency said. Relaxed virus curbs also helped prop up the output of the in-person services segment.Wage income rose 10.2 percent to an average of 3.06 million won per month. The monthly average income from business operations spiked 12.4 percent to 862,000 won.Transfer income backed by state support grew 9.5 percent to 544,000 won, mainly because the government drew up this year's first extra budget of 16.9 tril

May 19, 2022
Household income grows at fastest pace in Q1 on economic recovery
Economy

Delinquency ratio on bank loans down in March

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) / YonhapThe delinquency ratio on loans extended by banks here declined in March from a month earlier, the financial watchdog said Thursday.The delinquency ratio on banks' won-denominated loans was 0.22 percent as of the end of March, down 0.03 of a percentage point from the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).From a year earlier, the ratio was down 0.06 of a percentage point.The ratio reflected loans overdue by one month or longer in principal and interest payments. The delinquency ratio on household loans stood at 0.17 percent in March, down 0.02 of a percentage point from a month earlier.The ratio on home-backed loans came to 0.1 percent, down 0.01 of a percentage point from February.The ratio for corporate loans fell 0.04 percentage point month-on-month to 0.26 percent at the end of March, the data showed. (Yonhap)

May 19, 2022
Delinquency ratio on bank loans down in March
Economy

Korea's tax revenue up 10.4 trillion won in March

gettyimagesbankTax revenue here increased 10.4 trillion won ($8.16 billion) in March from a year earlier, as the collection of corporate and value-added taxes rose amid the economic recovery, the finance ministry said Thursday.The government collected 41.1 trillion won in taxes in March, compared with 30.7 trillion won during the same month in 2021, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.Korea has continued to log increased tax revenue, as its economy has been on a recovery track.The collection of corporate taxes rose 9.6 trillion won year-on-year to 27 trillion won; and value-added taxes gained 900 billion won to 2.3 trillion won on the back of an increase in consumption and imports.In the first quarter, the tax revenue came to 111.1 trillion won, up 22.6 trillion won from the previous year.The government's total revenue, including tax collection, increased 18.2 trillion won year-on-year to 170.4 trillion won in the first three months of the year; while Its gross expenditures rose 21.3 trillion won to 203.5 trillion won.The managed fiscal balance, a key gauge of fiscal hea

May 19, 2022
Korea's tax revenue up 10.4 trillion won in March
Economy

Stocks fall sharply as Target's woes renew inflation fears

Pedestrians walk by the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, Wednesday. Stocks closed sharply lower that day as dismal results from Target renewed fears that inflation is battering U.S. companies. AP-YonhapThe Dow Jones Industrial Average sank more than 1,100 points and the SP 500 had its biggest drop in nearly two years Wednesday, as big earnings misses by Target and other major retailers stoked investors' fears that surging inflation could cut deeply into corporate profits.The broad sell-off erased gains from a solid rally a day earlier, the latest volatile day-to-day swing for stocks in recent weeks amid a deepening market slump.The SP 500 tumbled 4 percent, its sharpest decline since June 2020. The benchmark index is now down more than 18 percent from the record high it reached at the beginning of the year. That's shy of the 20 percent decline that's considered a bear market.The Dow dropped 3.6 percent, while the Nasdaq fell 4.7 percent. The three indices are on pace to extend a string of at least six weekly losses.“A lot of people are trying to guess the bottom,&rdquo

May 19, 2022
Stocks fall sharply as Target's woes renew inflation fears
Economy

Card companies compete in big data transaction market

gettyimagesbankBy Anna J. ParkBig data has become another key area of competition among local credit card companies, with major credit card firms increasing the registration of tradable big data products on the Financial Data Exchange. They are looking to be appointed as one of the country's officially designated data institutions, which will be announced later this year.According to the Financial Data Exchange Wednesday, where over 106 companies ranging from banks, insurers, brokerages, card companies and other private companies register tradable big data for transactions, about seven percent of the tradable big data products on the exchange is registered by eight major card companies.The eight firms ― Shinhan, Samsung, KB Kookmin, Hyundai, Lotte, Woori, Hana and BC Card ― have uploaded a total of 693 currently available big data products, which is about seven percent out of the exchange's entire 1,213 currently available tradable data products as of Wednesday. Samsung Card has registered 227 sets of data products, the largest number of tradable big data information, followed by Shi

May 18, 2022By Anna J. Park
Card companies compete in big data transaction market
Economy

Luna debacle casts ripple effect over Korean stocks

The price chart for Luna is on display at a Bithumb customer service center in Seoul, Wednesday. YonhapWatchdogs launch investigation of crypto exchangesBy Lee Min-hyungLuna's collapse is stoking fears of aggravating the already-downbeat stock market sentiment here, as shares of major tech and game firms have experienced severe crashes in lock-step with the abrupt demise of the controversial cryptocurrency. The sister token of controversial stablecoin UST plummeted over the past week, rattling the entire cryptocurrency market as few investors had expected the sudden demise of the once red-hot Terra ecosystem, which stood behind the success of the two coins.Their breakdown is also making ripples in the Korean stock market, which had already turned lukewarm this year on multiple external and internal risk factors, such as global monetary tightening, China's lockdowns and growing inflationary pressure here and abroad.Investors' worries about local stocks now show signs of picking up further in the wake of the recent crypto collapse, data showed. According to the Korea Exchange, investor

May 18, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Luna debacle casts ripple effect over Korean stocks
Economy

Gov't to boost monitoring of cooking oil supplies over possible shortages

A sign set up at a discount chain outlet in Seoul shows cooking oil products are sold out, May 16. Yonhap The government will increase its monitoring of the cooking oil market and boost supply chains on concerns over supply crunches and illegal hoarding, the agriculture ministry said Wednesday.Global cooking oil prices have risen recently over the Russian war against Ukraine and Indonesia's export curbs, which have prompted some consumers here to stock up on the item. Major food discount chains and online shopping malls accordingly have limited purchases of cooking oil per shopper.During a meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, major domestic cooking oil suppliers, including CJ CheilJedang and Lotte Foods, said that they are not experiencing shortages as of now, by securing a two- to four-month stockpile of cooking oil. They are also expected to bring in contracted amounts of palm oil and other kinds of edible oil from overseas without a h

May 18, 2022
Gov't to boost monitoring of cooking oil supplies over possible shortages
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