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  • Economy

    Seoul stocks surge as US-Iran breakthrough boosts risk appetite

    Korean stocks surged Monday after the United States and Iran reached a preliminary agreement over the weekend that includes the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, removing one of the biggest sources of uncertainty that had weighed on global markets for more than three months. The agreement effectively brings an end to the 106-day conflict that began on Feb. 28, with a formal signing ceremony scheduled for Friday in Switzerland. “The Deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran is now complete,” U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social before Asian markets opened. “I hereby fully authorize the toll free opening of the Strait of Hormuz ... Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!” On the news, international crude prices fell back toward the $80 range as fears of supply disruptions eased. Brent crude, the global benchmark, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude both dropped over 4 percent to $83.53 and $80.58 per barrel, respectively. While still well above pre-Iran war levels, prices have retreated sharply from the peaks above $110 reached during the height of t

    3 MIN READBy Park Han-sol
    Seoul stocks surge as US-Iran breakthrough boosts risk appetite
  • Cryptocurrency

    EXPLAINER Institutions jockey for position in Korea's crypto market

    3 MIN READBy Lee Yeon-woo
    [EXPLAINER] Institutions jockey for position in Korea's crypto market
  • Policy

    Benchmark rate for banks' mortgage loans up for 2nd month in May

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Benchmark rate for banks' mortgage loans up for 2nd month in May
  • Economy

    US-Iran deal offers relief to Korean economy, but lower energy prices may take time

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    US-Iran deal offers relief to Korean economy, but lower energy prices may take time
  • Policy

    Labor groups demand minimum wage of $7.90 in 16.3% increase

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Labor groups demand minimum wage of $7.90 in 16.3% increase
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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

BOK under pressure for further rate hike

Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol speaks during an online press conference at the central bank's headquarters in Seoul in this photo taken in January. Korea Times fileBy Yi Whan-wooThe Bank of Korea (BOK) is under pressing need to increase the key interest rate further at its next monetary policy meeting scheduled for Feb. 24, with inflation showing no signs of letting up. There are also reasons to maintain the rate at 1.25 percent as set in January, the third straight hike following two last year in August and November, with the presidential election coming on March 9 and BOK Governor Lee Ju-yeol's term expiring at the end of the same month.Consumer prices rose more than 3 percent for the fourth consecutive month in January, advancing 3.6 percent year-on-year, after gaining 3.2 percent in October, 3.8 percent in November and 3.7 percent in December, according to Statistics Korea, Friday. This is the first time in almost a decade the quarterly figure remained above 3 percent.The January gain is attributed mainly to high prices of oil products and dining out amid soaring energy price

Feb 4, 2022By Yi Whan-woo
BOK under pressure for further rate hike
Economy

Amount of currency discarded due to damage down 40% as non-cash payments increase

gettyimagesbank The amount of bills and coins that the central bank discarded due to damage declined nearly 40 percent as people increased the use of non-cash payments, data showed Friday.A total of 403.5 million damaged bills and coins were discarded last year, down 37.2 percent from 642.6 million tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).The decline is attributed to the increased use of non-cash payments, including credit cards and mobile payments, amid the prolonged pandemic that caused people to refrain from going out and using hard currency.The central bank destroyed 344.2 million bills last year, with 1,000 won ($0.83) and 10,000 won bills accounting for more than 90 percent.The face value of the discarded money last year came to 2.04 trillion won, the data showed. Of that, bills were worth 2.03 trillion won, with coins valued at 5.73 billion won.The BOK did not disclose how much it spent to replace the discarded bills and coin

Feb 4, 2022
Amount of currency discarded due to damage down 40% as non-cash payments increase
Economy

Inflation growth hits over 3% for fourth straight month in January

gettyimagesbank Korea's consumer prices rose more than 3 percent for the fourth consecutive month in January due mainly to high prices of oil products and dining out amid soaring energy prices and a global supply chain crisis, data showed Friday.Consumer prices advanced 3.6 percent year-on-year last month, compared with a 3.7 percent gain in December, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.Inflation has increased more than 3 percent every month since October last year, marking the first time in almost a decade that the figure remained over 3 percent for four months in a row. It also grew more than the central bank's midterm target of 2 percent for the 10th straight month in January.Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and oil prices, rose 2.6 percent year-on-year last month, the largest figure since December 2015, according to the data.The statistics agency attributed the growth to rising oil prices and high prices of personal services and agricu

Feb 4, 2022
Inflation growth hits over 3% for fourth straight month in January
Economy

BOK board members say further rate hikes would not hurt economic recovery: minutes

Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol bangs the gavel to open a Monetary Policy Committee meeting at the central bank in Seoul on Jan. 14, in this photo provided by the BOK. YonhapMembers of the central bank's rate-setting board said further rate hikes would not hamstring economic recovery, when they decided to increase borrowing costs in January, minutes from the latest policy meeting showed Thursday.They also called for normalizing the loose monetary policy but noted that the process should be carried out by closely monitoring situations related to the pandemic, growth and inflation trends, according to the minutes from the monetary policy board meeting held on Jan. 14. In the first rate-setting meeting of this year, the Bank of Korea raised the key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 1.25 percent. It was the third rate increase since August, which brought the policy rate back to pre-pandemic levels.The BOK has called for the need to "normalize" interest rates kept low to keep the pandemic-hit economy going, citing growing concerns over inflation and household debt."The current

Feb 3, 2022
BOK board members say further rate hikes would not hurt economic recovery: minutes
Economy

Financially vulnerable people losing last resort to get loans

The logos of major credit card issuers are seen on the entrance of a restaurant in Seoul in this file photo. Korea Times fileBy Yi Whan-wooDuring the second half of 2021, a local newspaper warned in an editorial of the serious nature of the surging number of pandemic-hit small business owners scrambling to borrow from private lenders after they were denied by banks and institutional lenders.That situation, however, was perhaps more favorable than what the cash-strapped borrowers now face, amid toughened conditions for taking out loans from lenders of last resort in the wake of the latest benchmark interest rate hike in late January.The rate hike set off a chain of events, prompting credit card firms, a popular destination among non-banks by low-credit customers to get a quick cash loan, to consider raising their annual interest rates above 15 percent on average in the coming months.Currently, credit card issuers ― Lotte, Samsung, Shinhan, Woori, Hana, Hyundai, KB Kookmin and NH NongHyup ― set their respective interest rates in the range between 12.1 percent and 14.94 percent, accordi

Feb 3, 2022By Yi Whan-woo
Financially vulnerable people losing last resort to get loans
Economy

Record number of IPOs scheduled for 2022 to pressure stock markets

Officials from LG Energy Solution and the Korea Exchange celebrate the listing of the battery maker on the benchmark KOSPI, at its office in Seoul on Jan. 27. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungKorea's stock markets will face downward pressure, as a series of mega-sized initial public offerings (IPO) scheduled for this year is expected to weaken the growth momentum of existing large-cap stocks and widen their price volatility, analysts said Thursday.The outlook comes at a time when the local stock market is set to attract a record amount of capital worth around 25 trillion won ($20.73 billion) through the IPOs of a group of companies, including Hyundai Oilbank, Kyobo Life Insurance and SSG.com.LG Energy Solution, one of the most-sought-after tech stocks this year, was listed on the benchmark KOSPI in January, raising 12.8 trillion won via its much-anticipated IPO. The company became the nation's second-most-valuable company shortly after going public.Even if the main bourse will continue attracting attention from investors with the planned IPOs, market analysts said this will not help rev up the

Feb 3, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Record number of IPOs scheduled for 2022 to pressure stock markets
Economy

Seoul stocks make strong advance after holiday

A currency trader watches his mobile phone in the foreign exchange dealing room at KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, Feb. 3. Korean stocks advanced for a second straight session Thursday after the three-day national holiday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street that stemmed from robust earnings reports. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar. AP-Yonhap Korean stocks advanced for a second straight session Thursday after the three-day national holiday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street that stemmed from robust earnings reports. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI rose 44.48 points, or 1.67 percent, to close at 2,707.82.Trading volume was moderate at about 429 million shares worth 12.3 trillion won ($10.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 811 to 90.Institutional and foreign investors net bought a respective 51 billion won and 85 billion won, while retail investors offloaded 136 billion won.Shares got off to a bullis

Feb 3, 2022
Seoul stocks make strong advance after holiday
Economy

Working age population predicted to fall by 3.2 million in 2020-2030: report

gettyimagesbank Korea is predicted to see its working age population shrink by a whopping 3.2 million during the 2020 to 2030 period amid the country's graying demographics, a government labor report showed Thursday. The estimate for people aged 15 to 64 would represent a turnaround from a growth of 1.17 million between 2010 and 2020 and 2.66 million during the previous decade, the labor ministry said in a report illustrating the seriousness of the country's low birthrate and fast-aging population.People aged 15 and over grew by 4.63 million during the 2000 to 2010 period and 3.96 million during the following decade, but the growth is predicted to dramatically slow to 1.34 million during the 10-year period ending in 2030, the report showed. The proportion of young people aged 15-29 is also estimated to drop to 14.7 percent in 2030, compared with 19.9 percent in 2020 and 23.8 percent in 2010, according to the report. The percentage of people aged 50 and over, meanwhi

Feb 3, 2022
Working age population predicted to fall by 3.2 million in 2020-2030: report
Economy

BOK calls for vigilance on market volatility following holiday

Bank of Korea / Yonhap Korea should stay vigilant on the possibility of heightening financial market volatility amid persistent worries over inflation in major economies and other risk factors, though the markets showed signs of stability in recent days, a senior central bank official said Thursday.The Bank of Korea (BOK) held a meeting to monitor global financial market situations following the five-day Lunar New Year holiday that ended Wednesday during which local stock and currency markets were closed. The meeting was presided over by BOK Vice Gov. Lee Seung-heon."During the Lunar New Year holiday, international financial markets appear to have remained stable as a whole," Lee was quoted as saying at the meeting."But we should not let our guard down and must keep close tabs on developments of global risks and their possible impacts on local financial markets and the economy," he added.Lee cited major economies' stepped-up pace of monitory policy normalization, ge

Feb 3, 2022
BOK calls for vigilance on market volatility following holiday
Economy

Ratio of non-wage workers hits record low in 2021

gettyimagesbank The ratio of the self-employed and other non-wage workers in Korea dropped to an all-time low in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, government data showed Thursday.Asia's fourth-largest economy had 6.52 million unsalaried workers as of the end of December last year, marking the 23rd consecutive year of decline, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.The number accounted for 23.9 percent of the country's total employed people, the lowest tally since data tracking began in 1963.After peaking at 69.3 percent in 1964, the ratio has been on a steady decline, falling below the 50 percent mark for the first time in 1984.Of the total non-wage workers, self-employed people numbered 5.51 million last year, with the rest working at family-run operations without pay.In contrast, there were 20.75 million salaried workers in Korea, taking up 76.1 percent of all workers. The number was up 51.9 percent from 20 years earlier.Despite its steady decline, Kore

Feb 3, 2022
Ratio of non-wage workers hits record low in 2021
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