SEJONG -- Almost 1 out of every 2 state-funded agencies in South Korea were in the red last year, state data showed Tuesday, in the wake of the ongoing pandemic and soaring oil prices. Of the 362 public agencies surveyed, 170, or 46.9 percent, suffered operating losses in 2021, according to Alio, a system that publicizes management information of public agencies. They included the Korea Electric Power Corp. and the Incheon International Airport Corp. Kepco posted the largest deficit with an op

Economy May 10, 2022

SEJONG -- More than 100,000 temporary jobs in the public sector have been converted into regular jobs during the Moon Jae-in administration, whose term expires Monday midnight, state data showed. According to Alio, a system for publicizing management information of 370 public agencies, 101,720 nonregular jobs were converted into regular jobs between May 2017 and May 2022. The outgoing president had pledged to have “zero irregular jobs” in state-funded agencies. The new permane

Economy May 9, 2022

SEJONG -- Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon on Friday reiterated policymakers’ willingness to intervene promptly to stabilize the capital and currency markets.　 During a meeting to take countermeasures against the US Federal Reserve’s monetary tightening, Lee said that “there is a high possibility that Korea’s financial and foreign exchange market will react sensitively to external factors for the time being.” His remarks came after the Fed raised the US base rat

Economy May 6, 2022

SEJONG -- The Korean government has decided to inject 877.7 billion won ($693 million) into the pharmaceutical industry which will be used for the development of new drugs, especially medicines and vaccines for variants of COVID-19, and fostering the nation’s bio-related manpower. The government also plans to support businesses which have been developing innovative vaccines or other medicines by raising the so-called “K-global vaccine fund” worth 500 billion won, officials sai

Industry May 5, 2022

SEJONG -- South Korea saw the ratio of collective debt -- held by the government, household and corporate sector -- to its gross domestic product climb sharply over the past few years since 2017, and even during the pandemic. Further, the nation’s collective debt-to-GDP ratio was found to have continued to rise amid the COVID-19 pandemic, while the G20 countries on average saw a decline in the figure, a local research institute said Wednesday, citing the Bank for International Settlements

Economy May 4, 2022

SEJONG -- Korea’s consumer prices climbed the fastest in more than 13 years last month in the wake of a spike in international raw materials prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as well as sharply rising global demand for goods, state data showed Tuesday. According to Statistics Korea, consumer prices rose 4.8 percent last month, compared to a year earlier. This marked the highest since October 2008, when the same figure of 4.8 percent was reported. The surge came despite a Ba

Economy May 3, 2022

SEJONG -- South Korea’s trade-related officials are striving to overcome the worsening trade balance in the wake of declining exports to major destinations, including China and Russia, from a variety of incidents. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo on Monday presided over a meeting to map out countermeasures against external negative factors which involve China’s possible lockdown of more major cities aside from Shanghai against variants of COVID-19 and the war between Ukraine and Russia.

Economy May 2, 2022

SEJONG -- Policymakers repeatedly sent alerts to the foreign exchange market last week as the Korean currency sharply lost its value against the US dollar. The greenback surpassed 1,250 won in the wake of investors’ preference in safe havens amid expanding global uncertainty, which include Russia’s Ukraine invasion, high raw materials prices and moves to raise the interest rate in major countries. This is not the first time that increased volatility in won-dollar rates have rung bel

Economy April 29, 2022

SEJONG -- Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Thursday sent a signal that the financial authority would move to intervene in the foreign exchange market as the Korean currency sharply lost value against the US dollar recently. During a meeting to map out countermeasures against the current economic situation in Seoul, Hong said the won lost ground against the dollar at a fast pace this week. The rising dollar prices were attributed to the possibility of faster-than-expect

Economy April 28, 2022

SEJONG -- South Korea is projected to see export growth in the steel and textile sectors if the nation becomes a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. But sectors like machinery, fine chemistry and auto parts could suffer handicaps in the wake of the technology gap with Japan, according to forecasts from a variety of business lobbies. The associations delivered their outlook of each industry if the country were to be a member of the CPTPP to the M

Economy April 27, 2022

SEJONG -- A possible glitch in imports of palm oil is expected to further fan inflationary pressure in South Korea and constrain household consumption, which could hamper the growth of the gross domestic product. Palm oil is used for producing Korean instant noodles and snacks. Its largest producer Indonesia said it would issue a ban on exports of palm oil later this week. The Indonesian government made it clear that the decision was aimed at maintaining a stable domestic supply. As products

Economy April 26, 2022

SEJONG -- Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki expressed worries over the nation’s real estate market during his stay in Washington, D.C. for international ministerial meetings, saying that home prices are rebounding. Hong said Friday (Korean time) that the government had failed to tame housing prices during the early part of his term since December 2018, when he took office, despite a variety of policy attempts. “(Later), I was encouraged by the situation that ho

Economy April 22, 2022

SEJONG -- South Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki kept his seat while other fiscal chiefs or central bank governors walked out of a G-20 meeting in protest of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the ministry on Thursday.　 According to overseas news reports and remarks from British officials, top officials from the US, Canada and the UK left the G-20 finance ministerial meeting, held in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday,&n

Economy April 21, 2022

SEJONG -- Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki spent his five-year term dealing with major economic tasks, from the pandemic-triggered market crisis to controversial real estate measures. However, assessments of Hong -- South Korea’s longest serving fiscal chief -- appear divided. Proponents say that the minister has been faithful to principles to boost the economy and weather a variety of barriers on the growth of the country’s gross domestic product. They also s

Economy April 20, 2022

SEJONG -- The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday predicted that the growth of the Korean economy would stay in the mid 2 percent range this year in the wake of the war between Ukraine and Russia, alongside the ongoing pandemic. In its latest world economic outlook report, the IMF revised down its forecast on the gross domestic product growth of Korea by 0.5 percentage point from its earlier suggestion of 3 percent to 2.5 percent. The figure is lower than the growth prediction of 2.7 percen

Economy April 19, 2022