South Korea’s political circles began their parliamentary probe into the government’s mismanagement of the debt-laden shipping and shipbuilding industry, particularly state-owned Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering at the National Assembly on Thursday.The two-day hearing, which was supposed to analyze the root cause of the industry downturn and find solutions to the problem, already turned into a heated debate with the conservative and progressive lawmakers blaming each other over the lates

Sept. 8, 2016

South Korea’s population reached more than 50 million for the first time last year, according to Statistics Korea on Wednesday.After including the population of foreigners residing in Korea, the country’s population stood at around 51.07 million as of Nov.1, 2015, up 2.7 percent from the 49.71 million five years ago.The male population stood at 25.61 million, 150,000 more than the female population.The number of foreigners in Korea also surpassed 1 million for the first time, reaching 1.36 milli

Sept. 7, 2016

South Korean financial authorities are drawing criticism from the market for their inability to pre-emptively deal and manage repercussions in the logistics sector following the fallout of Hanjin Shipping.As of early this week, about 70 percent of more than 120 ships run by Hanjin have been blocked, stranded and denied entry at major ports around the world, according to the Korea Shipowners’ Association. Yim Jong-yong (left), chairman of the Financial Services Commission, and Maritime Affairs Mi

Sept. 6, 2016

Korea’s largest shipping company Hanjin Shipping has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US, with more than 70 of the firm’s ships blocked, stranded and denied entry at major ports around the world and its creditors taking control of some of its assets, Under the chapter 15 bankruptcy code, Hanjin creditors will not be able to seize the company’s overseas assets including in the US. However, the jurisdiction of the US court protection does not extend to South Korea, where a Seoul court has be

Sept. 5, 2016

South Korea’s Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said the government will deal with companies under creditor-led restructuring programs by the book and those that do not come up with reasonable self-rescue plans will not receive any state support.“The government will strictly and rapidly execute its restructuring policy on the principle that debt-laden companies share the burden and try to find solutions to stay afloat and regain competitiveness,” Yoo said in an industry-related ministerial meeting Wedn

Aug. 31, 2016

All eyes and ears are on the US Federal Reserve -- will the world’s most influential central bank raise its interest rate twice this year?Analysts are scrambling trying to decode what Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen said at a recent symposium in Kansas City, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, followed by Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer’s televised interview.“Looking ahead, the Federal Open Market Committee expects moderate growth in real gross domestic product, additional strengthening in the labor market, an

Aug. 30, 2016

The South Korean government will increase its spending to 400.7 trillion won next year, up 3.7 percent from this year, with a primary focus on boosting social welfare and creating jobs through fiscal stimulus, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.This marks the first time for the national budget to exceed 400 trillion won with about one-third of it allocated to spending on welfare, or 130 trillion won, the highest. Of 130 trillion won allocated to social welfare, the budget includes spending 17.5 t

Aug. 30, 2016

South Korea’s overall consumer sentiment reached an eight-month high in August on the back of growing expectations of an economic recovery.The Bank of Korea said Friday that the composite consumer sentiment index reached 102 last month, up from 101 in July.This marked that highest since December last year, and a second consecutive increase, the central bank data showed. A reading above 100 indicates that more households are positive about their economic future.Analysts say that Korea’s sovereign

Aug. 26, 2016

Fitch Ratings continued to warn South Korea of geopolitical risks associated with North Korea in the light of the North’s recent submarine missile test, in addition to structural risks on changing demographics and low productivity, according to the Finance Ministry on Friday.The Fitch delegation visited Korea for its annual consultation meetings with the Finance Ministry from Wednesday-Friday this week.Although the global ratings agency gave a positive review on Korea maintaining fiscal soundnes

Aug. 26, 2016

The South Korean government said Thursday that it will control the number of houses and apartments supplied in the market, and strengthen regulations on mortgages as part of efforts to contain its household debt.With the country’s household debt increasing at a fast pace on low interest rates this year, the Finance Ministry said that it will restrict the supply side of the housing market rather than the demand side to ease the debt problem, as well as housing oversupply.Financial policymakers an

Aug. 25, 2016

With political parties growing further apart over their inability to compromise on the South Korean government’s extra budget bill, the Finance Ministry is making a last-ditch effort to appeal to lawmakers before time slips away.Once again urging the conservatives and progressives to sign on its supplementary budget, Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said Wednesday that if the country misses the “golden time” to carry out its 11 trillion won ($10 billion) extra spending plan over the next four months,

Aug. 24, 2016

South Korea’s terms of trade slightly improved last month, according to preliminary data by the Bank of Korea on Tuesday.The terms of trade -- an index that measures a country’s trade performance by comparing the amount of exports and imports -- stood at 100.09 in July, up 0.4 percent from a year ago, indicating that the country is exporting more than spending on imports.However, the central bank noted that the improvement was mostly due to “a bigger drop in import prices than export prices” on

Aug. 23, 2016

Contrary to the International Monetary Fund’s assessment that South Korea’s household debt is manageable in part due to increased regulations, the central bank sees the rapid growth of borrowings as a serious problem that could further undermine Korea’s economic structure.In direct conflict with the Financial Services Commission, which has provided industry guidelines to curb borrowings, the Bank of Korea suggested that the country would need additional measures as the government’s regulatory gu

Aug. 22, 2016

South Korea’s economy saw its household saving rate increase among the fastest in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to the OECD.The OECD forecast that Korea’s household saving rate is expected to increase more than twofold this year, compared to four years ago, from 3.9 percent in 2012 to 8.66 percent in 2016. This would rank Korea as the fifth highest in the OECD following Switzerland with 20.13 percent, Sweden with 16.45 percent; Luxembourg with 17.48 percent

Aug. 21, 2016

The Seoul stock market took a dive Wednesday following overnight losses on Wall Street after one of the key members of the US Federal Open Market Committee sent a clear message to the world that it could raise its interest rates next month.Based on strong employment data and positive growth forecast, New York Fed Reserve President William Dudley spoke in a televised interview about the possibility of a rate hike in September. It sent the Dow Jones Industrial down more than 84 points at 18,552.02

Aug. 17, 2016