The tension concerning the country’s key interest rate hike is expected to peak this week, in the wake of the government‘s latest set of additional measures to curb real estate speculation.While the government seeks to tighten the money market through a possible policy rate hike within the year, the central bank continued to dither over the decision, citing sluggish economic indexes.Further unnerving the hawkish observers here is the largely anticipated rate hike of the US Federal Re

Economy Sept. 16, 2018

The South Korean government on Thursday announced it would again raise the comprehensive real estate tax rate for owners of high-priced residences and of multiple properties, as part of a further attempt to rein in skyrocketing housing prices.According to the latest action plan, those who own multiple properties in bubble-prone zones will face real estate taxes as high as 3.2 percent, officials said. This additional tax hike comes on the heels of a government decision in July to increase real es

Economy Sept. 13, 2018

Amid an ever-worsening job market and lower-than-expected growth, South Korea’s youth unemployment rate reached its highest level since the country’s financial crisis situation in the late 1990s, government data showed Wednesday.According to a Statistics Korea report on employment trends, the number of newly employed people stood at 26.9 million in August, up 3,000 from a year earlier. This on-year rise was the lowest since the 10,000 decrease recorded in January 2010, when the

Economy Sept. 12, 2018

South Korea aims to create some 101,000 new jobs in the biohealth, software and intellectual property sectors by 2022, seeking to respond to an aging society, boost youth employment and enhance the nation’s corporate competitiveness, according to a government panel.The presidential job committee on Tuesday held its seventh meeting and decided to inject some 618.7 billion won ($549.6 million) into the related budget next year.“The biohealth sector is a booming industry amid an aging society, whil

Industry Sept. 11, 2018

A former senior official of the market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service has been arrested for colluding with a private money lender in rigging the stock price of his company, prosecutors said Monday.The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office said that it arrested a former deputy governor of the FSS, identified by his surname Park, along with a private lender surnamed Seo, on charges of breaching the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act.Park, who is also the form

Market Sept. 10, 2018

In the global market, gold has mostly been viewed from a monetary policy perspective as its value is generally in inverse proportion to the interest rate trend, offering higher alternative values when other investments are relatively bearish.But gold and other precious metals are increasingly operating like industrial commodities, due to their diversifying product relevance, according to an executive official of a German-based global technology group specializing in precious metals management. “

Industry Sept. 9, 2018

South Korea’s current account surplus reached a yearly high in July on the back of strong global trade and sturdy growth of the local semiconductors business, central bank data showed Thursday.Also, the travel account deficit contracted from a year earlier amid a rise of inbound travelers from China and Japan, as well as a slowdown in the number of outbound travelers.Seoul’s current account surplus stood at $8.76 billion as of end-July, up from $7.25 billion in the previous year, acc

Economy Sept. 6, 2018

The trade volume of lump sum retail orders on South Korea’s secondary bourse Kosdaq surged this year on the back of growing demand for biopharmaceuticals, data showed Wednesday.According to the country’s stock operator Korea Exchange, the number of individual purchasers’ orders amounting to 100 million won ($90,000) or more at a time totaled 12,499 as of the end of August, up 161.21 percent from the same period last year.Purchases of more than 10,000 shares also moved up 15.5 p

Market Sept. 5, 2018

South Korea’s major banks saw their household loan balance climb at the fastest pace in almost two years in August, propelled by the mortgage loan uptrend amid the robust real estate market here, said industry officials on Tuesday.The household loan balance of the nation’s top five banks -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, KEB Hana and Nonghyup -- stood at 552.39 trillion won ($495.7 billion) as of end-August, up 4.65 trillion won from a month earlier. This on-month increase was visibly h

Economy Sept. 4, 2018

South Korea is facing another set of brawls this year concerning taxation equity and wealth distribution, as the government and ruling party signaled at further toughening tax rules for affluent property owners, according to officials Monday.Detailed prospects, however, remain unclear as related ministries held different stances over the reduction of benefits for lease business operators -- an action that may deliver a blow upon the government’s policy credibility.“We will begin disc

Economy Sept. 3, 2018

Following the recent replacement of the statistics office chief, the ongoing dispute concerning the Moon Jae-in administration’s income-led growth initiative has now expanded into an argument on the credibility of key economic indicators here.While the presidential office and the ruling party held the statistics office liable for a sampling flaw, the opposition camp claimed that the administration was deceiptfully trying to cover up its thwarted economic strategies.“Statistics cannot

Economy Sept. 2, 2018

As one of South Korea’s leading special economic zones, the Yellow Sea Free Economic Zone is seeking to leap into its next stage of development to become a high-tech industrial complex pivoting on knowledge-based businesses, according to its chief.“Northeast Asia has risen to become one of the world’s top three economic clusters, along with the European Union and the North American Free Trade Agreement,” Lee Hwa-soon, commissioner of the Yellow Sea Free Economic Zone, told The Korea Herald in an

Industry Aug. 30, 2018

South Korea’s trade minister will be attending key economic meetings with his counterparts in Southeast Asian countries this week as part of the government’s ongoing efforts to strengthen economic ties with the emerging region, his office said Tuesday.Minister Kim Hyun-chong is to visit Singapore from Thursday to Saturday to attend a series of meetings: the ASEAN economic ministers’ meeting, ASEAN plus three (along with China and Japan), the East Asia Summit and the Regional Co

Economy Aug. 28, 2018

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said Monday that the government will increase next year’s social overhead capital budget by 50 percent, dedicating all efforts to creating jobs in local economies and for the middle-aged population.The top fiscal policymaker’s reiteration of expansive fiscal spending and job creation was taken as a signal that he would adjust his policy tone to be in line with that of Cheong Wa Dae, especially with presidential chief of staff f

Economy Aug. 27, 2018

The apparent discord between the country’s top two economic policymakers -- Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon and presidential chief of staff for Policy Jang Ha-sung -- seemed to die down over the weekend as Cheong Wa Dae firmly dismissed rumors of Kim’s resignation.However, uncertainties persist over the cooperation between the two officials as they seem to remain at odds over the government’s economic agenda amid worsening employment figures. “(Th

Economy Aug. 26, 2018