SEOUL, May 12 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean stocks ended more than 1 percent higher Monday as the United States and China wrapped up their first high-level tariff negotiations, boosting hopes the two countries may reach a trade deal. The local currency was weak against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index [...]
SEOUL, May 12 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s exports dropped 23.8 percent from a year earlier in the first 10 days of this month mainly due to a reduced number of working days, data showed Monday. Outbound shipments reached US$12.83 billion in the May 1-10 period, compared with $16.84 billion tallied a year earlier, according [...]
SEOUL, May 12 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s economy is showing signs of a slowdown, as reflected in a range of economic indicators across various sectors, primarily due to deteriorating export conditions amid growing concerns over a global trade war, a state-run think tank said Monday. “The South Korean economy is facing a slowdown, as [...]
SEOUL, May 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s long-term economic potential is facing a steep decline and could enter negative territory by the 2040s if structural challenges go unaddressed, the state-run Korea Development Institute (KDI) warned in a report released Thursday. According to the report, “Projections for Potential Growth and Policy Implications,” South Korea’s potential growth [...]
SEOUL, May 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Volatility in the foreign exchange (FX) market will likely persist for some time amid uncertainties in the global economy and domestic politics, South Korea’s top central banker said Tuesday, while reiterating the need for monetary easing to boost the local economy. “It is still too early to say whether [...]
SEOUL, May 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Inflation remains generally stable, but uncertainties surrounding consumer prices remain high due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration’s new tariff scheme, the central bank said Friday. Bank of Korea (BOK) Deputy Gov. Kim Woong made the assessment during a meeting to review price trends, following government data that showed [...]
WASHINGTON, April 25, (Korea Bizwire) — The International Monetary Fund has halved its 2025 growth outlook for South Korea, citing the combined effects of escalating U.S. tariffs and domestic political instability. It marks the steepest downgrade among major economic forecasts for the country to date. Rahul Anand, head of the IMF’s Korea mission, explained the [...]
SEOUL, April 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s top central banker has said global trade tensions sparked by the United States’ sweeping tariff policy are a major headwind for the country’s export-driven economy, and the issue will likely accelerate its efforts to diversify supply chains. Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Rhee Chang-yong made the assessment [...]
SEOUL, April 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s domestic consumption has entered a prolonged downward trend, driven not by short-term disruptions like COVID-19 or inflation, but by deep-rooted structural issues such as demographic aging, employment patterns, and industrial shifts, according to a new report released on April 23, 2025, by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and [...]
SEOUL, April 24 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean economy posted negative growth for the first time in about a year in the first quarter of 2025, central bank data showed Thursday, amid a domestic political crisis and uncertainties stemming from the Donald Trump administration’s sweeping tariff scheme. The country’s real gross domestic product (GDP) [...]