SEOUL, March 23 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of South Korean companies with liabilities exceeding their assets has surged to its highest level in six years, signaling deepening concerns over corporate health amid delayed economic recovery and persistently high interest rates. According to a report released on Sunday by the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI), 4,466 [...]
SEOUL, March 23 (Korea Bizwire) — Nearly half of South Koreans over the age of 50 who transitioned from wage employment to self-employment are earning less than the country’s minimum wage, highlighting the precarious financial situation of older entrepreneurs. According to a report released on Sunday by the Korea Employment Information Service, analysis of Korea Welfare [...]
SEOUL, March 20 (Korea Bizwire) — Around seven out of 10 South Korean households perceive their financial situation having worsened compared to a year ago due to inflation, a poll showed Thursday. According to the survey carried out by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) on 1,000 adults nationwide recently, 71.5 percent of respondents said [...]
SEOUL, March 19 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s combined household, corporate, and government debt—known as national total debt—has surpassed 6,200 trillion won, according to the latest data released by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). As of the end of the third quarter of 2024, non-financial sector credit, measured in Korean won, reached 6,222 trillion won, [...]
SEJONG, South Korea, March 14 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s economy is increasingly influenced by domestic factors rather than global conditions, signaling a shift toward self-driven growth and stability, according to a new report from the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP). The study, released on Thursday by KIEP’s International Macroeconomics and Finance Division, [...]
SEOUL, March 14 (Korea Bizwire) — The chief of the South Korean central bank warned Friday the current level of ultra-low birth rate will cause South Korea to log negative economic growth after 2050, calling for measures to ease intense competition and burdens regarding employment, housing and child care. The Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. [...]
SEJONG, March 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Financial authorities in South Korea have announced new measures to encourage domestic investment and support the won’s value, including raising the mandatory domestic stock investment ratio for specialized Individual Savings Accounts (ISA) and lifting restrictions on won-denominated “Kimchi bonds”. The Ministry of Economy and Finance, Financial Services Commission, Bank of [...]
SEOUL, March 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Amid a prolonged economic downturn, a vast majority of South Korean businesses anticipate a financial crisis in 2025, according to a new survey by the Korea Employers Federation (KEF). The survey, conducted in January among 508 domestic companies with at least 50 employees, revealed that 96.9% of respondents expect an [...]
SEOUL, March 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Nearly 1 in 3 large companies in South Korea have reported a deterioration in their financial conditions this year compared with 2024, a survey released Thursday showed. The survey conducted by Mono Research on the country’s top 1,000 firms in terms of sales found that 31 percent of the [...]
SEOUL, March 5 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s economy grew 2 percent last year, matching an earlier estimate, amid slowing export growth, sagging domestic demand and a political crisis, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country’s real gross domestic product (GDP) — a key measure of economic growth — increased 2 percent last year, in [...]