SEOUL, May 20 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s household credit reached a record high in the first quarter, though its growth slowed due to lending regulations and a decline in credit loans, central bank data showed Tuesday. Outstanding household credit had stood at 1,928.7 trillion won (US$1.39 trillion) as of end-March, up 2.8 trillion won [...]
SEOUL, May 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The country’s financial regulator said Tuesday that tighter rules on household loans will come into effect from July as planned amid still higher debt levels. According to the Financial Services Commission (FSC), tighter debt-service-ratio (DSR) rules will be applied to virtually all kinds of household debts, and the stress [...]
SEOUL, May 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The value of South Korea’s virtual asset market nearly doubled in the second half of last year from six months earlier, on rising prices of cryptocurrencies, data showed Tuesday. The market capitalization of the virtual asset market had come to 107.7 trillion won (US$77.6 billion) as of end-2024, up [...]
SEOUL, May 20 (Korea Bizwire) — A growing wave of carve-out mergers and acquisitions (M&A)—in which large corporations sell off non-core business units—is reshaping the South Korean dealmaking landscape, with private equity (PE) firms emerging as key players. According to a recent report by the Korea Capital Market Institute, domestic conglomerates are accelerating portfolio streamlining in response [...]
SEOUL, May 16 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean stocks finished a tad higher Friday as investors scooped up food and defense shares amid eased tariff woes. The local currency rose to its highest level in six months against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 5.51 points, or 0.21 percent, [...]
SEOUL, May 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean stocks snapped a three-session winning streak Thursday as investors locked in profits amid eased tariff woes. The local currency rose sharply against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 19.21 points, or 0.73 percent, to close at 2,621.36. The index had risen [...]
SEOUL, May 15 (Korea Bizwire) — The country’s financial watchdog said Thursday that it will prod financial firms to manage their incentive systems in a proper and reasonable manner. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said incentive systems can carry risks if not properly managed, which also can hurt financial institutions’ soundness as well as the [...]
SEOUL, May 15 (Korea Bizwire) — Assisting senior citizens in liquidating their assets is essential to addressing elderly poverty, which, in turn, may help boost local spending, the chief of South Korea’s central bank said Thursday. Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Rhee Chang-yong made the point during a symposium co-hosted by the BOK and state-run [...]
SEOUL, May 14 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s state-run economic think tank on Wednesday sharply cut its growth forecast for the local economy this year to 0.8 percent, citing rising global trade uncertainties and weakening exports. The revised projection by the Korea Development Institute (KDI) represents a 0.8 percentage-point drop from its previous estimate of [...]
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 [...]