SEOUL, July 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean students studying abroad and their parents are taking the brunt of the weakening Korean won, as the home currency is hovering around the lowest level against the U.S. dollar in 13 years. After hitting a 13-year low of 1,301.8 won against the greenback on June 23, the [...]
SEOUL, July 13 (Korea Bizwire) — Sales of dosirak (Korean lunchbox) products such as dosirak boxes and thermal lunch boxes are growing as the number of people packing their own lunch is increasing due to high inflation. According to data from the online shopping mall Wemakeprice Inc., sales of dosirak products during the period from [...]
SEOUL, July 12 (Korea Bizwire) — The value of unreturned deposits for “jeonse” home rentals is increasing year after year, hitting an all-time high in the first half of this year, data showed Monday. Under South Korea’s decades-old jeonse system, tenants pay a large lump-sum deposit, known as key money, to the landlord, which [...]
SEOUL, July 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Short-term saving products are gaining popularity as the stereotype of saving money by pouring money into deposit or installment saving products for more than one year has lost appeal. KakaoBank Corp., a South Korean internet-only bank, released the ’26 week-long installment saving product’ in June 2018, and the number [...]
SEOUL, July 8 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea decided Friday to temporarily lift tariffs on seven more kinds of imported foodstuffs, including beef and chicken, in an effort to curb surging inflation and stabilize people’s livelihood. The government will remove tariffs on 100,000 tons of imported beef and 82,500 tons of chicken starting this month, [...]
SEOUL, July 7 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s bourse operator said Thursday that it will provide guidelines that meet global standards for listed firms’ disclosures for their environment, social and governance (ESG) management. The Korea Exchange (KRX) has been pushing for advanced ESG disclosure systems to match global standards, best represented by the International Sustainability [...]
SEOUL, July 6 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans in their 20s and 30s are struggling with rising interest rates. A majority of loans for jeonse (long-term deposits for rent), in particular, are provided at floating interest rates, which makes young South Koreans react to an increase in interest rates with concern or give up on [...]
SEOUL, July 5 (Korea Bizwire) — Loans issued to seniors over 60 years of age from insurance companies jumped last year, a lawmaker said Monday, citing data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Loans taken out by seniors over 60 years of age from insurance companies reached 11.16 trillion won (US$8.55 billion) as of late December [...]
SEOUL, July 5 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s major insurance companies are posing a challenge to commercial banks by releasing mortgage loans with a maturity of up to 40 years. Kyobo Life Insurance Co., which is already selling policy-type 40-year mortgage products for youth and newly-wedded couples, is set to launch sales of general-type products. [...]
SEOUL, July 4 (Korea Bizwire) — The Korean currency has reached a new 13-year low against the U.S. dollar, prompting foreign direct purchase enthusiasts to return to domestic shopping malls. Online communities for foreign direct purchasing are increasingly sharing the view that buying goods abroad is either more expensive or equivalent in price to shopping [...]