SEOUL, Oct. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — Due to the increase in the aging population and decrease of a productive workforce, local insurance companies are expected to go through “degrowth.” According to the Korea Insurance Research Institute (KIRI), the insurance premiums of insurance companies are expected to fall 1.7 percent per year by 2022 compared to [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — Merchants in North Jeolla Province are struggling under the burden of interchange fees, according to a recent survey conducted by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). Queried on the business expense that needs to be addressed most urgently, 59.3 percent of the respondents chose interchange fees. That is [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — A 41 year-old office worker earned a windfall of 80 million won (US$71,000) over a canceled apartment transaction, a case that underscores the recent rapid surge in home prices in Seoul. The salaried worker of a major South Korean conglomerate made a down payment of 10 percent of the [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 3 (Korea Bizwire) –The ratio of household debt to gross domestic product (GDP) in South Korea increased at the fastest clip after China and Hong Kong despite a series of tightened lending rules, data showed on Wednesday. According to the data compiled by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), South Korea’s household debt [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 3 (Korea Bizwire) – Accumulated peer-to-peer (P2P) loans in South Korea are estimated at over 4 trillion won (US$3.57 billion) as of the end of August, data showed on Wednesday. P2P lending refers to a new type of loan extended to individuals or businesses through social network services and the Internet, covering [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 3 (Korea Bizwire) -- South Korean money market funds (MMFs) have suffered huge capital outflow due to growing worries over a financial crisis in Turkey, data showed Wednesday. The MMFs had a combined 91.27 trillion won (US$81.5 billion) under their management as of Friday, the lowest since January 5, 2015, according to [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – Excess funds held by South Korean households fell in the second quarter of this year from a quarter earlier on increased purchases of new houses amid a property boom, central bank data showed Tuesday. Net financial funds, covering assets minus liabilities, controlled by households and nonprofit organizations totaled 11 trillion won [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s soaring housing prices, like those in other Asian countries, can cause downside risks for the broader economy, a report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Sunday. In the updated version of the Asian Development Outlook, the international development financial institution warned that elevated housing prices threaten [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s financial watchdog said Friday it will implement a stricter loan screening rule for insurance companies next week to help control risk from the country’s fast rising household debt. Local insurers will have to apply to the so-called debt service ratio to almost all household loans on a [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — The financial regulator said Thursday it will ease some rules on local private equity funds, with the aim of removing outdated restrictions on the industry and spurring competition with foreign rivals. Under the move, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said it will allow local private equity funds to have [...]