SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Korea Bizwire) –As menu prices in South Korea’s restaurant industry continue to climb, a heated debate has erupted between the country’s leading food delivery app, Baedal Minjok (Baemin), and restaurant owners over who bears responsibility for the increases. Restaurant chains point to the rising commission fees charged by delivery apps, particularly Baemin, [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Friday that it agreed to launch local currency transactions for cross-border payments in late September. Under the agreement, current account transactions between the two nations in their local currencies will be facilitated, and costs for businesses and other users will be reduced, they [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — The government’s proposal of maintaining a tight budget in 2025 illustrated its commitment to fiscal policy normalization amid the tax revenue shortfall, but calls for greater fiscal policy roles have also grown in the face of weak domestic demand and longer-term growth momentum, experts said Tuesday. The finance ministry [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 26 (Korea Bizwire) – The combined debt of the South Korean government and households has surged past 3 quadrillion won for the first time, according to recent data from the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Bank of Korea. This milestone, reached at the end of the second quarter, equates to 127% of [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — The financial regulator said Friday it launched a new centralized program to allow consumers to opt out of credit services, such as taking out new loans, a move aimed at preventing potential damage from voice phishing scams. More than 4,000 financial institutions have signed up for the new “credit [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean banks saw their combined net income shrink sharply from a year earlier in the first half, due largely to a drop in the profit of specialized banks, data showed Thursday. The combined net profit of domestic banks for the first six months of the year came to [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s household credit rebounded sharply in the second quarter of the year as home-backed loans increased in the face of tightened lending criteria and high rates, central bank data showed Tuesday. Outstanding household credit reached 1,896.2 trillion won (US$1.419 trillion) at the end of June, up 13.8 trillion [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — Major South Korean banks are scurrying to further raise their lending rates, alarmed by a spike in household loans amid extended easing monetary policy, industry sources said Monday. KB Bank, Shinhan Bank and Hana Bank will raise their lending rates on mortgage loans by between 0.1 percentage point and [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Korea Bizwire) – The number of South Korean youth opting to remain economically inactive without a specific reason set a new record in July, data showed Sunday, amid economic uncertainties and high job competition. The number of such individuals aged 15 to 29 reached 443,000 last month, an increase of 42,000 from [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s fiscal deficit surpassed 100 trillion won (US$73.51 billion) during the first half of 2024 amid weak corporate performances and rising state expenditures, data showed Wednesday. The managed fiscal balance, a key gauge of fiscal health calculated on a stricter term, posted a deficit of 103.4 trillion won [...]