SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Korea Bizwire) – Consumer sentiment has turned pessimistic in South Korea, hitting a new 17-month low. The Composite Consumer Sentiment Index (CCSI) for August plunged to 99.2, down 1.8 points from the previous month, according to a survey by the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Aug. 28. This marks the lowest CCSI score [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean central bank said Tuesday that it will adopt a new mobile cash card settlement service starting next year in a bid to expand simplified mobile payments in the country. A council on financial information by the Bank of Korea (BOK) and local banks decided to develop [...]
SEOUL, Apr. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — Total household spending on private education for children exceeded 40 trillion won (US$37 billion) last year despite the country’s declining birth rate, the central bank said Saturday. South Korean households spent a total of 40.94 trillion won on private education in 2017, up 2.8 percent from 39.84 trillion won [...]
SEOUL, April 12 (Korea Bizwire) — The central bank said Thursday that the South Korean economy is expected to grow 3 percent this year despite rising uncertainties at home and abroad. The Bank of Korea (BOK) maintained its earlier growth forecast made in January, when it adjusted up the growth rate 0.1 percentage point from [...]
SEOUL, April 3 (Korea Bizwire) — The amount of payments made electronically hit a fresh record high last year amid a growing trend of South Koreans using the Internet and mobile devices to carry out their financial transactions, central bank data showed Tuesday. The daily average for electronic financial transactions came to 468.8 billion won [...]
SEOUL, Mar. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — Major foreign investment banks (IBs) have forecast South Korea’s central bank to hike interest rates once this year due to the fallout from growing protectionism and a slowdown in job creation, a report said Friday. The projection runs counter to views by some market watchers that the Bank of [...]
SEOUL, March 20 (Korea Bizwire) – Members of South Korea’s central bank policy board agreed to freeze the key rate last month as inflation pressure remained low and economic growth was moderate, according to minutes from the monetary meeting released Tuesday. The Bank of Korea’s (BOK) monetary policy board meeting on Feb. 27 held the base rate at 1.50 percent for the second time in a row since raising the rate for the first time in more than six years [...]
SEOUL, March 15 (Korea Bizwire) – Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea dropped for the second-straight month in February amid the strong U.S. dollar trend, central bank data showed Thursday. Foreign currency deposits held by banks here reached US$80.96 billion at the end of February, down $940 million from a month earlier, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea (BOK). It said [...]
SEOUL, March 2 (Korea Bizwire) – President Moon Jae-in is expected to announce the nominee for the next governor of the Bank of Korea (BOK) early next week, a presidential official said Friday. Asked whether the presidential office will make the announcement next Monday, the official replied, “It is likely.” BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol’s four-year term concludes at the end of this month and the new BOK head is facing challenges [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s central bank is expected to raise its key interest rate in May or July in an effort to cope with rising U.S. rates, analysts said Wednesday. In a widely expected move, the monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea (BOK) held the base rate steady at [...]