SEOUL, Jul. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will lower the maximum legal lending rate to 24 percent from next year and strengthen supervision of private lenders, in a move to help ease financial burdens for desperate borrowers, the nation’s top financial regulator said Wednesday. Choi Jong-ku, the new chairman of the Financial Services Commission [...]
SEOUL, April 3 (Korea Bizwire) – The Korea Institute of Finance suggested Sunday that drastically reducing household debt could shrink consumption, raising a dilemma for those crafting South Korean economic policy to combat the struggle to cope with soaring debt and waning domestic consumption. According to researcher Park Choon-sung in his report on household debt [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s short-term foreign debt rose 0.8 percent in 2016 from a year earlier, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country’s short-term external debt, with a maturity of one year or less, totaled US$105.2 billion as of the end of 2016, up $800 million from the end of 2015, [...]
SEJONG, Feb. 21 (Korea Bizwire) – The South Korean government is planning on new measures to support the livelihood of low-income families, who are among those suffering the most from the country’s recent economic struggles. According to officials, South Korea’s household credit jumped by 11.7 percent in 2016 compared to the year prior, setting a [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea boasts among the world’s highest college entrance and completion rates. In 2014, 45 percent of Koreans aged 25 to 64 had completed tertiary education, ranking sixth amongst OECD countries. The college entrance rate is at about 68 percent. Of course, education doesn’t come cheap. Average annual tuition [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Korea Bizwire) – A recent analysis by the Hana Institute of Finance revealed that although Korea has a relatively stable financial market compared to 24 other emerging markets around the world, increasing corporate debt is becoming a serious risk. In its financial risk assessment, the institute analyzed five categories, including corporate debt, [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – A growing number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in South Korea are turning to high-interest loans from nonbank lenders as banks tighten their loan screening, data showed Tuesday. As of end-October, outstanding SME loans from nonbank financial institutions came to 76.6 trillion won (US$64.4 billion), up 31.2 percent [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 24 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea said Thursday it will soon introduce a new early warning system for potential risks from the nation’s massive household debt, especially as interest rates here may soon start an upward trend. Household debt totaled 1,295.8 trillion won (US$1.1 trillion) as of the end of September, up 3 [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s top financial regulator, nominated to lead the finance ministry, on Wednesday vowed to make all-out efforts to address the household debt problem. Yim Jong-yong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), described it as a potential “core risk factor” especially as South Korea may have to raise [...]
SEJONG, Oct. 31 (Korea Bizwire) – The number of college graduates who failed to pay back their student loans jumped nearly eight times in three years, data showed Monday, in the latest sign of financial trouble for young South Korean workers. Under the student loan program that began 2010, college graduates are required to pay [...]