SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Korea Bizwire) – Household loans extended by local banks rose 11.8 percent in September from a year earlier due to an increase in collective loans, central bank data showed Wednesday. Outstanding household loans from local lenders came to 688.4 trillion won (US$613 billion) as of end-September, compared with 615.7 trillion won from [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – A growing number of South Korean households face the risk of defaulting on their debts, a potential “time bomb” for Asia’s fourth-largest economy, a lawmaker said Tuesday. The number of “marginal” households came to 1.34 million as of March last year, a sharp increase from 1.12 million three years [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 26 (Korea Bizwire) – South Koreans held an average of 27,371 euros (US$30,703) in financial assets, excluding liabilities, in 2015, placing the country 21st among 53 surveyed in the Allianz Global Wealth Report released on Monday that also noted their spiking debt. The sum in financial assets marks an increase of approximately 3,000 [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea said Monday it will extend financial support for the contractors of Hanjin Shipping, the nation’s largest container shipping line under court receivership. The government plans to use funds from the newly-allocated supplementary budgets to help those firms, especially small and medium-sized ones with relatively good financial health [...]
SEJONG, Sept. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – The South Korean government will reduce the debt ratio of public corporations to around 150 percent by 2020 as part of its efforts to improve the balance sheets of state-funded agencies, the finance ministry said Thursday. Under a long-term financial management plan, 39 public firms, including the Korea Gas [...]
SEOUL, July 13 (Korea Bizwire) – Household loans extended by local banks continued to rise at a fast rate in June, apparently on record low interest rates, central bank data showed Wednesday. Outstanding household loans extended by local lenders came to 667.5 trillion won (US$582.67 billion) as of the end of last month, up 6.6 [...]
SEOUL, July 6 (Korea Bizwire) – Prosecutors on Wednesday said some hundreds of people, including scores of brokers and lawyers, have been indicted on charges of providing unlawful legal service to people applying for personal bailout programs. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said it arrested 225 suspects — including 181 brokers and 41 lawyers [...]
SEJONG, June 30 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea will join the so-called Paris Club as the 21st member country this week, the finance ministry here said Thursday, a step that acknowledges the country’s transition into a creditor country. The membership will be endorsed at the Club’s meeting to celebrate its 60th anniversary on Friday in Paris, [...]
SEOUL, June 30 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean households are taking out loans at a faster clip than the increase in their income or ability to pay back, suggesting that household debt may cause serious problems down the road, the central bank said Thursday. In a report to the National Assembly, the Bank of Korea [...]
SEOUL, June 2 (Korea Bizwire) – The latest overseas investment bank (IB) analysis noted that Korea’s surging debt – household and corporate – is degrading its potential for economic growth. And with its aging society and poor foreign conditions, the gap between Korean and global economic growth rates will likely expand. One of the IBs, [...]