WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — This year’s Nobel economics prize laureates on Monday applauded South Korea’s economic rise, a key subject of their research, but pointed out a set of challenges ahead, including the fast-graying population of Asia’s fourth largest economy. They also drew a stark contrast between the economic backwater of North Korea [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — The Bank of Korea (BOK)’s first interest rate cut in 38 months highlighted the urgent need for South Korea to ease interest burdens on households and businesses to prop up sagging domestic demand despite concerns over rising home prices and household debts, experts said Friday. The BOK lowered its [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Weak domestic consumption and investment have hampered the South Korean economic recovery despite strong exports, a state-run think tank said Thursday. “The South Korean economy is experiencing limited improvement as the recovery of domestic demand, especially in construction investment, is delayed, despite favorable conditions in exports,” the Korea Development [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s top four conglomerates accounted for more than 40 percent of the country’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, data showed Wednesday. The combined sales of the four family-controlled groups — Samsung, SK, Hyundai Motor and LG — reached 980.5 trillion won (US$729 billion) in 2023, accounting [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s consumer prices slowed to the lowest level in 3 1/2 years in September, falling below 2 percent for the first time since early 2021, data showed Wednesday. Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 1.6 percent on-year last month, compared with a 2 percent increase a [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea should realign its export structure by boosting the portion of the service sector while reducing dependence on the manufacturing segment amid digital transformation and the artificial intelligence era, a central bank report said Friday. The Bank of Korea (BOK) said the country’s manufacturing sector accounted for 27 [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Korea Bizwire) – The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) slashed the growth outlook for the South Korean economy to 2.5 percent this year, Seoul’s finance ministry said Wednesday. The latest figure marked a 0.1 percentage point fall from its projection presented in May and is on a par with the [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean economy continues to show signs of recovery, driven by strong exports and manufacturing output, with consumer prices showing signs of stabilization, the finance ministry said Friday. The Ministry of Economy and Finance made the assessment in the Green Book, its monthly economic report, noting that domestic [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Korea Bizwire) – As inflation continues to squeeze household budgets, South Korean consumers are increasingly turning to budget-friendly options at convenience stores. CU, one of the country’s leading convenience store chains, reported a significant surge in sales of products priced under 1,000 won on September 5. The trend reflects a broader shift in [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s consumer prices slowed to the lowest level in nearly 3 1/2 years in August on easing prices of farm produce and global oil, data showed Tuesday. Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 2 percent on-year last month, compared with a 2.6 percent on-year rise a [...]