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Jan 15, 2025 | 
kedglobal.com | Kyung-Min Kang
South Korea’s job growth slowed last year amid a prolonged slump in the country’s construction, manufacturing and retail sectors, boding ill for the country’s overall economy already marred by weak domestic demand. According to data released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the number of employed people in Asia’s fourth-largest economy added 159,000, or 0.6%, year-over-year to 28,576,000 in 2024.
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Dec 6, 2024 | 
kedglobal.com | Kyung-Min Kang
South Korea’s credit will stay unscathed by the political turmoil caused by the short-lived President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration, said global credit rating agency Fitch Ratings, which also warned of a potential rise in downward pressure on the country’s economic credit if the crisis persists.
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Oct 20, 2024 | 
kedglobal.com | Kyung-Min Kang
South Korea’s exports, the country’s main growth driver, fell 2.9% in the first 20 days of October due to falling demand for vehicles and petroleum products and fewer working days, government data showed on Monday. Korean exports of semiconductors, the country’s top export item, however, remained strong, continuing its double-digit growth trend after turning positive last November.
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Oct 8, 2024 | 
kedglobal.com | Kyung-Min Kang
South Korea will be included in a global major bond index next year to attract an estimated $66 billion in capital inflows to Asia’s fourth-largest economy and save its ailing won currency. FTSE Russell, the global index subsidiary of London Stock Exchange Group, said on Tuesday that South Korean government bonds will be added to the FTSE World Government Bond Index (WGBI) with inclusion starting in November 2025.
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Sep 30, 2024 | 
kedglobal.com | Kyung-Min Kang
South Korea’s exports extended the growth streak for the 12th month in a row in September mainly driven by record-high semiconductor shipments, brisk sales of ships and a recovery in car demand, brightening the country's export outlook for the rest of this year.
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Sep 4, 2024 | 
kedglobal.com | Kyung-Min Kang |Jin-gyu Kang
South Korea’s inflation moderated to the government’s target of 2.0% in August, its slowest pace of increase in three years and five months, putting greater pressure on the Bank of Korea to pivot toward monetary easing before it is too late. The August inflation bolstered the criticism that the central bank might have missed a right time to slash interest rates, with the presidential office and the ruling People Power Party recommending the BOK lower the policy rate to revive domestic demand.
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Aug 14, 2024 | 
kedglobal.com | Kyung-Min Kang
South Korea’s jobs increased in July led by new hires among those in their 60s and older in one of the world's fastest-aging countries. The employment growth was driven by healthcare and welfare, information tech and logistics sectors, while payroll cuts in construction were the biggest in 11 years due to the industry downturn. The number of employed in Asia’s fourth-largest economy rose by 172,000 on-year to 28.86 million in July, according to data released from Statistics Korea on Wednesday.
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Aug 1, 2024 | 
kedglobal.com | Kyung-Min Kang
South Korea’s headline inflation remained in the 2% range for the fourth straight month in July despite a reacceleration, complicating the Bank of Korea’s rate decision amid mounting household debts and weakening domestic spending in the country. Consumer prices in July increased 2.6% from a year ago, data released by Statistics Korea showed on Friday.
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Jul 1, 2024 | 
kedglobal.com | Kyung-Min Kang
South Korea’s headline inflation stayed in the 2% range for three straight months in June after gaining at the slowest rate in 11 months, raising expectations that the country’s inflation would stay below 3% in the latter half of this year. Consumer prices in June added 2.4% from a year ago, the slowest since July 2023, according to data released by Statistics Korea on Tuesday.
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Jun 11, 2024 | 
kedglobal.com | Kyung-Min Kang |Yong-Hee Kwak
South Korea is seeking to introduce corporate pension plans to all workplaces in stages starting next year, alongside the mandatory contributions to the National Pension Service (NPS). To boost returns on corporate pensions, the government is considering involving the NPS, the world’s No. 3 pension scheme, in their management.
