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☆ South Korea exports suffer longest losing streak in three years, China sales tumble
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, May 1 (Reuters) - South Korea's exports fell for a seventh straight month in April for their longest losing streak in three years, driven by an extended slump in sales to China and suggesting persistent pressure on the economy from frail global demand. A breakdown of the data showed exports to China tumbled 26.5% for their 11th consecutive month of declines, while those to the United States fell 4.4% in their first shrinking month in three. By product, semiconductor exports dived 41.0%, extending their losses to the ninth straight month. Imports in April fell 13.3% to $52.23 billion following a 6.4% fall in March, also faster than a 10.6% decline expected by economists. Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Choonsik Yoo & Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ South Korea exports contract for seventh month, longest streak in 3 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, May 1 (Reuters) - South Korea's exports fell for a seventh straight month in April in annual terms, data showed on Monday, marking their longest losing streak in three years and suggesting persistent pressure on the economy from frail global demand. Overseas sales by Asia's fourth-largest economy fell 14.2% year-on-year to $49.62 billion in April, the trade ministry data showed, after a 13.6% fall in February and compared with a 13.5% drop tipped in a Reuters survey. Imports in April fell 13.3% to $52.23 billion following a 6.4% fall in March, also faster than a 10.6% decline expected by economists. As a result, the country posted a trade deficit of $2.62 billion in April, the 14th month in a row that the export-reliant economy suffered monthly trade deficit. Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Choonsik Yoo & Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ US, South Korean leaders pledge to cooperate on forex market stability
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 26 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol upgraded their commitment to cooperate on maintaining stability in foreign exchange markets at a summit on Wednesday, a senior South Korean economic official said. "It is meaningful that (the two leaders) expressed their willingness to actively cooperate for the financial stability at a higher level than before," Choi Sang-mok, senior presidential secretary for economy, told reporters in Washington. Biden and Yoon said in a statement following the summit that the two countries "will continue to consult closely on foreign exchange market developments to promote sustainable growth and financial stability". It was a reaffirmation of a commitment made last year but was an upgrade in the sense that it was included in the statement after the summit meeting held on the occasion of President Yoon's state visit, Choi said. Reporting by Choonsik Yoo; Editing by Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ We expect chip market to recover in the second half of the year, financial services firm says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWe expect chip market to recover in the second half of the year, financial services firm saysDaniel Yoo of Yuanta Securities says stock prices are stabilizing despite poor profit numbers from chipmakers.

☆ South Korea to join global stress test on banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, April 24 (Reuters) - South Korea will voluntarily join a global stress test on banks, hoping to gain from a thorough analysis of risks they face on an international level, the country's central bank and its financial regulator said on Monday. The Bank of Korea and the Financial Supervisory Service said in a joint statement that the country has decided to join the test led by the Financial Stability Board and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. The test involves countries submitting data on their banks so that it can be analysed and compared on a global context. "It will allow (the participating countries) to conduct an elaborate assessment of financial stability on a global level such as contagion effects due to the global interconnection," the South Korean agencies said. South Korea is not required to join the test as none of its banks are classified as globally systemically important banks, but is keen on monitoring global contagion risks.

☆ South Korea and Japan's finance ministers to hold first bilateral talks in 7 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL/TOKYO, April 17 (Reuters) - South Korea and Japan's finance ministers will hold a bilateral meeting early next month for the first time in seven years, heralding closer cooperation in economic policy that has been hampered by diplomatic conflict. South Korean Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho told reporters during a visit to the United States that he has agreed to meet Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, according to a media pool report. "It is significant in that it will be the first step toward reviving regular bilateral meetings," Choo said, without elaborating. Regular annual meetings between the two countries' finance ministers have been suspended since 2016 due to disputes over wartime history. Financial markets will likely pay close attention to whether the finance ministers will discuss resuming a bilateral currency swap arrangement - one that had served as backstop against any potential currency crisis but which expired in February 2015.

☆ South Korean Actress Is Found Dead at 26
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Jin Yu Young | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A young South Korean actress still early in a promising career was found dead in her home on Tuesday, according to the production company she had been working with. Although no cause of death was disclosed, the episode has renewed concerns about the mental health of young people working in South Korea’s highly competitive entertainment industry. The actress, Jung Chae-yull, 26, is the most recent instance of the phenomenon of celebrities in their 20s dying suddenly. “Actress Chae-yull has left our side on April 11, 2023,” Management S, Ms. Jung’s agency in Seoul, said in a statement on Tuesday. Both Ms. Song and Ms. Jung’s careers had begun only a few years before they died.

[1/5] Choi Jin-mook, 48, Chief Director of Drug Addiction Rehabilitation Centre (DARC) and visiting professor of Department of Addiction Rehabilitation and Social Welfare at Eulji University, listens to a recovering drug addict during a group counselling for drug addicts in Incheon, South Korea, April 1, 2023. South Korea has only six drug rehabilitation centres, according to Choi, including just two run by the food and drug safety ministry. In comparison, Japan - with 126 million people to South Korea's 52 million - has about 90 rehab centres. PRISON NOT REHABOne of the biggest problems is that South Korea's corrections system focuses mostly on punitive detention and lacks rehabilitation support, Choi said. Some drug crimes are also punishable by death although South Korea has not carried out any executions since 1997.

☆ Bank of Korea holds policy rate steady at 3.50%, as expected
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, April 11 (Reuters) - South Korea's central bank on Tuesday held interest rates steady for a second consecutive meeting, as expected, faced with conflicting risks from still high inflation, a slowing economy and heightened financial uncertainty. The Bank of Korea said its seven-member monetary policy board voted to keep the base rate (KROCRT=ECI) unchanged at 3.50%, as it did on Feb. 23. The decision was in line with predictions from 39 out of 40 economists surveyed by Reuters, while one respondent had forecast a 25-basis-point hike. It is the first time the Bank of Korea has kept the policy rate steady at successive meetings since it embarked on a tightening campaign in August 2021. Reporting by Choonsik Yoo and Jihoon Lee; Editing by Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] The logo of the Bank of Korea is seen in Seoul, South Korea, November 30, 2017. The Bank of Korea said its seven-member monetary policy board voted to keep the base rate (KROCRT=ECI) unchanged at 3.50%, as it did on Feb. 23. Local markets showed a muted reaction as investors waited Governor Rhee Chang-yong's news conference from 0210 GMT. It is the first time the Bank of Korea has kept the policy rate steady at successive meetings since it embarked on a tightening campaign in August 2021. Reporting by Choonsik Yoo and Jihoon Lee; Editing by Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ S.Korea's Yoon calls strategy meeting to boost chip, battery sectors
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, April 10 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol ordered on Monday a national strategy meeting to boost the competitiveness of the country's rechargeable battery and semiconductor sectors, a presidential spokesperson said. South Korea's economy, heavily dependent on trade and chip exports, has been decelerating in the face of a weakening global economy and still-sluggish demand from neighbouring China. Local consumers are also holding back on spending after interest rate rises. South Korean battery and chip shares rallied in early trade on Monday. Reporting by Choonsik Yoo and Hyunsu Yim; Editing by Tom Hogue and Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ ‘Piazzolla’s History With Tango’ Review: PBS Dances Down to Argentina
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( John Anderson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Astor Piazzolla occupies a unique position in modern musical composition. His work is as “popular” in its origins as jazz or blues, though it is frequently heard on classical-music stations—where his propulsive tango rhythms remain as infectious as Bach is baroque. A bridge between musical movements and a singular influence on the music of his native Argentina, Piazzolla dominates the latest installment of “Now Hear This,” the “Great Performances” series hosted by violinist Scott Yoo and his wife, flutist Alice Dade . (Future episodes this season will concern Robert Schumann , Isaac Albéniz and modern classicist Andy Akiho .) Whether their exploration of the music or dancing of tango will lead to a Piazzolla renaissance is uncertain, but there’s a wealth of invigorating music, including Piazzolla’s “History of Tango,” originally composed for flute and guitar and rendered with considerable energy and eloquence by Ms. Dade and Sebastián Henríquez .

☆ How Much Watching Time Do You Have This Weekend?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Margaret Lyons | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

‘Great Performances: Now Hear This’When to watch: Friday at 9 p.m., on PBS. “Hear” covers both the artistic and the mechanical — who among us has not yearned to know how the guts of an accordion work? — but its real calling card is the sense of pleasure radiating from the show’s participants. Making music together is supposed to be fun! Being really good at it makes it even more fun!

"It cannot be that financial institutions are doing well because they treat their customers badly," Chan-Jae Yoo, a BaFin official, said in an interview. Deutsche Kreditwirtschaft, an umbrella organisation that lobbies for German finance, said German banks are "extremely stable and robust" and confidence remains "high" and "unaffected" by recent turmoil stemming from the collapse of lenders in the United States and Switzerland. "The mere fact that consumers are increasingly asking us and seeking our advice is proof enough that they do not fully trust financial institutions," he said. Protections and rights for customers of financial institutions have come under increased scrutiny from regulators and the German courts. "We want services to establish themselves in the marketplace that meet consumer needs, not feed the financial industry," he said.

☆ South Korea exports fall for sixth consecutive month in March
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( Jihoon Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It was the longest losing streak in exports in annual terms since August 2020. South Korea is the first major exporting economy to release trade data each month, with a diversified portfolio from chips to cars and ships, providing an early glimpse into the state of global demand. By destination, exports to China dropped 33.4% in March, extending losses to a 10th straight month and marking the worst since January 2009. Semiconductor exports slumped 34.5%, in the eighth month of falls, but with the pace easing from a month before. Imports in March fell 6.4% to $59.75 billion, versus a 3.5% rise in the previous month and a 6.6% fall expected by economists.

☆ South Korea data shows uneven economic recovery, suggests steady rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Choonsik Yoo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, March 31 (Reuters) - South Korea's factory output slumped while retail sales jumped in February, data showed on Friday, signalling an uneven economic recovery and bolstering the market's view that the central bank will keep rates on hold for the rest of the year. The industrial output index fell 3.2% in February from the month before after a 2.4% gain in January, while the retail sales index jumped 5.3% month-on-month after a 1.1% drop in January, according to Statistics Korea. South Korea's central bank, which started raising interest rates in August 2021 ahead of most central banks, has raised the policy rate by 300 basis points from just 0.5% but kept it unchanged at its latest meeting in February. Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong told reporters after the February decision that the central bank would not resume its rate hikes if inflation continued to moderate. Economists said the robust retail sales data could be temporary given the worsening outlook for exports, which influence a wide range of economic activity in South Korea.

☆ FTX reaches deal to recover over $400 mln from hedge fund Modulo
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 22 (Reuters) - Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has reached a deal to recover more than $400 million in cash from hedge fund Modulo Capital, pulling back 97% of the money that FTX companies sent to the hedge fund in 2022, according to court documents filed on Wednesday. FTX's new CEO, John Ray, has said his top priority was recovering assets to repay FTX customers. Alameda, at the direction of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, had paid $25 million to acquire a stake in Modulo and contributed $450 million to an investment fund managed by Modulo, according to the filings. FTX also agreed to not take further actions against Modulo or its principals Xiaoyun Zhang and Duncan Rheingans-Yoo related to the 2022 payments, according to the filings. FTX has previously recovered more than $5 billion in its quest to repay customers of the bankrupt crypto exchange.

☆ Older workers pull South Korea jobless rate down to record low
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Choonsik Yoo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, March 15 (Reuters) - South Korea's unemployment rate has fallen back to a record low, data showed on Wednesday, mainly due to increased employment among people aged 60 and over, and as shrinking exports and a sluggish housing market have yet to significantly hit payrolls. The unemployment rate was 2.6% in February versus 2.9% in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, matching a record low also touched in August, showed data from Statistics Korea. "Manufacturing and construction sectors, among others, will soon begin to show the effects of shrinking exports and a weakening housing market," said Park Sang-hyun at HI Investment and Securities. People aged 60 or older contributed most to the declining unemployment rate with the figure in this age group falling to 1.6% from 2.6% a month earlier. Reporting by Choonsik Yoo; Editing by Tom Hogue and Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ South Korea Feb unemployment rate eases to match record low
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SEOUL, March 15 (Reuters) - South Korea's unemployment rate eased to match a record low of 2.6% in February from 2.9% in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, data showed on Wednesday. This is the same as the record set in August last year. Adults aged 60 or older led the drop as the unemployment rate for this age group fell to 1.6% in February from 2.6% in January. Rates for other age groups changed little or even rose, the Statistics Korea data showed. Reporting by Choonsik Yoo; Editing by Chris Reese and Tom HogueOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/2] Kim Tae-hyun, Chairman & CEO of South Korea's National Pension Service, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Seoul, South Korea, March 3, 2023. National Pension Service/Handout via REUTERSSEOUL, March 6 (Reuters) - South Korea's National Pension Service (NPS), manager of the world's third-largest public pension fund, will collaborate with foreign exchange authorities when needed to help stabilise the market, its chairman told Reuters. "Based on last year's experience, we have prepared measures aimed at easing dollar demand and volatility in the foreign exchange market," Kim said. "A predictable and stable foreign exchange rate is also advantageous to us," he said, adding that cooperation with foreign exchange authorities would be based on achieving good investment returns. With the fund expected to be depleted by 2055, his top priority is to provide support for the government's plan to reform the national pension system, he said.

[1/2] Chinese tourists stand next to street vendors at Myeongdong shopping district in Seoul, South Korea, January 9, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiSEOUL, March 2 (Reuters) - South Korea's government on Thursday promised to boost exports and attract tourists as the country's statistics agency released January data that showed gloomy prospects for the economy. Reflecting the sense of urgency within the government, South Korea's trade minister convened a separate emergency meeting of officials from almost all ministries to press for more exports. South Korea's official forecast is for exports to drop 4.5% in 2023 compared with last year. South Korea's trade-reliant economy contracted by an estimated 0.4% in the fourth quarter of 2022 from the previous quarter as exports collapsed.

☆ These are the 13 healthcare startups that have already laid off employees in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Digital health startups are laying off employees in droves to cut spending in a tough market. These are the 13 healthcare startups to slash staff so far in 2023. Digital health layoffs have been on the rise since last year. Thirteen digital health startups have already cut staff less than two months into 2023. Here are the digital health startups that have cut staff so far in 2023, as of February 28:Have a tip about digital health layoffs that you want to share?

☆ Bank of Korea holds rates after year of non-stop hikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SEOUL, Feb 23 (Reuters) - South Korea's central bank kept interest rates unchanged on Thursday, matching market expectations and ending an uninterrupted run of hikes for a year. The Bank of Korea's monetary policy board held its policy interest rate (KROCRT=ECI) steady at 3.50%, in line with a unanimous call by the 42 economists in a Reuters poll. Governor Rhee Chang-yong is due to hold a news conference soon. Reporting by Choonsik Yoo and Jihoon Lee; Editing by Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ North Korean media blames U.S., allies for Ukraine war ahead of invasion anniversary
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Feb 23 (Reuters) - North Korean state media marked the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine by blaming the crisis on NATO and calling America's involvement a "trail to self-destruction." The Ukraine war, the biggest land conflict in Europe since World War Two, has displaced millions, left Ukrainian cities, towns and villages in ruins and disrupted the global economy. North Korea has forged closed ties to Russia since the war began, publicly supporting Moscow in statements as well as at the United Nations. "The current situation in Ukraine once again proves that there can be no peace in the world at any time unless the United States' policy of force, tyranny, and greedy aggression... is ended." The United States has accused North Korea of providing weapons to Russia, which both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied.

☆ North Korea may fire ICBM at normal angle, conduct nuclear test - S. Korean lawmakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SEOUL, Feb 22 (Reuters) - North Korea could test-fire intercontinental ballistic missiles at a normal angle and conduct its seventh nuclear test this year to perfect its nuclear and missile capabilities, South Korean lawmakers said on Wednesday, citing intelligence officials. The isolated country has so far conducted ICBM tests on lofted trajectories, but has already secured capabilities to launch them at a normal angle, which it might do to pressure the United States, the lawmakers said after a briefing by Seoul's National Intelligence Service (NIS). North Korea is also likely to launch a spy satellite this year in line with its previous warnings, said Yoo Sang-bum, a member of the parliamentary intelligence committee. Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Lincoln Feast. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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