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☆ UAE pledges to invest $30 billion in South Korea, president's office says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, receives Yoon Suk Yeol, President of South Korea and Kim Keon-hee, First Lady of South Korea, upon their arrival for a state visit reception, at Qasr Al Watan, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, January 15, 2023. Mohamed Al Hammadi/UAE Presidential Court/Handout via REUTERSSEOUL, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has decided to invest $30 billion in South Korea's industries, South Korea's presidential office said on Sunday, as the two countries seek to expand economic cooperation. The investment decision was announced as South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol met his UAE counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi during a four-day state visit, Yoon's office said. "We have decided a $30 billion investment based on the trust on South Korea which keeps promises under any circumstances," Yoon's office quoted the UAE president as saying. Seoul's finance ministry said the $30 billion investment would be led by sovereign wealth funds, including Mubadala Investment Company.

☆ Bank of Korea raises interest rates by 25 bps, as expected
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Jan 13 (Reuters) - South Korea's central bank raised its policy interest rate by 25 basis points on Friday, making a widely expected move that many economists also predicted would mark the end of a tightening cycle that began in 2021. The Bank of Korea said its seven-member monetary policy board had decided to raise its policy interest rate (KROCRT=ECI) to 3.50%, the highest since December 2008. The rise matched a prediction by 36 out of 40 economists in a Reuters poll, in which the remaining four had expected the central bank to hold the rate steady at 3.25%. Friday's decision marked the 10th interest rate rise since the current tightening cycle began in August 2021 and brought the total amount of increase to 300 basis points. Reporting by Choonsik Yoo and Jihoon Lee; Editing by Jacqueline WongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Economists in a Reuters poll had predicted Friday's rate increase would mark the end of a rate-hike cycle that the Bank of Korea's began in late 2021. The Bank of Korea said its seven-member monetary policy board had decided to raise its policy interest rate (KROCRT=ECI) to 3.50%, the highest since late 2008. The interest-rate rise matched a prediction by 36 out of 40 economists in a Reuters poll, in which the remaining four had expected the central bank to hold the rate steady at 3.25%. The decision follows Governor Rhee Chang-yong's remarks this month that the central bank's policy stance would continue to focus on stabilising prices. Like its peers globally, the Bank of Korea is faced with growing pressure to adjust its policy stance as domestic consumer and corporate spending fades and global trade slows.

☆ Financial services firm discusses Apple's plan to make in-house screens
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | 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 EmailFinancial services firm discusses Apple's plan to make in-house screensDaniel Yoo of Yuanta Securities says Apple's plan to make in-house screens will affect LG Display more than Samsung Electronics.

"We had such a hard time, and I would rather have more Chinese people come than the government restricting their entry so I can do business." "Tour bus operators who have had their vehicles idly parked for over three years are now gearing up for (bus) inspections," said Thai Tour Bus Association President Wasuchet Sophonsatien. Thailand, Japan, the United States, South Korea, Australia, Macao, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan were the most-searched destinations. Yue Hua Entertainment Korea, which manages Tempest, did not respond to a request for comment. "The pandemic outbreak on the mainland is still vigorous and needs time to recover, while domestic consumption remains weak on the mainland."

SEOUL, Jan 5 (Reuters) - A North Korean drone briefly entered a no-fly zone surrounding South Korea's presidential office when it intruded into the South's airspace last week, Seoul's military said on Thursday, fuelling criticism over its air defences. The drone was among five North Korean drones that crossed into the South on Dec. 26, prompting South Korea's military to scramble fighter jets and helicopters. The border crossing has sparked criticism over South Korea's air defences at a time of the North's growing nuclear and missile threats. Reclusive North Korea has pursued missile and nuclear weapons programmes in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. North and South Korea are technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

☆ South Korea plans tax breaks on domestic chip and tech investments
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Jan 3 (Reuters) - South Korea said on Tuesday it plans to offer large tax breaks to semiconductor and other technology companies investing at home to strengthen its supply-chain security while boosting the economy. Companies making capital investment at home would be given up to a 35% tax deduction which would help companies save more than 3.6 trillion won ($2.82 billion) in 2024 tax payments, the finance ministry said in a statement. This move comes after other countries, such as Taiwan, home to the world's largest contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) (2330.TW), and the United States announced plans to bring chip production on shore and bolster the domestic industry. The South Korean finance ministry added that the tax break plans were subject to approval by the parliament, which is dominated by the opposition. ($1 = 1,276.1200 won)Reporting by Choonsik Yoo; editing by Christian Schmollinger and Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bank of Korea chief sees more conflict between goals
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SEOUL, Jan 1 (Reuters) - The head of South Korea's central bank said on Sunday it would likely face an increasing conflict between policy goals in 2023 as the effect of the recent aggressive policy tightening materialises in earnest. "It will be a year when a sophisticated policy mix is more important than ever due to a growing possibility of conflict between inflation, economic growth and financial stability," Governor Rhee Chang-yong said in his New Year's address. He said a fast cooling of the real estate market could cause financial market instability, while listing the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 situation in China as the main sources of uncertainty facing the country's economy and inflation. Reporting by Choonsik Yoo; Editing by Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ S.Korea's Yoon orders revamp of response to violations of country's air space
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL, Dec 29 (Reuters) - South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered a revamp of the military's response to objects violating its airspace, his office said on Thursday, after an intrusion by North Korean drones exposed its difficulty in shooting down small aircraft. Five North Korean drones crossed into South Korea on Monday, prompting South Korea's military to scramble fighter jets and attack helicopters, though it failed to bring down the drones, which flew over South Korea for hours. "North Korean drones' intrusion of our airspace is an intolerable incident," Yoon said. The military apologised for its response, and said it could not shoot down the drones because they were too small. "Our military will conduct joint air defence drills ... simulating response to enemy's small-sized unmanned aircraft," a JCS spokesperson told a regular briefing.

☆ South Korea's Yoon vows to advance creation of military drone unit
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SEOUL, Dec 27 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Tuesday he would advance the creation of a military unit specialising in drones, criticising the military response to a border intrusion by North Korean drones. Five North Korean drones crossed into South Korea on Monday, prompting Seoul to scramble fighter jets and attack helicopters, and try to shoot them down. The incident highlighted the lack of training and readiness by the South Korean military, even though there had been previous intrusions, Yoon said. Reporting by Choonsik Yoo and Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Tom Hogue and Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ How 7 content creators built brands beyond fan merchandise and launched successful businesses
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Alexandra York | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Many content creators have used their success to launch brands, turning followers into customers. "I was interacting with millions of different people as a content creator," Yoo, who lived in South Korea at the time, said. Yoo is one of many creators who have used their achievements to launch brands in recent years, turning loyal followers into loyal customers. Creating "pushed me naturally into the direction" of launching a brand, Yoo said. To understand how to successfully make the leap, Insider spoke with Yoo and six additional creators who've built brands beyond fan merchandise.

☆ South Korean inflation expectations hit 7-month low
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Dec 27 (Reuters) - A major measure of the inflation expectations of South Korean consumers hit a seven-month low in December, underscoring the market's view that the Bank of Korea's policy tightening cycle is nearing an end. Consumers expected inflation for the next 12 months to be a median 3.8%, the Bank of Korea's monthly survey showed, down from 4.2% in November and the lowest since 3.3% in May. The Bank of Korea was among the first major economy central banks to begin raising interest rates, in August last year, and has up to November, raised its policy rate by a total of 275 basis points in nine steps to 3.25%. In the latest Reuters poll, the majority of analysts expected the Bank of Korea to raise the rate once again in early 2023, to 3.5%, and then stop its tightening cycle. Reporting by Choonsik Yoo; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ South Korea predicts lower 2023 GDP growth, vows to support exporters
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

"The effects from sluggish global trade and fast interest rate increases will likely limit the growth momentum for our economy across the board," the ministry said in a policy statement, adding growth has already begun slowing in the current quarter. It is the first full-year economic blueprint for President Yoon Suk-yeol's administration since its launch in May. Yoon has recently said his government would focus policy support on reviving the economy by boosting exports. It said inflation would slow to 3.5% in 2023 after hitting 5.1% this year, the fastest since 1998 while the country was suffering from the impact from the Asia financial crisis. Reporting by Choonsik Yoo; Editing by Christian SchmollingerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ South Korea's president stresses need for labour reforms
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Dec 21 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Wednesday reforming practices in the labour market should be a top priority for his government's drive to improve the way the country works. "We should significantly change labour market practices in step with the fast-changing industrial structure and changes in labour demand," Yoon said, adding that the rule of law should be firmly established in labour practices. The conservative Yoon, who took office early this year, has repeatedly said his government would strictly apply the law to labour relations in a country with a long record of fractious industrial relations. The tax burden on the owners of multiple homes should be lowered to ease the burden on renters, he said. Reporting by Choonsik Yoo; Editing by Tom Hogue, Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ South Korea flags economic slump deepening for while
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Choonsik Yoo | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FILE PHOTO: South Korea Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho attends the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, 16 July 2022. South Korea’s economy, the fourth-largest in Asia, relies heavily on exports ranging from cars and ships to chips and smartphones. The central bank last month cut its projection for next year’s economic growth to 1.7% from the previous 2.1% in its scheduled revision, citing falling exports and the resultant reduction likely in corporate investment. The ministry is due to unveil its 2023 economic projections and strategies on Wednesday. President Yoon, struggling against low approval ratings, says exports are the best choice for the manufacturing-heavy country to overcome its slump.

☆ South Korea's economic slump to bottom in first half of 2023, finance minister says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SEOUL, Dec 19 (Reuters) - South Korea's finance minister said on Monday the economy is slowing at a more rapid pace than previously expected and would bottom in the first half of next year. "Our economy's growth is expected to slow next year due to the effects from a global economic slump, and the difficulty will be focused on the first half," Minister Choo Kyung-ho said at the opening of a meeting with the ruling party leadership. The meeting was held ahead of the government's announcement later this week of its economic policy strategies for next year, which will be the first full-year statement for President Yoon Suk-yeol's administration since its launch in May. Reporting by Choonsik Yoo; editing by Diane Craft and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ South Koreans set to become younger as traditional way of counting age is scrapped
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea on Thursday passed laws to scrap its traditional method of counting ages and adopt the international standard, a shift that will make its citizens either one or two years younger on official documents. Koreans are deemed to be a year old when born and a year is added every Jan. 1. A separate system also exists for conscription purposes or calculating the legal age to drink alcohol and smoke, in which a person’s age is calculated from zero at birth and a year is added on Jan. 1. Since the early 1960s, however, South Korea has for medical and legal documents also used the international norm of calculating from zero at birth and adding a year on every birthday. “The revision is aimed at reducing unnecessary socioeconomic costs because legal and social disputes as well as confusion persist due to the different ways of calculating age,” Yoo Sang-bum of the governing People Power Party told Parliament.

Seoul, South Korea CNN —South Koreans are about to get a year or two younger, thanks to a new law passed on Thursday that aims to standardize how age is calculated in the country. In South Korea, a person’s “international age” refers to the number of years since they were born, and starts at zero – the same system used in most other countries. Born on December 31, 1977, he is considered 44 by international age; 45 by calendar year age; and 46 by Korean age. The law passed Thursday will standardize the use of international age across all “judicial and administrative areas,” according to the parliament website and documents related to the bill. “The state and local governments shall encourage citizens to use their ‘international age’ and conduct necessary promotion for that,” it says.

☆ South Koreans set to become younger as traditional way of counting age scrapped
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Pedestrians wearing masks walk with umbrellas as it rains amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in central Seoul, South Korea, November 19, 2020. REUTERS/Heo RanSEOUL, Dec 8 (Reuters) - South Korea on Thursday passed laws to scrap its traditional method of counting ages and adopt the international standard - a shift which will make its citizens either 1 or 2 years younger on official documents. Koreans are deemed to be a year old when born and a year is added every Jan. 1. A separate system also exists for conscription purposes or calculating the legal age to drink alcohol and smoke, in which a person's age is calculated from zero at birth and a year is added on Jan. 1. Since the early 1960s, however, South Korea has for medical and legal documents also used the international norm of calculating from zero at birth and adding a year on every birthday.

[1/5] South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks at an interview with Reuters in Seoul, South Korea, November 28, 2022. REUTERS/Daewoung KimSEOUL, Dec 4 (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Sunday ordered preparations for widening a back-to-work order beyond the cement industry amid a prolonged truckers' strike. Thousands of South Korean truckers have been on strike for more than 10 days, with negotiators for the government and unions making no progress on disagreements over minimum pay rules. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, an umbrella group, is planning a general strike for Tuesday. The government has said it would not expand a minimum pay system for truckers beyond a further three years.

SEOUL, Dec 1 (Reuters) - A strike by South Korean truckers is estimated to have cost 1.6 trillion won ($1.23 billion) in lost shipments, the industry ministry said on Thursday, as a lengthy strike becomes more likely with the government and union far from a compromise. The cement, steel, auto and oil refining industries have seen 1.6 trillion won in lost shipments in seven days since the strike began last week, the ministry said in a statement. This includes 562,600 tonnes of steel worth 731.3 billion, 6,707 cars worth 319.2 billion won, and 259,238 kilolitres of oil products valued at 442.6 billion won stuck in transit, it said. Two people at the meeting on Wednesday said shouting erupted during Wednesday's meeting between the government and strike organiser Cargo Truckers Solidarity Union (CTSU). The government is preparing to potentially order oil industry truckers back to their jobs, the industry ministry said on Thursday, after it issued an unprecedented order to force 2,500 cement industry truckers back to work this week.

☆ EXCLUSIVE Bank of Korea ready to adjust tightening pace, hopes for peak rate near 3.5%
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Cynthia Kim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] South Korea's new central bank governor Rhee Chang-yong speaks during his inauguration ceremony in Seoul, South Korea April 21, 2022. But he added that South Korean interest rates should not get too far below those of the United States, because of the risk of capital outflow. With the policy rate now at 3.25%, Rhee hopes it will not have to go much higher. It is the first time that the central bank governor has specified a level around which he hopes rates will peak. The Fed's policy rate is currently 3.75% to 4.00%.

☆ Bank of Korea ready to readjust tightening pace, going by data
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SEOUL, Nov 30 (Reuters) - South Korea's central bank is ready to readjust the pace of its policy tightening to respond to an economic slowdown and a slumping property market, the bank's governor told the Reuters NEXT conference on Wednesday. But Rhee Chang-yong declined to say whether the Bank of Korea would stop raising interest rates before the U.S. Federal Reserve, though he added that it was now better able to take into account domestic factors than before. The Bank of Korea, which was among the first central banks of major economies to start raising rates in August last year, has lifted the benchmark rate by a total of 275 basis points from a record low figure of 0.5%. Reporting by Cynthia Kim, Choonsik Yoo and Jihoon Lee; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) raised its benchmark policy rate (KROCRT=ECI) to 3.25% on Thursday, the highest level since 2012, after delivering a half-percentage point hike in October. The BOK is in the midst of its most aggressive policy tightening on record, having been a front-runner in withdrawing pandemic-era stimulus in the region when it started raising interest rates in August 2021. Since then, it has raised rates by a total of 275 basis points, delivering bigger 50-basis-point rate hikes for the first time since the current monetary framework was introduced in 1999. The central bank aims to keep inflation at 2%. The slowdown in the tightening pace has also been facilitated by a rebound in the local currency.

☆ South Korea's central bank raises rates by 25 bps, as expected
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Cynthia Kim | Jihoon Lee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SEOUL, Nov 24 (Reuters) - South Korea's central bank raised interest rates by a more modest 25 basis points on Thursday, as expected, slowing the pace of policy tightening as it tries to tame inflation without choking off economic growth. The Bank of Korea (BOK) raised its benchmark policy rate (KROCRT=ECI) to 3.25%, the highest level since July 2012, after delivering a half-percentage point hike in October. All but one of 30 economists expected the central bank to opt for a quarter-point hike in a Reuters poll, while one forecast another half-point rise. The Bank of Korea has raised the policy rate by a total of 275 basis points since August 2021 from a record low of 0.50%. Reporting by Cynthia Kim, Jihoon Lee and Choonsik Yoo; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da CostaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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