Grade-A offices in Seoul hit lowest vacancy rate in Q1 2022

Grade-A offices saw their lowest-ever quarterly vacancy rate in the first quarter of 2022 since 2010, when Canada-based real estate investment manag...

Korea’s Q1 facility investment cut in half, spooked by macroeconomic risks

South Korea’s major companies are drastically cutting their capital spending as heightened macroeconomic risks coupled with growing external u...

Total of 19 mn Bitcoins mined, pushing price upward 

Bitcoin mining hit a 19 million milestone in recent days, leading to a jump in its price. Tokyo-based SBI Crypto Co., under the parent company ...

Korea March inflation at 10-year high; bond yields surge

South Korea’s consumer prices in March grew at the fastest pace in more than 10 years on surging energy and commodity prices, while the centra...

Foreigners sell net $4 bn of shares in March, second only to Aug. 2021

Foreign investors in March sold a net 4.84 trillion won ($3.97 billion) worth of shares on South Korea's main bourse Kospi, their highest-ever mon...

Korea manufacturers see dismal Q1 after stellar profits in 2021

South Korean companies, especially manufacturers, suffered surging commodity prices, a weak won currency and global logistics disruptions in the fir...

BOK chief nominee to curb household debt through interest rates

South Korea’s central bank chief nominee said on Friday he will use interest rates to tackle household debt in Asia’s fourth-largest eco...

Korea won at three-year high vs yen on rate differentials

South Korea’s won currency on Monday hit its strongest point against the Japanese yen in more than three years on higher interest rates and co...

BOK governor nominee stokes slower rate hike expectations

South Korea’s nominee for its new central bank governor stoked expectations that the Bank of Korea may raise interest rates less than predicte...

Korea names IMF official as new central bank head

South Korea on Wednesday nominated veteran International Monetary Fund official Rhee Chang-yong as the country’s new central bank chief, who i...

Korean online banks’ disruptive business model: Woo low-credit borrowers

South Korea’s three major digital banks are stepping up their credit loans to borrowers with low credit ratings, a disruptive business model s...

Samsung Electro-Mechanics to invest $245 mn more in capex

South Korea’s Samsung Electro-Mechanics will spend more on increasing its semiconductor package substrate production capacity in order to meet...

LG Energy shares at lowest since IPO on short-selling concerns

Shares of LG Energy Solution Ltd. on Friday fell to their lowest level since the top South Korean battery maker went public in January on market con...

SK units at risk of rating cuts on aggressive investments

South Korea’s SK Group units focusing on investments in new eco-friendly industries are facing risks of credit rating downgrades.Investors hav...

Korea corp. borrowing costs to rise further on Russia risks

South Korean companies are expected to pay more for fundraising as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has chilled investor sentiment on corporate bo...

Hyundai IONIQ 5, Kia EV6 rated top among electric cars in Germany

Hyundai Motor Co.'s IONIQ 5 and Kia Corp.'s EV6 have been recognized as the most competitive electric sport utility vehicles by Auto Zeitung, a high...

Samsung Bioepis to double biosimilars, may resume Nasdaq listing plans

Samsung Bioepis Co., a biopharmaceutical unit of Samsung Group, plans to double the number of its biosimilar products on sale to 10 by 2025 and acce...

Korea’s record household debt may hurt consumption

South Korea’s household debt hit a record on surging property prices, stoking concerns over a slowdown in private consumption in Asia’s ...

US Novelis to build $53 mn aluminum recycle center in Korea

Novelis Inc., the world’s top aluminum recycler, is set to invest $53 million in another recycling and casting center in South Korea to meet t...

Korea Inc. revises business plans as rising oil prices hit economy

South Korean companies are revising their business plans for this year as soaring oil prices slam Asia’s fourth-largest economy. Inflation is ...

South Korea's working young teeter on brink of debt disaster

As the liquidity party is coming to an end, rising interest rates and falling asset values are highlighting concerns about household debt taken on b...

Korean Air to deploy Boeing 737 Max aircraft from March

Korean Air Lines Co. will start flying Boeing 737-8 aircraft from March, nearly two years after the global grounding of the jet type by airlines in ...

Korea corporate borrowing costs jump to 8-year peaks

South Korean companies suffered from surging financing costs as corporate bond yields shot to eight-year highs. Affiliates of major conglomerates wi...

Korean bank profits at record-high as borrowers struggle under debt

South Korea’s major banks posted record earnings last year, boosted by higher interest income amid the central bank’s easing monetary bi...

Money flows rush to safer assets in Korea

South Koreans are continuing their rush to safer assets with the balance of bank deposits, money market funds (MMFs) and cash management accounts (C...

S. Korean economy grows 4% in 2021

. South Korea's economy is estimated to have grown 4 percent last year, the highest growth rate in 11 years, as consumption and exports bounced back...

Plastics drive Korea's highest-ever exports in 2021

Plastics rise as Korean SMEs’ main export Many Korean small and medium enterprises performed exceptionally amid the economic recovery in 2021...

S.Korea's Jan. bond issues on track for record $6 bn

South Korean companies are ramping up their local bond issuances to finance expansion into low-carbon and contactless platform businesses, with stro...

Warehouse deals in greater Seoul area hit record high in Q4

The total deal volume of Seoul metropolitan area-based grade-A logistics centers hit a record high of 7.2 trillion won ($6.1 billion) last year. A g...

BOK restores interest rates to pre-pandemic level

South Korea’s central bank on Friday raised interest rates back to a pre-pandemic level, signaling further hikes to curb rising inflationary p...