Economy

• 
  Non-consumption expenditure accounts for 26.5% of total household spending in 2022 SEOUL -- Non-consumption household expenditure including tax and interest payments accounted for more than a quarter of entire household spending last year, the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) said February 27. The average non-consumption household expenditure was estimated at 951,000 won ($719) in 2022, up 8 percent from a year before, according to the KOSIS affiliated with Statistics Korea. The sum represented 26.5 percent of total average household spending of 3.5 2023-02-27
• 
  ​Korean-built No. 3 reactor starts commercial operation in UAE's Barakah nuclear plant SEOUL -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has launched the commercial operation of the third reactor of the Barakah nuclear power plant built by South Korea, the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) said February 26. The operation started February 24, eight months after the UAE issued an operating license and completed the process of inserting fuel rods into the reactor in June 2022, according to the state-run unitality company. The Barakah plant, located 270 kilometers west of Abu 2023-02-27
• 
  ​South Korea faces vicious cycle of snowballing trade deficit, falling won, high inflation SEOUL -- The South Korea economy is likely to slip into a vicious cycle of a snowballing trade deficit, a weakening Korean won against the U.S. dollar, and soaring inflation. According to the Korea Customs Service, the country suffered a trade deficit of $18.63 billion (24.56 trillion won) so far this year until February 20. The sum was 2.7 times the $6.98 billion shortfall the country posted a year before. In the first 20 days of February, the deficit was estimated at $5.98 bi 2023-02-27
• 
  Kakao's AI development wing to kick-start $7.6 mln fund to commercialize hyperscale AI SEOUL -- Kakao Brain, the artificial intelligence development wing will kick-start a fund worth up to 10 billion won ($7.6 million) during the first half of 2023 to commercialize the company's AI-based image generation application. Hyperscale AI refers to AI technologies and techniques at a massive scale to solve complex problems and process an enormous amount of data. Hyperscale AI is often used in natural language processing and AI-based image generation. AI image generat 2023-02-27
• 
  ​[Weekly Stock Market] Overall foreign buying trend is likely to continue SEOUL -- The benchmark Korea Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ended at 2,423.61 last week, down 1.13 percent from a week before, as the index was predominantly pressured by foreign selling. For the first time this year, on a weekly basi 2023-02-26
• 
  KEPCO suffers record operating loss of $25 billion in 2022 due to soaring fuel prices SEOUL -- The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) said February 24 that it suffered a record operating loss of 32.63 trillion won ($25.02 billion) last year, prompted by soaring fuel prices and a slow pace of electricity rate hikes. The loss was more than five times the company's 2021 operating loss of 5.84 trillion won. In the last three months of last year alone, KEPCO incurred a 10.76 trillion won loss, hitting an all-time high quarterly figure. KEPCO said that i 2023-02-24
• 
  ​Two bar associations fined $7.7 million each for membership ban on legal service platform SEOUL -- South Korea's two bar associations were slapped with a fine of 10 billion won ($7.7 million) each for banning their members from joining LawTalk, an online platform that connects users and lawyers. On February 23, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) decided to impose the fine on the Korean Bar Association (KBA) and the Seoul Bar Association (SBA), stating that their ban has hindered "free and fair" competition in the legal market. The antitrust regulat 2023-02-24
• 
  ​Real household income drops 1.1% in fourth quarter of last year amid soaring inflation SEOUL -- South Korea's real household income fell 1.1 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of last year, affected by runaway inflation, according to Statistics Korea on February 23. The statistical office said that average nominal household income increased 4.1 percent to 4.83 million won in the last three months of 2022 from a year before. However, inflation-adjusted real household income dropped 1.1 percent, following a 2.8 percent fall in the third quarter of last year 2023-02-23
• 
  ​BOK freezes key rate at 3.5% amid deteriorating economic outlook SEOUL -- The Bank of Korea has decided to freeze its key interest rate at 3.5 percent, halting 17 months of continued rate hikes amid the deteriorating economic outlook. The central made the decision on February 23 after holding a Monetary Policy Board meeting. The rate freeze came as the South Korean economy continues to slow down after it began to contract in the fourth quarter of last year amid sluggish exports and sagging domestic demand. Leaving the rate unchanged at the c 2023-02-23
• 
  ​Producer prices rose 0.4% in January, driven by soaring electricity charges SEOUL -- Producer prices rose 0.4 percent last month from December, driven by soaring electricity charges, according to data released by the Bank of Korea (BOK) on February 23. The produce price index increased to 120.29 in January, up 0.4 percent from a month before. The rise came after the index fell 0.3 percent in November and 0.4 percent in December. Compared with the January 2021 figure, the price index jumped by 5.1 percent. "The producer price increase was attribute 2023-02-23
• 
  LG Uplus to release metaverse platform for young children SEOUL -- South Korea's mobile carrier LG Uplus will roll out a metaverse-based platform that enables young children to interact with each other and learn about animals and dinosaurs using avatars. The virtual platform incorporated functions capable of filtering profanity while chatting and reporting those who behave inappropriately. LG Uplus (LGU+) said in a statement that the company will release the open beta version of KidsTopia, a metaverse platform for children aged up to 2023-02-22
• 
  South Koreans taking brunt of higher inflation and fewer jobs SEOUL -- South Koreans are bearing the brunt of pains arising from higher consumer prices and fewer jobs amid the economic slump, according to an analysis of official data by Rep. Kim Hoi-jae of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) on February 22. Kim said that the so-called misery index jumped to 8.8 last month, hitting the highest since it peaked at 9.2 in July 2022. The index is calculated by adding the consumer inflation rate (5.2 percent) to the unemployment rate (3.6 per 2023-02-22
• 
  ​LG Energy Solution ties up with Ford and Koc Holding to build battery plant in Turkey SEOUL -- LG Energy Solution (LGES), the battery-making wing of South Korea’s LG Group, will build a battery plant at an industrial zone near Turkey's capital city to solidify its position in the European electric vehicle market. The factory established through a joint venture with a U.S.-based automobile manufacturer, Ford, and Turkey's conglomerate Koc Holding, would produce batteries for commercial vehicles in Europe. Data released by database company Statista 2023-02-22
• 
  South Korea suffers 22.6 percent fall in trade with Russia amid war in Ukraine SEOUL -- South Korea's volume of trade with Russia nosedived 22.6 percent to $21.15 billion in 2022 from a year before, affected by the latter's war with Ukraine, according to a report by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) on February 21. The KITA said that the plunge was in contrast to an average growth rate of 11.4 percent in 36 major countries' trade with Russia. India's trade with Russa skyrocketed 237 percent year-on-year last year, followed by Gr 2023-02-22
• 
  S. Korea to beef up key strategic industries under 'New Growth Strategy 4.0' SEOUL -- The Ministry of Economy and Finance has announced a new growth strategy to help South Korea keep its technological competitive edge in the country’s three strategic industries -- semiconductors, batteries and displays. On February 20, the ministry unveiled "New Growth Strategy 4.0" aimed at finding new economic engines. It plans to work out more than 30 detailed tasks to support the key industries. The ministry said that it will begin to implement around 2023-02-21
• 
  Avikus to provide autonomous boat solution 'NeuBoat' for recreational boat owners in US SEOUL -- Avikus, an autonomous shipbuilder affiliated with South Korea's Hyundai shipbuilding group, will demonstrate its autonomous boat solution called "NeuBoat" in the United States. The company will begin a beta-test for its autonomous boat solution involving participants selected from visitors of an annual global boat show held in Miami. According to data released by market research firm Mordor Intelligence, the global recreational boating market which stood at 2023-02-20
• 
  LG Electronics receives vehicle cybersecurity certificate from UNECE SEOUL -- LG Electronics is seeking to strengthen its global competitiveness in the global automobile market by receiving Cybersecurity Management System (CSMS) certification. The certification allows the electronics giant to provide various components including infotainment systems mainly in Europe. The South Korean electronics maker said in a statement on February 20 that it has received a vehicle CSMS certification from the international certification testing organization, TUV 2023-02-20
• 
  ​Manufacturing confidence improves for March, raising hope for economic rebound SEOUL -- South Korea's manufacturing confidence for March improved for the fourth straight month, raising hope for a rebound in both exports and domestic demand, a survey by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade (KIET) said February 20. The KIET-devised professional survey index (PSI) for the manufacturing sector's business conditions stood at 101 for next month, up from 90 for February. The index showed an upward movement for the fourth straight month. 2023-02-20
• 
  ​Ticketing agencies Interpark and Triple to adopt luggage tracking service for first time SEOUL -- Interpark, a popular online ticketing agency operated by South Korea's online leisure and accommodation service company Yanolja, and its brother company Triple will adopt a real-time airport luggage tracking service for the first time as a travel and leisure ticket seller in the country. According to Incheon International Airport, South Korea's main gateway, an annual average of 62.6 million luggage is processed at the airport and about two out of every one million 2023-02-20
• 
  [Weekly Stock Market] Investors to focus on BOK's interest rate decision SEOUL -- The benchmark Korea Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ended last week slightly lower closing at 2,451.21 points (-0.75 percent) pressured by higher-than-expected U.S. inflation and consumer data which all increased the likelihood 2023-02-19