President Trump’s trade agreement with Japan, announced this week, has intensified pressure on South Korea to cut a deal that doesn’t leave it at a disadvantage relative to its biggest rival in East Asia, the New York Times reported. Kim Jung-Kwan, South Korea’s industry minister, who arrived in Washington on Wednesday for negotiations, pledged an “all-out effort” to strike a deal by the Aug. 1 deadline to stave off a 25 percent tariff that the White House threatened in April and again this month. Moving forward, Mr.
Read more
South Korea's first-generation online video service (OTT) platform Watcha is in danger of going through corporate restructuring, Chosun Biz reported. This comes as Inlight Ventures, one of the investors, has requested court administration. Due to prolonged deficits, it has become difficult for the investor to recover the invested funds, prompting the creditor to directly request the restructuring process. Watcha plans to request the withdrawal of corporate restructuring through negotiations with investors. However, the situation is challenging.
Read more
In the first quarter of this year, 18 out of 23 savings banks located in Seoul showed non-performing loans (NPLs) ratios exceeding the recommended level, Chosun Biz reported. Notably, the number of savings banks in the Seoul area with NPL ratios exceeding double digits increased from 8 to 12 during the same period. The situation of savings banks has worsened since the real estate project financing (PF) defaults began in the second half of 2022.
Read more
South Korea’s central bank kept interest rates steady Thursday in a widely expected move, amid easing concerns over the economic outlook and caution against rising household debt, the Wall Street Journal reported. The decision follows a rate cut at the Bank of Korea’s previous meeting in May, when it moved to support the flagging economy. Since then, exports have rebounded despite higher U.S. tariffs, and domestic political unrest has subsided.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday set a 25% tax on goods imported from Japan and South Korea, as well as new tariff rates on a dozen other nations that would go into effect on Aug. 1, the Associated Press reported. Trump provided notice by posting letters on Truth Social that were addressed to the leaders of the various countries. The letters warned them to not retaliate by increasing their own import taxes, or else the Trump administration would further increase tariffs.
A court on Friday approved a request to allow discount store chain Homeplus Co. to pursue a merger and acquisition (M&A) deal before a court decision on whether to approve its rehabilitation plan, the Korea Times reported. The Seoul Bankruptcy Court approved Homeplus' pursuit of the M&A deal and the selection of an M&A adviser prior to its rehabilitation plan-related court ruling.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said on Friday his government would focus on easing regulations and accelerate working-level tariff talks with Washington as part of broader support for companies on trade matters, Reuters reported. The future of South Korea's export-oriented economy, with key sectors from chips to vehicles and shipbuilding heavily exposed to global trade, may hinge on the kind of deal Lee can strike on tariffs with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Read more
South Korea’s headline inflation cooled to a five-month low in May and stayed below the central bank’s 2.0% annual target, justifying its resumed easing of policy to support economic growth, the Wall Street Journal reported. The benchmark consumer-price index rose 1.9% from a year earlier, following a 2.1% increase in April, the country’s statistics office said Wednesday. Price growth was largely kept in check by lower prices of oil products, fruits and vegetables, despite gains in the prices of some other agricultural and livestock goods, according to the statistics office.
Read more
South Korea’s central bank slashed its growth outlook for the year, cutting its policy rate in a widely expected move to support the country’s sagging economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. The export-led economy is facing challenges from U.S. President Trump’s sweeping tariffs and heightened tensions in global trade, while struggling with weak domestic consumption. Ending a pause in its easing cycle, the Bank of Korea lowered its benchmark seven-day repurchase rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.50% on Thursday. BOK Gov.
Read more
Prosecutors investigating the so-called Homeplus scandal have imposed a travel ban on Michael ByungJu Kim, chairman of MBK Partners and the alleged central figure in the case, the Korea Joongang Daily reported. According to legal sources on Monday, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office’s Anti-Corruption Investigation Division recently requested the Ministry of Justice to bar Kim, a U.S. citizen, from leaving Korea.
Read more