The Bank of Korea (BOK) is set to initiate a pilot program for its central bank digital currency (CBDC), named "Hangang," involving 100,000 participants, CoinMarketCap.com reported. Scheduled to run from April to June this year, the pilot will allow citizens to convert their bank deposits into tokenized deposits for use in local transactions, according to reports from local media.

The protectionist policies of U.S. President Donald Trump are likely to deteriorate the soundness of the financial industry and expand market volatility, ChosunBiz.com reported. According to a report from the Korea Financial Research Institute on the 16th, titled "Implications of Strengthened Protectionism for the Domestic Banking Industry," a slowdown in exports due to global protectionism could lead to deteriorating performances of corporations and industries, causing the insolvency of vulnerable corporations and undermining the soundness of the financial industry.

South Korean supermarket chain Homeplus has pledged to fully repay its vendors, prioritizing small businesses, while apologizing for heightened concerns over its financial stability following a court's approval of its entry into a corporate rehabilitation program earlier this month, the Korea Herald reported.

South Korea’s headline inflation eased in February, providing room for the central bank to loosen monetary policy further to support the slowing economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. The benchmark consumer-price index rose 2.0% from a year earlier, following a 2.2% increase in January, the country’s statistics office said Thursday. The slowdown in price growth was largely driven by stabilizing prices of some agricultural products as well as lower services prices, according to the statistics office.

South Korea’s central bank cut its base rate and lowered its growth forecast for this year, as it resumed easing to support a sagging economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. Growth in Asia’s fourth-largest economy remains weak, with exports weighed by President Trump’s tariff policy and a rise in global trade protectionism. The economy is also hindered by sluggish domestic demand and weak consumer spending amid political turmoil over President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment trial.

South Korea’s economy expanded at a weaker-than-expected pace of 2.0% in 2024 after lackluster growth in the fourth quarter amid weak consumer and business spending, bolstering the case for the central bank’s another rate cut next month, the Wall Street Journal reported. Political turmoil over impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, who failed a martial-law attempt in December, and sluggish domestic demand weighed on Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

When Jeju Air’s status as South Korea’s biggest low-cost carrier seemed under threat from the merger of the country’s two biggest airlines last year, the company’s chief executive assured employees that it would “actively respond,” possibly by acquiring smaller rivals. Now, a week after a crash that killed 179 people on Dec. 29, Jeju Air’s future is clouded by even deeper questions, the New York Times reported.

South Korea's central bank governor said on Thursday the pace of monetary policy easing would need to be flexible this year due to heightened political and economic uncertainty, Reuters reported. "This year, conditions surrounding our economy will be more difficult than ever before," Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong said in a New Year's address. "Monetary policy needs to be operated with flexibility and agility, as political and economic uncertainty is unprecedentedly high," Rhee said.

South Korea’s headline inflation averaged 2.3% in 2024 after staying below the central bank’s 2% target for a fourth consecutive month in December, the Wall Street Journal reported. The benchmark consumer-price index rose 1.9% from a year earlier in December, following the 1.5% rise in November, the country’s statistics office said Tuesday. The latest reading was above the median forecast of a 1.7% increase projected by nine economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.