Korean Inc. bottom and top lines at 11-year high Q2 on chip boom SEOUL, September 09 (AJP) - Sales at South Korea's externally audited companies grew at their fastest pace since 2015 in the second quarter as a semiconductor boom bolstered both top and bottom lines of manufacturers. Sales rose 26.7 percent from a year earlier in the April-June period, accelerating from 13.5 percent growth in the first quarter, according to data released Wednesday by the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading was the highest since the first quarter of 2015. Extern September 9, 2026

Corporate borrowing picks up amid slowing household loans SEOUL, September 09 (AJP) - Bank loans showed mixed trends last month, with corporate borrowing accelerating while household loan growth slowed despite an increase in mortgage-related lending. Household loans increased by 3.4 trillion won (US$2.5 billion) in August, easing from a 5.5 trillion won rise in July, according to data released by the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Wednesday. Corporate loans expanded by 9.7 trillion won, up from 7.7 trillion won a month earlier. The slowdown in September 9, 2026

UPDATE: Korea's youth employment falls for 46th month in Aug *Updated with comments from a Ministry of Data and Statistics briefing and additional data SEOUL, September 9 (AJP) - Youth employment in South Korea fell for a 46th straight month in August and manufacturing jobs declined for a 26th month despite stronger overall hiring. The number of employed people aged 15 to 29 fell by 143,000 from a year earlier to 3.428 million. Their employment rate dropped 1.0 percentage point to 44.1 percent. "Youth employment remained weak as jo September 9, 2026

AI makes Korea richer, but leaves its youth behind SEOUL, September 08 (AJP) - On paper, South Korea has rarely looked richer. For its young people, it has rarely been harder to get a foothold. Real gross national income jumped 15.6 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the strongest increase since the fourth quarter of 1988, while per-capita GNI now has a strong chance of topping $40,000 for the first time. Much of the lift has come from the AI chip boom, which is showering export income and corporate profits on a September 8, 2026

UPDATE: South Korea sees per-capita GNI top $40,000 this year *Updated with additional information from a Bank of Korea briefing SEOUL, September 8 (AJP) - South Korea's national income increased sharply in the second quarter amid surge in chip and other exports, pushing the gross savings rate to a historic high and placing the per-capita gross national income on track to top $40,000 this year. The Bank of Korea (BOK) said real gross national income (GNI) rose 15.6 percent from a year earlier and 3.1 percent from the previous quarter. September 8, 2026

Korea's rate hikes lift delinquency risks for indebted homebuyers: BOK SEOUL, September 07 (AJP) -South Korea’s base rate has yanked up to 3.00 percent from 2.50 percent through two consecutive hikes after staying unchanged for more than a year and may rise further given the central bank’s inflation-focused bias, raising delinquency risks for highly leveraged mortgage households, a Bank of Korea (BOK) study showed Monday. A 1 percentage point increase in rates would raise the probability of delinquency among heavily indebted homebuying September 7, 2026

Korean Inc. loans for working capital rise while for investment slows SEOUL, September 07 (AJP) - South Korean corporate loans rose by more than 30 trillion won in the second quarter as Korea Inc. leaned more heavily on bank credit to fund day-to-day operations while borrowing for investment lost momentum. Outstanding loans to industries at deposit-taking institutions reached 2,065.3 trillion won ($1.55 trillion) at the end of June, up 30.6 trillion won from three months earlier, the Bank of Korea said Monday. The increase was slightly smaller tha September 7, 2026

Seoul pushes back tougher delisting rules to July '27 SEOUL, September 04 (AJP) -South Korea will push back tougher delisting rules for the KOSPI and KOSDAQ to July 2027 from the scheduled January, delaying a planned increase in minimum market-capitalization thresholds as authorities seek to give the market more time to recover. The decision was made at a joint market review meeting chaired by Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol on Friday, where officials also assessed rising bond yields, vulnerable borrowers and risks in the mutual finan September 4, 2026

UPDATE: Korea's H1 C/A surplus second only to China *Updated with additional information and comments SEOUL, September 04 (AJP) - South Korea's current account surplus ranked second only to China's among major economies in the first half and will likely to keep up the rank rest of the year as July delivered the second-largest monthly surplus on record, the central bank said Friday. The July surplus came to $42.08 billion, down from June's record $49.73 billion but above $40 billion for a second month, extending the su September 4, 2026

Korea FX reserves gain record Aug, BOK drops ranking table SEOUL, September 03 (AJP) -South Korea's foreign exchange reserves stretched in monthly record of $14.33 billion in August amid record-setting trade surplus streak and a stronger won, according to the Bank of Korea which quietly ended a 25-year practice of publishing the country's global reserve ranking. Foreign reserves stood at $442.28 billion at the end of August, up from $427.95 billion a month earlier, the central bank said Thursday. The increase was the largest sin September 3, 2026