Latest Bank of Korea News & Updates

Seoul, Feb 24 (IANS) South Korea’s business sentiment turned positive for March, marking the first rebound in four years, due to the country’s robust exports of chips and automobiles, a poll showed on Tuesday.The business survey index (BSI) of the country’s top 600 companies by sales stood at 102.7 for next month, according to the monthly poll by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), reports Yonhap news agency.A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists, while a figure above th…

Seoul, Feb 20 (IANS) South Korea’s household credit growth slowed in the fourth quarter of 2025 amid tighter lending regulations, though the total outstanding amount reached an all-time high, central bank data showed on Friday.Outstanding household credit stood at 1,978.8 trillion won (US$1.36 trillion) as of end-December, up 14 trillion won from three months earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK), reports Yonhap news agency.The reading marks the highest since th…

Seoul, Feb 18 (IANS) South Koreans’ overseas stock investments nearly tripled from a year earlier to an all-time high in 2025, expanding to a level comparable to the country’s annual current account surplus, central bank data showed on Wednesday.Residents’ combined overseas equity investments reached US$114.35 billion last year, up from $42.16 billion in 2024, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea (BOK), reports Yonhap news agency.The figure is more than double the previous record …

Seoul, Feb 15 (IANS) The cremation rate in South Korea continues to be on a steady rise, data showed on Sunday, prompting concerns over potential shortages of cremation facilities, especially in densely populated major cities, such as Seoul, amid the rapid aging of the population.The national cremation rate came to 94 percent in 2024, up from 92.9 percent a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK) and the welfare ministry, reports Yonhap news agency.The figure has been on…

Seoul, Feb 15 (IANS) The cremation rate in South Korea continues to be on a steady rise, data showed Sunday, prompting concerns over potential shortages of cremation facilities, especially in densely populated major cities, such as Seoul, amid the rapid ageing of the population.The national cremation rate came to 94 per cent in 2024, up from 92.9 per cent a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK) and the welfare ministry.The figure has been on a constant increase over th…

Seoul, Feb 13 (IANS) South Korea’s money supply rose in December from a month earlier, driven by increases in corporate and household deposits in both foreign and local currencies, central bank data showed on Friday.The country’s M2, a key gauge of the money supply, stood at an average of 4,080.7 trillion won (US$2.83 trillion) in December, up 0.6 percent from the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK), reports Yonhap news agency.The figure had risen stead…

Seoul, Feb 12 (IANS) Foreign investors turned into net sellers of South Korean equities in January, driven by profit-taking following recent gains in the benchmark index, central bank data showed on Thursday.Offshore investors sold a net US$50 million worth of local stocks last month, reversing from their net purchase of $1.19 billion in December, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).Foreign investors, meanwhile, bought $2.44 billion worth of bonds in January, resulting in a combin…

Seoul, Feb 9 (IANS) South Korea could significantly strengthen the competitiveness of its bio-health industry by leveraging its abundant, high-quality bio data through artificial intelligence (AI), a central bank report showed on Monday.According to the report by the Bank of Korea (BOK) on measures to foster the advanced bio-health sector, South Korea lags behind leading countries in such areas as innovative new drugs and advanced medical devices, while the global market is expected to grow at a…

Seoul, Feb 6 (IANS) South Korea posted its largest-ever annual current account surplus last year, supported by robust exports amid strong semiconductor demand, central bank data showed on Friday.The country’s current account surplus totalled $123.05 billion in 2025, up from $99.97 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).The figure marks the largest yearly surplus on record, surpassing the previous high of $105.1 billion set in 2015 and beating the BOK’s forecas…

Seoul, Feb 4 (IANS) South Korea’s foreign reserves fell for the second consecutive month in January amid government efforts to stabilise the foreign exchange market, the central bank said on Wednesday.South Korea ranked as the world’s ninth-largest holder of foreign reserves as of end-December. China topped the list, followed by Japan, Switzerland, Russia and India, according to the BOK.The country’s foreign reserves stood at US$425.91 billion as of end-January, down $2.15 billion from a month e…