Economic Bulletin Vol34 No8

Vol. 34 | No.
Republic of Korea
Economic Bulletin
The Green Book : Current Economic Trends
Overview
1. External economic situation
2. Private consumption
3. Facility investment
12
4. Construction investment
14
5. Exports and imports
16
6. Mining and manufacturing production
18
7. Service sector activity
20
8. Employment
22
9. Financial markets
9.1 Stock market
9.2 Exchange rate
9.3 Bond market
9.4 Money supply & money market
26
10. Balance of payments
30
11. Prices and international commodity prices

11.1 Prices
11.2 International oil and commodity prices
32
12. Real estate market

12.1 Housing market
12.2 Land market
36
13. Industrial output and composite indices of business cycle

indicators
40
Featured Issue
Korea-China Economic Relations of 20 Years: Past and Future
42
Policy Issues
2012 Tax Revision Plan
44
Economic News Briefing
50
Statistical Appendices
55
The Green Book

Current Economic Trends
Overview
The Korean economy has seen inflation remain stable, but employment growth has slowed
and major real economic indicators such as output and investment have slightly weakened.
In June, the labor market saw the employment rate and other major indicators increase, but
due to a base effect, just 365,000 were added to the payroll. It was the first time in nine
months that less than 400,000 jobs were added.
Consumer prices in July rose 1.5 percent year-on-year, which is the slowest rate since May
2000 when prices rose 1.1 percent, but there remain destabilizing factors such as rising
global grain prices.
Mining and manufacturing production slid 0.4 percent month-on-month in June due to a
decrease in machinery equipment production while service output was down 0.4 percent
compared to the previous month due to a decline in wholesale & retail sales and hotel &
restaurant sales.
In June, retail sales were down 0.5 percent from a month ago led by a decrease in durable
goods sales as well as semi-durable and non-durable goods sales.
Despite an increase in transportation equipment investment, the facility investment index in
June shrank 6.3 percent from the previous month due to a decline in machinery investment.
Construction investment contracted 3.3 percent month-on-month as building construction
decreased.
Exports in July decreased 8.8 percent from a year earlier due to the European debt crisis, and
imports fell 5.5 percent due to falling oil prices. The current account balance continued to
post a surplus, at US$2.75 billion.
The cyclical indicator of the coincident composite index in June remained unchanged from a
month ago while the leading composite index rose 0.5 points month-on-month thanks to an
increase in building construction orders.
In July, domestic financial markets were mixed amid concerns over the European crisis,
negative economic data from major economies, and expectations for monetary policy easing
in major countries.
Housing prices fell 0.1 percent in July compared to the previous month, while rent prices
were up 0.2 percent from a month ago when those prices rose 0.1 percent.
The European crisis and a possible economic slowdown in major economies are causing
external and domestic uncertainties to mount, which is delaying a recovery in economic
confidence.
The Korean government will closely monitor the global and domestic economy, while
reinforcing policy actions to stimulate the economy by boosting the domestic market.
At the same time, the government will focus on stabilizing the lives of low- and middleincome classes through job creation and by stabilizing prices of necessities, while pursuing
flexibility in response to changing economic conditions and continuing to strengthen the
underlying health of the economy.
Economic Bulletin
1. External economic situation

The US economic recovery is slowing, the eurozone continues to struggle and emerging
economies growth is slightly slowing down.
The IMF cut its global economic growth projection by 0.1 percentage point to 3.5 percent for
2012 and by 0.2 percentage points to 3.9 percent for 2013 on July 16, citing the European
crisis and slow growth in emerging economies.
Despite the agreement of eurozone finance ministers to create a bailout fund for Spanish
banks (with the first payment totaling 30 billion), anxiety over the eurozone crisis
continues due to Spains troubled banking sector and the deteriorating fiscal conditions of
its local governments.
In May, Spains bad debt ratio rose to an 18-year high of 8.95 percent. After the local
government of Valencia asked for a bailout fund from the central government on July 20, 10year bond yields on July 24 rose to 7.6 percent, the highest rate since March 1997.
US
The US economy slowed for a second straight quarter. The US GDP expanded 1.5 percent in
the second quarter and 2.0 percent in the first quarter of this year. Growth was 4.1 percent in
the fourth quarter of last year.
Industrial output rose slightly month-on-month, but the ISM Manufacturing Index, an
indicator for business sentiment, fell below the base level of 50 in July for a second
successive month.
ISM Manufacturing Index (base=50)
53.9 (Dec 2011)
54.1 (Jan 2012)
52.4 (Feb)
53.4 (Mar)
54.8 (Apr)
53.5 (May)
49.7 (Jun)
49.8 (Jul)
With personal consumption expenditure falling 0.1 percent in May and remaining unchanged
in June, consumer sentiment in July dropped for two successive months to the lowest level
this year.
University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index (1964 = base 100, original)
69.9 (Dec 2011)
75.0 (Jan 2012)
75.3 (Feb)
76.2 (Mar)
76.4 (Apr)
79.3 (May)
73.2 (Jun)
72.3 (Jul)
Housing prices continued to rise in May for the fourth consecutive month, but both existing
home sales and new home sales in June decreased by 5.4 percent and 8.4 percent, respectively.
Case-Shiller home price index (seasonally adjusted)
203.4 (Dec 2006)
136.4 (Jan 2012)
136.6 (Feb)
137.7 (Mar)
138.6 (Apr)
139.9 (May)
New home sales (m-o-m, %)

0.0 (Jan 2012)
8.0 (Feb)
-3.8 (Mar)
1.7 (Apr)
6.7 (May)
-8.4 (Jun)
The unemployment rate in July rose slightly to 8.3 percent compared to the previous months
8.2%, but nonfarm payrolls went up from a month ago by 163,000.
Nonfarm payroll increase (q-o-q, thousand)
275 (Jan 2012)
259 (Feb)
143 (Mar)
68 (Apr)
87 (May)
64 (Jun)
163 (Jul)
(Percentage change from previous period)

2010
20121
2011
Annual
Annual
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
May
Jun
Jul
Real GDP 2
2.4
1.8
0.1
2.5
1.3
4.1
2.0
1.5
- Personal consumption expenditure
1.8
2.5
3.1
1.0
1.7
2.0
2.4
1.5
- Corporate fixed investment
0.7
8.6
-1.3
14.5
19.0
9.5
7.5
5.3
-3.7
-1.4
-1.4
4.1
1.4
12.1
20.5
9.7
5.3
4.1
1.2
0.2
1.7
0.9
1.4
0.6
-0.2
0.4
- Housing construction investment

Industrial production
Personal consumption expenditure
Existing home sales
Unemployment rate
Consumer prices
1. Preliminary
2. Annualized rate (%)
August 2012
3.8
4.7
1.5
1.0
1.0
0.8
1.2
0.5
-0.1
0.0
-3.4
2.5
9.0
-5.2
-0.2
3.1
4.6
-0.7
0.0
-5.4
9.6
9.0
8.9
9.1
9.1
8.7
8.3
8.2
8.2
8.2
8.3
1.6
3.1
1.3
1.0
0.8
0.2
0.6
0.2
-0.3
0.0
3. Seasonally adjusted
Source: US Department of Commerce
1-1
US GDP growth (q-o-q, annualized rate)

Source: US Department of Commerce
1-2
US nonfarm payroll employment (m-o-m change)

Source: US Department of Labor
1-3
US federal funds rate and consumer prices

Source: US Federal Reserve Board & Department of Labor
Economic Bulletin
China
The Chinese economy continues to slow down, with the year-on-year GDP growth in the
second quarter falling by 0.5 percentage points from the previous quarters 8.1 percent to
7.6 percent. However, consumer prices, which had remained high last year, have stabilized
within a 2 percent range.
(Percentage change from same period in previous year)
2010
Annual Annual
2011
Q2
Q1
Q4
Q3
Q1
Q2
20121
Apr
May
Jun
Real GDP
10.3
9.2
9.7
9.5
9.1
8.9
8.1
7.6
Industrial production2
15.7
13.9
14.9
13.9
13.8
12.8
11.6
9.5
9.3
9.6
9.5
Fixed asset investment (accumulated)
24.5
25.1
32.5
27.0
28.0
28.0
21.3
20.8
20.5
20.7
21.0
Retail sales
18.4
17.1
17.1
18.2
17.3
17.5
14.9
13.9
14.1
13.8
13.7
Exports
11.3
31.3
20.3
26.4
22.0
20.5
14.3
8.9
10.5
4.6
15.3
Consumer prices2
3.3
5.4
5.1
5.7
6.3
4.6
3.8
2.9
3.4
3.0
2.2
Producer prices2
5.5
6.0
7.0
6.9
7.1
3.1
0.1
-1.4
-0.7
-1.4
-2.1
1. Preliminary
2. Quarterly change: average of monthly change
Japan
Source: China National Bureau of Statistics
The Japanese economy still has not experienced a full recovery as industrial output has been
weak for three consecutive months while retail sales have grown at a slow pace.
The current account balance in June was 6 billion, which was the first surplus since March,
but the trade deficit in the first half of this year hit a record high of 2.9158 trillion.
Current account balance (billion)
-1,482 (Jan 2012)
25 (Feb)
-87 (Mar)
-522 (Apr)
-907 (May)
60 (Jun)
2010
Annual
Annual
4.4
-0.7
16.5
2.5
Exports (y-o-y)
Consumer prices (y-o-y)
Real GDP
Retail sales (y-o-y)
1. Preliminary
20121
May
Apr
Q1
2011
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
-2.0
-0.3
1.9
0.0
1.2
-2.4
-1.5
-4.2
5.4
0.4
1.2
-0.2
-3.4
-0.1
-1.2
-3.0
-1.7
-1.0
0.8
5.2
5.7
3.6
0.2
26.1
-2.6
2.7
-8.1
0.6
-5.4
-2.0
7.9
10.0
-2.3
-0.7
-0.3
-0.5
-0.4
0.1
-0.3
0.3
0.4
0.2
-0.2
Jun
Sources: Japan's Cabinet Office, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Finance, Statistics Bureau of Japan
Eurozone
Despite a slight rise in industrial production and retail sales in May, the eurozone economy
continues to struggle as the manufacturing PMI hit a new low since June 2009.
Manufacturing PMI (base = 50)
48.8 (Jan 2012)
49.0 (Feb)
47.7 (Mar)
45.9 (Apr)
45.1 (May)
45.1 (Jun)
44.0 (Jul)
10.9 (Feb)
11.0 (Mar)
11.0 (Apr)
Unemployment rate (%)

10.5 (Oct 2011)
11.2 (Jun)
10.6 (Nov)
10.7 (Dec)
10.8 (Jan 2012)
11.2 (May)

20121
2010
Annual
Annual
Q1
2011
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Apr
May
Jun
Real GDP
1.8
1.5
0.7
0.1
0.1
-0.3
0.0
7.4
3.5
0.9
0.2
0.8
-1.9
-0.4
-1.0
0.7
Retail sales
0.9
-0.6
-0.2
-0.4
0.3
-1.1
0.2
-1.4
0.6
20.1
12.7
21.5
13.0
9.4
8.3
8.6
5.9
5.6
1.6
2.7
2.5
2.8
2.7
2.9
2.7
2.6
2.4
2.4
Exports (y-o-y)
Consumer prices (y-o-y)
1. Preliminary
August 2012
Source: Eurostat
1-4
Chinas GDP growth and fixed asset investment

Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China
1-5
Japans GDP growth and industrial production

Source: Cabinet Office & Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan
1-6
Eurozone GDP growth and industrial production

Source: Eurostat
Economic Bulletin
2. Private consumption
Private consumption (advanced estimates of GDP) climbed 0.5 percent quarter-on-quarter
and 1.2 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2012.
20111
2010
Private consumption
y-o-y
20121
Annual
Q2
Q3
Q4
Annual
Q1
Q2
Q3
4.4
0.7
1.2
0.4
2.3
0.6
0.8
3.9
3.9
3.0
2.9
3.0
Q4
Q1
Q2
0.2
-0.4
1.0
0.5
2.1
-1.1
1.6
1.2
1. Preliminary
2. National accounts
Source: The Bank of Korea
Retail sales in June fell 0.5 percent month-on-month due to a decrease in the sales of
durable goods, semi-durable goods and non-durable goods. On a yearly basis, sales
increased 0.6 percent.
Durable goods sales slid 0.8 percent month-on-month, led by a slowdown in automobile
sales. Semi-durable goods and non-durable goods sales, which had slightly increased in the
previous month fell again 1.7 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.
2010
Consumer goods sales

y-o-y
- Durable goods
Automobiles
- Semi-durable goods3
- Non-durable goods
2011
2012
Annual
Annual 1
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q21
May1
Jun1
6.7
4.3
1.5
0.1
1.6
-1.3
1.0
0.2
0.7
-0.5
5.4
5.7
4.7
1.9
2.0
1.0
2.2
0.6
14.8
10.8
4.3
-0.5
1.8
-2.4
3.0
1.3
0.6
-0.8
11.1
5.9
5.9
-4.9
3.6
-11.3
2.8
8.1
3.7
-1.4
6.8
4.2
0.8
0.7
1.2
-0.3
-0.3
-0.2
3.0
-1.7
2.2
1.1
0.2
0.0
2.1
-0.5
0.7
-1.0
0.7
-0.2
1. Preliminary
2. Durable goods: Automobiles, electronic appliances, furniture, telecommunications devices, etc.
3. Semi-durable goods: Clothing, footwear, etc.
4. Non-durable goods: Food, medicine, cosmetics, fuel, tobacco, etc.
Source: Statistics Korea
Department stores, large discount stores, specialized retailers and nonstore retailers all saw
their sales decrease.
2010
- Department stores
- Large discounters
- Specialized retailers
- Nonstore retailers
2011
Annual
Annual 1
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q21
May1
Jun1
8.8
8.1
2.2
0.5
1.2
-0.6
-0.8
1.2
5.9
-5.2
4.5
3.9
1.2
1.0
0.2
0.3
-1.2
-2.0
0.8
-1.3
5.7
3.3
1.3
-0.5
2.1
-3.1
1.5
-0.2
1.8
-0.2
15.6
8.6
1.4
1.2
2.8
0.6
2.7
2.4
2.9
-2.8
1. Preliminary
2. Specialized retailers are defined as stores carrying a few (1 to 3) specialized items.
August 2012
2012
2-1
Private consumption
Source: The Bank of Korea (national accounts)
2-2
Consumer goods sales

Source: Statistics Korea (industrial activity trend)
2-3
Consumer goods sales by type

Economic Bulletin
July retail sales are expected to stay on the recent downward trend given weak advanced
indicators.
Credit card sales rose year-on-year, but at a slower pace than the previous month. Sales at
both department stores and discount stores shrank compared to the previous year, but the
decline in department stores sales has eased. Gasoline sales dropped due to a base effect
from last year when refiners discounted their oil prices between April 7 and July 6.
Automobile sales dropped for two months in a row due to a lack of demand for cars
excluding newly launched models.
(y-o-y, %)
2012
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
11.2
24.9
14.5
18.3
15.3
13.7
12.6
- Large discounter sales
2.7
-6.4
3.2
-2.4
-5.7
-7.2
-8.3
- Department store sales
-4.1
2.9
1.6
-3.4
1.0
-2.0
-0.9
7.6
4.4
4.1
5.6
5.2
9.4
-2.9
-19.9
5.5
-9.9
-6.8
0.7
-3.7
-4.6
- Credit card sales
- Domestic sales of gasoline

- Domestically made car sales
Sources: Credit Finance Association of Korea, Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Korea National Oil Corporation, Korea Customs Service, Korea Automobile
Manufacturers Association, Ministry of Strategy and Finance (for July data)
With inflation easing and income recovering, the consumer environment has improved, but a
recovery in consumer sentiment is being held back by external and domestic uncertainties.
Consumer prices (y-o-y, %)
3.4 (Jan 2012)
3.1 (Feb)
2.6 (Mar)
2.5 (Apr)
2.5 (May)
2.2 (Jun)
1.5 (Jul)
Income growth rate (y-o-y, %)

13.3 (Jan 2012)
4.2 (Feb)
5.5 (Mar)
4.4 (Apr)
4.7 (May)
Consumer sentiment in July fell for a second consecutive month as the eurozone crisis has
weighed on the financial market.
Consumer sentiment index (CSI, base=100)
98 (Jan 2012)
10
August 2012
100 (Feb)
101 (Mar)
104 (Apr)
105 (May)
101 (Jun)
100 (Jul)
2-4
Department store and discount store sales (current value)

Source: Ministry of Knowledge Economy (monthly retail sales)
2-5
Domestically-made automobile sales

Source: Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (monthly automobile industry trend)
2-6
Consumer sentiment index

Economic Bulletin
11
3. Facility investment
Facility investment (advanced estimates of GDP) in the second quarter of 2012 decreased 6.4
percent quarter-on-quarter and 2.9 percent year-on-year.
(Percentage change from previous quarter)
2010
Facility investment
- Transportation equipment
20121
Annual
Q4
Annual
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
25.7
-0.2
3.7
-1.6
4.7
-1.8
-4.3
10.3
-6.4
16.9
10.3
7.7
1.2
-3.3
8.6
-2.9
31.2
-1.4
4.1
-1.9
5.0
-2.5
-2.5
11.4
8.3
4.9
1.9
-0.7
3.7
0.9
-11.2
6.1
y-o-y
- Machinery
2011
1. Preliminary
Despite a huge increase in transportation equipment investment, the facility investment

index in June fell 6.3 percent month-on-month and 5.6 percent year-on-year as machinery
investment plunged.
Facility investment is projected to slow down given leading indicators such as machinery
orders and machinery imports.
2010
Facility investment index

y-o-y
- Machinery
- Transportation equipment
1. Preliminary
20121
2011
Annual
Annual
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Apr
May1
Jun1
24.2
0.7
-1.9
3.6
-1.5
-5.0
11.3
4.7
0.1
-6.3
5.4
5.7
-3.1
-4.7
9.3
5.1
-1.0
-5.6
29.4
1.7
-3.5
6.0
-2.2
-3.1
10.2
5.8
1.6
-10.2
4.5
-4.1
6.1
-7.2
1.6
-12.9
14.7
-0.3
-5.7
13.5

2010
Domestic machinery orders

q-o-q, m-o-m
20121
2011
Annual
Annual
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Apr
May1
Jun1
8.3
11.0
19.5
10.0
3.4
11.5
-2.4
-6.9
-10.9
-33.5
9.2
-0.3
-5.4
8.8
-7.1
21.5
-3.7
-18.7
- Public
-37.7
11.2
-10.5
81.1
6.1
-3.1
104.5
-1.2
-42.4
-58.1
- Private
18.3
11.0
22.7
4.9
3.2
14.7
-10.8
-7.2
-8.9
-27.9
Machinery imports
40.4
7.1
8.1
10.6
9.3
1.0
15.2
11.3
-7.8
-14.5
Manufacturing average operation ratio
80.9
79.9
82.2
79.9
79.6
78.0
79.9
79.3
79.3
78.2
8.9
1.6
3.6
1.1
1.0
0.8
0.8
-2.6
-0.4
-2.0
Facility investment adjustment

pressure2
1. Preliminary
2. Production growth rate minus production capacity growth rate in the manufacturing sector (%p)
Sources: Statistics Korea, Korea International Trade Association
Corporate confidence seems to be slightly weak due to external uncertainties.

2012
Business survey indices (base=100) for

facility investment projection in the manufacturing sector
12
August 2012
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
97
98
99
99
99
99
98
3-1
Facility investment by type

3-2
Machinery orders and estimated facility investment index (3-month average)

3-3
Machinery imports
Source: Korea International Trade Association (KITA)
Economic Bulletin
13
4. Construction investment
Construction investment (preliminary GDP) in the second quarter of 2012 increased 0.3
percent quarter-on-quarter, but decreased 1.4 percent year-on-year.
20111
2010
Annual
Q4
Annual
-3.7
-1.9
-5.0
-5.2
- Building construction
-1.6
0.1
-4.1
- Civil engineering works
-6.2
-4.6
-6.0
Construction investment
y-o-y
Q1
20121
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
-4.4
3.5
-11.0
-4.2
-5.3
-3.2
Q2
-0.5
0.1
-1.2
0.3
-4.0
-2.1
1.5
-1.4
4.5
-1.1
-0.6
3.8
2.3
0.3
1.0
-7.7
1. Preliminary
The value of completed construction (constant) in June fell 3.3 percent month-on-month due
to a decline in building construction, and 16.5 percent year-on-year.
2010
Value of completed construction (constant)

y-o-y
20121
2011
Annual
Annual
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Apr
May1
Jun1
-3.3
-6.7
-3.8
2.0
-4.3
5.7
-6.8
-5.8
2.5
-3.3
-12.6
-6.6
-8.4
-0.5
-3.7
-8.0
-6.4
-16.5
-7.0
-8.4
-4.7
1.0
-3.7
4.9
-3.4
-7.9
2.0
-7.2
2.2
-4.5
-2.5
3.1
-5.1
6.6
-11.2
-3.1
3.2
1.5
1. Preliminary

2009
Construction orders (current value)

q-o-q, m-o-m
Building permit area
2011
2012
Annual
Annual
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Apr
May1
Jun1
-17.7
4.0
-11.8
-1.7
1.5
22.4
36.6
-4.4
2.9
2.6
12.5
11.7
3.3
-1.9
25.4
-5.4
0.7
29.5
-8.9
10.9
-7.7
-2.5
9.8
40.6
31.3
-3.2
5.4
-12.6
-28.3
-6.6
-17.2
0.1
-11.0
-1.1
44.5
-7.5
-5.4
25.8
19.3
9.9
21.5
3.8
58.7
-14.8
8.7
-4.9
0.5
8.8
1. Preliminary
Sources: Statistics Korea, Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs
Construction investment may improve thanks to improving leading indicators such as

construction orders and building permits. However, a recovery in construction investment is
likely to be limited, considering that the housing market recovery is being delayed as a
decline has been observed in housing transaction volumes.
Housing transaction growth (y-o-y, %)
-58.8 (Jan 2012)
14
August 2012
-28.4 (Feb)
-29.8 (Mar)
-26.8 (Apr)
-20.2 (May)
-29.3 (Jun)
4-1
4-2
Completed construction and housing construction

Source: Statistics Korea (construction completion)
Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (housing construction)
4-3
Leading indicators of construction investment

Source: Statistics Korea (construction orders)
Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (building construction permit area)
Economic Bulletin
15
5. Exports and imports

July exports decreased 8.8 percent (preliminary) year-on-year to US$44.62 billion.
Exports turned negative year-on-year as the exports of vessels, steel, and petroleum
products tumbled and also due to a base effect from last year when exports hit a record high
of US$48.95 billion.
Exports are losing steam as average daily exports in July fell to US$1.86 billion, which is
lower compared to both the previous months US$2.10 billion and the previous years
US$2.08 billion.
Average daily exports (US$ billion)
2.08 (Jul 2011)
1.98 (Q4 2011)
1.97 (Q1 2012)
2.10 (Apr)
2.09 (May)
2.10 (Jun)
1.86 (Jul)
Exports of general machinery (up 3.5%) and car parts (up 1.9%) increased year-on-year, but
vessels (down 57.5%), steel (down 20.2%), petroleum products (down 12.2%), and mobile
phones (down 34.7%) fell.
A plunge in vessel orders during the financial crisis in 2009 led to recent decreases in vessel
exports which fell by US$2.8 billion in July from the previous year, from US$4.9 billion to
US$2.1 billion. That decline weighed heavily on July exports. If vessel exports were excluded,
a decrease in exports would be smaller.
Exports (y-o-y, %)
3.0 (Q1 2012)
-1.6 (Q2)
-8.8 (Jul)
Exports excluding vessel exports (y-o-y, %)

7.0 (Q1 2012)
0.1 (Q2)
-3.2 (Jul)
(US$ billion)
2010
Exports
(y-o-y, %)
2011
2012
Annual
Annual
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Jun
Jul1
Jan-Jul1
466.38
555.21
130.99
142.69
141.24
140.37
134.89
140.33
47.25
44.62
319.84
19.6
19.0
29.6
18.7
21.4
9.0
3.0
-1.6
1.1
-8.8
-0.8
1.70
2.01
1.98
2.08
2.03
1.98
1.97
2.09
2.10
1.86
2.01
425.21
524.41
123.91
134.29
134.92
131.26
133.40
131.11
42.34
41.88
306.43
(y-o-y, %)
31.6
23.3
26.1
27.2
27.7
13.4
7.6
-2.4
-5.5
-5.5
1.3
Average daily imports
1.46
1.91
1.87
1.96
1.96
1.85
1.95
1.96
1.88
1.74
1.92
Average daily exports

Imports
1. Preliminary
Source: Korea Customs Service
Imports in July fell 5.5 percent (preliminary) year-on-year to US$41.88 billion.

Imports of capital goods (down 2.5%), including semiconductor equipment, and consumer
goods (down 3.3%) decreased and commodities (down 1.1%) also fell due to a decrease in
oil prices.
The trade balance (preliminary) in July posted a surplus of US$2.75 billion.
(US$ billion)
2010
Trade balance
1. Preliminary
Source: Korea Customs Service
16
August 2012
2011
2012
Annual
Annual
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
Jun
Jul1
Jan-Jul1
41.17
30.80
7.08
8.40
6.30
9.16
1.45
9.22
4.91
2.75
13.41
5-1
Exports (customs clearance basis)

Source: Korea Customs Service & Ministry of Knowledge Economy (export and import trend)
5-2
Imports (customs clearance basis)

5-3
Trade balance
Economic Bulletin
17
6. Mining and manufacturing production

Mining and manufacturing production in June fell 0.4 percent month-on-month due to a
decrease in the production of furniture and machinery equipment. On a yearly basis,
production increased 1.6 percent.
The production of tobacco (up 40.8 %) and semiconductors & parts (up 1.1%) increased
month-on-month while those of furniture (down 7.1%) and machinery equipment (down
2.5%) fell.
The manufacturing inventory-shipment ratio decreased by 1.4 percentage points month-onmonth as inventory decreased 2.1 percent and shipments fell 0.8 percent.
Shipments of tobacco (up 24.5%) and refined petroleum products (up 2.6%) increased
month-on-month, while those of furniture (down 7.2%) and medicine & medical products,
leather and shoes (down 5.9%) declined.
Inventories of tobacco (up 6.9%) and automobiles (up 5.1%) climbed month-on-month,
while those of refined petroleum products (down 14.8%) and other transportation
equipment (down 11%) slipped.
The average operation ratio of the manufacturing sector fell by 1.2 percentage points to
78.2 percent.
(Percentage change from previous quarter or month)
20121
2011
Annual
Q2
Jun
Q1
Q21
Apr
May1
Jun1
Production (q-o-q, m-o-m)

(y-o-y)
- Manufacturing (q-o-q, m-o-m)
Mining and
(y-o-y)
manufacturing
2
Shipment
activity
- Domestic demand
- Exports
Inventory
Manufacturing Average operation ratio (%)

activity
Production capacity4
0.4
0.9
2.2
-0.1
0.9
1.3
-0.4
6.9
7.2
6.4
3.8
1.5
0.0
2.9
1.6
0.5
0.8
2.2
-0.1
0.9
1.1
-0.5
7.0
7.3
6.3
4.2
1.5
0.0
2.7
1.6
6.7
7.0
5.4
3.3
1.4
-1.0
3.6
1.8
3.3
3.8
3.1
0.3
-1.5
-2.4
0.2
-2.1
10.8
10.9
8.2
6.7
4.9
0.6
7.5
6.6
20.8
8.9
8.9
16.0
10.7
16.2
15.3
10.7
79.9
79.9
80.5
79.9
78.9
79.2
79.4
78.2
5.4
6.2
5.5
3.4
3.3
2.7
3.3
3.6
1. Preliminary
2. Including mining, manufacturing, electricity, and gas industry
3. End-period
4. Percentage change from same period in previous year
A slight correction is expected in mining and manufacturing production due to declining

exports of major items such as semiconductors and vehicles.
Semiconductor exports (US$ billion)
3.76 (Jan 2012)
3.87 (Feb)
4.31 (Mar)
3.83 (Apr)
4.23 (May)
4.35 (Jun)
3.92 (Jul)
4.17 (Apr)
3.94 (May)
4.50 (Jun)
3.68 (Jul)
Automobile exports (US$ billion)

3.43 (Jan 2012)
18
August 2012
4.41 (Feb)
4.57 (Mar)
6-1
6-2
Average manufacturing operation ratio

6-3
Inventory
Economic Bulletin
19
7. Service sector activity

Service activity in June fell 0.4 percent month-on-month due to tepid sales in wholesale &
retail, hotels & restaurants and real estate & renting. On a year-on-year basis, service
activity expanded 1.2 percent.
Wholesale & retail and hotels & restaurants, which had increased month-on-month for three
and four months, respectively, turned negative in June.
Transportation services were down by 0.8 percent, as road freight transportation slumped
due to falling demand for moving services and the truckers unionized strike.
Domestic migration (y-o-y, %)
-9.0 (Jan 2012)
4.2 (Feb)
-13.1 (Mar)
-6.4 (Apr)
-7.0 (May)
-14.0 (Jun)
Growth of road freight transportation (y-o-y, %)

-6.1 (Jan 2012)
1.6 (Feb)
-14.4 (Mar)
-8.7 (Apr)
4.1 (May)
-3.7 (Jun)
Financial & insurance services declined for the fourth straight month due to unstable
financial markets, while real estate & renting also fell considerably as a result of fewer
transactions in the real estate market.
Housing transactions (y-o-y, %)
-58.8 (Jan 2012)
-28.4 (Feb)
-29.8 (Mar)
-26.8 (Apr)
-20.2 (May)
-29.3 (Jun)
Publishing & communication services rose for the third consecutive month, due to the
release of new games.
Weight
2010
2011
2012
Annual
Annual
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
May1
Jun1
Service activity index
100.0
3.9
3.3
1.6
0.2
1.3
-0.5
1.0
0.0
0.4
-0.4
- Wholesale & retail
21.8
5.7
3.8
1.4
1.4
0.7
-0.7
0.1
0.5
1.6
-1.0
- Transportation services
9.0
11.9
3.9
2.6
-1.6
1.0
-1.0
1.5
-0.6
1.0
-0.8
- Hotels & restaurants
7.7
1.2
-0.5
-0.4
1.0
-0.3
-1.5
-0.2
2.4
1.1
-0.7
- Publishing & communication services
8.4
1.7
4.4
1.1
0.5
2.8
0.3
1.0
0.6
1.3
1.7
15.3
4.6
7.3
3.0
0.1
2.7
0.1
1.4
-2.0
-0.8
-0.4
- Real estate & renting
6.3
-8.5
-10.2
3.3
-2.2
-0.3
-6.4
-0.2
3.1
0.0
-3.7
- Professional, scientific & technical services
4.8
-0.5
0.3
-1.5
2.0
1.0
1.4
1.8
-1.3
-0.5
-0.8
- Financial & insurance services
- Business services
2.9
7.5
4.3
0.8
0.9
0.2
0.4
1.7
1.1
2.0
0.6
10.8
2.0
2.4
0.2
-0.9
1.7
0.4
1.2
-1.3
-0.7
-0.4
- Healthcare & social welfare services
6.0
8.8
6.3
3.3
0.6
1.4
1.6
1.7
2.6
0.0
-0.4
- Entertainment, cultural & sports services
2.9
-0.4
2.3
1.1
0.0
0.7
0.1
4.3
-2.8
0.4
4.2
- Membership organizations
3.8
4.3
1.1
-0.3
1.1
-0.3
-2.1
-0.2
0.5
-1.5
3.0
- Sewerage & waste management
0.4
5.1
0.0
0.1
-0.5
0.2
3.1
1.0
4.1
-2.6
2.5
- Educational services
1. Preliminary
Service activity in July is expected to maintain a similar trend as the previous years.
Although transportation services and hotels & restaurants may improve as the shorter rainy
season allowed better conditions for external activities, wholesale & retail are expected to
remain sluggish.
The rainy season in the central region of Korea lasted 19 days, which was shorter than the
average of 32 days. The national average precipitation level (292.1mm) and days of rainfall
(14 days) were also less than the average year (357.9mm, 17 days).
20
August 2012
els
& re
serv
tail
l&
ntin
e se
ranc
es
ion
rvic
l, sc
i
tech entific
nica &
l se
rv
iona
& re
insu
Bus
bus iness f
ices
ines acil
s su ity m
ppo ana
rt se gem
rvic ent
es
Edu
&
cati
ona
l se
rvic
es
Hea
serv lthcare
ices & s
ocia
l we
lfar
e
Ente
r
serv tainm
ices ent
, cu
ltur
al &
spo
Me
rts
m
& o bersh
ther ip o
pers rgan
ona izat
l se ions
Sew
rvic , re
es
pair
mat erage,
e
w
r
i
acti als r aste
vitie eco
very manag
s
& re eme
med nt,
iatio
n
ess
tate
ncia
l es
Prof
Rea
Fina
icat
ices
stau
rant
s
Pub
lish
serv i n g
ices & c o
mm
un
Hot
ion
& re
rtat
ale
spo
oles
Tran
Wh
ex
7-3
l ind
7-2
Tota
7-1
Service industry
Source: Statistics Korea (service industry activity trend)
Wholesale and retail
June 2012 service industry by business
Economic Bulletin
21
8. Employment
The number of workers on payroll in June increased by 365,000 from a year earlier to
25,120,000 and the employment rate rose by 0.1 percentage point year-on-year to 60.4 percent.
Overall employment remains robust, although the number of workers on payroll increased
by less than 400,000 for the first time in nine months due to a high base effect.
Job growth was lead by the service sector (up 416,000), with employment expanding in
health & welfare (up 91,000), education (up 73,000) and wholesale & retail sales (up 63,000).
Although employment in manufacturing is continuing to wane, the pace of decline has been
gradually decelerating and the number of regular workers in the manufacturing sector has
begun to grow since March.
By status of workers, the number of regular workers (up 441,000) continued to rise and selfemployed workers (up 169,000) also maintained the upward trend.
2010
Annual
Number of employed (million)
Q3
2011
Q4
Annual Jun
2012
Q2
Q1
Q3
Q4
May
Jun
Q1
Q2
23.83 24.12 23.99 24.24 24.75 23.46 24.57 24.48 24.46 25.13 25.12 23.93 25.00
Employment rate (%)
58.7
59.3
58.9
59.1
60.3
57.4
59.9
59.5
59.4
60.5
60.4
57.8
60.2
(Seasonally adjusted)
58.7
58.9
58.7
59.1
59.3
58.8
59.1
59.1
59.2
59.5
59.3
59.3
59.4
Employment growth (y-o-y, thousand)
323
369
358
415
472
423
402
363
474
472
365
467
430
(Excluding agriculture, forestry & fishery)
405
414
393
440
501
451
399
414
497
493
386
498
454
- Manufacturing
191
262
269
63
118
228
112
-12
-75
-67
-51 -102
-66
33
92
57
-2
-42
-3
-41
-35
71
33
14
79
33
- Services
200
83
80
386
436
224
331
472
514
531
416
541
491
- Agriculture, forestry & fishery
-82
-45
-35
-25
-29
-28
-51
-23
-21
-21
-31
-24
- Wage workers
517
541
532
427
527
519
421
392
374
309
212
360
281
Regular workers
697
671
699
575
627
605
621
572
500
356
441
413
379
Temporary workers
-34
-26 -114
-78
-33
-88 -137
-76
-10
89
-38
110
73
- Construction
Daily workers
-146 -104
-53
-70
-66
- Non-wage workers
-194 -172 -174
-11
-55
-96
Self-employed workers
-118 -130 -146
-63 -104 -115 -136 -191 -163 -171

-19
-29
100
163
153
108
150
-53 -115
-39
34
125
186
169
149
173
- Male
181
207
212
238
265
266
221
208
257
276
207
238
242
- Female
142
163
146
177
207
157
181
155
216
196
158
230
188
- 15 to 29
-43
-44
-57
-35
-52
-49
-74
-1
-18
-19
-29
-8
- 30 to 39
-4
21
17
-47
-7
-34
-13
-83
-56
-95
-70
-65
-80
- 40 to 49
29
40
50
57
73
77
59
46
47
25
-4
28
- 50 to 59
294
295
287
291
306
286
294
270
315
282
246
326
260
47
57
60
149
152
143
137
131
185
278
222
178
251
- 60 or more
22
August 2012
8-1
Number of employed and employment growth

Source: Statistics Korea (employment trend)
8-2
Share of employed by industry

8-3
Share of employed by status of workers

Economic Bulletin
23
The number of unemployed persons decreased by 17,000 year-on-year to 822,000 in June,

while the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point year-on-year to 3.2 percent.
The unemployment rate of youths aged 15 to 29 rose by 0.1 percentage point year-on-year to
7.7 percent.
2010
2011
Annual
Q3
Q4
Q3
Q4
May
Jun
Q1
Q2
920
873
808
855
839 1,028
865
786
740
807
822
947
841
31
-13
-10
-65
-38
-101
-3
-88
-68
-12
-17
-82
-23
- Male
-7
-48
-16
-48
- Female
38
35
-17
-59
-70
-32
-48
-41
-21
-1
-54
-19
21
-32
29
-40
-27
-16
-28
-4
Unemployment rate (%)
3.7
3.5
3.3
3.4
3.3
4.2
3.4
3.1
2.9
3.1
3.2
3.8
3.3
(Seasonally adjusted)
3.7
3.6
3.4
3.4
3.3
3.8
3.4
3.2
3.1
3.2
3.2
3.5
3.3
- 15 to 29
8.0
- 30 to 39
3.5
7.6
7.1
7.6
7.6
8.8
7.9
6.7
7.1
8.0
7.7
8.2
8.1
3.5
3.2
3.4
3.4
4.0
3.5
3.2
2.9
3.1
3.0
3.2
3.2
- 40 to 49
2.5
2.5
2.2
2.1
2.1
2.5
2.1
2.0
1.9
1.8
2.1
2.4
2.0
- 50 to 59
2.5
2.3
2.3
2.1
1.9
2.7
2.0
2.1
1.8
1.8
2.0
2.3
2.0
- 60 or more
2.8
2.0
1.9
2.6
2.2
4.5
2.3
2.1
1.8
1.7
1.9
4.4
2.0
Unemployment growth (y-o-y, thousand)
Q1
2012
Q2
Number of unemployed (thousand)
Annual Jun
The economically inactive population in June was up 181,000 from a year earlier to
15,620,000. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate remained unchanged at
62.4 percent.
The number of workers quitting jobs due to housework (up 221,000) and old age (up
180,000) increased while those who quit jobs due to education (down 45,000) and rest,
time-off and leisure (down 49,000) decreased.
2011
2010
Annual
Q3
Q4
Annual Jun
Q1
2012
Q2
Q3
Q4
May Jun
Q1
Q2
Economically inactive population (million) 15.84 15.66 15.96 15.95 15.44 16.39 15.56 15.85 16.01 15.58 15.62 16.50 15.67
Labor force participation rate (%)
61.0
61.5
60.8
61.1
62.4
59.9
62.0
61.5
61.1
62.5
62.4
60.1
62.3
(seasonally adjusted)
61.0
61.1
60.8
61.1
61.3
61.1
61.2
61.0
61.1
61.5
61.3
61.4
61.4
Growth in economically inactive

population (y-o-y, thousand)
143
128
133
112
26
138
66
191
53
56
181
103
110
-125 -149 -107
-5
-15
-44
-16
17
23
21
-13
- Childcare
- Housework
201
203
189
101
-19
130
27
143
103
157
221
85
181
- Education
12
46
55
-51
-14
-16
-39
-78
-69
-65
-45
-28
-64
- Old age
80
43
25
-45
-34 -103
-58
-22
170
180
76
174
-56
15
-27
182
125
163
193
131 -103
-49
126
-71
- Rest, time-off and leisure

24
August 2012
241
8-4
Employment rate
8-5
Unemployment rate
8-6
Labor force participation rate

Economic Bulletin
25
9. Financial market
9.1 Stock market
The Korean stock price index in July rose 1.5 percent to 1,882 points from the previous
months 1,854 points.
The Korean stock market fell into a slump amid concerns over a domestic economic
slowdown after the Bank of Koreas decision to cut its key interest rate. However, the stock
market later rebounded as foreign investors shifted to a net buying position and Koreas
current account surplus hit a record high in June.
Foreign investors sold a net 1 trillion won worth of Korean stocks in June, but shifted to a net
buying position the following month, purchasing a net 600 billion won worth of stocks.
(End-period, point, trillion won)
KOSPI
KOSDAQ
Jun 2012
Jul 2012
Change
Jun 2012
Stock price index
1,854.0
1,882.0
28.0 (+1.5%)
489.2
467.6
-21.6 (-4.4%)
Market capitalization
1,068.3
1,086.4
18.1 (+1.7%)
106.0
101.9
-4.1 (-3.9%)
Average daily trade value
4.1
4.1
0 (0%)
1.71
1.73
0.02 (+1.2%)
Foreign stock ownership
33.8
34.2
0.4 (+1.2%)
8.03
7.92
-0.11 (-1.4%)
Jul 2012
Change1
1. Change from the end of the previous month

Souce: Korea Exchange
9.2 Exchange rate

The won/dollar exchange rate in July decreased 14.8 won to wrap up the month at 1,130.6
won from 1,145.4 won at the end of June.
The won/dollar exchange rate fluctuated between 1,135 won and 1,150 won in July. Rising
Spanish bond yields and the downgrade of Italys sovereign credit rating provided upward
pressure, while increased foreign capital inflow into the Korean stock market put downward
pressure to the won.
The won/100 yen exchange rate in July inched up as both the won and the yen appreciated
relative to the dollar.
(End-period)
2008
2009
2010
2011
Dec
Dec
Dec
Dec
Jun
2012
Jul
Change1
Won/Dollar
1,259.5
1,164.5
1,134.8
1,151.8
1,145.4
1,130.6
1.9
Won/100 Yen
1,396.8
1,264.5
1,393.6
1,481.2
1,443.3
1,445.2
2.5
1. Appreciation from the end of the previous year (%); the exchange rate is based on the closing price at 3:00 p.m., local time.
26
August 2012
9-1
Stock prices
9-2
Foreign exchange rate (month-end)
9-3
Recent foreign exchange rate
Economic Bulletin
27
9.3 Bond market

Five-year Treasury bond yields dropped 45 basis points in July to 2.97 percent from the
previous months 3.42 percent. Yields on the Korea Treasury Bond (KTB) plunged due to a
fall in US Treasury bond yields, concerns over a global economic slowdown and the Bank of
Koreas decision to cut its key interest rate.
(End-period)
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Dec
Dec
Dec
Dec
Dec
Dec
Jun
2012
Jul
Change1
Call rate (1 day)
4.60
5.02
3.02
2.01
2.51
3.29
3.26
3.02
-24
CD (91 days)
4.86
5.82
3.93
2.88
2.80
3.55
3.54
3.20
-34
Treasury bonds (3 yrs)
4.92
5.74
3.41
4.44
3.38
3.34
3.30
2.85
-45
Corporate bonds (3 yrs)
5.29
6.77
7.72
5.56
4.27
4.21
3.87
3.44
-43
Treasury bonds (5 yrs)
5.00
5.78
3.77
4.98
4.08
3.46
3.42
2.97
-45
1. Basis point, changes from the previous month
9.4 Money supply & money market

The M2 (monthly average) in May expanded 5.5 percent from a year earlier excluding cash
management accounts (CMAs), which were included in M2 since July 2009.
The M2 grew at the same rate as the previous month, as private sector credit growth
decelerated due to slowing bank lending while money supply from the government sector
increased due to repayments of government debt.
(Percentage change from same period in previous year, average)
M12
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Annual
Annual
Annual
Q4
Annual
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Apr
May
May1
-1.8
16.3
11.8
11.2
6.6
7.5
4.8
2.6
1.8
2.8
3.54
438.54
1,782.84
2,358.64
M2
14.3
10.3
8.7
7.4
4.2
3.5
3.8
4.4
5.3
5.5
5.5
Lf 3
11.9
7.9
8.2
7.1
5.3
4.3
5.3
6.2
7.5
8.6
8.44
1. Balance at end May 2012, trillion won

2. M1 excluding corporate MMFs and individual MMFs while including CMAs
3. Liquidity aggregates of financial institutions (mostly identical with M3)
4. Preliminary
Bank deposit growth accelerated in June as instant access deposits surged due to increased
fiscal spending by the government. Meanwhile, despite a small decrease in money market
funds (MMF) due to slower inflows of corporate funds, asset management company (AMC)
deposits maintained an upward track as inflows into stock-type funds increased.
(Monthly change, end-period, trillion won)
2009
Annual
2010
Annual
2011
Jun
Annual
2012
Jun
May
Jun
Jun1
Bank deposits
54.8
36.9
5.4
58.9
6.7
11.6
13.2
1,122.0
AMC deposits
-27.6
-16.7
-9.5
-16.6
-1.9
3.6
3.1
1,311.9
1. Balance at end June 2012, trillion won
28
August 2012
9-4
Interest rates
9-5
Total money supply

9-6
Deposits in financial institutions

Economic Bulletin
29
10. Balance of payments

Koreas current account (preliminary) in June posted a surplus of US$5.84 billion.
Despite decelerating export growth, the goods account surplus surged to US$5.01 billion
from the previous months US$1.72 billion, as imports declined considerably due to lower
oil prices.
The service account surplus narrowed to US$0.17 billion from US$1.59 billion a month
earlier as income from travel and construction services declined while payments in business
services increased. The travel account deficit widened to US$0.43 billion from the previous
months US$0.08 billion, due to the lapse of temporary factors such as the Japanese Golden
Week in May. During the period, 317,000 tourists visited Korea from Japan, but the following
month the number of Japanese tourists fell to 302,000.
The primary income account surplus rose to US$0.9 billion from US$0.34 billion as the
investment income account, which includes dividends and interests, improved. The
secondary income account deficit widened from the previous months US$0.08 billion to
US$0.25 billion due to an increase in foreign remittances.
(US$ billion)
2010
2011
2012
Annual
Annual
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
May
Jun1
Jan-Jun1
Current account
29.39
26.51
2.61
5.49
7.00
11.52
2.56
11.14
3.57
5.84
13.7
- Goods balance
40.08
30.95
5.84
7.66
7.20
10.25
2.62
8.48
1.72
5.01
11.09
- Service balance
-8.63
-4.38
-2.54
-0.80
-1.20
0.15
-0.65
2.31
1.59
0.17
1.66
- Income balance
1.02
2.46
0.39
-0.82
1.31
1.58
1.48
0.82
0.34
0.90
2.31
-3.08
-2.52
1.08
-0.55
-0.42
-0.47
-0.89
-0.47
-0.08
-0.25
-1.36
Current transfer
1. Preliminary
The capital and financial account (preliminary) in June posted a net outflow of US$5.24 billion.
Capital & financial account balance (US$ billion)
1.31 (Jan 2012)
-0.92 (Feb)
-1.76 (Mar)
-1.37 (Q1 2012)
0.16 (Apr)
-2.90 (May)
-5.24 (Jun)
Net outflow in direct investment narrowed to US$0.69 billion from the previous months
US$1.38 billion due to an increase in foreign direct investment.
The portfolio investment account posted a net outflow of US$2.33 billion, up from US$0.94
billion a month earlier, as investment in foreign bonds increased.
The financial derivatives account, which had registered a net outflow of US$0.39 billion in
May, achieved a balance in June. The other investment account showed a similar level of net
outflow as the previous month, rising from US$1.60 billion to US$1.67 billion, as domestic
banks reduced both lending and borrowing.
The current account in July is expected to maintain a surplus, helped by a goods account
surplus resulting from a trade surplus.
30
August 2012
10-1 Current account balance

Source: The Bank of Korea (balance of payments trend)
10-2 Travel balance

10-3 Capital & financial account balance

Economic Bulletin
31
11. Prices and international commodity prices

11.1 Prices
Consumer prices in July rose 1.5 percent year-on-year (down 0.2%, m-o-m), posting the
lowest growth rate since May 2000. Prices of agricultural, livestock & fishery products as
well as those of manufactured products drove the decline, while housing rents maintained
the same growth rate as in previous years and personal service prices excluding dining out
costs rose by a small margin.
Core consumer prices, which exclude oil and agricultural products, rose 1.2 percent year-onyear and stayed flat month-on-month. Core consumer prices based on the OECD method,
which excludes food and energy, rose 1.2 percent year-on-year and remained unchanged
from the previous month. Consumer prices for basic necessities, a barometer of perceived
consumer prices, were up 0.8 percent (down 0.5%, m-o-m) compared to the same month of
the previous year.
Expected inflation in July fell by 0.1 percentage point to 3.6 percent, while import prices in
June dropped 1.2 percent year-on-year led by oil and oil products.
Expected inflation (%)
4.1 (Jan 2012)
4.0 (Feb)
3.9 (Mar)
3.8 (Apr)
3.7 (May)
3.7 (Jun)
3.6 (Jul)
Import price increases (y-o-y, %, won base)

7.9 (Jan 2012)
5.2 (Feb)
3.5 (Mar)
1.7 (Apr)
2.1 (May)
-1.2 (Jun)
Consumer price inflation
(%)
2011
2012
Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
Month-on-Month
0.5
0.7
Year-on-Year
4.5
4.7
3.8
Consumer prices excluding oil and agricultural

products (y-o-y)
3.6
3.5
Consumer prices excluding food and energy (y-o-y) 2.8

Consumer prices for basic necessities (y-o-y)
4.9
-0.1 -0.2
0.1
0.4
0.5
0.4
-0.1 0.0
0.2
-0.1 -0.2
3.6
4.2
4.2
3.4
3.1
2.6
2.5
2.5
2.2
1.5
3.3
3.2
3.5
3.6
3.2
2.5
1.9
1.8
1.6
1.5
1.2
2.8
2.6
2.6
2.8
2.7
2.5
2.6
1.7
1.6
1.5
1.4
1.2
5.2
3.8
3.6
4.5
4.4
3.3
2.8
2.0
2.0
2.2
1.8
0.8
The prices of overall agricultural, livestock & fishery products excluding some vegetables
declined month-on-month.
The prices of manufactured products fell at a faster pace, led by oil products, pharmaceuticals
and other manufactured products.
Housing rents rose at the same pace as in previous years. Personal service prices excluding
dining out costs slightly increased.
Consumer price inflation in major sectors

Total
Month-on-Month (%)
Agricultural,
Oil
livestock & fishery Manufactured
products products
products
Public
utilities
Housing
rents
Public
services
Personal
services
-0.2
-1.6
-1.0
-4.1
2.0
0.2
-0.2
0.4
Contribution (%p)
-0.19
-0.13
-0.33
-0.24
0.10
0.02
-0.03
0.12
Year-on-Year (%)
1.5
1.5
1.4
-0.7
6.2
4.2
0.3
0.6
Contribution (%p)
1.53
0.12
0.46
-0.04
0.30
0.39
0.04
0.18
32
August 2012
11-1 Prices
Source: Statistics Korea (consumer prices, core inflation) & The Bank of Korea (producer prices)
11-2 Consumer price inflation

Source: Statistics Korea (consumer price trend)
11-3 Contribution to consumer price inflation

Source: Statistics Korea (consumer price trend)
Economic Bulletin
33
11.2 International oil and commodity prices

International oil and domestic oil product prices shifted to a rise after mid-July.
Despite concerns over a slowdown in global growth, international oil prices rose due to
geopolitical risk in the Middle East, expectations for a rebound after recent sharp losses, and
the possibility of ECBs further aid to the eurozone.
Weekly oil prices (Dubai crude, $/barrel)
93.7 (Jul 2)
100.9 (Jul 17)
102.3 (Jul 30)
After Irans threat to block the Strait of Hormuz, the US announced tighter sanctions on Iran
and made military threats against Iran.
(US$/barrel, period average)
2009
2010
2011
Annual
Annual
Annual
Jan
Feb
Mar
2012
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Dubai crude
61.9
78.1
105.9
109.5
116.2
122.5
117.3
107.3
94.4
99.1
Brent crude
61.7
79.7
110.0
111.0
119.3
124.9
120.0
109.7
95.2
102.7
WTI crude
61.9
79.5
95.1
100.4
97.4
106.3
103.4
94.7
82.4
87.9
Source: Korea National Oil Corporation
Due to rising international oil product prices, domestic oil product prices continued to rise
after mid-July and surpassed 1,900 won per liter.
(Won/liter, period average)
2010
2011
2012
Annual
Annual
Jan
Mar
Jun
Jul
early-Jul
mid-Jul
late-Jul
Gasoline prices
1,710.4
1,929.3
1,955.1
2,030.0
1,968.8
1,901.4
1,910.1
1,892.6
1,910.0
Diesel prices
1,502.8
1,745.7
1,805.1
1,853.6
1,777.7
1,726.6
1,724.2
1,719.6
1,735.6
International grain prices surged for the second straight month in July due to droughts in
major grain-producing countries, while most non-ferrous metal prices remained weak.
Overall non-ferrous metal prices fell due to concerns over weak demand affected by
deteriorating economic conditions in major countries such as China, the US and the
eurozone and also due to the continuing weak investor sentiment.
Prices of non-ferrous metals in July (m-o-m, %)
Lead (-3.3), nickel (-2.4), aluminum (-1.0), zinc (-0.3), copper (2.3)
International grain prices rose amid continued droughts in major grain-producing areas such as
the US and Russia, and also due to a possible grain export ban by countries such as Russia.
Prices of grain in July (m-o-m, %)
Wheat (31.7), corn (25.5), soybeans (11.4), coffee (15.0), raw sugar (12.5)
Reuters index*
(Period average)
2009
2010
2011
Annual
Annual
Annual
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
2,079
2,553
3,062
2,832
2,935
2,968
2,969
2,912
2,876
3,065
* A weighted average index of 17 major commodities

Source: KOREA PDS
34
August 2012
2012
11-4 International oil prices

11-5 Dubai crude prices and import prices

Source: Korea National Oil Corporation & Korea Customs Service
11-6 International commodity prices

Source: Bloomberg (CRB) & The Bank of Korea (Reuters index)
* CRB demonstrates futures price index of 21 commodities listed on the US Commodity Transaction Market, including beans and other crops, crude oil and jewelry.
Economic Bulletin
35
12. Real estate market

12.1 Housing market
Nationwide apartment sales prices continued to decline in July, falling 0.1 percent from the
previous month.
Apartment sales prices in the Seoul metropolitan area declined for the ninth consecutive
month (down 0.4%, m-o-m).
Apartment sales prices continued to rise in areas excluding the Seoul metropolitan area,
such as Ulsan (up 0.5%, m-o-m), South Chungcheong Province (up 0.9%, m-o-m) and North
Gyeongsang Province (up 0.7%, m-o-m). Apartment prices in five metropolitan cities and
other cities climbed 0.1 percent and 0.2 percent each.
Nationwide apartment sales prices
2009 2010 2011
2012
Annual Annual Annual Jan-Jul Jan
Nationwide
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Jul 21
Jul 91 Jul 161 Jul 231
1.6
2.5
9.6
0.5
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.1
0.0
-0.1
-0.1
-0.02
-0.02 -0.06 -0.04
Seoul
2.6
-2.2
-0.4
-2.1
-0.2
-0.1
-0.2
-0.4
-0.3
-0.3
-0.5
-0.11
-0.10 -0.14 -0.11
Gangnam2
3.9
-1.8
-0.6
-2.5
-0.2
-0.2
-0.3
-0.6
-0.3
-0.4
-0.6
-0.13
-0.11 -0.14 -0.12
Gangbuk
0.9
-2.7
-0.2
-1.6
-0.1
-0.1
-0.2
-0.3
-0.2
-0.2
-0.5
-0.08
-0.10 -0.13 -0.10
Seoul metropolitan area
0.7
-2.9
0.4
-1.8
-0.2
-0.1
-0.2
-0.4
-0.3
-0.3
-0.4
-0.07
-0.07 -0.07 -0.08
5 metropolitan cities
2.8
8.7
20.3
2.7
0.5
0.5
0.6
0.6
0.3
0.1
0.1
0.02
0.02 -0.01
1. Weekly trends
2. Upscale area of Southern Seoul
3. Northern Seoul
0.02
Source: Kookmin Bank
Nationwide apartment rental prices climbed at a faster pace in July (up 0.2%, m-o-m). Rental
prices in the Seoul metropolitan area shifted to a rise (up 0.1%, m-o-m) while the pace of growth
of rental prices in areas excluding the Seoul metropolitan area (up 0.1%, m-o-m) decelerated.
Apartment rental price increase in major districts in Seoul (m-o-m, %)
Gangnam (-0.1), Seocho (-0.1), Songpa (-0.1), Yeongdeungpo (-0.8)
Nationwide apartment rental prices
2009 2010 2011
2012
Annual Annual Annual Jan-Jul Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Jul 21
Jul 91 Jul 161 Jul 231
Nationwide
4.5
8.8
16.2
2.3
0.3
0.4
0.6
0.5
0.2
0.1
0.2
0.02
0.04
0.03
Seoul
8.1
7.4
13.4
0.3
-0.1
0.2
0.2
0.0
-0.1
0.0
-0.1
-0.01
-0.01
-0.03 -0.02
0.03
Gangnam2
10.4
8.8
12.5
0.1
0.0
0.2
0.2
-0.1
-0.1
0.0
-0.1
0.00
-0.02
-0.01 -0.01
Gangbuk3
5.4
5.6
14.6
0.5
-0.1
0.2
0.3
0.2
0.0
-0.1
0.0
-0.02
0.00
-0.04 -0.03
Seoul metropolitan area
5.6
7.2
13.9
0.7
-0.1
0.3
0.3
0.1
0.0
0.0
0.1
-0.01
0.00
0.00
0.00
5 metropolitan cities
3.9
12.0
18.9
3.5
0.5
0.7
0.7
0.8
0.4
0.2
0.1
0.04
0.05
0.02
0.05
1. Weekly trends
2. Upscale area of Southern Seoul
3. Northern Seoul
Source: Kookmin Bank
Apartment sales transactions in June decreased 18.8 percent from the previous months
45,641 to 37,069, and were down 32.9 percent from 55,239 a year earlier.
Apartment sales transactions
(Monthly average, thousand)
2009 2010
2011
Annual Annual Apr May Jun

Nationwide
53
48
65
59
Source: Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs
36
August 2012
55
Jul
51
2012
Aug Sep Oct

51
50
55
Nov Dec Jan

55
77
18
Feb
39
Mar Apr May Jun

47
45
46
37
12-1 Weekly apartment sales prices and monthly transaction volume

Source: Kookmin Bank (weekly APT price trend) & Korea Land Corporation (monthly land trade trend)
12-2 Apartment prices by region

Source: Kookmin Bank (national housing price trend)
12-3 Real estate prices

Source: Kookmin Bank (national housing price trend)
Economic Bulletin
37
12.2 Land market

Nationwide land prices in June rose for the 20th consecutive month (up 0.1%, m-o-m), but
were still 0.44 percent lower than the pre-crisis peak reached in October 2008.
Land prices in Seoul (up 0.06%, m-o-m), Gyeonggi Province (up 0.11%, m-o-m) and Incheon
(up 0.05%, m-o-m) stayed on an upward track.
Land price increases in Seoul metropolitan area (m-o-m, %)
0.07 (Jan 2012)
0.07 (Feb)
0.11 (Mar)
0.11 (Apr)
0.10 (May)
0.10 (Jun)
Land price increases in areas excluding the Seoul metropolitan area slowed down, rising
0.14 percent month-on-month.
Land price increases in areas excluding Seoul metropolitan area (m-o-m, %)
0.12 (Jan 2012)
0.13 (Feb)
0.14 (Mar)
0.14 (Apr)
0.14 (May)
Land prices by region

2008
0.13 (Jun)
2009
2010
2011
2012
Annual Annual Annual Annual
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
Jan-Jun
Q1
Q2
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Nationwide
-0.31
0.96
1.05
1.17
0.29
0.30
0.29
0.29
0.63
0.30
0.33
0.12
0.12
0.11
0.10
Seoul
-1.00
1.40
0.53
0.97
0.40
0.28
0.17
0.12
0.43
0.17
0.26
0.10
0.10
0.09
0.06
Gyeonggi
-0.26
1.22
1.49
1.47
0.26
0.38
0.43
0.39
0.68
0.34
0.34
0.12
0.12
0.11
0.11
Incheon
1.37
1.99
1.43
0.66
0.17
0.18
0.15
0.15
0.37
0.21
0.16
0.13
0.05
0.06
0.05
Source: Korea Land & Housing Corporation
Nationwide land transactions in June were 163,000 land lots, down 12.3 percent from the
previous month. On a year-on-year basis, nationwide land transactions were down 17.2
percent from 197,000 a year earlier.
Land transactions decreased in Seoul (down 12.0%, m-o-m), Gwangju (down 20.6%,
m-o-m), Gangwon Province (down 17.5%, m-o-m), and South Jeolla Province (down 24.2%, m-o-m).
Transactions of vacant land decreased 10.6 percent year-on-year to 75,000 lots, making up
46.4 percent of the total amount of transactions.
Land sales transactions
(Land lot, thousand)
2008 2009 2010

1
2011
2012
Jul
Aug Sep
Oct Nov Dec Jan
Feb Mar
Apr May Jun
208
203
187
208
198
197
184
183
171
184
195
240
129
165
187
182
186
163
Seoul
26
22
16
18
17
16
14
15
14
15
15
19
12
14
15
15
13
Gyeonggi
45
46
41
43
39
38
37
36
36
37
39
48
24
30
37
36
35
32
Incheon
13
10
10
10
10
Annual Annual Annual Annual May Jun

Nationwide
1. Monthly average
Source: Korea Land & Housing Corporation
38
August 2012
12-4 Land prices by region

Source: Korea Land Corporation (land price trend)
12-5 Land and consumer prices since 1970s

Source: Korea Land Corporation (land prices) & Statistics Korea (consumer prices)
12-6 Land trade volume

Source: Korea Land Corporation (land trade trend)
Economic Bulletin
39
13. Industrial output and composite indices of business cycle

indicators
Industrial output in June decreased 0.3 percent month-on-month, while increasing 0.1
percent year-on-year. Output in construction (down 3.3%, m-o-m), mining & manufacturing
(down 0.4%, m-o-m) and services (down 0.4%, m-o-m) fell, while output in public
administration (up 2.9%, m-o-m) rose.
The cyclical indicator of the coincident composite index stayed unchanged.
Service activity and construction completion fell month-on-month while five other
components, such as the value of imports, rose.
Components of the coincident composite index in June (m-o-m)
Number of non-farm payroll employment (0.1%), value of imports (1.7%), mining & manufacturing production
(0.6%), domestic shipment (1.0%), wholesale & retail sales (0.4%), service activity (-0.1%), value of
construction completion (-2.3%)
The cyclical indicator of the leading composite index in June rose 0.5 points from the
previous month.
Three components of the leading composite index, including the value of construction
orders received, increased while six components, such as the domestic shipment of
machinery, were lower compared to the previous month.
Components of the leading composite index in June (m-o-m)
Value of construction orders received (8.9%), indicator of inventory cycle (2.4%p), ratio of export to import
prices (1.8%), consumer expectations index (-0.5p), spreads between long & short term interest rates
(-0.1%p), KOSPI (-3.0%), international commodity prices (-3.7%), ratio of job openings to job seekers
(-0.3%p), domestic shipment of machinery (-1.4%)
2011
Industrial output (m-o-m, %)

(y-o-y, %)
Coincident composite index (m-o-m, %)
2012
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr1
May1
Jun1
-0.3
0.1
1.0
1.3
-1.1
-0.2
0.5
-0.3
3.7
1.6
-1.0
8.7
0.5
0.4
1.8
0.1
0.0
0.4
0.1
0.8
0.1
0.2
-0.1
0.3
Cyclical indicator of coincident composite index
99.8
99.8
99.6
100.0
99.6
99.4
98.9
98.9
(m-o-m, p)
-0.5
0.0
-0.2
0.4
-0.4
-0.2
-0.5
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.7
1.0
0.4
0.4
0.1
1.0
Cyclical indicator of leading composite index
99.0
99.0
99.2
99.9
99.8
99.8
99.5
100
(m-o-m, p)
-0.2
0.0
0.2
0.7
-0.1
0.0
-0.3
0.5
Leading composite index (m-o-m, %)
1. Preliminary
40
August 2012
13-1 Cyclical indicator of coincident composite index

13-2 Leading composite index

13-3 Coincident and leading composite indices

Economic Bulletin
41
Featured Issue
Korea-China Economic Relations of 20 Years:
Past and Future
Chang-Kyu Lee
Director, Center for Emerging Economies Research
Korea Institute for International Economic Policy
The year 2012 marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between
Korea and China. During the past two decades, economic relations between Korea and China
have progressed quite rapidly. Lets see the volume of trade and foreign investment, the
measurement of bilateral economic relations. The bilateral trade volume has soared at an
explosive rate, increasing by about 35 times from a mere US$6.4 billion in 1992 to US$221
billion in 2011. China has become the largest trading partner of Korea.
In terms of foreign direct investment, the outflow of capital from Korea to China grew about
25 times from US$141 million to US$3.6 billion in the period of 1992-2011. Meanwhile, the
outflow of capital from China to Korea has been relatively insignificant. It can be said that
most capital movement has been dirested toward China from Korea.
Since the establishment of formal diplomatic ties in 1992, several sectoral agreements, such
as the investment protection agreement and marine transportation agreement, were also
concluded. Such institutional supports by the Korean and Chinese governments clearly
constructed a foundation for the future promotion of economic exchanges between the
two nations.
Nonetheless, the dominant factors in the explosive growth of bilateral economic exchanges
would, after all, be economic factors, such as mutually complementary economic structures
of the two countries and geographical closeness. The Korea-China relations since 1992 may
42
August 2012
be an excellent example of how opening an economy and promoting free trade can
significantly advance economic welfare, as is well explained in economic textbooks.
Korea-China economic relations inevitably experienced fluctuations of one kind or another
during the past two decades. In 2001, however, China became a member of the WTO, which
clearly motivated some Korean companies to make decisions to move their production
facilities from Korea into mainland China. At that time, a significant number of Korean
companies had been suffering from rising production costs, resulting in the erosion of their
competitiveness in the global market. Therefore moving into China actually allowed some
Korean companies to get second business opportunities.
On the other hand, China also has clearly benefited from the inflow of foreign direct
investments by Korean companies, which has created lots of jobs and promoted some
regional economic development in China, for example, Shandong province and the
northeastern provinces. It goes without saying that the Korean investment has in general
been accompanied by advanced technologies and management skills, and their spillovers
have obviously helped further economic development in China.
In 2008, the global economy was hit by a financial crisis of unprecedented nature. China,
however, was able to recover from the crisis through its prompt and timely implementation
of a huge fiscal stimulus. Some observers maintained that Chinas capability to recover from
the global financial crisis demonstrated the real strength of the Chinese economy. Since the
outbreak of the global financial crisis, Korean companies have made every effort to take
advantage of Chinas stimulative economic policies and achieved some degree of success in
capturing part of the huge Chinese market, which obviously contributed to the relatively
quick recovery of the Korean economy from the global financial crisis.
It is, however, quite difficult to predict the future of Korea-China economic relations. Some
uncertainties lie ahead. China isnt just the worlds factory anymore; it is a huge market.
Despite being not so successful in Chinas domestic market so far, tapping into the Chinas
huge market will be the best strategy for the Korean firms. The future of the economic ties
between the two countries will mainly depend on the outcome of this strategy.
Economic Bulletin
43
Policy Issues
2012 Tax Revision Plan
Background
Uncertainties surrounding the global economy have increased as the deepening European
debt crisis has affected global financial markets. The US economic recovery has been
restrained by weak job growth, and emerging economies including China have experienced a
slowdown due to decreasing exports. Meanwhile, the domestic economic recovery has been
restrained by unfavorable global economic conditions, although employment, led by the
service sector, has been improving. There has been a growing need to boost domestic
demand and support the working class. Against this backdrop, the Korean government has
unveiled the 2012 tax revision bill with four main focuses aimed at successfully dealing with
the global economic slump and restructuring the tax system.
The first focus is to create jobs and develop growth engines. The 2012 tax revision bill
encourages job creation, R&D investment to explore future growth engines, and the start of
venture and small businesses.
The second focus is to boost domestic demand and support middle and low income classes.
To this end, the tax revision bill was designed to stimulate sound consumption and real
estate while increasing support for the working classes and vulnerable groups.
Next, the government will emphasize improving fiscal health by increasing tax transparency
and reviewing tax exemptions and reductions.
The last focus is to transform the current tax system into one that is more appropriate for an
advanced society. Improving the capital income tax system is one of the main subjects of the
2012 tax revision bill, along with changes in the pension and retirement allowance tax
system to prepare for the ageing population.
44
August 2012
The 2012 Tax Revision Bill

1. Creating Jobs and Growth Engines for the Future
Creating jobs
To encourage job creation in the private sector, the 2012 bill increases employment-related
tax deductions and decreases other basic tax deductions. The tax deduction for facility
investment will be maintained. However, for every job lost, the tax deduction will be reduced
by 10 million won.
The current tax incentives given to domestic companies returning to Korea after more than
two years of overseas business operation, a corporate and income tax exemption for five
years and a 50 percent deduction for an additional two years thereafter, will be extended
until the end of 2015. There will be tariff exemptions for facilities imported by returning
SMEs. If SMEs, which have no production facilities at home, invest in Korea instead of
moving facilities back to Korea, they will be regarded as returning companies.
Service industries, which generate more jobs, in particular the IT and social welfare service
related industries, will be given more tax incentives. Foreign investment of more than US$30
million in IT-related industries will be exempt from corporate taxes for five years and have an
additional tax reduction of 50 percent for the next two years.
Social enterprises, which provide jobs or social welfare services to vulnerable groups, and
businesses employing 10 or more disabled persons, or more than 30 percent of their
workforce, will be given a tax reduction of 50 percent applicable until the end of 2014.
SMEs employing job sharing programs will be given special SME incentives for an extended
period of three years until the end of 2015, which gives the SMEs and their employees an
income tax deduction of 50 percent of the reduced income resulting from the job sharing
program. SMEs accepting specialized vocational high school graduates returning from their
mandatory military service will be given a tax deduction of 10 percent of the graduates
salaries for two years until the end of 2015. There will be a 10 percent tax deduction for
corporate investment in research and training facilities in specialized vocational high schools.
Nurturing Growth Engines
Facility investment that aims to reduce green house gas emissions will also receive a tax
deduction for 10 percent of the amount invested, as is the case for other investments whose
purpose is to conserve the environment and save energy. The tax incentive for energy saving
facility investment will be applicable for the purchase of devices that store electricity and
save power automatically. Capital gains taxes on green investment such as green savings,
Economic Bulletin
45
funds and bonds will be exempt until the end of 2014. Hybrid cars will be eligible for an
exemption on the individual consumption tax of up to 1.3 million won for three more years
until the end of 2015, while buses using natural gas will be exempt from the value added tax
for the same period. The gasoline tax refund for cars with engines smaller than 1,000 cc will
be extended by two years until the end of 2014.
R&D related tax incentives will be provided for three more years until the end of 2015, while
a new R&D tax incentive for leading enterprises will be adopted with the tax deduction of 8
percent of the total investment.
Angel investors will receive increased income tax deductions for up to 30 percent of their
investment. Tax incentives for venture startups will be extended for two years until the end
of 2014, while newly established SMEs will be given a 50 percent tax reduction for five years,
an increase from four years, until the end of 2015.
There will be an increased tax deduction, from 3 percent to 7 percent, for facility investment
by SMEs which is aimed at preventing technology theft, while all facility investment by SMEs
will receive an extended tax deduction for three more years until the end of 2015. The
income transfer tax on fixed business assets incurred by a merger between SMEs will be
transferred to the acquiring company, and the same will apply when private businesses
convert into corporations. The payment of the income transfer tax will be made when the
acquiring corporations sell those assets.
2. Boosting Domestic Demand and Supporting the Middle and Low Income Classes
Boosting domestic demand
To boost domestic demand, the 2012 bill includes an individual consumption tax exemption
for high energy efficiency electronics, while the individual consumption tax on heavy energy
consuming electronics will be maintained until the end of 2015 to promote energy
conservation. The individual consumption tax on golf club fees will also be postponed
temporarily until the end of 2014. Corporate spending on employee activities such as dinner
or lunch gatherings and employment welfare spending on dispatched workers will be
regarded as business expenses.
The heavy property transfer tax on multiple home owners, introduced during the housing
boom, will be lifted and the basic tax rate of 6-38 percent will be applied, while high transfer
tax rates for the short-term ownership of properties will be eased from 50 percent to 40
percent for transfers that occur within a year. The rate for houses transferred to new
ownership within two years will also be eased to the basic rate of 6-38 percent from 40
percent. However, for houses purchased by the end of 2014, the basic rate will be applied
even when they are transferred in less than a year. The heavy transfer tax of 60 percent on
vacant land will be abolished, and the basic rate will be applied with a special deduction for
46
August 2012
long-term ownership at a 30 percent rate.

Income tax deductions for renters will be expanded from 50 percent to 100 percent, and the
new rate will be applied until the end of 2015. The low rate dividend income tax on rental
housing REITs and funds, applied to those whose face value is 100 million won or less, will
be expanded to those of 300 million won or less.
Supporting the mid- and low-income classes
To help those earning 50 million won or less a year and small business owners whose
income is 35 million won or less, a new tax-exempt savings account will be introduced along
with a new capital income tax deduction for yields from long-term investment funds. There
will also be a 1 million won per year income tax deduction for single parents, and the income
tax deduction will be raised to 50 percent from 40 percent for non-home owning renters
earning 50 million won or less a year.
Basic tariff rates for seven items including sugar and eels will be lowered to stabilize
consumer prices and promote competition in the domestic market, while a two year tax
reduction of 20 percent for thrifty gas stations that switch from conventional gas stations will
also be applied. Income and corporate tax deduction for online oil product transactions will
be increased from 0.3 percent of the sales value to 0.5 percent, which will increase
transaction transparency and promote competition.
The earned income tax credit (EITC), a tax refund system aiming to encourage low-income
earners to work, has been given based on family size so far. However, single families of
seniors aged 60 or older will be eligible for the tax credit of up to 700,000 won a year when
their annual income is less than 13 million won. Those who have not been receiving basic
social security as of March of the year when they request the EITC will be able to receive the
tax credit, unlike in the previous system where those having received basic social security
benefits in the previous year are not eligible for the EITC. This revision is expected to
encourage basic social security recipients to return to work. Interest incurred from reverse
mortgage loans will be eligible for a pension income tax deduction of up to 2 million won per
year. Seizures will not be allowed for a monthly income of up to 1.5 million won, an increase
from 1.2 million won, reflecting a minimum living expense baseline for a family of four
members of 1.5 million won a month in 2012.
3. Improving Fiscal Health
Fiscal expenditures, ministry budgets and project budgets will be taken into account when
planning tax exemptions and reductions, on top of reflecting the evaluation result of the
existing tax exemptions and reductions. The minimum corporate tax rate with all the
possible exemptions and reductions applied will be raised from 14 percent to 15 percent for
enterprises whose tax base is more than 100 billion won.
Economic Bulletin
47
The R&D tax deduction will be adjusted to a more appropriate level, by reflecting an
increased investment amount in the previous year instead of an averaged increase during
the past four years. However, when the R&D expenditure in the previous year is less than
the annual average of the previous four years, the fixed deduction rate of 3-6 percent for
large enterprises and 25 percent for SMEs will be applied.
The tax system for bond yields will be revised. For yields from long-term bonds of more than
10 years, bond holders will be able to choose a 30 percent rate taxed separately from their
total income on the yields generated after more than 3 years of ownership. This revision is
aimed at encouraging long-term investment. Currently, such an option is available
regardless of the period of ownership. Yields from inflation-linked government bonds, being
taxed only on interest accrued, will be taxed both on interest and principal increases
produced by inflation beginning in 2015.
4. Improving Taxation System
The amount of aggregate taxable financial income will be reduced to 30 million won from 40
million won. The definition of major shareholders who will be liable for capital gains tax
incurred from stock transactions will be revised to include those who hold more than 2
percent of outstanding shares or the equivalent of 7 billion won. Taxes on equity derivatives
transactions will be newly introduced, but the tax rate will be set low in order to promote tax
fairness among financial products. The period where overseas fund profits can be offset with
the previous losses will be extended until December 31, 2013. To promote a stable long-term
foreign currency supply, certified foreign currency deposits of one year or longer will be
exempt from taxes on interest gains.
While the flat tax rate of 9 percent has been applied to net profits of cooperatives, in order to
achieve fairness with other corporate taxes, the 15 percent tax rate will be applied to the
cooperatives tax base exceeding 200 million won with a three year grace period ending on
December 31, 2015. The depreciation period for each industry will be adjusted to reflect the
period companies are actually applying to their accounting. To achieve fair taxation, the
loan-loss provision for financial companies will be reduced from 2 percent to 1 percent, the
<VAT rate change>

Current
(%)
VAT rate
Revised
Manufacturing, Electronics, Gas, Water
20 (For retail, 15 %
Electronics, Gas and Water services
services, Retail, Recycling
by the end of 2014)
Retail, Recycling, Restaurants
Agriculture, Construction, Real-estate

rent services and others
Restaurants, Accommodation,
Transportation
48
August 2012
30
40
Manufacturing, Agriculture,
Accommodation, Transportation
Construction, Rent services and others
VAT rate
5
10
20
30
same rate as general corporations. Taxation for foreign consortiums will be improved by
clarifying the classification of those consortiums into corporations, according to which their
profits are subject to corporate taxes or personal income taxes. The value added tax system
will be revised to be more reasonable.
Tax refund offices will be set up in urban areas so that foreign tourists can receive refunds
for value-added tax paid on the goods that they purchased in the country.
Tax Revenues Expected from Tax Revision

This years tax revision is expected to generate net tax revenues of 1.66 trillion won. The
increase in tax revenue (2.57 trillion won) will mainly be from a reduction in tax credits for
job-creation investment (0.28 trillion won), increased taxes on financial incomes (0.12 trillion
won) and newly introduced taxes on derivatives transactions (0.10 trillion won). The
decrease in tax revenue (-0.91 trillion won) will be from tax incentives for workers assetsbuilding savings, investment in long-term funds (-0.20 trillion won) and transportation fares
(-0.09 trillion won), and an increase in the earned income tax credit (-0.09 trillion won).
<Yearly tax revenue change after the tax revision>
(y-o-y, trillion won)
Total
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Income tax
0.09
-0.09
0.14
0.03
0.01
Corporate tax
1.12
0.39
0.60
0.02
0.02
0.09
VAT
0.03
0.03
Gift tax
0.24
0.23
0.01
Others
0.17
-0.39
0.16
0.21
0.17
0.01
Total
1.66
0.19
0.90
0.23
0.23
0.11
<Tax burden>
(trillion won)
Low- and middle-income class*, SMEs
High-income class, large companies
Others **
Total
-0.24
1.65
0.25
1.66
(-14.5%)
(99.8%)
(14.7%)
(100%)
* Households whose total income is less than 55 million won (OECD)

** Non-residents, public corporations
Between August and September 2012, the government will make a preliminary
announcement of the revisions, which will then be reviewed by the cabinet after consulting
with the ministries. At the end of September this year, the tax revisions will be submitted to
the National Assembly.
Economic Bulletin
49
Economic
News Briefing
Korea grows 0.4% in Q2 (Advanced)

Koreas real gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 0.4 percent in the second quarter of
2012 compared to the previous quarter. Real gross domestic income (GDI) rose by 1.0
percent, helped by improving trade.
On the production side, the manufacturing sector fell by 0.1 percent as metal products and
electric & electronics equipment were sluggish, offsetting an increase in transport
equipment. Construction decreased by 2.1 percent due to declining demand in building
construction. Services grew by 0.5 percent as robust financial intermediation, wholesale &
retail sales, restaurants & hotels offset declines in transportation & storage and real estate
& renting.
On the expenditure side, private consumption grew by 0.5 percent led by increased
expenditures on durable goods and semi-durable goods. Facility investment decreased by
6.4 percent while construction investment rose by 0.3 percent. Exports of goods dropped by
0.6 percent and imports of goods fell by 1.7 percent.
50
August 2012
<GDP by production and expenditure*>

20111
2010
Q2
Q1
Q3
Q1
Q4
Q2
20121
Q3
Q4
Q1
Q2
2.2(8.7) 1.4(7.6) 0.7(4.5) 0.6(4.9) 1.3(4.2) 0.8(3.5) 0.8(3.6) 0.3(3.3) 0.9(2.8) 0.4(2.4)
2
GDP
-2.1
-2.1
-2.9
0.5
-3.0
4.5
-5.2
8.2
-5.6
2.1
Manufacturing
4.2
3.7
2.1
0.5
3.3
1.2
1.1
-0.3
2.0
-0.1
Construction
0.5
-0.7
-1.8
-2.6
-4.3
1.8
2.8
-0.2
-1.7
-2.1
Services
1.7
0.3
0.4
1.0
1.0
0.3
0.4
0.7
1.1
0.5
Private consumption
0.7
0.7
1.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
0.2
-0.4
1.0
0.5
Government consumption
3.0
0.3
-0.2
0.5
0.7
0.8
1.2
-0.8
3.4
-0.2
Facility investment
4.4
7.3
4.6
-0.2
-1.6
4.7
-1.8
-4.3
10.3
-6.4
1.0
-4.0
-0.9
-1.9
-4.4
3.5
-0.5
0.1
-1.2
0.3
Exports of goods
3.2
7.3
2.6
3.2
4.1
0.4
2.1
-2.7
4.2
-1.4
Imports of goods
5.3
6.2
3.4
0.4
3.2
2.7
1.4
-3.6
4.0
-1.6
Gross Domestic Income (GDI)
1.8
1.3
0.3
0.3
-0.1
0.5
0.6
0.6
0.2
1.0
Agriculture, forestry and fishery
*Based on 2005 chained prices in seasonally adjusted terms

1. Preliminary
2. The number in the parenthesis represents percentage change from the same period of the previous year.
Korea plans sale of 30-year Treasury bonds

The government will start selling 30-year Treasury bonds for the first time in September, in a
bid to secure long-term and stable financing as well as to diversify Koreas debt market. The
government plans to sell 400 billion won worth of 30-year bonds in 2012. During the first two
months, the bonds will be issued through a syndicate, which will consist of five to ten
primary dealers with the most favorable offers. Starting from November, bonds will be
issued through competitive auctions taking place on the first Monday of every month.
Koreas policy responses to household debt

As Koreas household debt has grown rapidly since the Asian financial crisis, the government
has been trying to appropriately respond to the problem by providing comprehensive
measures to ensure a soft landing for the household debt risk, which include managing the
total liquidity, improving the ability to repay debt through job creation, reinforcing financial
soundness, and strengthening micro-finance programs.
The government will continue to implement the comprehensive measures that were
announced on June 29, 2011. In addition, in order to ensure the soundness of financial
Economic Bulletin
51
institutions, the government will increase its investment in the Korea Housing Finance
Corporation (KHFC) and establish rules for issuing covered bonds, while encouraging banks
to extend more fixed-rate and long-term loans. Financial institutions are also encouraged to
reserve sufficient loan-loss provisions.
The government will provide business consulting programs to support the self-employed
and strengthen risk management in financial companies. Meanwhile, the government will
minimize the impact of the housing market slump and continue to implement measures to
boost the housing market. In addition, microfinance programs will be strengthened to cover
those who are financially excluded, such as wage workers and small merchants. The size of
funds for microfinance programs will expand from 3 trillion won to 4 trillion won.
Government reviews Koreas hedge fund industry

Koreas hedge fund industry has grown fivefold since it took off in December 2011, as 19
hedge funds have attracted a total of 717.9 billion won as of July 25, 2012. Although the
industry has grown considerably, its investors still mostly consist of prime brokers and
subsidiaries of hedge fund management companies. However, private investors and nonsubsidiary institutional investors are increasingly participating in the hedge fund market.
In order to encourage competent asset management firms to participate in the domestic
hedge fund industry, the government is planning to lower the entry barriers of the industry for
asset managers. In addition, the services of prime brokers will cover not only hedge funds but
also financial firms and pension funds. Prime brokers are firms that provide services such as
securities lending or financing to hedge funds and other professional investors. The
government will also reinforce the programs to train hedge funds professionals.
Simplified process for the issuance of Financial Investor Express Card

Financial Hub Korea (Fn Hub Korea), a unit under the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS),
and the Financial Services Commission (FSC) have expanded the scope of beneficiaries of
the Financial Investor Express Card to allow more foreign investors to enjoy a shorter and
streamlined immigration procedure. The Financial Investor Express Card was first introduced
in February 2010 for foreign executives of foreign financial institutions in Korea to use fasttrack immigration lanes.
Under the previous system, all applicants were required to proceed through a review
52
August 2012
process with the financial regulators when their documents are submitted to Fn Hub Korea
for verification of qualification. However, the new procedure no longer requires a review
process and allows the card to be issued immediately for those who meet the requirements.
It is expected to shorten the time for issuing the card from an average of 21 days to a
maximum of 10 days.
The new system also expands the scope of card grantees based on the size of operation
funds of foreign financial companies. Employees recommended by the head of a branch
office whose operation funds exceed 150 billion won are eligible for the express card. In
addition, F-5 visa holders who were previously not entitled to the express card are now
eligible for it. The qualification-verifying step is waived for those who changed their passport
numbers, after losing passports and the cards will be immediately re-issued on request.
Financial regulators to introduce reporting rule on short positions

Koreas financial regulators are planning to introduce a reporting rule for short sellers,
aiming to increase access to data on short selling activities in Korea and to be better
prepared against unfair trading practices. According to the new rule, which will be effective
starting August 30, an investor who has an open short position that amounts to, or exceeds,
0.01 percent of the issued share capital of a listed company has an obligation to report the
short position to the regulators. The reporting requirement applies only to short positions
that result from trading shares listed on the stock exchange. Short positions created through
trades of other securities or derivatives are not subject to the rule.
Korea and Turkey sign FTA

The trade ministers of Korea and Turkey signed the Framework Agreement for the KoreaTurkey Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the Agreement on Trade in Goods on August 1. The
two countries had declared the launch of FTA negotiations in March 2010 and held four formal
rounds of negotiations since then. The free trade pact will eliminate tariffs on 99.6 percent of
Korean goods and 100 percent of Turkish goods over the next ten years. Tariffs on Korean
vehicles and automobile parts, Koreas key export items to Turkey, will be slashed in seven
years and five years, respectively. Korea and Turkey will take follow-up steps, particularly
parliamentary ratification to bring the agreement into force as soon as possible.
Economic Bulletin
53
Statistical
Appendices
Tables & Figures
2. Production, shipment and inventory
3. Production capacity and operation ratio
4. Consumer goods sales index
5. Consumer goods shipment index and consumer sentiment index
6. Machinery orders received, domestic machinery shipment,
and estimated facility investment index
7. Value of construction completion and domestic construction orders received
8. Composite indices of business cycle indicators and BSI
9. Balance of payments (I)
10. Balance of payments (II)
11. Prices
12. Employment
13. Financial indicators
14. Monetary indicators
15. Exchange rates
Economic Bulletin
55
(year-on-year change, %, chained 2005 year prices)
Real GDP
Period
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011P
Gross fixed capital formation
Final
consumption
expenditure
Agri., fores.
& fisheries
Manufacturing
4.6
4.0
5.2
5.1
2.3
0.3
6.3
3.6
9.1
1.3
1.5
4.0
5.6
3.2
-4.4
-2.0
10.0
6.2
8.1
7.2
2.8
-1.5
14.7
7.2
1.0
4.6
5.1
5.1
2.0
1.2
4.1
2.2
Construction
Facilities
2.1
1.9
3.4
4.2
-1.9
-1.0
5.8
-1.1
1.3
-0.4
0.5
1.4
-2.8
3.4
-3.7
-5.0
3.8
5.3
8.2
9.3
-1.0
-9.8
25.7
3.7
2004
I
II
III
IV
5.2
5.9
4.8
2.7
8.2
7.6
8.3
11.6
10.9
12.9
10.4
6.2
-0.1
1.3
1.0
1.8
2.3
4.9
3.1
-1.4
5.3
4.2
1.2
-3.5
-0.6
6.4
7.7
1.8
2005
I
II
III
IV
2.7
3.4
4.5
5.1
0.4
4.8
3.8
-3.1
4.8
3.9
6.7
9.3
2.7
4.7
5.9
4.9
-0.3
1.8
1.5
3.9
-3.1
0.9
-0.3
0.3
3.4
2.8
4.1
10.8
2006
I
II
III
IV
6.1
5.1
5.0
4.6
3.9
-0.3
-1.4
4.2
9.4
9.1
8.7
5.4
5.8
4.9
4.6
5.1
3.8
0.1
4.0
5.7
1.9
-4.2
-0.5
5.1
7.2
8.0
12.0
5.7
2007
I
II
III
IV
4.5
5.3
4.9
5.7
1.6
7.0
8.2
-0.7
4.5
7.2
6.3
10.2
5.1
5.4
5.3
4.7
7.3
5.7
1.5
3.1
4.4
2.0
-0.2
0.4
12.6
13.0
4.0
8.0
2008
I
II
III
IV
5.5
4.4
3.3
-3.3
7.8
4.6
4.3
6.5
8.9
8.3
5.3
-9.4
4.3
3.0
2.4
-1.7
-0.6
0.6
2.1
-8.7
-2.5
-0.5
0.4
-7.7
2.8
2.0
5.3
-13.3
2009
I
II
III
IV
-4.2
-2.1
1.0
6.3
2.5
0.0
5.0
5.0
-13.6
-7.1
1.8
13.1
-2.2
0.7
1.5
4.8
-7.5
-3.0
-1.0
6.2
1.6
4.3
3.2
4.0
-21.9
-18.1
-9.4
12.2
2010
I
II
III
IV
8.7
7.6
4.5
4.9
-0.1
-2.2
-7.8
-5.9
22.4
17.6
9.5
11.0
6.1
3.6
3.5
3.0
11.2
5.8
5.6
2.3
1.8
-4.7
-4.9
-5.2
29.6
32.0
26.3
16.9
2011P
I
II
III
IV
4.2
3.5
3.6
3.3
-7.9
-1.9
-4.1
3.7
10.0
7.5
6.3
5.4
2.6
2.7
2.3
1.3
-2.1
0.7
-1.5
-1.8
-11.0
-4.2
-4.0
-2.1
10.3
7.7
1.2
-3.3
2012P
I
II
2.8
2.4
0.7
-1.5
4.1
2.7
2.2
1.8
4.6
-1.5
1.5
-1.4
8.6
-2.9
P: Preliminary
56
August 2012
Growth rate by economic activity
Growth rate by expenditure on GDP
Economic Bulletin
57
2. Production, shipment and inventory See graphs 6-1, 6-3, 7-1, 7-2 & 7-3
(constant prices, 2005 = 100)
Period
Production
index
2010
2011
Y-o-Y
change (%)
Shipment
index
Y-o-Y
change (%)
Inventory
index
Y-o-Y
change (%)
Service
production
index
Y-o-Y
change (%)
139.1
148.8
16.2
6.9
133.5
142.1
14.4
6.5
135.6
163.6
17.4
20.7
122.9
127.0
3.9
3.3
2010
I
II
III
IV
129.8
141.0
139.0
146.6
25.4
18.8
10.9
11.7
124.0
135.1
132.7
142.0
20.9
15.9
9.9
11.9
124.6
127.7
134.6
135.6
7.5
17.5
19.1
17.4
119.9
122.9
121.6
127.3
6.2
4.2
2.3
3.2
2011
I
II
III
IV
143.6
151.2
146.1
154.0
10.6
7.2
5.1
5.0
138.7
144.8
139.3
146.4
11.9
7.2
5.0
3.3
137.4
142.7
149.0
163.6
10.3
10.0
10.7
20.7
123.1
126.8
127.1
130.8
2.8
3.2
4.5
2.7
2012
I
II
149.1
153.4
3.8
1.5
142.5
146.4
3.0
1.4
159.0
157.1
16.0
10.8
126.2
128.7
2.5
1.5
2010
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
129.3
119.1
141.1
140.0
140.0
142.9
143.1
136.5
137.3
145.3
145.3
149.2
37.0
18.3
22.4
19.5
20.6
16.5
14.8
15.9
2.9
13.4
11.2
10.7
123.1
113.6
135.2
134.7
133.4
137.3
135.7
131.0
131.4
140.8
141.4
143.9
31.4
13.3
18.8
16.5
17.2
13.9
13.0
15.3
2.4
13.5
11.7
10.6
119.8
123.3
124.6
126.3
129.9
129.7
134.1
134.5
134.6
133.5
132.8
135.6
-3.3
4.8
7.5
12.5
16.5
17.5
20.3
20.1
19.1
18.8
16.9
17.4
118.5
116.7
124.4
121.5
123.3
124.0
122.4
120.9
121.6
123.2
123.8
134.9
5.7
6.2
6.6
3.8
4.8
4.0
3.8
3.3
-0.2
3.3
3.8
2.5
2011
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
146.9
129.8
154.0
149.7
151.5
152.3
148.7
142.9
146.8
154.6
153.7
153.7
13.6
9.0
9.1
6.9
8.2
6.6
3.9
4.7
6.9
6.4
5.8
2.8
141.4
125.2
149.6
144.6
144.4
145.4
135.9
136.5
141.3
147.0
145.8
147.0
14.9
10.2
10.7
7.3
8.2
5.9
3.1
4.2
7.5
4.4
3.1
2.4
135.4
137.1
137.4
137.3
140.2
142.7
147.2
150.4
149.1
153.1
157.4
163.6
13.0
11.2
10.3
8.7
7.9
10.0
9.8
11.8
10.8
14.7
18.5
20.7
124.1
116.9
128.2
125.2
127.4
128.4
127.0
126.8
126.2
127.4
127.2
137.1
4.7
0.2
3.1
3.0
3.3
3.5
3.8
4.9
3.8
3.4
2.7
1.6
143.7
148.4
155.2
149.6
155.9
154.6
-2.1
14.4
0.6
0.0
2.9
1.6
137.2
141.7
148.5
142.8
149.0
147.5
-2.6
13.5
-0.5
-1.0
3.5
1.7
164.0
164.0
159.0
158.6
160.7
157.1
21.4
20.0
16.0
16.2
15.3
10.8
124.7
123.6
130.4
126.7
129.8
129.7
0.6
5.6
1.6
1.0
2.3
1.2
2012
1
2
3
4
5P
6P
P: Preliminary
58
August 2012
3. Production capacity and operation ratio See graph 6-2
Period
Y-o-Y
change (%)
Operation
ratio index
(2005=100)
Y-o-Y
change (%)
Average
operation
ratio (%)
128.7
135.7
7.9
5.4
101.7
100.5
8.4
-1.2
80.9
79.9
Production
capacity index
(2005=100)
2010
2011
2010
I
II
III
IV
124.9
127.3
130.4
132.1
6.8
7.9
8.6
8.1
97.1
105.3
99.3
105.0
18.8
10.5
1.5
4.7
80.3
81.9
80.6
80.8
2011
I
II
III
IV
133.7
135.2
136.0
138.1
7.0
6.2
4.3
4.5
99.0
103.7
98.0
101.4
2.0
-1.5
-1.3
-3.4
82.2
79.9
79.6
78.0
2012
I
II
138.3
139.6
3.4
3.3
97.6
101.1
-1.4
-2.5
79.9
78.9
2010 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
124.2
124.5
125.9
126.3
127.4
128.3
129.5
130.6
131.1
131.6
131.9
132.9
6.2
6.5
7.5
7.3
8.2
8.3
8.5
9.0
8.3
8.2
8.2
8.0
96.9
88.1
106.4
105.8
103.5
106.7
104.9
96.1
96.8
106.1
104.8
104.2
31.5
10.4
16.2
12.4
10.9
8.4
6.2
5.6
-6.6
7.1
4.3
3.0
79.2
80.5
81.2
81.7
81.7
82.2
81.7
80.4
79.7
79.5
80.5
82.3
2011 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
133.1
133.4
134.5
135.0
135.2
135.4
135.7
135.8
136.6
137.8
138.2
138.2
7.2
7.1
6.8
6.9
6.1
5.5
4.8
4.0
4.2
4.7
4.8
4.0
101.6
88.5
106.8
103.0
103.1
104.9
101.0
95.3
97.6
102.9
101.9
99.5
4.9
0.5
0.4
-2.6
-0.4
-1.7
-3.7
-0.8
0.8
-3.0
-2.8
-4.5
83.6
81.8
81.3
79.4
79.9
80.5
79.9
79.8
79.0
78.8
78.4
76.9
2012 1
2
3
4
5P
6P
138.2
138.3
138.5
138.7
139.7
140.3
3.8
3.7
3.0
2.7
3.3
3.6
92.6
97.6
102.6
98.8
102.5
101.9
-8.9
10.3
-3.9
-4.1
-0.6
-2.9
80.5
81.0
78.1
79.2
79.4
78.2
P: Preliminary
Economic Bulletin
59
4. Consumer goods sales index See graphs 2-2, 2-3, 2-4 & 2-5
(constant prices, 2005 = 100)
Period
2010
2011
Consumer
goods
sales
index
Y-o-Y
change (%)
Durable
goods
Y-o-Y
change (%)
Semi-durable
goods
Y-o-Y
change (%)
Non-durable
goods
Y-o-Y
change (%)
121.2
126.4
6.7
4.3
157.1
174.0
14.8
10.8
113.5
118.3
6.8
4.2
113.8
115.0
2.2
1.1
2010
I
II
III
IV
116.6
118.8
120.4
128.8
9.5
4.8
7.6
5.2
148.7
149.9
158.5
171.5
29.6
5.6
17.0
10.6
105.9
114.6
100.4
133.3
2.7
6.4
6.5
10.9
110.8
112.9
118.0
113.4
2.9
3.4
3.2
-0.4
2011
I
II
III
IV
122.9
125.6
126.0
131.2
5.4
5.7
4.7
1.9
167.3
175.9
175.6
177.3
12.5
17.3
10.8
3.4
112.0
120.3
104.5
136.5
5.8
5.0
4.1
2.4
112.4
112.2
120.1
115.3
1.4
-0.6
1.8
1.7
2012
I
II
125.3
126.9
2.0
1.0
173.3
179.7
3.6
2.2
112.8
120.8
0.7
0.4
115.0
113.4
2.3
1.1
2010
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
115.5
113.9
120.3
116.5
121.2
118.8
120.8
116.6
123.9
125.8
127.8
132.9
6.5
12.5
9.7
7.3
3.6
3.7
9.0
9.3
4.8
4.3
6.9
4.6
145.5
141.4
159.2
144.5
147.1
158.0
163.9
154.4
157.1
165.3
171.9
177.3
39.8
21.9
28.4
16.6
2.2
0.0
18.6
26.0
7.7
14.2
12.0
6.1
108.4
99.7
109.6
113.6
120.9
109.2
103.4
90.1
107.6
129.8
133.0
137.0
4.6
2.7
1.0
3.9
6.7
8.8
8.4
4.2
6.4
11.8
9.2
11.7
108.2
111.7
112.6
110.5
116.0
112.1
115.4
116.3
122.3
111.7
111.9
116.7
-5.7
12.6
3.1
3.5
2.6
4.2
4.2
3.0
2.5
-4.2
2.5
0.6
2011
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
128.2
113.5
126.9
122.6
128.6
125.7
127.5
123.1
127.5
128.8
129.3
135.6
11.0
-0.4
5.5
5.2
6.1
5.8
5.5
5.6
2.9
2.4
1.2
2.0
164.9
153.7
183.2
167.0
175.8
184.9
185.5
173.3
167.9
169.8
183.0
179.0
13.3
8.7
15.1
15.6
19.5
17.0
13.2
12.2
6.9
2.7
6.5
1.0
120.1
101.7
114.1
120.9
126.4
113.7
107.5
93.4
112.6
134.7
130.2
144.6
10.8
2.0
4.1
6.4
4.5
4.1
4.0
3.7
4.6
3.8
-2.1
5.5
119.2
104.6
113.3
109.0
115.9
111.7
117.7
119.5
123.1
114.8
112.2
119.0
10.2
-6.4
0.6
-1.4
-0.1
-0.4
2.0
2.8
0.7
2.8
0.3
2.0
129.2
119.6
127.0
123.0
131.4
126.4
0.8
5.4
0.1
0.3
2.2
0.6
168.0
170.8
181.1
167.5
183.7
187.9
1.9
11.1
-1.1
0.3
4.5
1.6
119.4
104.2
114.9
120.1
128.8
113.6
-0.6
2.5
0.7
-0.7
1.9
-0.1
121.9
108.4
114.7
110.6
117.5
112.2
2.3
3.6
1.2
1.5
1.4
0.4
2012
1
2
3
4
5P
6P
P: Preliminary
60
August 2012
5. Consumer goods shipment index and consumer sentiment index

See graph 2-6
Period
2010
2011
Domestic consumer
goods shipment index
(2005=100)
Y-o-Y
change (%)
Durable
goods
Y-o-Y
change (%)
Non-durable
goods
Y-o-Y
change (%)
Consumer
sentiment index
122.4
121.1
5.2
-1.1
140.5
135.4
4.0
-3.6
115.2
115.3
5.8
0.1
2010
I
II
III
IV
118.9
120.2
122.6
128.1
10.4
4.7
2.3
3.9
137.3
140.2
140.3
144.1
21.1
0.2
0.6
-2.5
111.4
112.2
115.5
121.7
5.8
7.2
3.1
7.3
2011
I
II
III
IV
121.3
117.9
121.7
123.3
2.0
-1.9
-0.7
-3.7
135.5
135.2
137.1
133.9
-1.3
-3.6
-2.3
-7.1
115.6
111.0
115.5
119.1
3.8
-1.1
0.0
-2.1
2012
I
II
119.9
120.9
-1.2
2.5
135.5
137.6
0.0
1.8
113.6
114.3
-1.7
3.0
2010 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
124.2
110.7
121.7
120.8
117.6
122.2
122.4
121.3
124.1
129.7
128.7
125.9
15.4
6.6
9.0
7.3
3.6
3.2
2.9
9.4
-4.3
6.6
8.6
-2.9
136.5
130.2
145.1
136.0
136.2
148.4
146.7
134.7
139.6
146.7
145.8
139.9
37.9
12.7
15.4
12.8
-3.2
-6.3
0.3
7.1
-4.4
5.2
-0.6
-10.9
119.2
102.8
112.3
114.8
110.2
111.7
112.7
116.0
117.9
122.9
121.9
120.2
7.4
3.8
5.9
5.0
7.4
9.2
4.4
10.6
-4.2
7.3
13.7
1.3
113
111
110
110
111
112
112
110
109
108
110
109
2011 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
130.2
106.3
127.3
118.8
115.8
119.2
120.2
122.2
122.6
124.3
121.5
124.2
4.8
-4.0
4.6
-1.7
-1.5
-2.5
-1.8
0.7
-1.2
-4.2
-5.6
-1.4
134.0
126.1
146.5
133.7
132.0
139.9
142.5
132.9
136.0
132.5
131.4
137.8
-1.8
-3.1
1.0
-1.7
-3.1
-5.7
-2.9
-1.3
-2.6
-9.7
-9.9
-1.5
128.7
98.4
119.6
112.8
109.3
110.9
111.3
117.9
117.3
121.0
117.5
118.7
8.0
-4.3
6.5
-1.7
-0.8
-0.7
-1.2
1.6
-0.5
-1.5
-3.6
-1.2
108
105
98
100
104
102
102
99
99
100
103
99
2012 1
2
3
4
5P
6P
7
120.4
117.3
122.1
119.7
123.2
119.9
-
-7.5
10.3
-4.1
0.8
6.4
0.6
-
128.2
136.6
141.6
129.4
139.2
144.1
-
-4.3
8.3
-3.3
-3.2
5.5
3.0
-
117.2
109.5
114.2
115.9
116.9
110.2
-
-8.9
11.3
-4.5
2.7
7.0
-0.6
-
98
100
101
104
105
101
100
Source: Statistics Korea & The Bank of Korea
Economic Bulletin
61
6. Machinery orders received, domestic machinery shipment

and estimated facility investment index See graph 3-2
Domestic machinery orders received
excluding ship (billion won, constant prices)
Period
2011
Estimated
facility investment
index
(2005=100)
Domestic
machinery
shipment
excluding ship
(2005=100)
Total
Public
Private
25,240
2,599
22,641
13,848
133.1
134.2
Manufacturing
2011
I
ll
III
IV
6,445
6,676
5,703
6,416
470
728
404
998
5,975
5,948
5,300
5,418
3,695
3,677
3,109
3,367
126.7
144.5
133.3
127.9
127.8
147.3
128.4
133.2
2012
I
ll
6,292
5,435
960
383
5,332
5,052
2,986
2,771
138.5
143.5
130.3
136.5
2011 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
2,009
2,045
2,391
1,951
2,113
2,611
1,990
1,800
1,913
1,977
2,317
2,122
115
122
233
99
142
487
152
115
137
301
474
223
1,894
1,923
2,158
1,853
1,971
2,124
1,838
1,685
1,776
1,676
1,843
1,899
1,109
1,146
1,441
1,155
1,186
1,336
1,027
1,006
1,076
966
1,124
1,277
123.3
112.4
144.5
134.4
146.8
152.3
133.7
135.0
131.3
114.8
129.3
139.3
121.5
118.3
143.7
137.5
149.4
154.9
135.2
124.1
125.8
122.5
127.3
149.8
2012 1
2
3
4
5P
6P
2,012
2,490
1,790
1,816
1,883
1,736
115
712
133
98
82
204
1,897
1,778
1,658
1,719
1,801
1,532
1,131
1,013
842
941
972
859
129.3
139.8
146.4
141.3
145.4
143.8
119.7
132.5
138.6
134.0
135.9
139.5
11.0
11.2
12.8
0.7
1.4
2011
Y-o-Y change (%)

11.0
2011
I
ll
III
IV
19.5
10.0
3.4
11.5
-10.5
81.1
6.1
-3.1
22.7
4.9
3.2
14.7
26.8
3.1
3.1
21.0
5.4
5.7
-3.1
-4.7
9.2
3.6
-2.9
-3.7
2012
I
ll
-2.4
-18.6
104.5
-47.3
-10.8
-15.1
-19.2
-24.6
9.3
-0.7
2.0
-7.3
2011 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
15.6
28.0
16.2
9.0
-0.8
21.4
-1.7
6.8
6.1
18.0
33.9
-9.6
-32.1
14.0
-6.3
-22.3
23.4
205.2
44.9
8.0
-19.1
197.7
333.3
-72.8
20.7
29.0
19.3
11.4
-2.2
6.7
-4.3
6.7
8.8
6.4
13.7
24.3
9.8
29.8
40.9
9.4
-10.8
13.1
-3.9
12.0
2.5
0.0
13.6
54.4
19.4
-0.2
-0.2
2.2
11.7
3.5
-3.0
-2.9
-3.2
-10.9
-2.8
-1.0
11.5
14.1
4.0
0.2
8.5
2.2
-0.2
-3.5
-5.3
-4.7
-4.5
-2.0
2012 1
2
3
4
5P
6P
0.1
21.8
-25.1
-6.9
-10.9
-33.5
0.2
485.1
-43.0
-1.2
-42.4
-58.1
0.1
-7.5
-23.2
-7.2
-8.6
-27.9
2.0
-11.6
-41.6
-18.6
-18.1
-35.7
4.9
24.4
1.3
5.1
-1.0
-5.6
-1.5
12.0
-3.5
-2.5
-9.0
-9.9
P: Preliminary
62
August 2012
7. Value of construction completion and domestic construction

orders received See graphs 4-2 & 4-3
(current prices, billion won)
Period
Type of order
Private
Public
Private
35,508
51,273
93,428
28,459
60,333
Public
91,638
2011
Type of order
Domestic
construction
orders received
(total)
Value of
construction
completion
(total)
2011
I
ll
llI
lV
19,088
23,904
21,499
27,146
7,325
9,324
7,841
11,017
10,852
13,182
12,533
14,706
16,276
25,101
19,638
32,413
4,095
6,307
6,593
11,463
11,102
17,509
12,245
19,477
2012
I
ll
19,195
21,887
7,496
8,785
10,778
12,059
22,232
25,304
5,640
5,557
15,959
18,782
2011
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
6,208
5,247
7,633
7,053
7,430
9,422
6,786
6,901
7,813
8,022
7,945
11,179
2,480
2,015
2,831
2,724
2,817
3,783
2,432
2,513
2,896
2,963
3,250
4,804
3,475
2,991
4,386
3,978
4,222
4,982
4,046
4,056
4,431
4,678
4,300
5,729
4,927
4,088
7,262
6,670
6,984
11,448
5,098
7,300
7,240
7,111
8,745
16,556
1,330
1,397
1,369
1,432
1,895
2,979
1,819
1,504
3,270
2,295
2,948
6,220
2,904
2,546
5,651
4,609
4,598
8,303
3,103
5,509
3,633
4,630
5,668
9,179
5,901
5,978
7,316
6,714
7,139
8,033
2,227
2,364
2,905
2,608
2,822
3,355
3,382
3,363
4,034
3,818
3,997
4,224
7,033
8,193
7,006
6,374
7,186
11,744
1,973
2,175
1,491
1,438
1,063
3,056
4,920
5,912
5,127
4,483
6,028
8,271
-0.7
1.0
4.0
-2.5
9.5
2012
1
2
3
4
5P
6P
2011
Y-o-Y change (%)

-2.9
2011
I
ll
llI
lV
-6.2
-0.7
-2.4
5.1
-2.1
2.2
0.5
2.5
-9.4
-5.4
-4.7
6.9
-11.8
-1.7
1.5
22.4
-49.2
-8.4
-3.1
54.2
20.2
3.8
6.7
11.3
2012
I
ll
0.6
-8.4
2.3
-5.8
-0.7
-8.5
36.6
0.8
37.7
-11.9
43.7
7.3
2011
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
-4.5
-14.7
-0.8
-4.0
-4.0
4.7
-8.9
-3.4
5.3
8.8
-0.9
7.1
9.5
-12.6
-2.7
3.8
-0.8
3.3
-9.7
2.2
9.2
3.9
-0.1
3.4
-12.5
-17.2
-0.2
-10.7
-6.9
0.7
-8.3
-7.1
1.3
12.4
-2.3
10.4
-31.9
-16.0
14.2
0.1
-21.0
14.1
-32.8
72.8
-3.9
61.4
14.1
15.0
-46.6
-36.2
-59.6
-21.0
12.7
-12.2
-53.1
12.5
105.4
94.1
44.7
47.6
-33.3
10.7
119.0
3.0
-31.8
46.9
-8.4
101.8
-32.2
52.0
7.1
0.1
-5.0
13.9
-4.1
-4.8
-3.9
-14.7
-10.2
17.3
2.6
-4.2
0.2
-11.3
-2.7
12.4
-8.0
-4.0
-5.3
-14.8
42.8
100.4
-3.5
-4.4
2.9
2.6
48.4
55.7
9.0
0.4
-43.9
2.6
69.4
132.2
-9.3
-2.7
31.1
-0.4
2012
1
2
3
4
5P
6P
P: Preliminary
Economic Bulletin
63
8. Composite indices of business cycle indicators and BSI

See graphs 13-1, 13-2 & 13-3
Period
Leading
index
(2005=100)
Coincident
index
(2005=100)
Cycle of
coincident
index
(2005=100)
BSI (results)
BSI (prospects)
2008 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
115.8
115.3
114.7
114.4
113.9
113.0
112.3
112.8
113.7
114.4
114.5
114.9
119.9
120.4
120.7
120.8
120.8
120.4
120.3
120.6
121.1
121.1
120.1
118.1
103.1
103.0
102.9
102.6
102.1
101.4
100.9
100.7
100.7
100.3
99.1
97.1
95.2
95.6
101.1
101.7
98.1
79.1
80.8
83.1
76.8
64.6
53.7
52.4
103.0
94.8
102.1
98.1
104.7
95.3
83.2
80.8
98.3
84.9
63.7
55.0
2009 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
115.5
116.6
117.4
119.7
121.5
123.7
124.6
125.6
126.7
128.5
130.1
131.0
116.7
116.7
117.7
119.2
120.0
122.0
123.0
123.8
124.7
125.8
126.8
127.5
95.6
95.2
95.6
96.4
96.7
97.7
98.3
98.5
98.8
99.2
99.6
99.7
58.1
62.4
89.0
93.7
100.9
96.6
98.5
96.0
110.5
107.5
103.8
104.8
52.0
66.0
76.1
86.7
103.8
100.2
98.7
99.8
117.0
116.5
109.0
105.9
2010 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
131.5
131.5
131.5
131.2
131.6
132.1
132.9
133.2
133.5
133.0
133.3
133.5
128.2
129.4
130.2
131.1
131.8
132.4
133.3
133.6
133.6
133.5
134.0
135.0
99.8
100.3
100.5
100.7
100.8
100.9
101.1
100.9
100.5
99.9
99.9
100.2
99.2
98.7
113.1
108.9
111.9
109.4
105.0
98.6
104.1
104.3
103.5
102.1
103.1
102.3
116.2
111.2
113.4
108.9
107.3
100.7
111.1
113.1
107.1
104.2
2011 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
134.6
134.8
134.7
134.3
134.8
135.7
136.4
136.6
136.6
136.8
137.1
137.7
136.7
137.1
137.6
137.5
138.2
139.1
140.0
140.7
140.7
141.1
141.1
141.7
101.1
100.9
100.8
100.3
100.4
100.6
100.8
100.9
100.4
100.3
99.8
99.8
99.1
92.2
107.8
98.4
98.9
99.6
96.2
86.8
96.4
95.0
93.0
90.1
101.8
98.0
113.5
99.3
104.3
104.3
101.3
98.9
96.3
101.4
96.4
94.8
2012 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
138.7
140.1
140.6
141.2
141.3
142.7
-
141.9
143.1
143.3
143.6
143.5
144.0
-
99.6
100.0
99.6
99.4
98.9
98.9
-
88.6
92.2
101.4
97.5
95.7
90.4
82.1
-
88.3
91.0
106.1
98.4
104.7
98.3
89.7
82.7
Source: Statistics Korea & The Federation of Korean Industries
64
August 2012
9. Balance of payments (I) See graphs 5-1, 5-2, 5-3, 10-1 & 10-2
(million US$)
Period
2010
2011
Current
balance
Goods
trade
balance
Exports
29,393.5
26,505.3
40,082.5
30,950.3
Imports
Services
trade
balance
Income
trade
balance
Current
transfers
461,444.9
552,564.3
421,362.4
521,614.0
-8,626.0
-4,377.4
1,015.9
2,455.8
-3,078.9
-2,523.4
2010
I
II
III
IV
67.8
10,734.7
10,121.7
8,469.3
4,296.2
12,307.0
11,566.2
11,913.1
100,951.1
117,120.4
116,756.4
126,617.0
96,654.9
104,813.4
105,190.2
114,703.9
-4,067.7
-200.0
-1,787.5
-2,570.8
595.6
-901.4
1,289.2
32.5
-756.3
-470.9
-946.2
-905.5
2011
I
II
III
IV
2,610.3
5,492.2
6,896.0
11,506.8
5,842.7
7,661.0
7,197.7
10,248.9
127,691.2
142,722.8
141,393.5
140,756.8
121,848.5
135,061.8
134,195.8
130,507.9
-2,538.0
-796.0
-1,198.2
154.8
387.9
-824.8
1,314.9
1,577.8
-1,082.3
-548.0
-418.5
-474.7
2012P
I
II
2,559.9
11,144.7
2,612.4
8,477.7
134,627.6
138,829.3
132,015.2
130,351.6
-648.4
2,312.8
1,487.6
821.4
-891.7
-467.2
2010
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
-599.5
-549.2
1,216.5
724.5
4,923.1
5,087.1
4,779.0
1,668.5
3,674.2
5,489.1
2,024.4
955.8
891.0
633.2
2,772.0
3,333.9
3,625.4
5,347.7
4,934.9
2,224.0
4,407.3
5,403.2
3,241.2
3,268.7
31,782.7
31,111.0
38,057.4
38,740.1
38,083.5
40,296.8
40,473.4
37,186.1
39,096.9
42,008.4
41,822.0
42,786.6
30,891.7
30,477.8
35,285.4
35,406.2
34,458.1
34,949.1
35,538.5
34,962.1
34,689.6
36,605.2
38,580.8
39,517.9
-1,596.2
-1,495.3
-976.2
-561.5
932.8
-571.3
-219.6
-630.1
-937.8
-352.6
-201.2
-2,017.0
456.5
549.9
-410.8
-1,514.5
390.0
223.1
359.9
540.2
389.1
654.2
-775.6
153.9
-350.8
-237.0
-168.5
-533.4
-25.1
87.6
-296.2
-465.6
-184.4
-215.7
-240.0
-449.8
2011
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
154.7
1,126.1
1,329.5
1,277.6
2,183.9
2,030.7
3,773.6
292.6
2,829.8
4,132.9
4,564.6
2,809.3
1,557.9
1,530.8
2,754.0
3,327.6
1,633.8
2,699.6
4,728.0
371.5
2,098.2
3,547.2
3,997.2
2,704.5
42,662.8
37,228.3
47,800.4
47,879.4
47,149.8
47,693.6
48,555.9
45,634.9
47,202.7
46,451.7
46,656.2
47,648.9
41,104.9
35,697.2
45,046.4
44,551.8
45,516.0
44,994.0
43,827.9
45,263.4
45,104.5
42,904.5
42,659.0
44,944.4
-1,640.9
-569.1
-328.0
-178.8
15.5
-632.7
-690.9
-577.9
70.6
2.8
357.2
-205.2
703.7
542.6
-858.4
-1,581.9
517.3
239.8
72.3
699.6
543.0
643.5
445.6
488.7
-466.0
-378.2
-238.1
-289.3
17.3
-276.0
-335.8
-200.6
118.0
-60.6
-243.5
-178.7
2012P 1
2
3
4
5
6
-968.8
557.3
2,971.4
1,734.0
3,574.9
5,835.8
-1,624.0
1,310.1
2,926.3
1,750.8
1,751.9
5,011.0
41,383.8
45,863.0
47,380.8
45,820.3
46,162.8
46,846.2
43,007.8
44,552.9
44,454.5
44,069.5
44,446.9
41,835.2
-128.8
-1,219.3
699.7
549.7
1,593.0
170.1
1,191.7
613.4
-317.5
-422.0
341.6
901.8
-407.7
-146.9
-337.1
-144.5
-75.6
-247.1
P: Preliminary
Source: The Bank of Korea & Korea Customs Service
Economic Bulletin
65
10. Balance of payments (II) See graph 10-3

(million US$)
Period
Capital &
financial
account
Direct
investment
Portfolio
investment
Financial
derivative
2010
2011
-27,478.5
-31,964.6
-22,184.3
-15,694.0
42,479.8
10,312.2
828.9
-1,735.3
-21,414.4
-11,084.9
Changes in
reserve
assets
Errors and
omissions
-217.9
150.0
-26,970.6
-13,912.6
-1,915.0
4,960.1
Capital transfers
Other
& acquisition of
investment non-financial
assets
2010
I
II
III
IV
743.2
-8,818.0
-9,103.9
-10,299.8
-2,873.4
-2,898.6
-6,617.3
-9,795.0
11,725.9
7,207.0
15,659.9
7,887.0
829.9
-882.1
-241.4
1,122.5
-191.2
-6,727.8
-7,519.0
-6,976.4
-179.8
20.3
-8.2
-50.2
-8,568.2
-5,536.8
-10,377.9
-2,487.7
-811.0
-1,916.7
-1,017.8
1,830.5
2011
I
II
III
IV
-2,754.1
-6,808.0
-8,320.9
-14,081.6
-4,696.3
-4,138.1
-2,807.6
-4,052.0
-1,379.1
2,035.4
8,108.4
1,547.5
730.3
-542.9
-1,490.7
-432.0
6,251.6
-1,432.5
-18,692.6
2,788.6
-181.4
-111.9
235.5
207.8
-3,479.2
-2,618.0
6,326.1
-14,141.5
143.8
1,315.8
1,424.9
2,574.8
2012P I
II
-1,377.1
-7,986.0
-7,203.3
-3,015.2
15,156.1
5,481.3
1,355.0
-65.3
-4,232.7
-599.2
134.3
284.3
-6,586.4
890.7
-1,182.8
-3,158.7
2010 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
-1,176.7
2,454.3
-534.4
1,044.1
-5,831.6
-4,030.5
-3,182.5
-615.0
-5,306.4
-4,519.4
-3,996.0
-1,784.4
-936.1
-549.9
-1,387.4
-1,102.5
-677.6
-1,118.5
-1,758.4
-1,139.5
-3,719.4
-6,893.6
-1,119.5
-1,781.9
171.9
2,771.5
8,782.5
6,093.5
1,073.0
40.5
8,698.4
1,650.2
5,311.3
8,528.1
2,243.9
-2,885.0
230.0
593.4
6.5
126.2
-799.8
-208.5
-227.3
124.6
-138.7
366.2
251.4
504.9
6,410.8
-912.6
-5,689.4
5,337.6
-12,610.7
545.3
-3,633.0
-25.7
-3,860.3
-3,814.4
-3,627.2
465.2
-70.6
-46.1
-63.1
-120.5
100.2
40.6
-0.5
12.0
-19.7
-47.1
-25.3
22.2
-6,982.7
598.0
-2,183.5
-9,290.2
7,083.3
-3,329.9
-6,261.7
-1,236.6
-2,879.6
-2,658.6
-1,719.3
1,890.2
1,776.2
-1,905.1
-682.1
-1,768.6
908.5
-1,056.6
-1,596.5
-1,053.5
1,632.2
-969.7
1,971.6
828.6
2011 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
-1,282.0
-1,996.2
524.1
394.7
-3,956.7
-3,246.0
-2,469.2
-1,690.6
-4,161.1
-4,391.9
-6,191.9
-3,497.8
-1,725.4
-1,635.1
-1,335.8
-7.38.8
-1,254.7
-2,144.6
327.1
-1,036.4
-2,098.3
-1,132.2
-2,077.1
-842.7
904.6
-3,004.0
720.3
4,575.0
-1,140.1
-1,399.5
9,258.3
-2,923.0
1,773.1
3,919.1
39.8
-2,411.4
569.3
-363.3
524.3
-206.2
165.1
-501.8
526.6
-1,868.6
-148.7
108.5
-379.9
-160.6
1,773.3
5,126.9
-648.6
-145.9
-821.7
-464.9
-6,581.0
4,638.4
-16,750.0
2,784.7
-6.2
-640.0
-120.7
-32.7
-28.0
-33.6
-49.9
-28.4
13.8
41.5
180.2
109.7
98.1
10.1
-2,683.1
-2,088.0
1,291.9
-3,055.8
-855.4
1,293.2
-6,014.0
-542.5
12,882.6
-10,181.7
-3,866.6
-93.2
1,127.3
870.1
-1,853.6
-1,672.3
1,772.8
1,215.3
-1,304.4
1,398.0
1,331.3
259.0
1,627.3
688.5
2012P 1
2
3
4
5
6
1,305.6
-920.3
-1,762.4
157.7
-2,897.4
-5,246.3
-2,013.3
-3,572.6
-1,617.4
-940.4
-1,382.0
-692.8
7,737.0
6,115.2
1,303.9
-2,213.3
-937.1
-2,330.9
434.2
214.1
706.7
320.5
-390.4
4.6
-2,190.4
-1,526.1
-516.2
2,667.4
-1,600.9
-1,665.7
-1.7
36.0
100.0
102.3
144.2
37.8
-2,660.2
-2,186.8
-1,739.4
221.2
1,268.8
-599.3
-336.8
363.0
-1,209.0
-1,891.7
-699.7
-589.5
P: Preliminary
66
August 2012
11. Prices See graphs 11-1, 11-2 & 11-3

Consumer prices
(2010=100)
Producer prices
(2005=100)
Export & import prices

(2005=100)
Period
All Items
Commodity
Service
Core
All items
Commodity
Export
Import
2010
2011
100.0
104.0
100.0
105.7
100.0
102.7
100.0
103.2
115.1
122.1
117.0
125.8
106.4
111.1
145.0
164.4
2010 7
8
9
10
11
12
99.8
100.3
101.1
101.1
100.6
101.0
99.5
100.3
102.0
102.0
100.8
101.5
100.2
100.3
100.4
100.4
100.6
100.7
100.1
100.3
100.4
100.4
100.4
100.7
114.9
115.2
116.3
116.4
116.7
117.8
116.7
117.1
118.6
118.6
118.9
120.5
109.4
107.4
106.9
105.0
106.3
109.6
147.0
147.4
147.4
146.1
149.2
156.1
2011 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
102.2
102.9
103.3
103.4
103.6
103.8
104.3
105.0
104.9
104.7
104.8
105.2
103.4
104.4
104.9
104.6
104.7
105.0
105.9
107.1
107.1
106.6
106.8
107.3
101.2
101.7
102.1
102.4
102.6
102.8
103.1
103.3
103.1
103.2
103.3
103.5
101.4
102.1
102.4
102.6
103.0
103.4
103.7
103.8
103.7
103.6
103.9
104.3
119.7
120.5
122.0
122.4
122.3
121.9
122.4
122.8
122.9
122.9
122.6
122.9
122.7
123.9
125.8
126.2
126.0
125.5
126.0
126.7
126.9
126.9
126.5
127.0
108.6
110.6
113.5
111.8
110.2
109.4
108.0
109.4
113.1
114.7
112.0
112.4
156.1
160.9
166.5
167.6
163.9
163.2
161.4
162.1
168.1
169.5
166.8
167.2
2012 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
105.7
106.1
106.0
106.0
106.2
106.1
105.9
107.9
108.5
109.2
108.9
109.2
108.8
107.9
103.9
104.2
103.5
103.7
103.9
104.0
104.2
104.6
104.7
104.3
104.4
104.6
104.9
104.9
123.8
124.7
125.4
125.3
124.6
122.9
122.3
122.8
129.0
129.9
129.7
128.8
126.5
125.7
113.6
112.8
113.4
114.1
113.7
111.8
110.4
168.5
169.3
172.3
170.5
167.2
161.2
159.8
2010
2011
3.0
4.0
4.6
5.7
1.9
2.7
1.8
3.2
3.8
6.1
4.6
7.5
-2.6
4.4
5.3
13.4
2010 7
8
9
10
11
12
2.5
2.7
3.4
3.7
3.0
3.0
3.8
4.1
5.8
6.4
4.9
4.9
1.8
1.7
1.8
1.8
1.9
1.9
1.7
1.8
1.8
1.7
1.5
1.7
3.4
3.1
4.0
5.0
4.9
5.3
4.1
3.7
5.0
6.1
5.7
6.5
0.3
-1.7
-0.4
1.0
1.9
4.3
7.5
5.7
7.8
8.1
8.2
12.7
2011 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
3.4
3.9
4.1
3.8
3.9
4.2
4.5
4.7
3.8
3.6
4.2
4.2
5.2
5.9
6.1
5.0
5.2
5.8
6.4
6.8
5.0
4.5
6.0
5.7
2.0
2.3
2.6
2.7
2.7
2.9
2.9
3.0
2.7
2.8
2.7
2.8
2.1
2.6
3.0
3.0
3.2
3.5
3.6
3.5
3.3
3.2
3.5
3.6
6.2
6.6
7.3
6.8
6.2
6.2
6.5
6.6
5.7
5.6
5.1
4.3
7.7
8.2
9.1
8.4
7.6
7.6
8.0
8.2
7.0
7.0
6.4
5.4
4.9
5.6
9.1
7.7
3.3
-0.4
-1.3
1.8
5.8
9.2
5.4
2.5
14.1
16.9
19.6
19.0
13.2
10.5
9.8
10.0
14.0
16.0
11.8
7.1
2012 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
3.4
3.1
2.6
2.5
2.5
2.2
1.5
4.4
3.9
4.1
4.1
4.3
3.6
1.9
2.7
2.5
1.4
1.3
1.3
1.2
1.1
3.2
2.5
1.9
1.8
1.6
1.5
1.2
3.4
3.5
2.8
2.4
1.9
0.8
-0.1
4.2
4.1
3.3
2.8
2.2
0.8
-0.2
4.6
2.1
-0.0
2.0
3.2
2.2
2.2
7.9
5.2
3.5
1.7
2.1
-1.2
-1.0
Y-o-Y change (%)
Economic Bulletin
67
12. Employment See graphs 8-1, 8-2 & 8-3

Wage workers (thous.)
Economically active persons (thous.)

Period
Employed persons (thous.)
Unemployment (%)
Regular
Temporary
Daily
All industry Manufacturing S.O.C&service

2010
2011
24,748
25,099
23,829
24,244
4,028
4,091
18,214
18,595
3.7
3.4
16,971
17,397
10,086
10,661
5,068
4,990
1,817
1,746
2010 7
8
9
10
11
12
25,232
24,863
24,911
25,004
24,847
24,538
24,301
24,005
24,054
24,172
24,109
23,684
4,040
4,058
4,062
4,098
4,139
4,156
18,489
18,175
18,216
18,264
18,340
18,272
3.7
3.3
3.4
3.3
3.0
3.5
17,228
17,048
17,103
17,178
17,300
17,154
10,107
10,151
10,217
10,280
10,334
10,347
5,215
5,122
5,106
5,089
5,069
4,999
1,905
1,775
1,780
1,809
1,898
1,808
2011 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
24,114
24,431
24,918
25,240
25,480
25,592
25,473
25,257
25,076
25,409
25,318
24,880
23,196
23,336
23,846
24,303
24,661
24,752
24,636
24,495
24,318
24,673
24,589
24,125
4,148
4,149
4,122
4,108
4,137
4,135
4,079
4,031
4,014
4,044
4,054
4,071
18,007
18,019
18,244
18,536
18,731
18,812
18,844
18,739
18,595
18,856
18,921
18,833
3.8
4.5
4.3
3.7
3.2
3.3
3.3
3.0
3.0
2.9
2.9
3.0
16,832
16,856
17,065
17,357
17,626
17,720
17,667
17,510
17,378
17,608
17,650
17,496
10,305
10,390
10,543
10,618
10,708
10,716
10,718
10,710
10,764
10,796
10,838
10,824
4,848
4,781
4,782
4,928
5,064
5,132
5,137
5,031
5,047
5,094
5,047
4,986
1,680
1,684
1,740
1,812
1,854
1,872
1,811
1,769
1,567
1,718
1,765
1,686
2012 1
2
3
4
5
6
24,585
24,825
25,210
25,653
25,939
25,939
23,732
23,783
24,265
24,758
25,133
25,117
4,034
4,060
4,018
4,027
4,071
4,084
18,631
18,599
18,870
19,103
19,292
19,248
3.5
4.2
3.7
3.5
3.1
3.2
17,184
17,225
17,421
17,679
17,935
17,932
10,769
10,807
10,899
10,957
11,064
11,157
4,868
4,877
4,997
5,095
5,153
5,094
1,547
1,542
1,525
1,627
1,718
1,681
2010
2011
1.5
1.4
1.4
1.7
5.0
1.6
1.2
2.1
3.1
2.5
7.4
5.7
-0.7
-1.5
-7.4
-3.9
2010 7
8
9
10
11
12
1.9
1.3
1.1
1.4
0.9
2.0
2.0
1.6
1.0
1.3
1.3
2.0
6.2
7.9
6.6
6.2
7.4
7.3
1.5
0.7
0.3
0.7
0.4
0.9
3.9
3.5
2.5
2.9
3.0
3.6
7.7
7.2
6.4
6.8
7.6
7.4
-0.8
0.1
-0.9
-1.6
-3.6
-1.5
-2.4
-6.1
-7.8
-4.4
-1.7
-2.2
2011 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
0.1
1.6
2.2
1.5
1.5
1.7
1.0
1.7
0.7
1.6
1.9
1.4
1.4
2.1
2.0
1.6
1.5
1.9
1.4
2.0
1.1
2.1
2.0
1.9
5.7
6.7
5.1
2.9
2.5
2.9
1.0
-0.7
-1.2
-1.3
-2.1
-2.1
1.2
1.4
1.1
1.4
1.3
2.1
1.9
3.1
2.1
3.2
3.2
3.1
3.3
3.5
2.7
2.1
2.2
3.1
2.5
2.7
1.6
2.5
2.0
2.0
6.1
6.2
6.2
6.1
6.3
6.2
6.0
5.5
5.4
5.0
4.9
4.6
-0.3
-1.2
-3.9
-4.3
-3.0
-0.6
-1.5
-1.8
-1.2
0.1
-0.4
-0.3
-2.6
1.6
1.5
-1.3
-5.1
-3.4
-4.9
-0.3
-11.9
-5.0
-7.0
-6.7
2012 1
2
3
4
5
6
2.0
1.6
1.2
1.6
1.8
1.4
2.3
1.9
1.8
1.9
1.9
1.5
-2.8
-2.1
-2.5
-2.0
-1.6
-1.2
3.5
3.2
3.4
3.1
3.0
2.3
2.1
2.2
2.1
1.9
1.8
1.2
4.5
4.0
3.4
3.2
3.3
4.1
0.4
2.0
4.5
3.4
1.8
-0.7
-7.9
-8.5
-12.3
-10.2
-7.4
-10.2
Y-o-Y change (%)
68
August 2012
13. Financial indicators See graphs 9-1 & 9-4

(period average)
Yields (%)
Stock
Period
Call rate
(1 day)
CD
(91 days)
Corporate bonds
(3 years, AA-)
Treasury bonds
(3 years)
Treasury bonds
(5 years)
KOSPI
(end-period)
2008 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.2
5.2
4.9
4.0
3.3
5.8
5.3
5.3
5.4
5.4
5.4
5.5
5.8
5.8
6.0
5.6
4.7
6.6
6.3
6.1
5.9
6.2
6.7
7.0
7.1
7.5
8.0
8.6
8.4
5.4
5.1
5.2
5.0
5.3
5.7
6.0
5.8
5.8
5.1
5.0
4.0
5.5
5.1
5.2
5.0
5.4
5.8
6.0
5.8
5.8
5.2
5.2
4.3
1,624.68
1,711.62
1,703.99
1,825.47
1,852.02
1,674.92
1,594.67
1,474.24
1,448.06
1,113.06
1,076.07
1,124.47
2009 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
2.4
2.1
1.8
1.8
1.9
1.9
1.9
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
3.2
2.7
2.5
2.4
2.4
2.4
2.4
2.5
2.6
2.8
2.8
2.8
7.3
7.1
6.1
5.7
5.2
5.2
5.5
5.7
5.6
5.6
5.4
5.4
3.4
3.8
3.7
3.8
3.8
4.1
4.1
4.4
4.4
4.5
4.3
4.2
4.0
4.6
4.5
4.4
4.5
4.7
4.6
4.9
4.9
4.9
4.8
4.8
1,162.11
1,063.03
1,206.26
1,369.40
1,395.89
1,390.07
1,577.29
1,591.85
1,673.14
1,580.69
1,555.60
1,682.77
2010 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.2
2.3
2.3
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.9
2.9
2.8
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.6
2.6
2.7
2.7
2.7
2.8
5.4
5.3
5.0
4.7
4.5
4.7
4.8
4.7
4.4
4.1
4.2
4.2
4.3
4.2
3.9
3.8
3.7
3.8
3.9
3.7
3.5
3.2
3.4
3.3
4.8
4.8
4.5
4.4
4.4
4.4
4.5
4.3
3.9
3.7
4.0
4.0
1,602.43
1,594.58
1,692.85
1,741.56
1,641.25
1,698.29
1,759.33
1,742.75
1,872.81
1,882.95
1,904.63
2,051.00
2011 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
2.7
2.8
2.9
3.0
3.0
3.2
3.3
3.3
3.3
3.2
3.3
3.3
2.9
3.1
3.4
3.4
3.5
3.5
3.6
3.6
3.6
3.6
3.6
3.6
4.5
4.7
4.5
4.5
4.4
4.4
4.5
4.2
4.2
4.3
4.2
4.2
3.7
3.9
3.7
3.7
3.7
3.7
3.8
3.6
3.5
3.5
3.4
3.4
4.3
4.4
4.1
4.1
4.0
3.9
4.0
3.7
3.6
3.6
3.5
3.5
2,069.73
1,939.30
2,106.70
2,192.36
2,142.47
2,100.69
2,133.21
1,880.11
1,769.65
1,909.03
1,847.51
1,825.74
2012 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
3.3
3.3
3.3
3.3
3.3
3.3
3.1
3.6
3.5
3.5
3.5
3.5
3.5
3.3
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.3
4.0
3.9
3.0
3.2
3.4
3.6
3.5
3.4
3.3
3.1
3.5
3.6
3.7
3.6
3.5
3.4
3.6
1,955.79
2,030.25
2,014.04
1,981.99
1,843.47
1,854.01
1,881.99
Economic Bulletin
69
14. Monetary indicators See graph 9-5

(period average)
Period
(billion won)
Reserve money
M1
M2
Lf
2010
2011
67,585.1
75,232.0
399,412.3
425,675.1
1,639,675.1
1,708,984.5
2,096,534.8
2,974,440.3
2010 7
8
9
10
11
12
66,958.2
67,318.7
70,266.5
69,905.0
69,476.8
71,472.9
403,785.1
400,882.5
403,413.5
405,000.1
414,912.8
425,673.9
1,653,057.5
1,653,907.2
1,659,400.1
1,669,376.6
1,679,909.9
1,682,871.9
2,111,672.2
2,113.052.7
2,123.558.2
2,134,385.4
2,145,901.5
2,154,538.9
2011 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
73,540.8
75,432.1
73,012.7
73,206.1
73,828.5
74,705.5
74,069.7
75,642.3
77,942.2
76,944.6
76,617.3
77,842.5
429,368.1
432,482.8
430,936.6
425,420.5
423,994.7
421,885.3
418,973.1
422,649.3
425,196.4
421,480.1
423,111.9
432,602.2
1,676,448.8
1,674,390.5
1,677,475.9
1,684,792.3
1,690,543.0
1,697,204.2
1,705,451.5
1,719,437.8
1,729,531.1
1,742,645.4
1,753,296.4
1,756,597.4
2,152,814.0
2,148,254.1
2,152,736.5
2,163,485.7
2,175,557.3
2,189,729.2
2,208,624.3
2,230,191.9
2,243,675.6
2,263,627.7
2,279,234.1
2,288,816.9
2012 1
2
3
4
5
6
81,635.4
81,655.3
79,068.0
80,641.8
80,547.7
81,804.0
439,352.9
437,193.9
440,075.4
437,445.3
438,795.3
441,611.0
1,757,058.7
1,762,988.4
1,773,172.9
1,777,114.7
1,784,220.5
1,796,981.5
2,292,213.5
2,302,065.8
2,341,626.9
2,349,723.2
2,357,701.0
2,377,045.8
Y-o-Y change (%)

2010
2011
9.5
11.3
11.8
6.6
8.7
4.2
8.2
9.4
2010 7
8
9
10
11
12
12.7
11.1
17.8
9.8
13.6
14.1
11.1
11.0
10.2
9.0
11.8
12.9
9.3
8.5
8.1
7.6
7.4
7.2
8.8
8.0
7.7
7.2
7.3
6.9
2011 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13.0
13.3
11.2
13.9
8.8
12.8
10.6
12.4
10.9
10.1
10.3
8.9
12.6
11.5
11.6
9.6
7.4
5.4
3.8
5.4
5.1
4.1
2.0
1.6
6.5
5.0
4.3
3.9
3.7
3.0
3.2
4.0
4.2
4.4
4.4
4.4
6.6
5.2
4.7
4.5
4.4
4.0
4.6
5.5
5.7
6.1
6.2
6.2
2012 1
2
3
4
5
6
11.0
8.3
8.3
10.2
9.1
9.5
2.3
1.1
2.1
2.8
3.5
4.7
4.8
5.3
5.7
5.5
5.5
5.9
6.5
7.2
8.8
8.6
8.4
8.5
70
August 2012
15. Exchange rates See graphs 9-2 & 9-3
/US$
/100
/Euro
Period
End-period
Average
End-period
Average
End-period
Average
2010
2011
1,138.9
1,153.3
1,156.3
1,108.1
1,397.1
1,485.2
1,320.6
1,391.3
1,513.6
1,494.1
1,532.9
1,541.4
2010 7
8
9
10
11
12
1,187.2
1,189.1
1,142.0
1,126.6
1,157.3
1,138.9
1,207.3
1,179.9
1,167.0
1,123.4
1,126.2
1,147.6
1,370.0
1,406.0
1,363.3
1,390.7
1,373.4
1,397.1
1,377.7
1,380.2
1,384.2
1,371.1
1,366.6
1,376.7
1,552.4
1,505.9
1,556.0
1,569.3
1,518.3
1,513.6
1,540.3
1,523.3
1,518.7
1,559.6
1,541.3
1,515.4
2011 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1,114.3
1,127.9
1,107.2
1,072.3
1,080.6
1,078.1
1,052.6
1,071.7
1,179.5
1,104.5
1,150.3
1,153.3
1,120.1
1,118.1
1,122.5
1,086.8
1,083.5
1,081.3
1,059.5
1,073.2
1,118.6
1,155.5
1,132.3
1,147.5
1,356.6
1,380.7
1,331.9
1,313.8
1,335.6
1,335.7
1,353.2
1,396.8
1,536.6
1,458.0
1,475.7
1,485.2
1,356.3
1,351.0
1,376.2
1,304.8
1,333.6
1,342.8
1,333.4
1,391.4
1,456.5
1,508.2
1,460.0
1,473.4
1,514.0
1,549.5
1,563.5
1,591.2
1,549.7
1,560.5
1,507.9
1,547.3
1,601.4
1,562.7
1,532.9
1,494.1
1,495.4
1,524.6
1,572.6
1,569.4
1,551.3
1,555.4
1,515.4
1,538.7
1,542.4
1,584.0
1,536.6
1,511.0
2012 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1,125.0
1,126.5
1,137.8
1,134.2
1,177.8
1,153.8
1,136.2
1,145.9
1,123.4
1,125.9
1,135.6
1,154.3
1,165.5
1,143.4
1,473.1
1,399.2
1,380.7
1,412.0
1,489.1
1,453.8
1,453.6
1,488.7
1,433.7
1,364.1
1,393.9
1,447.1
1,469.1
1,446.4
1,478.2
1,516.3
1,513.4
1,501.7
1,456.6
1,435.0
1,393.1
1,477.2
1,486.0
1,487.1
1,495.6
1,478.6
1,462.3
1,407.0
2010
2011
-2.5
1.3
-9.4
-4.2
-3.1
5.4
-9.6
-1.3
-13.6
0.6
2010 7
8
9
10
11
12
-4.3
-4.5
-3.9
-6.2
-0.9
-2.5
-4.5
-4.7
-4.3
-4.4
-3.3
-1.6
5.4
5.5
3.4
5.9
1.9
10.6
3.0
5.8
3.9
5.4
4.8
5.8
-11.1
-15.4
-10.3
-11.9
-13.3
-9.6
-13.4
-13.8
-14.4
-10.5
-11.2
-11.1
2011 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
-3.6
-2.6
-2.1
-3.9
-10.0
-10.9
-11.3
-9.9
3.3
-2.0
-0.6
1.3
-1.6
-3.4
-1.3
-2.7
-6.8
-10.8
-12.2
-9.0
-4.1
2.8
0.5
0.0
5.4
6.3
9.4
10.7
1.3
-2.1
-1.2
-0.7
12.7
4.8
7.4
6.3
8.7
5.4
9.6
9.2
5.4
0.7
-3.2
0.8
5.2
10.0
6.8
7.0
-6.2
-1.3
3.0
7.6
5.1
5.8
-2.9
2.7
2.9
-0.4
1.0
-1.3
-8.1
-3.8
1.8
4.5
6.2
5.0
-1.6
1.0
1.6
1.6
-0.3
-0.3
2012 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1.0
-0.1
2.8
5.8
9.0
7.0
7.9
2.3
0.5
0.3
4.5
6.5
7.8
7.9
8.6
1.3
3.7
7.5
11.5
8.8
7.4
9.8
6.1
-0.9
6.8
8.5
9.4
8.5
-2.4
-2.1
-3.2
-5.6
-6.0
-8.0
-7.6
-1.2
-2.5
-5.4
-4.7
-4.7
-6.0
-7.2
Y-o-Y change (%)

10.6
6.3
Economic Bulletin
71
Editor-in-Chief
Park Chun-Sup (MOSF)
Editorial Board
Kim Young-Min (MOSF)
Shim Jae-Hak (KDI)
Lee In-Sook (KDI)
Coordinators
Choi Jae-Hoon (MOSF)
Cho Hyun-Joo (KDI)
Editors
Cho Eun-Hyung (MOSF)
David Friedman (MOSF)
Kim Dae-Hyun (MOSF)
Lee Ji-Youn (KDI)
Useful Economy-related Websites

Ministry of Strategy and Finance
http://english.mosf.go.kr
Ministry of Knowledge Economy
http://www.mke.go.kr/language/eng
Financial Services Commission
http://www.fsc.go.kr/eng
Financial Supervisory Service
http://english.fss.or.kr
Fair Trade Commission
http://eng.ftc.go.kr
Ministry of Labor
http://english.molab.go.kr/english
The Bank of Korea
http://www.bok.or.kr/eng
Statistics Korea
http://kostat.go.kr/portal/english

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Economic Bulletin Vol34 No8

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Vol. 34 | No.

1. External economic situation

5. Exports and imports

6. Mining and manufacturing production

7. Service sector activity

10. Balance of payments

11. Prices and international commodity prices

12. Real estate market

13. Industrial output and composite indices of business cycle

Economic News Briefing

The Green Book

1. External economic situation

54.1 (Jan 2012)

75.0 (Jan 2012)

136.4 (Jan 2012)

New home sales (m-o-m, %)

(Percentage change from previous period)

- Personal consumption expenditure

- Corporate fixed investment

- Housing construction investment

2. Annualized rate (%)

Source: US Department of Commerce

US GDP growth (q-o-q, annualized rate)

US nonfarm payroll employment (m-o-m change)

US federal funds rate and consumer prices

Fixed asset investment (accumulated)

2. Quarterly change: average of monthly change

Source: China National Bureau of Statistics

Unemployment rate (%)

10.8 (Jan 2012)

(Percentage change from previous period)

Chinas GDP growth and fixed asset investment

Japans GDP growth and industrial production

Eurozone GDP growth and industrial production

Consumer goods sales

Consumer goods sales

Consumer goods sales by type

- Large discounter sales

- Department store sales

- Credit card sales

- Domestic sales of gasoline

Income growth rate (y-o-y, %)

Department store and discount store sales (current value)

Domestically-made automobile sales

Consumer sentiment index

Despite a huge increase in transportation equipment investment, the facility investment

Facility investment index

Source: Statistics Korea

(Percentage change from same period in previous year)

Domestic machinery orders

Manufacturing average operation ratio

Facility investment adjustment

Corporate confidence seems to be slightly weak due to external uncertainties.

Business survey indices (base=100) for

Facility investment by type

Machinery orders and estimated facility investment index (3-month average)

- Civil engineering works

Value of completed construction (constant)

(Percentage change from same period in previous year)

Construction orders (current value)

Construction investment may improve thanks to improving leading indicators such as

Completed construction and housing construction

Leading indicators of construction investment

5. Exports and imports