{"id":2208059,"date":"2025-01-23T08:00:11","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T23:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2208059"},"modified":"2025-01-22T11:17:38","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T02:17:38","slug":"south-koreas-consumer-confidence-rises-but-remains-below-long-term-average","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2025\/01\/south-koreas-consumer-confidence-rises-but-remains-below-long-term-average\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea\u2019s consumer confidence rises but remains below long-term average"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">South Korea\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bok.or.kr\/portal\/bbs\/B0000501\/view.do?nttId=10089349&amp;searchCnd=1&amp;searchKwd=&amp;depth2=200038&amp;depth3=201263&amp;depth=201263&amp;pageUnit=10&amp;pageIndex=1&amp;programType=newsData&amp;menuNo=201264&amp;oldMenuNo=201263\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Composite Consumer Sentiment Index<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for January rose to 91.2, a 3.0-point increase from December\u2019s 88.2, marking a modest rebound from the lowest point recorded in 2024. Despite the uptick, the index remains well below the long-term average of 100, indicating persistent consumer pessimism. Key components such as future living conditions and household income outlook showed improvement, while the assessment of current economic conditions dipped further to 51.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Inflation expectations for the next year edged down by 0.1 percentage points to 2.8%, while three- and five-year projections held steady at 2.6%. The Bank of Korea noted that optimism about future economic conditions rose significantly, with the future economic outlook index jumping by 9 points to 65. However, perceptions of current conditions and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2025\/01\/job-market-struggles-highlight-south-koreas-economic-vulnerabilities-in-2025\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">employment opportunities<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> remain subdued.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>WHY IT MATTERS<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Constitutional Court\u2019s pending ruling on President Yoon Suk-yeol\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2024\/12\/timeline-the-swift-rise-and-fall-of-martial-law-in-south-korea\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">martial law declaration<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> could lead to a power shift to the main opposition Democratic Party, which may be fueling hopes for economic reforms and expanded welfare measures. This likely explains the notable rise in optimism for future conditions. However, current political uncertainty may be weighing on consumers\u2019 assessment of the present economic environment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the international front, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2025\/01\/trump-returns-to-power-with-policies-that-could-strain-us-south-korea-relations\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Donald Trump\u2019s return<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to the U.S. presidency introduces risks for South Korea\u2019s export-dependent economy. Renewed \u201cAmerica First\u201d policies could result in tariffs targeting South Korea\u2019s industries. With South Korea maintaining a trade surplus with the U.S., Seoul will likely come under pressure to recalibrate trade balances.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trump\u2019s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement and increase energy exports from Alaska offer opportunities and challenges. While U.S. energy exports could bolster South Korea\u2019s energy security, they also threaten to undermine the country\u2019s ESG commitments, potentially eroding its global leadership on green initiatives.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-tags\"><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/business-economy\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Business &amp; Economy<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/culture-society\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Culture &amp; Society<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/domestic-politics\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Domestic Politics<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/inter-korean-foreign-relations\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Inter-Korean &amp; Foreign Relations<\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>South Korea\u2019s Composite Consumer Sentiment Index for January rose to 91.2, a 3.0-point increase from December\u2019s 88.2, marking a modest rebound from the lowest point recorded in 2024. Despite the uptick, the index remains well below the long-term average of 100, indicating persistent consumer pessimism. Key components such as future living conditions and household income [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10407,"featured_media":2208060,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[24,25,27,28],"class_list":["post-2208059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-briefings","tag-business-economy","tag-culture-society","tag-domestic-politics","tag-inter-korean-foreign-relations"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>South Korea\u2019s consumer confidence rises but remains below long-term average - Korea Pro<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2025\/01\/south-koreas-consumer-confidence-rises-but-remains-below-long-term-average\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"South Korea\u2019s consumer confidence rises but remains below long-term average - Korea Pro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"South Korea\u2019s Composite Consumer Sentiment Index for January rose to 91.2, a 3.0-point increase from December\u2019s 88.2, marking a modest rebound from the lowest point recorded in 2024. 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