The number of employees at some of the country’s largest firms hit a seven-year low in the second quarter of the year, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea on Monday. Government data showed that the number of employees at companies with workforces of more than 300 reached 2.46 million workers in the second quarter of this year, a decrease of 25,000 compared to a year ago. The fall i...

The number of new corporations set up in the first half of this year reached nearly 50,000, setting a new record amid steady overseas demands for local products, the government said Monday. The number of new corporations set up came to 49,424 in the January-June period, up 2.4 percent from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. Among the total, 10,107 compani...

Bank lending rates on new household loans inched down in June and interest rates paid by banks on new deposits slightly rose, central bank data showed Monday. The average interest rates on fresh household loans extended by local banks came to 3.41 percent in June, down 0.06 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. The BOK data came amid South Korea's efforts to ...

South Korea's central bank on Monday renewed its stance to maintain the current monetary easing policy to support growth for Asia's fourth-largest economy. The Bank of Korea said in a report submitted to the National Assembly that it will maintain its stance of monetary policy accommodation, noting the inflationary pressures on the demand side are not expected to be high, though the solid trend ...

South Korean stocks traded lower late Monday morning, tracking losses on Wall Street losses, although tech blue chips continued to gain ground, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index backtracked 5.37 points, or 0.22 percent, to hit 2,395.62 as of 11:20 a.m. Tech giant Samsung Electronics gained 0.9 percent, with chipmaker SK hynix adding 1.7 percent. Top automaker Hyund...

South Korea's exports to trade partners with which it has free trade agreements jumped nearly 18 percent in the first six months of the year on solid overseas demand, customs data showed Monday. Exports to 52 countries that have open trade pacts with South Korea reached $202.5 billion in the January-June period, up 17.9 percent from $171.6 billion tallied a year ago, according to the data releas...

South Korea said Monday that the latest North Korean missile launch had little impact on its financial market, but it will take swift and firm action against any unexpected developments. Pyongyang fired the Hwasong-14 shortly before midnight last Friday, following its first successful intercontinental ballistic missile launch on July 4. Defense experts said the latest provocation that drew swift...

The country's new ministry dedicated to small and medium-sized enterprises said Monday it will vitalize the local economy by expanding exports of products made by smaller companies. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said it aims to expand the proportion of exports made by SMEs to over 40 percent of all outbound shipments by 2022. Small and medium-sized companies accounted for 37.6 percent of ex...

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday following late last week's losses on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 2.62 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,398.37 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Most large caps traded mixed with market kingpin Samsung Electronics losing 0.42 percent and leading automaker Hyundai Motor shedding 1.67 percent. In contrast, leading steelm...

The medical community is reeling from the planned minimum wage hike next year, with small neighborhood clinics and hospitals appealing for at least a matching hike in billing rates, industry officials said Monday. The government and labor unions earlier this month agreed on a 16.4 percent hike in the minimum pay for next year, from 6,470 won ($5.76) to 7,530 won. The scale of the hike has drawn ...

South Korea’s semiconductor exports surged to record highs in the second quarter of this year, according to the Bank of Korea’s trade statistics Sunday. The country’s semiconductor export volume index hit 393.97, nearly four times the 100 benchmark in 2010. The export volume also marked a 20.2 percent increase compared to the second quarter of last year, when it stood at 327.86, and a 2.7 percen...

Kakao Bank, South Korea's second Internet-only bank, said Sunday it has attracted some 800,000 accounts four days since its launch, with combined deposits and loans hovering above 500 billion won ($445.2 million). The bank said the number of clients came to 826,000 as of 3:00 p.m., with deposits being estimated at 275 billion won. The newly established bank also rolled out loans worth 260 billio...

Yeongjong Island -- As South Koreans start taking summer vacation this weekend, Incheon International Airport on Sunday is packed with vacationers traveling overseas. The airport said a record number of some 109,000 is expected to use the airport Sunday to go overseas. The airport was packed with people early in the morning, carrying backpacks and carriers of casual clothes. Excited, some put o...

South Korea's exports are expected to continue to log double-digit growth for a while on the back of steady overseas demand for semiconductors, global market research firm Moody's said Sunday. "We expect annual export growth to keep rising at a double-digit pace thanks to the sustained uptick in the tech cycle lifting shipments of semiconductors and machinery," Moody's said in its weekly report....

Land prices nationwide skyrocketed in the first half of this year, pushing the increasing rate of land prices to a nine-year high and the amount of transactions to an 11-year high, data by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport showed. Land price surges were particularly led by Sejong, Busan and Jeju Island, with ample development plans.