South Korea's unemployment rate hit an all-time low last month, but the pace of job growth slowed down for the third month in a row amid economic uncertainties, data showed Friday. The number of employed people stood at 28.41 million in August, up 807,000 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It is the highest on-year rise for any August since 2000, when the c...

South Korea's import prices declined for the second straight month in August as global oil prices fell amid concerns about global economic slowdown, central bank data showed Friday. The import price index fell 0.9 percent in August from a month earlier after it declined 2.6 percent on-month in July, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The BOK attributed the decline t...

South Korea's national debt has risen further despite an increase in tax revenue, due largely to the growing spending on supporting pandemic-hit small merchants and other vulnerable groups, data showed Thursday. The total debt had stood at 1,022 trillion won ($732.88 billion) as of end-July, up 14.5 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the data by the Finance Ministry. As of end-2021...

SEJONG -- Shipping costs for container cargo bound for the west coast of the United States soared more than 30 percent in August from a year earlier, but their growth rate slowed from the previous month, government data showed Thursday. The average freight rate for a 40-foot container from Asia's fourth-largest economy to the US west coast reached 14.31 million won ($10,300) last month, up 32.3 ...

Despite in-house resistance, preparations to relocate the state-run Korea Development Bank to Busan from Seoul are underway, the policy lender’s chief said Wednesday, saying that he would work to persuade employees. “As the man in charge, I do feel for my employees facing potentially a difficult time,” KDB Chairman & CEO Kang Seog-hoon said, referring to workers holding rallies to protest the re...

The industry ministry said Wednesday it will run a task force to support steelmakers with post-typhoon recovery work and to check the supply situation of steel products to minimize damage by Typhoon Hinnamnor. Last week, Typhoon Hinnamnor hit the southern part of South Korea and affected steelmaking facilities run by major companies, including POSCO and Hyundai Steel. POSCO had halted blast furn...

Speculation over a third large rate hike of 75 basis points by the US Federal Reserve next week runs higher than ever, but the Bank of Korea sought to reassure market watchers Tuesday that preparations to cushion its impact were underway. “We have to step up monitoring of capital inflows and outflows and currency markets,” said Lee Seung-heon, senior deputy governor at the central bank, warning ...

The use of disposable cups has soared during the pandemic years, with the annual number exceeding 1 billion for the first time last year, a report showed Tuesday. According to an Environment Ministry report submitted to Rep. Lee Joo-hwan of the ruling People Power Party, the number of single-use plastic and paper cups consumed at 14 cafe and four popular fast-food chains was 4.34 billion over th...

South Korea's finance ministry said Tuesday it will push to introduce fiscal rules that would mandate a sharp drop in the deficit in case the national debt exceeds 60 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The move came in line with the Yoon Suk-yeol government's push to implement a belt-tightening policy as part of effort to improve the country's financial soundness following years of expansi...

South Korea's exports fell 16.6 percent on-year in the first 10 days of September due mainly to fewer working days over the Chuseok holiday, with its trade deficit widening on high energy costs, data showed Tuesday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $16.25 billion in the Sept. 1-10 period, compared with $19.48 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. ...

South Korea’s gross domestic product -- the value of all goods and services created in the country -- improved slightly in the second quarter but underperformed that of most OECD countries on the US and China slowdowns, the latest Bank of Korea data showed Monday. The central bank found that the GDP rose 0.7 percent on-quarter in the April-June quarter, an incremental improvement from the 0.6 pe...

From delivery riders to luxury shoppers, young people flock to less stressful, better compensated part-time jobs

Shin Jeong-eum, a 61-year-old Seoulite, remembers her childhood when her family was delighted with beef wrapped in a simple paper package and a carton of eggs held together by straw as Chuseok gifts. As for her, Shin's favorite moments in the 1970s were receiving new clothes from her relatives as they celebrated the traditional mid-autumn harvest festival, honoring their ancestors. “Nowadays, i...

South Korea said Thursday it plans to spend 74 trillion won ($53.4 billion) on supporting low-income families, senior citizens and other vulnerable people next year in a bid to ease the burden of rising living costs. The government plans to increase its budget spending by 8.7 trillion won in 2023 on-year to prevent vulnerable people from being left in a blind spot, according to the finance minis...

South Korea posted a current account surplus for the third straight month in July, but the surplus plunged as the goods balance turned red for the first time in about 10 years due to fast-rising import costs of energy and other commodities, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's current account surplus came to $1.09 billion in July, compared with a surplus of $5.61 billion posted a mo...