S. Korea becomes EU’s 7th-largest source of imports: KITA

South Korea has risen to become the European Union's seventh-largest source of imports in the first four months of this year, eclipsing Japan and Russia for the first time, according to the Korea International Trade Association on Thursday. The value of the EU's imports from Korea climbed 10.7 percent on-year from January to April while the European trade bloc’s total imports dropped 8.6 percent during the same period, a report released by KITA showed. Its imports from Korea in t

Sept. 14, 2023

FTC chief vows strict scrutiny over platform monopolies

SEJONG -- Fair Trade Commission Chairman Han Ki-jeong on Thursday vowed that the antitrust regulator will continuously make efforts to promote fair and innovative competition in the fast-evolving digital market, while closely monitoring platform monopolization. “As the paradigm shift to the digital economy is expected to proceed rapidly, we’ll strive to establish institutional foundations for the digital market,” Han said in a press conference held at the Sejong Government Comp

Sept. 14, 2023

[Contribution] The beginning of 50 more years with Indonesia

By Woo Tae-hee Indonesia, a large economy with a population of 270 million people and an average age of 29, has impressively sustained an annual growth rate exceeding 5 percent in recent years. In 2018, Standard Chartered projected that Indonesia would become the world’s fourth-largest economy by 2030. Moreover, Indonesia is a nation endowed with abundant natural resources. Notably, the recent surge in the electric vehicle market has generated a huge demand for nickel, of which Indon

Sept. 13, 2023

S. Korea, Africa bolster ties for growth

Economy-related public officials from South Korea and Africa gathered in Busan to attend the 7th Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation (KOAFEC) Ministerial Conference, discussing ways to bolster the economic cooperation between two entities and explore new business opportunities. The event, organized by the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Export-Import Bank of Korea, kicked off on Tuesday in the southern port city of Busan. The four-

Sept. 13, 2023

Import prices up by most in 17 months in August on higher oil prices

South Korea's import prices spiked by the most in 17 months last month due to the higher price of crude oil, central bank data showed Wednesday. The import price index rose 4.4 percent in August from a month earlier, following a 0.2 percent fall the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The rise marks the sharpest since March last year, when the comparable figure was 7.6 percent. From a year earlier, the prices fell 9 percent. Import prices are a major fa

Sept. 13, 2023

S. Korea's on-year job additions rebound in Aug.

South Korea's job additions rebounded in August after slowing for four consecutive months, but the growth was led mostly by seniors, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people came to 28.67 million in August, up 268,000 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The country's jobless rate came to 2 percent last month, down 0.1 percentage point over the period. In July, the country added 211,000 jobs on-year, the lowest in 29 months. South Korea&#

Sept. 13, 2023

S. Korea to double ceiling on loan program for Latin America

South Korea's finance ministry said Tuesday it has signed an agreement with the Inter-American Development Bank to double the ceiling on its loan program in a bid to support infrastructure development in Latin America. Asia's No. 4 economy plans to raise the ceiling of the cooperative loan program from $500 million to $1 billion starting next year under the letter of intent signed between South Korea's Economic Development Cooperation Fund and the IDB. The signing ceremony took pl

Sept. 12, 2023

[Herald Interview] OECD competition chief touts Korea's antitrust fight against Google

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's competition chief, Frederic Jenny, lauded South Korea for challenging Google’s monopoly in the fast-evolving digital market, saying that Korean authorities have sent a lot of signals to the US tech giant and beyond. “Google (now) understands that Korea is very serious about maintaining competition and not allowing practices that are anti-competitive,” Jenny, the chair of the OECD Competition Committee, told The Ko

Sept. 11, 2023

Exports down 7.9 pct during first 10 days of Sept.

South Korea's exports fell 7.9 percent on-year in the first 10 days of September due to weak shipments of chips and petroleum products, data showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments reached $14.9 billion in the Sept. 1-10 period, compared with $16.1 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports fell 11.3 percent on-year to $16.5 billion during the period, resulting in a trade deficit of $1.64 billion. By segment, exports of chips,

Sept. 11, 2023

Tax revenue falls on sluggish corporate earnings

South Korea’s tax revenue for this year is likely to fall below the initial estimate by around 60 trillion won ($44 billion) to hover at about 340 trillion won, as major revenue sources such as corporate tax and capital gain tax remain sluggish due to the slow economy. The Finance Ministry is expected to release an update on the estimated tax revenue this week, including corporate taxes prepaid until August. The upcoming announcement comes as the country’s tax revenue has been fallin

Sept. 10, 2023

S. Korea, Uzbekistan strike deal on outstanding payment in gas project

South Korea's finance ministry said Friday it has reached an agreement with Uzbekistan to settle an outstanding payment of around $1 billion involving a joint gas project. The agreement was reached during Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho's visit to the Central Asian nation, where he held a bilateral meeting with his Uzbek counterpart, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. South Korea and Uzbekistan launched a gas project in 2008 with a joint venture named Uz-Kor Gas Chemical,

Sept. 8, 2023

S. Korean, Japanese customs agencies hold first bilateral meeting in 7 years

South Korea's customs agency said Friday it has held the first bilateral meeting with its Japanese counterpart in seven years amid signs of improving economic relations. Commissioner Ko Kwang-hyo met his Japanese counterpart in Seoul on Thursday to discuss a wide array of issues, which marked the first of its kind since 2016, according to the Korea Customs Service. During the meeting, the two countries exchanged opinions on addressing global protectionism, as well as the escalating concerns

Sept. 8, 2023

Foreigners turn net sellers of S. Korean stocks in August

Foreign investors dumped nearly 1.18 trillion won ($883.6 million) worth of South Korean stocks in August, turning net sellers in the month, data showed Friday. With the sell-off, cumulative holdings of listed stocks by foreigners came to 679.1 trillion won, or 26.1 percent of total market capitalization, as of the end of last month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. Foreigners also sold off a net 383 billion won worth of South Korean bonds last month, switching to net sellers afte

Sept. 8, 2023

S. Korea logs current account surplus for 3rd month in July

South Korea logged a current account surplus for the third straight month in July on the back of a widened trade surplus and dividend payments from overseas, central bank data showed Friday. The country's current account surplus reached $3.58 billion in July, following the surplus of $1.93 billion in May and $5.87 billion in June, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. July's surplus came as the country's trade balance remained in the black and dividend income incre

Sept. 8, 2023

Lotte Mart to create special shopping zones for foreign travelers

Lotte Mart, one of South Korea's major supermarket chains, will create special shopping zones for foreign visitors at its branches frequently visited by inbound travelers, its operator said Wednesday. Last month, Lotte Mart first created a 20-meter-long special shopping zone, named "Must-Haves of Korea: K-Food," at its Seoul Station branch, where about 30 percent of visitors were foreigners in the first eight months of this year, according to Lotte Shopping Co. Lotte Mart plans to

Sept. 6, 2023

S. Korean shipyards rank 2nd in new global orders in Aug.

South Korean shipbuilders lagged far behind their Chinese rivals in new global orders to place second worldwide in August amid sinking demand, industry data showed Wednesday. Local shipyards won a combined 270,000 compensated gross tons in new orders last month, accounting for 13 percent of the global total at 2.05 million CGTs, according to the data from global market researcher Clarkson Research Service. The global total, or 71 vessels, was 30 percent lower than that from a year earlier. Chine

Sept. 6, 2023

S. Korea's monetary, budget tightening policies 'right': IMF

The International Monetary Fund has said South Korea's latest restrictive monetary and budget policies are headed in the right direction and anticipated the economy will speed up recovery in the second half, Seoul's finance ministry said Tuesday. Harald Finger, Korea missions chief at the Washington-based organization, made the remark during a virtual meeting with Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. During the meeting between the IMF and th

Sept. 5, 2023

S. Korea's consumer prices up 3.4% in Aug.

South Korea's on-year consumer price growth surpassed 3 percent in August after falling below the mark for two consecutive months amid higher prices of agricultural and manufactured goods, data showed Tuesday. Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 3.4 percent last month from a year earlier, compared with a 2.3 percent increase in July, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It was the highest on-year rise since the 3.7 percent growth tallied in April. In June, inflation fell

Sept. 5, 2023

S. Korea's economic growth gathers pace in Q2; outlook still murky

South Korea's economy grew at a slightly faster pace in the second quarter of this year than three months earlier despite a slump in exports, central bank data showed Tuesday. The country's real gross domestic product -- a key measure of economic growth -- increased 0.6 percent on-quarter in the April-June period, matching an earlier estimate, according to the Bank of Korea. The second-quarter expansion is higher than the 0.3 percent expansion in the first quarter. Asia's fourth-l

Sept. 5, 2023

NFT tech expands realm of future art

With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence technology, the role of NFT technology goes beyond protecting the copyrights of digital art collectibles, and into expanding the realm of art, with diverse implications for the future art world. Throughout the NFT 2023 Seoul Conference, held at Coex in southern Seoul on Friday, the future roles of NFT technology were illuminated. Dedicated to the theme, “the Utilization and Role of NFT Art in the Future Art,” the second part of th

Sept. 4, 2023