Most Popular
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1 in 3 Koreans live alone, family types becoming diverse
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Korea, Japan finance chiefs vow to tame rampant FX market volatility
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US 'incredibly concerned' about suspected NK-Iran military ties
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K-pop group's manager dismissed for setting up spycam in theater dressing room
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K-pop singer lost consciousness after being hit by foul ball, cancels show
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Korean Muslim YouTuber's plan to build mosque in Incheon goes viral
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[Kim Seong-kon] Democracy and the future of South Korea
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Yoon's office denies considering liberal figures for key posts
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Why is Apple Pay struggling to get purchase in Korea?
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Seoul says Fu Bao loan 'not going to happen'
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Korean economy tipped to grow below 2% on virus
Major foreign investment banks (IBs) and economic institutes have forecast South Korea's economic growth to be below 2 percent in 2020 due to the fallout of the fast-spreading novel coronavirus. According to a recent survey by Bloomberg, five out of 42 foreign IBs and economic think tanks predicted Asia's fourth-largest economy to expand in the 1 percent range this year, hit by the COVID-19 outbreak. ING Group offered a growth forecast of 1.7 percent for the Korean economy, down from a 2.2 pe
Feb. 24, 2020
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Deepening COVID-19 crisis triggers rate cut speculations
While South Korea grapples with the rising new coronavirus infections, some market watchers are of the view that the central bank is likely to push for a base rate cut to minimize the downside economic impacts. Though many analysts are inclined toward a rate freeze scenario, the current economic situation could force the Bank of Korea to stipulate a record-low key interest rate, according to some. The three-year Treasury bond rate stood at 1.18 percent as of Friday, down 0.14 percentage poin
Feb. 23, 2020
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Korea's exports up 12.4% in first 20 days of February
South Korea's exports moved up 12.4 percent in the first 20 days of February, customs data showed Friday, led mostly by chips and auto parts. The country's outbound shipments reached $26.3 billion in the Feb. 1-20 period, compared with $23.3 billion a year earlier, according to the Korea Customs Service. By product, exports of chips soared 15.4 percent, and outbound shipments of auto parts surged 40.6 percent. But the average daily exports -- which reflect working days -- fell 9.3 percent on
Feb. 21, 2020
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S. Korea takes aim at Gyeonggi to curb housing prices
South Korea’s government on Thursday unveiled additional regulations to curb housing prices, this time focusing mostly on Seoul’s outskirts that have recently gained popularity. The latest measures marked the 19th housing-related regulations announced since the Moon Jae-in administration took office in May 2017. They were also the first to focus primarily on non-Seoul areas. The Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and the Financi
Feb. 20, 2020
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[News Focus] Number of de facto jobless up 440,000 in 2 months
SEJONG -- South Korea saw the number of de facto jobless people -- meaning those underemployed -- increase sharply in recent months, the latest data showed. According to Statistics Korea, the “extended (or sentiment-reflected)” unemployment rate climbed to 12.1 percent in January 2020. The figure indicates that 3.58 million of the extended economically active population of 29.65 million are de facto unemployed. This far exceeds the nation’s official jobless rate (4.1 pe
Feb. 20, 2020
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Vice finance minister briefs US investors, credit raters on Korean economy
Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom briefed US investors and officials from credit rating firms in New York on South Korea’s economic situation and government policies, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Thursday. Kim first met with 25 investors from New York-based investment banks and asset managers, including Blackrock, Morgan Stanley and UBS, in a meeting held Wednesday (US time). The vice finance minister explained that while Korea’s major indexes and chip prices have s
Feb. 20, 2020
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S. Korea's trade with Vietnam up 16.5% annually since FTA
South Korea's trade with Vietnam has expanded 16.5 percent annually since the two countries implemented a free trade agreement in 2015, data showed Thursday. The combined trade volume between the two countries reached $69.2 billion in 2019, compared with $37.6 billion posted in 2015, according to the Korea Customs Service. South Korea and Vietnam implemented the FTA in December 2015, after kicking off their first negotiations in 2012. Over the cited period, South Korea's trade with China, t
Feb. 20, 2020
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S. Korea goes all-out to boost exports amid new coronavirus spread
SEJONG -- South Korea said Thursday it plans to utilize all necessary measures to help local firms weather the economic fallout from the new coronavirus. In January, South Korea's exports fell 6.1 percent on-year, but when measured by working days, they increased 4.8 percent, marking the first on-year increase in 14 months. The January figure is being seen as a sign of recovery. Outbound shipments nosedived 10.3 percent in 2019 amid a prolonged trade feud between the United States and China
Feb. 20, 2020
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Refiners, chemical firms feared to take further hit from virus
The new coronavirus outbreak is expected to deal a fresh blow to South Korean oil refiners and chemical makers already reeling from worsening profits, industry sources said Thursday. The pessimistic outlook comes as South Korean refineries' exports to China, their largest overseas market, are projected to drop sharply because of the COVID-19 shock. South Korean refiners resort to exports more than domestic demand for their sales. China is estimated to account for nearly 20 percent of their to
Feb. 20, 2020
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S. Korea's economic growth nearly halves in past 2 decades
South Korea's economic growth rate has nearly halved in the past two decades due to low productivity and regulations, a local think tank said Thursday. South Korea's economy grew an average of 5 percent between 2001 and 2005 before falling to 2.7 percent during the 2016-2019 period, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement. South Korea ranked fifth among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a group of 36 mostly rich and advanced nations, in terms
Feb. 20, 2020
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S. Korean producer prices edge up in Jan.
South Korea's producer prices inched up in January from the prior month due to the increased cost of farm and fishery goods, central bank data showed Thursday. The producer price index for all commodities and services stood at 103.93 last month, up 0.2 percent from December, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. From the same month a year earlier, the country's producer prices climbed 1 percent. Producer prices serve as a key barometer of future inflation. The BOK said prices
Feb. 20, 2020
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S. Korea's IPOs up 22% in 2019
The value of South Korea's initial public offerings rose 22.8 percent in 2019 from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday. IPO proceeds came to 3.21 trillion won ($2.69 billion) last year, compared with 2.61 trillion won in 2018, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service. Still, the number of companies that made market debuts last year fell to 73 from 77 in 2018, the data showed. Main IPOs included Hanwha Systems Co., the defense industry unit of Hanwha Group, and SNK Corp.,
Feb. 19, 2020
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[News Focus] Korea’s household debt surges 100% in a decade
SEJONG -- In 2013, South Korea saw its collective outstanding loans plus credit-based payment services extended to the household sector top 1,000 trillion won ($842 billion) for the first time in history. The mounting household debt was somewhat attributable to eased lending regulations on the debt-to-income ratio in 2012 during the Lee Myung-bak administration. The Park Geun-hye administration further pushed for double-track deregulation, under which the loan-to-value ratio as well as the de
Feb. 18, 2020
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World Bank to highlight Korea’s economy, technology
The World Bank will host a special event that highlights South Korea’s economy and innovative technology this week with the Korean government dispatching a special delegation, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Monday. The government delegation of around 140 officials led by Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom will attend Korea-WBG Partnership Week for Innovation and Technology, which kicks off Tuesday and runs for three days at the World Bank headquarters in Washington. Officials f
Feb. 17, 2020
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Moody's cuts S. Korea's 2020 growth outlook to 1.9% over virus fallout
Ratings agency Moody's on Monday cut its forecast for South Korea's 2020 economic growth to 1.9 percent from 2.1 percent, citing the economic fallout of the new coronavirus. The latest forecast by Moody's is lower than the Bank of Korea's prediction of 2.3 percent expansion for this year. The spread of COVID-19 in China and around the world is expected to have a negative impact on tourism and industrial production in Asian nations, including South Korea and Japan, Moody's said. Moody's als
Feb. 17, 2020
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14 online sellers of face masks involved in illegal practice: FTC
SEJONG -- The country's anti-trust regulator said Monday it has found 14 online sellers of face masks in possible violation of fair trade laws, amid surging demand for protective masks over the spread of the novel coronavirus. Some of the online sellers have been accused of unilaterally canceling orders and selling face masks at higher market prices, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said in a statement. For instance, one online vendor unilaterally canceled orders for 119,450 face masks betwee
Feb. 17, 2020
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S. Korea's monetary policy must maintain accommodative stance: regional think-tank
SEJONG -- South Korea must maintain its accommodative policy stance as it seeks to prop up a slowing economy amid muted inflationary pressure, a regional think-tank said Monday. "Given ample fiscal space, the fiscal stance should remain expansionary in the near term with more spending allocated toward restructuring the economy," the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) said in a report. "At the same time, monetary policy should be accommodative in view of moderating ec
Feb. 17, 2020
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Owners of high-priced homes up 30 percent in Jamsil
The number of taxpayers owning expensive homes, subject to higher property tax, surged at the fastest pace in Jamsil, southern Seoul, data showed Sunday. The number of home owners who paid comprehensive real estate holding tax rose 36.1 percent on-year from some 15,000 to nearly 21,000 in Jamsil, said Rep. Kang Byung-won of ruling Democratic Party, quoting data from the National Tax Service. The number of taxpayers in Jamsil owning one residential unit with an appra
Feb. 16, 2020
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Coronavirus likely to deepen auto sector woes: Fitch
Fitch ratings agency said Friday the new coronavirus outbreak will add to auto sector challenges this year as COVID-19 disrupts global supply chains. "The greatest impact on the sector is likely to come from lower sales during the outbreak in China, the world's largest market for new vehicles. The country's new vehicle sales are likely to be depressed until the outbreak is under control," Fitch said in a statement. Fitch expected sales in China to start recovering from April and acc
Feb. 14, 2020
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S. Korea’s export prices drop in January
South Korea saw its export prices fall on-year in January, mainly due to the strengthening of the Korean won against the US dollar, central bank data showed Friday. The export prices index in terms of Korean won came to 96.59 last month, according to preliminary data released by the Bank of Korea. The figure was down 0.8 percentage point from a month earlier and down 2.8 percent from a year earlier. “The export price index prolonged an on-month downturn but the pace of the decrease sl
Feb. 14, 2020