Most Popular
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Ador CEO denies allegations, accuses Hybe of mistreating NewJeans
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Medical reform committee kicks off despite boycott from doctors
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10-man S. Korea lose to Indonesia to miss out on Paris Olympic football qualification
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DP leader says he will meet Yoon without conditions
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Over 9,000 hotline calls made by stalking victims in 2023
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[Hello India] Hyundai Motor vows to boost 'clean mobility' in India
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Monthly users on local streaming platforms outpace Netflix, Disney+
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US will take steps for three-way engagement on nuclear deterrence with S. Korea, Japan: Campbell
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NewJeans fans send protest truck against agency chief in conflict with Hybe
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Seoul to promote luxurious side of the city
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S. Korea joins efforts to conclude RCEP negotiations this year
South Korea said Sunday it will attend a high-level meeting on a mega Asia-Pacific trade pact this week as part of its efforts to expand its trade network around the globe. During the two-day meeting that kicks off in Bali, Indonesia, on Monday, the participants will set a detailed timeline of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and seek to hold the final signing ceremony later in 2020, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It will be the first gathering
Feb. 2, 2020
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Korea's exports down for 14th straight month on extended chip slump
South Korea's exports fell at a slower-than-expected pace in January but extended the slump to a 14th consecutive month due to fewer working days and still weak demand for chips, data showed Saturday. Outbound shipments came to $43.35 billion last month, down 6.1 percent from $46.17 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The declining pace was slower than the median forecast of a 7.5 percent on-year drop as a fall in chip exports
Feb. 1, 2020
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S. Korea eases rules on extended work hours
South Korea introduced a new regulation Friday allowing an exemption from the 52-hour workweek restriction for institutes involved in crucial research projects or companies that see workloads unexpectedly surge. The Ministry of Employment and Labor proclaimed the revised enforcement rule of the Labor Standards Act, which loosened the requirements for granting special extended work hours. The rule went into effect immediately. The extended work hours system, which temporarily all
Jan. 31, 2020
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S. Korea ready to take action against economic fallout from new coronavirus
South Korea said Friday it is ready to take action to reduce the impact of the new coronavirus on Asia's fourth-largest economy. The country reported its seventh case of the novel virus earlier in the day despite enhanced quarantine efforts to stem its spread. "So far, the (outbreak) has not had a significant impact on our economy," Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said during a meeting with economy-related vice ministers. The remark came as the global financial market has been
Jan. 31, 2020
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Negative outlook prevails in Korean industry: KIS
The industrial outlook for 2020 is negative for eight of South Korea’s 11 major industries, in part due to the slowing global economy, according to credit rating agency Korea Investors Service on Thursday. Sectors that fell into the “negative industrial outlook” category were construction, steel, distribution, automotive, transportation, petrochemicals, life insurance and non-life insurance. The outlook for refiners, shipbuilders and securities rated neutral, according to t
Jan. 30, 2020
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BOK not mulling further rate cut over coronavirus: official
The nation’s central bank is not considering additional rate cuts to counter the potential impact of the Wuhan coronavirus on the Korean economy, a senior official said Thursday. “We need to keep monitoring the outbreak. Although it is expected to affect sentiment and the market, including the country’s economic growth, consumer prices and current account, it’s too early to predict the extent of its impact,” Yoon Myun-shik, senior deputy governor of the Bank of K
Jan. 30, 2020
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S. Korea enjoys trade surplus of $71.5b with FTA partners
South Korea enjoyed a surplus of $71.5 billion in trade with free trade agreement partners in 2019, data showed Thursday. The country suffered a deficit of $32.4 billion from trade with non-FTA partners, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. Last year, South Korea posted a trade surplus for the 11th consecutive year at $39.1 billion. Outbound shipments to FTA partners also decreased at a slower pace of 9.2 percent on-year to $398.4 billion in 2019, compared with the de
Jan. 30, 2020
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Banks' lending rates slightly up in Dec.
Lending rates on fresh loans extended by banks in South Korea slightly rebounded in December from a month earlier, central bank data showed Thursday. The average interest rate on all new loans extended by banks on households in the month came to 2.98 percent, up 0.02 percentage point from the month before, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The rate on all outstanding loans averaged 3.4 percent last month, down 0.02 percentage point from November. The average rate on fresh
Jan. 30, 2020
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[News Focus] North Korean defectors see household debt surge
SEJONG -- The number of defectors from North Korea over the past decades came to 33,300 in the South -- 9,300 men and 24,000 women -- as of December. The Ministry of Unification’s data showed that the number of North Korean defectors has increased since 2002, while the prior combined figure was 1,990. A noteworthy point is that the number of female refugees is far outstripping men’s tally at the current stage -- it was below 50 percent before 2002. The percentage of women poste
Jan. 30, 2020
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FSC vows to beef up risk assessment for financial firms
Eun Seong-soo, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said Wednesday that the financial regulator will come up with measures to monitor risks of financial conglomerates in a comprehensive manner. “The FSC will keep trying to establish sophisticated risk assessment rules for financial conglomerates, which will not overlap with the existing regulations in the financial sector,” said the FSC chairman in a meeting jointly organized by financial think tanks Korea Institute of Fi
Jan. 29, 2020
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Korea's trade terms again dip in Dec.
South Korea's trade terms continued to worsen from a year earlier in December, largely due to export prices falling at a faster rate than import prices, but the rate of decline in export prices slowed to a 13-month low, central bank data showed Wednesday. The terms of trade index for products came to 91.09 in the month, down 2.6 percent from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The trade terms index measures the amount of imports a country can purchase for eac
Jan. 29, 2020
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Biz sentiment remains weak: survey
Business sentiment about the immediate future in South Korea remains weak due to uncertainties at home and abroad, a local think tank said Wednesday. The business survey index of the country's top 600 companies by sales came to 92 for February, slightly up from the 89.3 recorded for this month but below the benchmark 100, according to the Korea Economic Research Institute. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists, while a figure above the benchmark means the opposite. "T
Jan. 29, 2020
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Brexit not to affect bilateral trade ties with S. Korea
Britain's separation from the European Union slated for later this week is unlikely to have a direct impact on its bilateral trade ties with South Korea, as the two have already signed a back-up agreement, industry watchers said Wednesday. London is widely expected to depart from the EU, the world's single largest economic bloc, on Friday. Major economies around the globe, including Asia's No. 4 economy, have been closely monitoring London's divorce from the EU, as the separation would mean
Jan. 29, 2020
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Korea's January exports tipped to fall 7.5%: poll
South Korea's exports are expected to drop 7.5 percent on-year in January to extend their slump to 14 consecutive months despite a mild recovery in chip shipments, a poll showed Wednesday, due mainly to there being fewer working days compared to a year earlier. Outbound shipments are estimated to reach $42.7 billion this month, according to the poll by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. The survey was carried out on 10 local brokerage houses. The country's trade sur
Jan. 29, 2020
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S. Korea's consumer sentiment sharply improves for Jan.
South Korea's consumer sentiment improved sharply from a month earlier in January, central bank data showed Wednesday, amid outlooks that the country's economic conditions will improve down the road. The composite consumer sentiment index came to 104.2 for the month, up from 100.5 for the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. The reading marks the highest since June 2018, as well as the largest on-month gain since September 2019, when the index jumped 4.6 points from a
Jan. 29, 2020
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S. Korea to spend W20.8b to combat spread of coronavirus
South Korea will use 20.8 billion won ($17.7 million) of its national budget to contain the new Wuhan coronavirus, while keeping a close watch for potential negative effects on the local economy from the outbreak, the top fiscal policy chief said Tuesday. “Of the budget allocated for this year, 6.7 billion won set aside for building a quarantine system, 5.2 billion won for diagnosis and 2.9 billion won for isolated treatment -- culminating in a total of 20.8 billion won -- will be execut
Jan. 28, 2020
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Corporate direct financing jumps 3.3% in 2019: data
South Korean companies' equity and debt sales rose 3.3 percent on-year in 2019 due mainly to a rise in corporate bond issuance, data showed Tuesday. Local companies raised 175.49 trillion won ($149 billion) by selling stocks and bonds last year, compared with 169.8 trillion won in the previous year, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The surge is attributable to the 5.8 percent on-year growth in the value of corporate bonds issued, including bank bonds and asset-bac
Jan. 28, 2020
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OECD further cuts Korea's potential growth rate
South Korea's potential economic growth rate may have permanently been reduced, apparently because of a steady decline in its workforce and productivity, according to an OECD report Tuesday. According to the report, South Korea's potential growth rate for the year is estimated at 2.5 percent, down 0.2 percentage point from a year earlier. A potential growth rate refers to the maximum possible rate an economy can grow without triggering inflation. South Korea's rate has been on a steady decli
Jan. 28, 2020
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Seoul, Manila to hold 5th round of FTA talks
South Korea said Tuesday it plans to hold the fifth round of talks with the Philippines on a bilateral free trade agreement this week, with a goal of concluding the deal this year. During the three-day negotiation that begins in Manila on Wednesday, the two countries plan to set details of the articles of the agreement, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Seoul and Manila launched their free trade negotiations in June last year. In November, the two countries agreed to c
Jan. 28, 2020
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S. Korea remains watchful of economic fallout from Wuhan coronavirus cases
South Korea said Tuesday it would spare no efforts to tackle with potential economic fallout from the Wuhan coronavirus, while vowing to take steps, if necessary, to minimize any negative impact. "We are closely examining the impact of the spread (of the virus) in China on its consumption and production, along with the global economy and our exports," Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said during an emergency meeting held with related ministries. "For now, it has had a limited impac
Jan. 28, 2020