Most Popular
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
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Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
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Will tug-of-war between doctors, government end soon?
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Climate impacts set to cut 2050 global GDP by nearly a fifth
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Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen
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[Graphic News] More Koreans say they plan long-distance trips this year
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[KH Explains] Hyundai's full hybrid edge to pay off amid slow transition to pure EVs
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North Korea removes streetlights along cross-border roads with South
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Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official
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Farming households dip below 1m for first time in 2023
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S. Korea’s GNI per capita surges 500-fold since Korean War: data
Since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, South Korea’s gross national income per capita had increased nearly 500-fold as of 2018, data provided by the nation’s central bank showed Thursday. The figure is part of the Bank of Korea’s latest data, as it changed its reference year from 2010 to 2015. According to the updated data, the nation’s GNI per capita stood at $33,434 in 2018, which was 503 times more than the corresponding figure in 1953 of $76. Before the BOK adopted
Dec. 19, 2019
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Number of immigrants in S. Korea tops 1.3m in 2019
The number of immigrants, including naturalized citizens, in South Korea topped 1.3 million as of May this year, government data showed Thursday. The number of immigrants, including naturalized citizens, in South Korea has been rising steadily, reaching 1.32 million this year, up 1.7 percent from a year ago, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.However, the number of naturalized citizens fell 6.7 percent on year to 49,000 as of end-May, the data showed. By nationality, Chines
Dec. 19, 2019
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S. Korea all out to escape slow growth trap in 2020
Facing continuing external challenges and structural problems next year, South Korea vowed to add speed to innovation and investment, determined to edge its way out of prolonged slow growth.Pinning its hopes on a global economic uptrend, progress in US-China trade tensions and recovery of the chip business, the government forecast that Asia’s fourth-largest economy will achieve 2.4 percent growth next year, while its inflation will recover to around 1 percent, despite market skepticism.&ld
Dec. 19, 2019
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ETFs' net asset value hits record high
The net asset value of exchange traded funds hit a record high on the back of the bullish run on the local stock market, fueled by eased uncertainties over the Sino-American trade tussle, data showed on Thursday.The net asset value of ETFs reached 48.83 trillion won ($41.89 billion) as of Wednesday, the highest on record since 2002, when the investment vehicle made a debut on the local stock market, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange.An ETF refers to an investment fund traded o
Dec. 19, 2019
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S. Korea eyes more FTAs with emerging countries in 2020
South Korea said Thursday it plans to expand its global network of free-trade agreements in 2020 by establishing deeper ties with emerging countries to ease its reliance on the world's top two economies and seek a balanced portfolio."We need to ease our export dependence on specific countries and diversify our basket," Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee said during a meeting with related ministries held in Seoul. "Thus, we need to discover business opportunities that can benefit trading
Dec. 19, 2019
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S. Korea’s risk premium hits below 10-year low
South Korea’s credit default risk fell below its 10-year low, following trade talk progress between the US and China and the latest result of the British election, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Wednesday.The country’s credit default swap premium for foreign exchange stabilization bonds with a five-year maturity stood at 22.2 basis points as of Tuesday, marking the lowest since the 22.1 basis points observed on Oct. 15, 2007.While the United States and Japan respectively sa
Dec. 19, 2019
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[Monitor] Property values of 5 major groups surge
As South Korea’s overheated real estate market continued to reel from the repercussions of the Moon Jae-in administration’s rigorous anti-real estate deal regulations announced earlier this week, a civic group released data showing that major businesses are responsible for the investment hype.According to the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice, land owned by five major conglomerates -- Hyundai Motor, Lotte, Samsung, SK and LG -- saw their property value surge 61 trillion
Dec. 18, 2019
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[News Focus] Korean economy in dire straits as policies flounder
SEJONG -- As the 2010s is due to expire in two weeks, South Korea continues to face heightened economic uncertainties.The year 2000 was a new starting point for the fourth-largest economy in Asia. After overcoming the 1997-98 financial crisis, Korea posted 8.9 percent economic growth in the last year of the 20th century.The nation’s gross domestic product growth was robust in the early 2000s. Following a 7.7 percent rise in 2002, buoyed by the Korea-Japan FIFA World Cup
Dec. 18, 2019
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S. Korea's risk premium hits more than ten-year low on US-China trade deal, British election
South Korea's credit default risk has plunged to a more than ten-year low on a much-awaited trade deal between the US and China and the outcome of the British election, which effectively green lights the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union, the finance ministry said Wednesday. The credit default swap premium for South Korean foreign exchange stabilization bonds with a five-year maturity came to 22.2 basis points, marking the lowest since the 22.1 basis points recorded on Oct. 15, 2007.
Dec. 18, 2019
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Korea's R&D spending 5th largest among OECD members in 2018: ministry
South Korea's research and development spending was the fifth largest among OECD nations in 2018, the country's science ministry said Wednesday. South Korea spent 85.7 trillion won ($73.3 billion) on R&D activities last year, up 8.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. In terms of the proportion of R&D spending to gross domestic product, South Korea was the leading nation in the world, the ministry said, reaching 4.81 percent in 2018, up 0.26 percent
Dec. 18, 2019
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Listed firms' cash-generating capability worsens
The amount of cash generated by major listed firms via business operation declined in the first three quarters of the year, portending a decline in their dividend payments and capital spending going forward, an industry tracker said Wednesday.According to CEO Score, the combined free cash flow of 258 out of the top-500 listed companies in the January-September period reached a combined 12.05 trillion won ($10.33 billion), down 58 percent, or 16.6 trillion won, from last year's 28.7 trillion won.
Dec. 18, 2019
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About 1m households receive W421b in employment promotion allowance
About 1 million households in South Korea received a total of 421 billion won ($361 million) in employment promotion allowance for the first half of this year, government data showed Wednesday. The allowance for employment promotion has been offered to low-income workers since 2009 as part of the government's initiative to narrow wage inequality. During the January-June period, 960,000 households received an average 440,000 won per home in employment promotion allowance, the National Tax Service
Dec. 18, 2019
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S. Koreans' weekly working hours decline in 2018
South Koreans' weekly working hours fell slightly in 2018 from a year earlier, government data showed Wednesday, as a growing number of people are seeking to strike a balance between their work and personal life.The data compiled by Statistics Korea showed that South Korean men and women worked 41.5 hours a week on average in 2018, compared with 42.8 hours in 2017.South Koreans' weekly working hours have been gradually declining since 1990, when they worked 53.8 hours a week. Nevertheless, South
Dec. 18, 2019
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Korea's inflation to rise 1% in 2020: BOK
South Korea's consumer prices are projected to rise 1 percent next year before further recovering to a 1.3-percent on-year increase the following year, the Bank of Korea said Wednesday.The central bank said it will maintain its monetary easing policy, noting the estimates still fall short of its long-term inflation target of 2 percent."In the January-November period of this year, consumer prices rose 0.4 percent from the same period last year, far below the inflation target," it said i
Dec. 18, 2019
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Korea faces no immediate danger of deflation: BOK chief
South Korea is not facing any immediate danger of deflation, with the country's inflation rate expected to accelerate from next year, albeit at a mild pace, the head of the central bank has said."It is true that there now exist concerns of deflation as the country's consumer price increase has greatly slowed while its inflationary expectation also dropped," Bank of Korea Gov.Lee Ju-yeol said in a meeting with reporters late Tuesday."I fully understand the concerns about continued
Dec. 18, 2019
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[Monitor] Home transactions rise over W900m
The ratio of home transactions worth over 900 million won ($7,700) in South Korea topped 4.4 percent in 2019. It is the first time the proportion has crossed the 4 percent mark, and is the highest level since 2006, according to data by property market information provider Zigbang on Wednesday.The data includes individual houses, multiplexes, townhouses and apartments. Residences priced over 900 million won and 1.4 billion won marked 2.7 percent, while those over 1.4 billion won came to 1.7 perce
Dec. 17, 2019
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Analysts, public say surge in housing prices likely despite new policy measures
Housing prices are widely expected to soar despite the stringent regulations enforced by the South Korean government, according to market analysts Tuesday.The government in a surprise move recently unveiled new measures to curb rising home prices, which push for tighter mortgage rules.A report released by local brokerage Mirae Asset Daewoo warned local investors that if the new measures fail to rein in soaring housing prices, even stronger measures are likely to be adopted next year. It recommen
Dec. 17, 2019
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S. Korea will up efforts for financial innovation in 2020: FSC chief
Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo on Tuesday said that Korea will continue to face domestic and external uncertainties next year, pledging to add speed to the country’s drive for financial innovation.He also stood by the government’s latest and controversial real estate regulations, citing them as necessary steps to curb the country’s overheated housing market. “Domestic and external uncertainties are expected to prolong throughout next year and the low
Dec. 17, 2019
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Household income grows in 2018, wealth gap narrows
South Korea's household income rose in 2018 from a year earlier, and the income gap between the haves and have-nots narrowed, as employment situations of the low-income bracket improved amid efforts to bridge the income gap, a government report showed Tuesday. The average household earned 58.28 million won ($49,688) last year, up 2.1 percent from the previous year, according to the report by Statistics Korea.The report showed household income earned through wages rose 3.9 percent on-year to an a
Dec. 17, 2019
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Korean firms suffer further setback in Q3 sales, profit
South Korean companies continued to suffer heavy setbacks in their sales and profits in the third quarter, central bank data showed Tuesday, apparently due to a sharp decline in exports and slowing demand at home.The average sales of local companies plunged 2.8 percent from a year earlier in the three months that ended Sept. 30, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.It compares with a 1.1-percent on-year dip in the second quarter. The BOK did not provide any specific reason for the drop,
Dec. 17, 2019