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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[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 votes in favor of Palestinian bid for UN membership
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Korea's air passenger traffic hits new high in Aug.
South Korea's air passenger traffic reached a new record high in August on increased overseas travel demand, the government said Thursday. The number of air passengers came to 10.58 million in August, up 6.1 percent from a year earlier, making it a new monthly record, according to a tally from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.It is the second time that the country's monthly number of air passengers has surpassed the 10 million mark. In January this year, the figure was 10.06 mi
Sept. 27, 2018
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Korea's senior employment rate constantly rising: data
The employment rate of senior citizens has been rising steadily, with such individuals actively seeking jobs to avoid falling through the country's weak social safety net, official data showed Thursday.According to the data compiled by Statistics Korea, the number of people aged 65 years or older reached 7.38 million in 2018, accounting for 14.3 percent of the country's total population.The employment rate for those aged between 55 and 59 was 72.6 percent in 2017, compared to 70.6 percent in 201
Sept. 27, 2018
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Leaders of Korea, Chile agree to improve ties, boost trade
NEW YORK, -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Chilean President Sebastian Pinera agreed Wednesday to further develop their countries' bilateral relationship and also boost their trade by seeking to revise their free trade agreement.In a bilateral summit held here on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, the leaders noted the South Korea-Chile FTA has greatly contributed to boosting the countries' bilateral trade since it went into effect in 2004. "The two leaders
Sept. 27, 2018
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US rate hike to have limited impact on Korea: finance minister
The latest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve will have a limited impact on South Korea, with authorities here ready to take actions if the need arises, the country's chief economic policymaker said Thursday.As widely expected, the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to a range of 2 percent to 2.25 percent Wednesday and signaled one more rate hike within this year. The US central bank said it foresees three more rate hikes in 2019. "Given our sound e
Sept. 27, 2018
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Cashable assets piling up at Korean firms
The country’s large companies have been piling up growing amounts of cashable assets as they remain reluctant to expand investments in the face of what they perceive as anti-business policies at home and increasing uncertainty in the global economic environment.According to data from the Financial Supervisory Service, Korea’s top 30 companies in terms of turnover had 88.48 trillion won ($79.24 billion) in cashable assets in the first half of this year, up 11.5 percent from a year ear
Sept. 26, 2018
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Record number of people give up on job seeking: data
A record-high number of job-seekers have given up on finding a job, amid a feeble employment market and slowing economic growth, government data showed Sunday.The monthly average number of “discouraged job-seekers” -- referring to those with no signs of job seeking for at least four weeks over the past year -- stood at 510,000 as of end-August, up 5.4 percent from the same period last year, according to Statistics Korea. This was also the highest figure since the government started c
Sept. 23, 2018
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S. Korea’s economic uncertainty hits highest in 15 months: data
The uncertainty concerning South Korea’s economic growth and economic policies reached the highest level in 15 months, global data showed Sunday.According to the Economic Policy Uncertainty Index, Asia’s fourth-largest economy recorded 155.15 in July, the highest since 165.4 in April last year.The global index, conducted on 20 key economies across the world, also reached the highest since March last year, standing at 227.77, data showed. The index, developed by three US-based ec
Sept. 23, 2018
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Opposition, energy minister nominee battle over nuclear phaseout plan
The confirmation hearing held Wednesday for Sung Yun-mo, the nominee for minister of trade, industry and energy, pivoted mostly on the government’s plan to phase out nuclear energy and the potential impact of that plan on the nation’s electricity rates.While Sung and the ruling Democratic Party advocated major changes to the current energy-supply paradigm, the largely conservative opposition camp accused the nominee of flip-flopping from his earlier support for nuclear power.“T
Sept. 19, 2018
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Economists warn of increasing downside risks facing Korea’s exports
A protracted slump in South Korea’s exports might set in next year and jolt the country’s economy, which has relied on outbound shipments for growth amid sluggish domestic demand, economists say.Reports released last week by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the state-run Korea Development Institute cited robust exports as a key factor in keeping the economy on the path to recovery and preventing it from taking a sharp downturn.In the first eight months of this year, Korea&rsqu
Sept. 19, 2018
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Expressway rest stops to provide drive-through, mobile preorder services
Starting next year, expressway rest stops will have drive-through stores, as well as mobile preorder and pickup services, as part of the government’s plan to support small businesses and revitalize regional economies.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korea Expressway Corp. on Tuesday unveiled a mid- and long-term innovation plan for expressway service facilities, in a bid to foster the rest areas into business hubs for young entrepreneurs by 2022.Under a road map to cr
Sept. 18, 2018
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Government, central bank lock horns over rate hike timing
The tension concerning the country’s key interest rate hike is expected to peak this week, in the wake of the government‘s latest set of additional measures to curb real estate speculation.While the government seeks to tighten the money market through a possible policy rate hike within the year, the central bank continued to dither over the decision, citing sluggish economic indexes.Further unnerving the hawkish observers here is the largely anticipated rate hike of the US Federal Re
Sept. 16, 2018
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Households piling up heavy debts: data
South Korean households saw their debts increase sharply with per-person debt expected to top 30 million won ($26,700) this year, data showed Sunday.Household credit reached 1,493 trillion won as of end-June this year, which marks a 362 trillion-won rise from the second quarter of 2015.Simply calculated, it means a South Korean household owed 75.6 million won to local lenders and card firms, and 28.9 million won of debt per person, data from the Bank of Korea showed. The per-person debt topped t
Sept. 16, 2018
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Finance minister vows to take additional steps unless housing prices stabilize
South Korea's chief economic policymaker said Friday that the government would take stronger measures if home prices do not stabilize.On Thursday, South Korea's government said it will levy tougher taxes than originally planned as it strives to rein in soaring housing prices.Over the past year, the Moon Jae-in government has unveiled a series of measures to curb housing prices that have had little impact on the market. Alarmed by the fastest housing price gains in a decade, Seoul said it would f
Sept. 14, 2018
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Government further hikes tax rate for multiple homes, expensive properties
The South Korean government on Thursday announced it would again raise the comprehensive real estate tax rate for owners of high-priced residences and of multiple properties, as part of a further attempt to rein in skyrocketing housing prices.According to the latest action plan, those who own multiple properties in bubble-prone zones will face real estate taxes as high as 3.2 percent, officials said. This additional tax hike comes on the heels of a government decision in July to increase real es
Sept. 13, 2018
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S. Korea’s job situation at its worst since post-financial crisis period: data
Amid an ever-worsening job market and lower-than-expected growth, South Korea’s youth unemployment rate reached its highest level since the country’s financial crisis situation in the late 1990s, government data showed Wednesday.According to a Statistics Korea report on employment trends, the number of newly employed people stood at 26.9 million in August, up 3,000 from a year earlier. This on-year rise was the lowest since the 10,000 decrease recorded in January 2010, when the
Sept. 12, 2018
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Calls rising for pro-corporate policy across board
A widening gap between South Korea’s large, export-oriented companies and its domestically focused smaller enterprises, in terms of both earnings and employment, highlights the need for a pro-corporate policy across the board, economists say.Small and midsized enterprises have been hit harder by the increased costs stemming from a set of labor-friendly measures taken by President Moon Jae-in’s administration in its pursuit of “income-led growth.”Under these circumstances,
Sept. 12, 2018
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Korea's jobless rate rises in Aug., sluggish job creation continues
South Korea's unemployment rate rose slightly in August due to a fall in employment in the retail and manufacturing sectors, with poorer-than-expected job creation showing no signs of a letup, government data showed Wednesday.The unemployment rate stood at 4 percent last month, up 0.4 percentage point from a year earlier, according to the report compiled by Statistics Korea.The number of employed people reached 26.9 million in August, up 3,000 from the same month in 2017, according to the data.
Sept. 12, 2018
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Declining investment holding back growth
A steep decline in domestic investments is becoming a main drawback on the country’s economic growth, with projections suggesting it is likely to fall short of the government’s target of 2.9 percent this year.Investments in facility, construction and intellectual property production dropped on-quarter in the April-June period, according to data released by the Bank of Korea last week. It marked the first time investments had fallen simultaneously in the three segments since the secon
Sept. 10, 2018
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PM leaves for visit Russia's Vladivostok for economic forum
Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon left for Vladivostok on Monday to attend an annual international economic forum and hold meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.About 6,000 people are expected to attend the Eastern Economic Forum that Putin has hosted in Vladivostok every year since 2015, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Abe and Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga. The three-day trip will be Lee's first to Russia as prime minister.During the visi
Sept. 10, 2018
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Current account surplus hits yearly high on growth in semiconductors
South Korea’s current account surplus reached a yearly high in July on the back of strong global trade and sturdy growth of the local semiconductors business, central bank data showed Thursday.Also, the travel account deficit contracted from a year earlier amid a rise of inbound travelers from China and Japan, as well as a slowdown in the number of outbound travelers.Seoul’s current account surplus stood at $8.76 billion as of end-July, up from $7.25 billion in the previous year, acc
Sept. 6, 2018