Most Popular
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10-man S. Korea lose to Indonesia to miss out on Paris Olympic football qualification
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Hybe-Ador feud should have limited effect on Hybe's overall performance: analysts
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Second Gimpo civil servant found dead, after apologizing for not finishing work
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DP leader says he will meet Yoon without conditions
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First-ever meeting of president, opposition chief set to finally happen
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NewJeans' singles, Japanese debut to proceed as planned, despite Hybe-Ador feud
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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Experts raise concerns about Japan putting pressure on Naver over Line
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Samsung mobile chief, Google device head meet in Seoul
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Ship linked to NK arms shipments to Russia is moored in China: State Dept.
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BOK expected to hold key rate unchanged for August: Moody's
The Bank of Korea will likely maintain its policy rate at the current 1.5 percent next week as Asia's fourth-largest economy is struggling with sluggish employment and global trade disputes, a market watcher said Saturday.Chaired by Gov. Lee Ju-yeol, the seven-member panel of the BOK will hold its sixth monetary policy meeting Friday and decide whether to keep or adjust the key rate.The key rate has remained unchanged since the central bank raised it by a quarter percentage point from an all-tim
Aug. 25, 2018
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‘Largest’ job-focused budget to be proposed for next year
The South Korean government and ruling party on Thursday agreed to propose what they called “the largest-ever” job creation-focused budget for next year, gesturing to spend more funds into supporting low-income clusters.“Considering the favorable tax revenues and sound fiscal soundness, we decided to operate next year’s budget as expansively as possible for the sake of job creation, social safety network and regional economy revitalization,” Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon, chie
Aug. 23, 2018
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Fiscal cliff may be ahead for Korea, experts warn
The increase in tax revenue that South Korea is expected to see in the coming years should not give it a false sense of security in light of the fiscal cliff that might be ahead, experts say.The government now envisions that an additional 60 trillion won ($53.6 billion) in taxes will be collected over the next five years, compared with amounts projected in a midterm fiscal management plan drawn up last year. Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon recently said the excess revenue would amount to 19 trill
Aug. 22, 2018
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FTC to give up exclusive right to file complaints in serious antitrust cases
South Korea's corporate watchdog said Tuesday that it has decided to give up its own right to file complaints about some major cases such as price rigging in a move to support effective law enforcement and better protect consumers' rights.Under the current Fair Trade Act, the Fair Trade Commission is the only entity that can bring an antitrust trade case to court through the state prosecutors' office. The law is aimed at preventing a flood of lawsuits being filed against firms by individuals and
Aug. 21, 2018
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Korea's producer prices up in July due to heat wave
South Korea's producer prices rose to a four-year high in July as the worst heat in recent years hurt the farming sector, central bank data showed Tuesday.The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, reached 104.8 last month, up 0.4 percent from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. From a year earlier, it rose 2.9 percent to extend its positive streak to 21 straight months from November 2016. The July figure was the highest reading sin
Aug. 21, 2018
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Worsening employment, corporate profitability cast shade over economy
The government’s assessment that the Korean economy is still on the path to recovery is being dented by figures showing employment and corporate profitability are continuing to worsen sharply.A monthly report recently released by the Ministry of Economy and Finance adhered to the positive assessment of economic activities for nine consecutive months in August. Ministry officials have rebuffed suggestions by many economists that the country’s economy took a downward turn entering the
Aug. 20, 2018
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Corporate watchdog unveils anti-corruption measures
South Korea's corporate watchdog on Monday unveiled a set of anti-corruption measures whose centerpiece seeks to boost the ethics code for its staff and ban help for retirees looking to get jobs at corporations related to their former duties.Under the measures, the Fair Trade Commission will enhance the screening of retirees' job-landing activities at private companies.Also, the corporate watchdog said it will ban any private contacts between its employees and retirees. The measures came after p
Aug. 20, 2018
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Market slump raises doubts on Kosdaq revitalization initiative
Concerns have been mounting recently that despite the government’s continued efforts, the secondary stock market Kosdaq may continue to struggle throughout the year due to sluggish investor sentiment here and external trade challenges.The Kosdaq index on Thursday dived into the 740s, nearing the year’s record-low of 744.11, a figure observed on July 25, according to the nation’s bourse Korea Exchange and Ministry of SMEs and Startups on Sunday.The index soon rebounded to the 77
Aug. 19, 2018
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SK Lubricants’ ZIC brand signs sponsorship with FC Barcelona
SK Lubricants’ brand SK ZIC has signed a three-year sponsorship deal with FC Barcelona in its latest move to boost brand recognition and sales, the firm said Sunday.SK Lubricants -- owned 100 percent by South Korean refiner SK Innovation -- became the first South Korean corporate sponsor of FC Barcelona since the football club’s foundation in 1899.“We plan to increase SK ZIC’s brand recognition and global sales through the sponsorship,” SK Lubricant said in a press
Aug. 19, 2018
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S. Korea's GDP forecast to edge down due to US-China trade row: report
South Korea is expected to be one of the countries most affected by the protracted trade war between the United States and China, though the impact is forecast to remain limited, a report said Sunday. According to the report from the Korea International Trade Association, the country's gross domestic product is forecast to drop 0.018 percent, worth some $236.49 million, over a year if the US and China each impose 25 percent tariffs on the other's $50 billion worth of goods. China and the US are
Aug. 19, 2018
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Korea's jobless rate rises in July, job additions lowest in over 8 yrs
Korea's unemployment rate rose slightly in July due to fewer positions in the health care, education academy and manufacturing sectors, with the number of new jobs created hitting the lowest in over eight years, government data showed Friday.The unemployment rate stood at 3.7 percent last month, up 0.3 percentage point from a year earlier, according to the report compiled by Statistics Korea. The number of employed people reached 27.08 million in July, up just 5,000 from the same one-month perio
Aug. 17, 2018
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Korean premier calls for increased cooperation with Qatar
Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon on Thursday expressed hope for increased business and economic cooperation with Qatar, asking the visiting deputy prime minister of the Middle Eastern country to help expand business opportunities for Korean firms.Lee's request came in a meeting with Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, who doubles as Qatar's foreign minister, the prime minister's office said."I wish Korean companies will take part in various projects in Qatar, such as those aimed
Aug. 16, 2018
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Public outlays grow amid sluggish private consumption
An increase in government spending, which has been precipitated under President Moon Jae-in’s administration, contrasts with sluggish private consumption in the country.Economists note that expanded public expenditure coupled with dampened private consumption will do little to reinvigorate the Korean economy that is losing growth momentum.Recent data from the Bank of Korea showed government outlays accounted for 23.63 percent of the country’s domestic final consumption expenditure in
Aug. 15, 2018
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Deregulation needed to spur corporate investments
Regulatory reforms need to be accelerated to ensure that massive investment plans unveiled or drawn up by the country’s major conglomerates will be implemented smoothly in the coming years, economists say.In the past months, six local business groups have announced plans to make new investments worth more than 330 trillion won ($290 billion) and hire 188,000 workers, with investment periods spanning one to five years.Samsung, Korea’s largest conglomerate, last week unveiled an invest
Aug. 13, 2018
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OECD warns Korea is facing some stiff challenges
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development raised warnings that Korea's economy is facing some serious challenges going forward, an analysis of data showed Sunday.The alarm comes as the organization representing developed market economies with high income adjusted down Seoul's composite leading indicator , backtracking 0.3 point to 99.2 in June from the previous month. The CLI is designed to provide early estimates six to nine months down the line on fluctuations in a nation's bus
Aug. 12, 2018
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Oil price, minimum wage, heat wave expected to fuel inflation
The latest increase in the global oil price and the country's minimum wage, along with the heat wave are anticipated to push up the cost of living in South Korea, a report showed Sunday.According to the report released by the Hyundai Research Institute, the country is set to be affected by a hike in living costs following multiple factors, including the increase in raw material prices and the minimum wage.The outlook came as the price of oil, which was around $26.9 per barrel in early 2016, curr
Aug. 12, 2018
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Business loan increase weigh down on BOK’s rate hike dilemma
In addition to the series of slack economic indices, the latest statistics on bank loans has added further weight to burgeoning speculations that South Korea’s central bank is likely to shelve its policy rate hike action this month, holding off the inevitable decision to later in the year.The loan balance for private businesses as of the end of July stood at 304.6 trillion won ($272.6 billion), up 2.5 trillion won from a month earlier, marking the steepest on-month jump in four months, acc
Aug. 9, 2018
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Korean economy decoupled from robust global growth
The Korean economy is being decoupled from a robust recovery of the global economy this year, held back by sluggish domestic demand and deteriorating external conditions.Last month, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Bank of Korea revised down their 2018 growth forecasts for Asia’s fourth-largest economy to 2.9 percent from an earlier prediction of 3 percent. The Korean economy expanded 3.1 percent last year.Private economists, however, remain skeptical about the possibility of th
Aug. 8, 2018
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Vegetable prices jump 5.4% in single week from heat wave
Prices of vegetables jumped more than 5 percent last week from the week before as the heat wave continued, while the price of ice cream fell by over 40 percent, data showed Wednesday.According to a portal operated by the Korea Consumer Agency that tracks food costs, vegetable prices increased 5.4 percent as of Friday from the previous week. Processed seafood became 7 percent more expensive, and fish 2.4 percent. For vegetables, the price of cabbage was up the most, climbing 41.2 percent. Spinach
Aug. 8, 2018
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Reality bites for hopes of peninsular economic cooperation
The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles featuring inter-Korean relations to mark the paper’s 65th anniversary that falls on Aug. 15. Following is the fifth installment. - Ed.The possibility that the long-reclusive North Korea may open up its market for extensive development is likely to act as hopeful momentum for South Korea’s economy, which has stalled in slow growth and sluggish employment.Despite all the alluring factors, however, rosy promises of the inter-Korean eco
Aug. 7, 2018