Most Popular
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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KT launches new mobile plans for foreign residents
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Korea's fiscal contribution to income distribution among lowest in OECD in 2015
South Korea's fiscal spending was found to make less contribution to narrowing income inequality compared with other members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2015, data showed Sunday.The country's relative poverty rate, referring to the percentage of people with an income below 50 percent of the median income, came to 17.7 percent in 2015, according to data from the OECD.But when disposable income after taxes and public transfers is considered, the rate was found t
June 24, 2018
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Average monthly income of single-person households below spending
One-person households are spending more than their income on average, data showed Saturday, in a sign of economic trouble for a growing number of such households. The average monthly income of one-person households came to 1.69 million won (US$1,520) in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea. The statistics office said one-person households spent 1.77 million won per month on average last year. It marked the first time that the average income of one-person ho
June 23, 2018
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S. Korea, Russia to conduct joint studies on cross-border energy projects
South Korea and Russia will conduct a joint study to check the feasibility of cross-border energy projects involving North Korea and prepare negotiations for a trade deal to bolster bilateral economic ties, Seoul's trade ministry said Friday. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it signed eight memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with Russia's energy ministry and state utility firms to expand cooperation in energy, industry and investment between the two nations.The agreements we
June 22, 2018
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S. Korea’s sovereign rating remains at AA-: Fitch
Global credit rating agency Fitch on Friday presented a stable outlook for South Korea’s economy this year, maintaining the country’s sovereign credit rating at the current “AA-” level, the company said in a press release.The decision came in a balanced evaluation of Seoul’s robust external finances and strong macroeconomic capacities, as well as its challenging factors such as its peninsular volatility, rapid population aging and slowing productivity.“Geopoli
June 22, 2018
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Govt. softens eligibility rules for welfare subsidies
The underprivileged will be eligible for state a housing subsidy starting in October even if they have immediate family members who have enough income or assets to be able to support them, the welfare ministry said Friday.The Ministry of Health and Welfare will carry out of a phased softening of standing regulations that disqualify people from various government subsidies because they have parents or children who are financially capable of helping them. Such rules will be lifted for housing fund
June 22, 2018
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[Newsmaker] FTC meets archnemesis -- prosecution
The prosecutors’ latest search and seizure of the Fair Trade Commission was purportedly to look into its suspected backscratching ties with top-tier business groups and to check on potential power abuse by the antitrust watchdog. But the abrupt action was also viewed as a chronic power struggle between the prosecution and the FTC -- often dubbed “prosecutors in the economic realm” -- over the latter’s expansive range of rights concerning fair trade rule violations.On the
June 21, 2018
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US-China trade dispute will have limited impact on Korea: study
The escalating trade dispute between the United States and China is expected to affect South Korea's exports to the world's two largest economies, but only to a limited extent, a study showed Thursday. The US has threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on up to $50 billion of 1,102 Chinese goods in response to alleged intellectual property theft, with the initial tariffs worth $34 billion set to go into effect on July 6. China said it will impose 25 percent tariffs on 659 US goods worth $50 bil
June 21, 2018
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Big firms encourage employees to use annual paid leave
Major South Korean companies have encouraged their employees to take their annual leave, a survey showed Thursday, as the country pushes its people to better strive for work-life balance.The survey of 155 major South Korean firms released by the Korea Economic Research Institute, a private think tank, found that 52.3 percent of the companies polled said annual leave was the best implemented of 10 proposals drawn up by the government in 2016 to help people strike a balance between work and life,
June 21, 2018
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S. Korea’s macroeconomic policy had effect on growth: OECD report
South Korea’s notable economic advancement over recent years was largely attributable to its conglomerate-led and export-oriented growth model, backed by sound fiscal and monetary policies and intense investment into physical and human capital, according to an international report.Asia’s fourth-largest economy, however, has also exposed some chronic structural weaknesses such as market monopolization by conglomerates, discrimination in the job market, and elderly poverty. In a b
June 20, 2018
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Concerns rising over industrial hollowing-out
Concerns are growing over the possible hollowing-out of Korea’s key manufacturing industries as local companies rush to move factories to countries with better conditions to detour anti-business policies at home and global trade friction.According to industrial sources, 97.1 percent of TV sets made by Korean electronics firms in 2017 were manufactured at overseas plants. The corresponding figures reached 93.2 percent for mobile phones, 86.9 percent for washing machines and 80.3 percent for
June 20, 2018
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SMEs association proposes tech training as priority for inter-Korean economic cooperation
South Korean small businesses on Wednesday proposed operating an inter-Korean technology training center and inviting global companies to a joint industrial complex with North Korea to expedite cross-border economic cooperation.The Korea Federation of SMEs recommended nine South-North businesses, explained in detail in its report to the government in April, which emphasizes technological education as the first priority in pursuing cooperation with the North. While North Korean workers have
June 20, 2018
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Public institutions cutting back on hiring of high school graduates
Public institutions are hiring more people, but not those without college degrees, government statistics showed Wednesday.According to state portal All Public Information in One, 361 state-run institutions employed 22,560 people in permanent positions last year. The proportion of hires for whom high school was their highest educational attainment was 1,858, or 8.2 percent.The latest figure marks a 30.6 percent increase in overall hiring from 2013 but a drop of 7.9 percent for employment of peopl
June 20, 2018
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Finance minister vows to overhaul assessment system for state firms
The government will push to overhaul the evaluation process for state-invested firms so as to help improve their trustworthiness, which has been tarnished by job-related irregularities, and boost job creation, the country's chief economic policymaker said Tuesday."State firms are urged to raise their productivity and effectiveness as well and play a key role in creating and spearheading a system for innovative growth," Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said in a meeting to review state fi
June 20, 2018
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BOK chief vows to focus on growth, inflation in rate policy
The Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol on Tuesday underlined that the key factors in the nation’s upcoming policy rate decisions should be growth and inflation indexes, dismissing concerns that Washington’s recent signals to accelerate its monetary tightening cycle will press Seoul to follow suit.While sidestepping direct remarks, his defensive tone regarding the nation’s economic capacity empowered speculations that Seoul will freeze its policy rate next month and delay
June 19, 2018
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Job data heighten calls for policy shift
Calls are growing for President Moon Jae-in’s administration to readjust its income-led growth policy, which experts say has been only worsening unemployment and low-income households’ livelihoods.According to the latest data from Statistics Korea, the country’s jobless rate stood at 4 percent last month, up from 3.6 percent in May last year, when Moon took office. The figure for young people aged 15-29 rose from 9.2 percent to 10.5 percent over the cited period.The overall and
June 18, 2018
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Govt. to step up readjustment of budget spending to boost job creation, innovative growth
SEJONG -- The government said Monday that it will continue its efforts to realign budget spending in a way to tackle the country's chronic low birth rate, boost job creation and facilitate innovative growth."The government will focus on the three key policies by improving the country's overall budget spending scheme," Deputy Finance Minister Kim Yong-jin said in a policy meeting.Kim said government agencies are urged to actively respond to changes in policy implementation and to do mor
June 18, 2018
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Job cuts most serious for 30s and 40s: data
While South Korea’s employment indexes continued to struggle amid controversies on increased minimum wage, the job decreasing rate turned out to be the most drastic for the primary labor force age clusters in their 30s and 40s, data showed Sunday. The number of newly employed people in their 40s stood at 669.7 million in May, down 88,000 from the same period last year and marking a decline for 31 consecutive months, according to data released by Statistics Korea.This was the longest period
June 17, 2018
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S. Korea's jobless rate rises in May, job creation lowest in over 8 yrs
South Korea's jobless rate rose slightly in May due to a fall in employment in the retail, manufacturing and educational service sectors, while job creation remained sluggish, government data showed Friday.The unemployment rate stood at 4 percent last month, up 0.4 percentage point from a year earlier, marking the highest rate recorded for May in 18 years, according to the report compiled by Statistics Korea.The number of employed people reached 27.06 million in May, up 72,000 from a year earlie
June 15, 2018
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ECB to keep interest rates at record lows at least through summer
The European Central Bank on Thursday said it expected key interest rates to remain at their current historic lows "at least through the summer of 2019."The Frankfurt institution's main refinancing rate currently stands at zero percent, the rate on the marginal lending facility at 0.25 percent, and the rate on deposits at -0.4 percent, meaning banks pay to park money with the ECB. (AFP)
June 14, 2018
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US rate hike likely to have limited impact on Korea: officials
As the United States carried out its anticipated rate hike this week, South Korea faces mounting pressure to keep pace with the momentum amid prolonged slow growth and chronic household debt.In a largely defensive gesture, key fiscal and monetary officials here said that the impact of the US rate hike would be limited, though they vowed anticipative measures for the potential consequences of the faster-than-expected rate hike timeline that has been signaled. “The Fed’s latest rate hi
June 14, 2018