Most Popular
-
1
Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
-
2
Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
-
3
New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
-
4
Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
-
5
[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
-
6
Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
-
7
Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
-
8
Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
-
9
Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
-
10
KT launches new mobile plans for foreign residents
-
Korea expects 4% growth in exports for 2018: minister
South Korea expects to see its exports grow 4 percent this year, slowing down from a double-digit expansion in 2017, amid a strengthening local currency and potential geopolitical risks, the industry minister said Monday."The government will do its best to attain 4 percent growth in export growth this year by pre-emptively coping with possible downside risks," Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Paik Un-gyu said in a New Year's visit to Incheon International Airport, the country's m
Jan. 1, 2018
-
Korea's property tax rate to GDP stands below OECD average in 2017: data
South Korea's property tax rate compared with its GDP stood below the average for Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member countries, official data showed Monday.According to the Paris-based organization, the country's recurrent taxes on immovables reached 0.80 percent of its economy in 2017.This placed it the 16th highest among 31 countries that were checked and below the 0.91 percent average for other developed market economies with high incomes.The latest findings showed t
Jan. 1, 2018
-
Prime Minister says S. Korea's per capita income to surpass $30,000 in 2018
South Korean prime minister Lee Nak-yon said Sunday the country's per capita income is expected to breach the $30,000 mark next year.In his New Year's message, Lee said South Korea will likely see its per capita income surpass $30,000 next spring, but that achievement will bring new tasks to the country. "We need to let everyone feel and experience fairly even regarding the country's per capita income of $30,000," he said."We also need to make our economy keep growing."
Jan. 1, 2018
-
BOK chief pledges to keep expansionary monetary policy in 2018
South Korea's central bank chief said Sunday that the expansionary monetary policy will be maintained in the new year in a way to further fuel the economic growth of Asia's fourth-largest economy."As the economy is expected to continue pulling off steady growth in the new year and there will likely be low inflation pressure, the central bank's monetary policy will remain expansionary," Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said in his New Year's message. The BOK raised the country's bas
Dec. 31, 2017
-
Consumer price marks largest rise in 5 years: data
South Korea’s consumer prices increased at the fastest rate in five years in December, on the back of strong industrial goods and financial services, government data showed Friday.The nation’s consumer price index climbed 1.5 percent this month from a year earlier, up from the previous month’s 1.3 percent on-year gain, according to Statistics Korea. Compared to the previous month, the index moved up 0.3 percent. For the entire year, consumer prices grew 1.9 percent from 2016, m
Dec. 29, 2017
-
Finance minister vows to maintain decent economic growth in 2018
South Korea's chief economic policymaker said Friday that the government will do its utmost to maintain decent growth for the country in the new year."The new year will mark the first time (for the economy) to achieve a (per capita GDP) $30,000 level," Finance Minister Kimg Dong-yeon said in his message for 2018. "(The government) will redouble efforts to help the economy maintain its solid expansion."Earlier, the finance ministry said it will implement its economic policy ne
Dec. 29, 2017
-
Seoul, Washington to kick off FTA talks next week
South Korea and the United States are to start the first round of negotiations to amend their bilateral Free Trade Agreement on Jan. 5 in Washington, Seoul’s Trade Ministry said Wednesday.The move to revise the 5-year-old trade deal, triggered upon US President Donald Trump’s request, is expected to raise differences between the two countries regarding their stances toward the automobile and agricultural and livestock goods sectors.“During the forthcoming negotiations, we plan
Dec. 28, 2017
-
BOK to keep expansionary monetary policy in 2018
South Korea's central bank said Thursday that it will maintain an expansionary monetary policy next year, but it will keep close tabs on economic conditions in order to tailor its policies accordingly."The domestic economy is expected to pull off stable growth next year, but the central bank will stay expansionary on low inflationary pressure," said the Bank of Korea in a report on its annual monetary strategy for 2018. "While closely looking into growth and consumer prices, the B
Dec. 28, 2017
-
Korea, US to kick off trade deal renegotiation next week
WASHINGTON -- South Korea and the United States will kick off negotiations to amend their bilateral free trade agreement next week, Seoul's trade ministry said Wednesday.The first round of talks will be held in Washington on Jan. 5 following months of preparation triggered by the Donald Trump administration's request to revise the pact.US President Trump has blamed the five-year-old deal, known as KORUS, for the growing US trade deficit with South Korea. But Seoul has pointed to macroeconomic fa
Dec. 28, 2017
-
Economic policies to focus on improving quality of life in 2018
South Korea’s key economic policy goal for next year is to create jobs and innovate growth, under a mid- and long-term vision to improve people’s quality of life, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Wednesday.The nation’s economy is expected to grow 3 percent next year on the back of a solid global economy and a series of policy measures by the Moon Jae-in administration, while the per capita gross national income will reach the $30,000 level, according to the ministry.&l
Dec. 27, 2017
-
Economic policies center on boosting job creation, quality of life in 2018
South Korea will implement its economic policy next year to boost job creation and innovative growth, which will help improve quality of life, while laying the foundation to tackle the country's chronic low birthrate and maintain a decent economic expansion over the mid-to-long haul, the finance ministry said Wednesday.The economy is expected to grow at around 3 percent next year, following this year's estimated 3.1 percent expansion, on the back of the solid global economy and a series of polic
Dec. 27, 2017
-
Govt., steelmakers discuss ways to tackle US trade protectionism
South Korea's trade ministry and local steelmakers have discussed ways to cope with the United States' growing trade protectionism including adjusting steel exports, officials said Monday.The ministry held a meeting with trade experts and local steelmakers, including top player POSCO and its rival Hyundai Steel Co., on Thursday to discuss how to tackle Washington's move to restrict the imports of South Korean steel products.Some experts proposed the need for local companies to reduce steel expor
Dec. 26, 2017
-
[Monitor] S. Korea’s quarterly growth rate third-highest in G-20
South Korea’s quarterly growth rate of gross domestic product in volume grew 1.5 percent in the third quarter of the year, according to data compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.The country’s growth rate between July and September was the third-highest on-quarter increase among G-20 countries, after China and India. China’s GDP in volume grew 1.7 percent, while India saw 1.6 percent of growth in the same period.
Dec. 25, 2017
-
Economic recovery without wage hikes picked among top 10 trends next year
Economic recovery without a wage increase has been picked as one of top 10 global trends next year, a local think tank said Monday. In the 2018 Global 10 Trends report, the Hyundai Research Institute (HRI) said an economic recovery without wage hikes is widely expected globally as employers in advanced countries prefer hiring low-paying temporary workers to regular employees. The research institute expected the number of low-paying jobs in the food and housing industry will increase but that of
Dec. 25, 2017
-
Innovating service sector crucial to sustain growth
Korea needs to step up efforts to advance service industries to ensure sustainable economic growth amid mounting trade protectionism across the globe, economists here say.In terms of service sector competitiveness, the country remains near the bottom among member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.According to OECD data, labor productivity of service industries was just 45.1 percent of that of manufacturing industries in Korea in 2014, far below 87.8 percent in F
Dec. 25, 2017
-
Korea's economy may achieve 3% growth in 2018: poll
South Korea's economy may be able to pull off 3 percent growth in 2018, although numbers may dip slightly from this year, a poll conducted on head of local think tanks predicted Monday.The six research institute chiefs said in the survey carried out by Yonhap News Agency, said exports that have fueled growth in2017 will likely trail off with facility investment and the construction sector also holding back the economy.New jobs to be created in the new year could reach around 300,000, which is a
Dec. 25, 2017
-
Growth of household financial assets hits record low
Growth of South Korean households’ financial assets reached an all-time low this year amid prolonged low interest rates, government data showed Sunday. The average financial assets of local households stood at 97.8 million won (US$90,600) as of the end of March, up a mere 1.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea, the Financial Supervisory Service and the Bank of Korea. It marked the lowest on-year gain since 2012, when those agencies began compiling rel
Dec. 24, 2017
-
Heads of major banks eye 3 pct growth for 2018: poll
The chiefs of South Korea‘s major commercial banks expect the economy to expand around 3 percent on-year in 2018 on brisk exports and a recovery in consumer spending, a poll showed Sunday. In written interviews with Yonhap News Agency, the heads of the lenders -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, KB Hana and Nonghyup -- forecast Asia’s fourth-largest economy to continue its recovery pace in the coming year. South Korea‘s overseas shipments are projected to remain resilient thanks to
Dec. 24, 2017
-
Finance minister cautiously upbeat about 2018 economic growth
South Korea's chief economic policymaker has said the South Korean economy will see solid growth in 2018, but there are still headwinds."The global economy is expected to remain strong, but at the same there are unfavorable external factors, such as trade protectionism and rate hikes," Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said in a press meeting Thursday. "We also have many things to do for job creation, and that's the top priority of next year's economic policy."Asia's fourth-larg
Dec. 22, 2017
-
Govt. to promote production, use of ultra-small cars
The government said Friday it will push legislation early next year to promote the production and use of supermini vehicles as a means of saving energy.Ultra-small vehicles will include those with less than 250 cc in engine capacity or 15kW in rated output, that are lighter than 600 kilograms and have a maximum speed of 80 kms per hour, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said.In comparison, vehicles with up to 1,000 cc in engine capacity are categorized as small cars under the Au
Dec. 22, 2017