Most Popular
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Yoon sorry for shortcomings but insists policies were right
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1 in 3 Koreans live alone, family types becoming diverse
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S. Korea ‘strongly’ protests Japan’s claim over Dokdo in diplomatic bluebook
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Korea, Japan finance chiefs vow to tame rampant FX market volatility
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US 'incredibly concerned' about suspected NK-Iran military ties
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Korean won weakens amid heightened uncertainty
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Seoul says will cut power to porn festival planned on Han River
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Sewol victims commemorated on tragedy's 10th anniversary
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K-pop group's manager dismissed for setting up spycam in theater dressing room
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Chanel, Louis Vuitton see muted growth in Korea
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Mortgage rates jump despite key rate freeze
South Korean banks' mortgage rates have surged over the past 17 months despite a freeze in the country's benchmark interest rate, industry data showed Monday.Annual mortgage rates charged by South Korea's major lenders have risen by 0.4 percentage point to more than 0.8 percent since May last year, according to the data from the Korea Federation of Banks.As of October, the state-run Industrial Bank of Korea had the highest interest rate of 3.55 percent on 10-year mortgages, up slightly over 0.8
Nov. 27, 2017
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[News Focus] Market consensus points toward key rate hike
Tension is building up within the financial market over whether the central bank will increase the nation’s key interest rate this week, for the first time in more than six years.The market consensus as of Sunday was that the Bank of Korea’s monetary policy board, which is to hold its monthly meeting on Thursday, will raise the current record-low rate of 1.25 percent by 0.25 percentage points.Hints an imminent rate hike have been building up for some time. Last month, while freezing
Nov. 26, 2017
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Household debt jumps 34 pct over past 3 years
South Korea's household debt soared 34.4 percent over the past three years, buoyed by the government's policy of easing lending regulations for home mortgages and by low interest rates, data showed Saturday. At the end of September, household debt stood at 1,419.1 trillion won ($1,306 billion), up 362.7 trillion won from three years earlier, according to data by the Bank of Korea. In comparison, household debt grew by 165.2 trillion between September 2011 and September 2014. In August 2014
Nov. 25, 2017
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Consumer sentiment reaches 7-year high on eased geopolitical risks
South Korea's consumer confidence in November hit its highest level in seven years as tensions subsided over North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, a central bank poll showed Friday.The composite consumer sentiment index for November stood at 112.3, up 3.1 points from the previous month, according to the survey by the Bank of Korea.A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists. The BOK attributed the rise in consumer confidence to eased tensions between North Korea and the US ove
Nov. 24, 2017
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Korea to expand trade talks during Olympics
The South Korean government is looking to the upcoming 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics as beacon for providing additional means and opportunity in which the country can expand its economic territory and extend multilateral Free Trade Agreement talks with leaders from Eurasian nations, according to local trade officials on Thursday. The winter games, which will launch in February, will play host to a sleuth of economic and political figures from the Eurasian Economic Union, including Russia, Be
Nov. 23, 2017
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[Monitor] Household credit hits all-time high in Q3
The nation's household debt hit a record high in the third quarter, despite the government’s set of measures including stricter loan regulations, according to the central bank.The outstanding total of household debt stood at 1,419.1 trillion won ($1.3 trillion) in the July-September period, up 9.5 percent from a year earlier, preliminary data by the Bank of Korea showed Wednesday. The amount was also a 2.2 percent rise from the previous quarter.The latest data came a week before the BOK is
Nov. 23, 2017
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[PyeongChang 2018] Trade officials hope for progress on Eurasia FTA talks during PyeongChang Winter Olympics
The 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics are hoped to expedite South Korea's economic cooperation with other countries, especially with Eurasian nations with which the country is seeking a free trade agreement, trade-related officials said Thursday.The PyeongChang Games, opening in February, will bring a substantial number of foreign political and economic leaders to South Korea, naturally providing venues to address bilateral and multilateral issues. Officials hope that one of the opportunities wil
Nov. 23, 2017
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Korea expands outreach to ASEAN
The Moon Jae-in administration has vowed to go all out to expand economic cooperation and personnel exchanges between South Korea and Southeast Asian nations in the coming years.President Moon used his seven-day trip to Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines earlier this month to trumpet what has been dubbed the New South Policy.He told regional business leaders that South Korea would seek to double its annual trade with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations to over $200 billion b
Nov. 22, 2017
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Korea’s export growth rate likely lower than global trade rise
Despite Korea experiencing a boom in exports in the semiconductor industry, overall export growth for Korean goods is expected to fall short of the overall growth rate of worldwide trade due to worsening international competitiveness, according to the Bank of Korea on Wednesday. The central bank forecast Korea’s exports would see 3.7 percent growth this year compared to last year. However, the figure is 0.5 percentage point lower than the International Monetary Fund’s global trade gr
Nov. 22, 2017
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Korea's childbirths slump in Sept.
South Korea again saw a steep slide in the number of newborn babies in September as the country is expected to experience record low childbirths in 2017, government data showed Wednesday.About 30,100 babies were born in the month, down 12.5 percent, or 4,300, from 34,400 tallied a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea.The monthly childbirths have decreased every single month since December 2015 with a double-digit decline continuing for 10 straight months. The number of newbo
Nov. 22, 2017
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Jobless rate rising for people with doctorates
One out of five people holding doctoral degrees are jobless in South Korea, the highest rate since recordkeeping began in 2014, official data showed Wednesday.Some 22.9 percent of people who earned doctorates locally this year are without jobs, according to the Korean Statistical Information Service. For previous years, the figures were 21.3 percent in 2014, 20.3 percent in 2015 and 21.6 percent last year.Another 2.8 percent were not looking for employment at the time of the survey, which was he
Nov. 22, 2017
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Minister vows no concession on farm sector ahead of KORUS FTA revision
Ahead of the free trade deal revision talks with the United States, Korea’s trade minister vowed on Tuesday not to take a step back in the looming farm sector renegotiation deal.“(The government) is now taking a strong stand on agriculture sector, and will not retreat any further,” Paik Un-gyu, minister of trade, industry and energy told reporters Tuesday in the administrative city of Sejong.This echoed Korea‘s trade negotiator Kim Hyun-chong’s remark in October tha
Nov. 21, 2017
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Youth employment hits record low, senior jobs soar
South Korea continues to struggle with its high youth unemployment rate, with the number of employed Korean youths hitting a record low last month and the number of senior citizens in Korea continuing to climb, according to data from Statistics Korea on Tuesday. The number of employed Koreans aged 15 to 29 stood at 3.93 million in October, 52,000 lower compared to the same month last year. The employment figure also represents an all-time low percentage of 14.6 percent of Korea’s total em
Nov. 21, 2017
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Job offerings in Korea increase in 2016
The number of jobs offered by local businesses in South Korea edged up last year from a year earlier amid a protracted economic slump, government data showed Tuesday.There were a total of 23.23 million jobs as of December 2016, up 0.9 percent, or 220,000, from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.Some 3.61 million jobs were newly created last year, while 3.39 million position were lost. Incorporated companies offered 11.14 million jobs, or 48 percent of the total, o
Nov. 21, 2017
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Low growth, high household debt threatening Korean economy: experts
An extended period of slow growth and steady increase in household debt could spark an economic crisis in South Korea, which suffered a financial crisis two decades ago, economists said Tuesday.Seven out of 10 economists stated they believe the country could face an economic crisis within the next five years if low growth persists and household debt continues to rise, the Korea Economic Research Institute said in a statement. In a seminar arranged by KERI on Tuesday, economists such as former fi
Nov. 21, 2017
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Youth employment hits nadir in Oct.
South Korea's youth employment hit a record low in October due to demographic changes and their difficulty finding jobs, government data showed Tuesday.The number of employed South Koreans aged 15-29 stood at 3.93 million last month, down 52,000 from a year earlier and marked the fifth consecutive month of decline, according to the data from Statistics Korea.The figure accounted for 14.6 percent of the country's total employed people at 26.86 million, which was an all-time low percentage.The por
Nov. 21, 2017
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Data shows tax write-offs for education costs not providing intended benefits
Tax write-offs for education costs intended to help low-income families are helping the rich more, data showed Tuesday.An analysis provided by the National Assembly's finance committee said tax exemptions in the education category this year are to reach 1.18 trillion won ($1.07 billion) and increase to 1.32 trillion won next year. The amount has been growing annually, from 1.08 trillion won in 2014 to 1.15 trillion won in 2015 and 1.16 trillion won last year.Households are given a number of tax
Nov. 21, 2017
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Tax agency's reform TF reveals 5 abuse of power cases
The state tax agency has been allegedly involved in a number of abuse of power cases for political purposes in the previous conservative governments, a panel said Monday.A task force assigned to carry out sweeping reform of the National Tax Service has looked into 60 cases which were suspected of being politically motivated by the tax office. The task force was launched three months after liberal President Moon Jae-in took office in May and has 19 members, including NTS officials, professors and
Nov. 20, 2017
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Korea sees labor market polarization deepen
Employment figures recently released were certainly disappointing for the Moon Jae-in administration, which has vowed to put top priority on creating more jobs as part of its income-led growth strategy.Its labor-friendly policies have done little to ease the polarization of Korea’s labor market, only exacerbating youth unemployment and reducing jobs for low-wage workers.According to data released by Statistics Korea last week, the unemployment rate for young people aged between 15 and 29 s
Nov. 20, 2017
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Backed by FTA, US beef claims half of import market
For the first time in 14 years, imports of US beef accounts for more than half of South Korea’s imported beef market on the back of the two countries’ free trade agreement, according to data from the Korea International Trade Association on Monday. From January to October this year, US beef imports hit $989 million, making up 50.7 percent of the country’s beef import market, marking the first time it has exceeded 50 percent after hitting a record-high 75.9 percent in 2003.&nbs
Nov. 20, 2017