The Korea Herald

[News Focus] Korea’s national debt up 107 trillion won since 2016

Feb 6, 2020

Parliamentary estimates also suggest that per capita national debt surpassed the 14 million won mark (14.16 million won) for a population of 51.8 million. It surged by more than 1 million won in two ...
Public jobs account for 9.1% of labor market in 2018

Feb 6, 2020

Jobs offered by the government and state-run companies accounted for 9.1 percent of South Korea's labor market in 2018, government data showed Thursday. A total of 2.45 million people were employed ...
S. Korea vows deregulation in 10 sectors

Feb 6, 2020

South Korea's finance ministry said Thursday it has designated 10 industrial sectors for deregulation, including artificial intelligence and biotechnology, to help them develop technologies and servi...
S. Korea vows swift budget spending amid growing virus concerns

Feb 6, 2020

SEJONG -- South Korea will swiftly implement its fiscal spending as China's rapidly spreading coronavirus epidemic is expected to cast a shadow on the nation's fragile economic recovery, a senior off...
Korea's current account surplus narrows in Dec.

Feb 6, 2020

South Korea's current account surplus narrowed sharply in December as its exports fell at a faster rate than imports, central bank data showed Thursday. The country's current account surplus came to...
Seoul to offer tax benefits to SMEs with virus losses

Feb 5, 2020

Government promises tax benefits for affected businesses, strong measures to prevent monopolies of masks and sanitizers
S. Korea unveils aid package worth W820b for new ships

Feb 5, 2020

South Korea on Wednesday unveiled a financial package worth 820 billion won ($690 million) to help modernize aging passenger boats and cargo vessels. The package is meant to help smaller shipping co...
S. Korea’s forex reserves hit record high in Jan.

Feb 5, 2020

South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves surged to a record high of $409.6 billion in January, surpassing its previous record from December, the nation’s central bank data showed Wednesday. The incre...
S. Korea eyes further economic cooperation with Russia, Azerbaijan

Feb 5, 2020

South Korea said Wednesday it will hold a series of meetings with counterparts in Russia and Azerbaijan this week as part of the country's drive to forge deeper ties with emerging countries of Easter...
Concerns grow over S. Korean exports amid coronavirus crisis

Feb 5, 2020

Concerns are escalating over South Korea's export performance down the road amid the new coronavirus crisis, but officials say no serious fallout has been reported yet. It is widely feared that the ...
Big firms sharply cut performance pay, dividends on dismal earnings

Feb 5, 2020

Major South Korean companies sharply cut payments of performance-based pay and dividends for 2019 due to abysmal earnings, industry sources said Wednesday. Top-cap Samsung Electronics Co. recently d...
BOK board members see slow but clear signs of improvement: minutes

Feb 4, 2020

A majority of South Korea's monetary policy board members apparently see gradual but definite signs of improvements in economic conditions surrounding the country, minutes from their latest rate-sett...
S. Korea set to approve tougher penalties against hoarding of protective masks

Feb 4, 2020

South Korea is set to approve tougher penalties Tuesday against those who engage in hoarding of protective masks, as China's coronavirus outbreak has sparked a sharp rise in demand for such masks, of...
Authorities to provide liquidity to coronavirus-hit firms

Feb 4, 2020

South Korea's financial authorities said Tuesday that they are working on a plan to provide emergency liquidity to smaller firms and self-employed people hit hard by a new coronavirus. The plan incl...
Korea's consumer price growth hits 14-month high in January

Feb 4, 2020

SEJONG --South Korea's consumer prices rose 1.5 percent on-year in January, marking their fastest gain in 14 months, the statistics agency said Tuesday. The country's inflation also rose 0.6 percent...