Most Popular
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Korea bets big on gas, oil prospects in East Sea
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Girls starting school early could boost fertility rate: state-backed agency report
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S. Korea to fully suspend inter-Korean military pact after NK balloon barrage
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BTS set to return in Hybe's hour of need
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Yoon OKs exploratory drilling for 'massive' oil, gas reserve in East Sea
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[KH Explains] Hyundai eyes IPO to leverage presence in India
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[Graphic news] S. Korea's children get taller
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Man stabs 2 foreign residents 'for no reason'
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[KH Explains] Has South Korea really struck oil?
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Ministry urges doctors to end walkout, mulls processing resignations
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[Monitor] Korea's fertility rate drops to 7-year low
South Korea’s fertility rate fell to a seven-year low last year, data by Statistics Korea showed.The total fertility rate, or the average number of babies that a woman is projected to have during her lifetime, reached 1.17 in 2016, down from 1.24 a year earlier.The number of newborns also declined 7.3 percent to a record-breaking low of 406,200 last year.The average age that a woman had her first child was 31.4 last year.To tackle the low birthrate that would hurt the country’s econo
Aug. 31, 2017
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Korea to create 200,000 jobs in health sector over 5 yrs
South Korea aims to create 200,000 new jobs in the health care sector over the next five years in an effort to improve medical services, the health ministry said Thursday.The government forecast that some 100,000 new jobs will be created naturally over the next five years, with another 100,000 positions being made with the government's policy intervention. It said such growth is possible as health care is the country's next growth engine after information technology. The plan was announced durin
Aug. 31, 2017
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FTC adds four firms on its antitrust watch list in Aug.
South Korea's corporate watchdog said Thursday that it has put four more affiliates of large business groups under tight restrictions on mutual investment and loan guarantees.The Fair Trade Commission said 1,281 firms were on its monthly watch list as of end-August, up four from the previous month.They are owned by the country's 31 largest business groups, including Samsung Group and Hyundai Motor Group, with assets of 10 trillion won ($8.5 billion) or more. Three groups, like Hanwha and LS
Aug. 31, 2017
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Korea's industrial output rebounds 1.9% in July
South Korea's industrial output rose at the fastest pace in six months in July on gains in cars and electronic devices, government data showed Thursday.Production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries climbed 1.9 percent on-month in July, turning around from a 0.5 percent on-month drop in the previous month, according to the data by Statistics Korea.It also marked the fastest on-month gain since January when it posted a 2.8 percent rise.From a year earlier, output also edg
Aug. 31, 2017
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Korean govt. to lower public firms’ debt ratio to 152% by 2021
The South Korean government will reduce the debt ratio of public corporations to 152 percent by 2021 as part of its efforts to improve the balance sheets of state-funded agencies, the finance ministry said Wednesday.Under a long-term financial management plan, 38 public firms, including the Korea Electric Power Corp. and the Korea Land & Housing Corp., are required to maintain their debt-to-total asset ratio at an average of 152 percent from 178 percent in 2016 in the next five years, accord
Aug. 30, 2017
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Moody's upgrades Korea's economic growth outlook to 2.8%
Global rating agency Moody's Investors Service said Wednesday that it has revised up South Korea's growth forecast for this year on the back of strong investment growth.Moody's adjusted South Korea's gross domestic product growth to 2.8 percent for 2017, up from its previous estimate of 2.5 percent."Overall growth is supported by strong investment growth," Moody's said in a global macroeconomic outlook. It said South Korea's export momentum is showing signs of a slowdown, but it remain
Aug. 30, 2017
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Health insurance outlays up 9.2% in H1
South Korea's health insurance outlays rose to 33.9 trillion won ($30.1 billion) during the first half of this year, a report showed Wednesday, partly on the back of more senior citizens requiring medical attention.According to the report by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service and the National Health Insurance Corp., the total amount to cover medical examinations, hospitalizations and drug purchases rose 9.2 percent on-year from January through June.The report showed that the mone
Aug. 30, 2017
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Korean investment in overseas securities up 41% in Q2
The amount of foreign securities held by major South Korean institutions rose 41.4 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier due to an increase in South Korean investment in foreign bonds and stocks, central bank data showed Wednesday.As of the end of June, the value of foreign securities held by South Korea's institutional investors came to $210.1 billion, compared with $148.52 billion from the same period last year, according to data compiled by the Bank of Korea.Quarter-on-quarter, th
Aug. 30, 2017
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Korea's fertility rate drops to 7-yr low in 2016
South Korea's fertility rate fell to a seven-year low in 2016 despite all efforts to tackle fewer babies being born in the country and the rapid population aging, government data showed Wednesday.The total fertility rate, or the average number of babies that a woman is projected to have during her lifetime, reached 1.17 in 2016, down from 1.24 tallied a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.The 2016 figure marked the lowest ebb since 2009 when it stood at 1.15. The fer
Aug. 30, 2017
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Rising household debt drags economic growth: regulator
The rising pile of household debt is the biggest risk facing South Korea's economy, and it is putting the nation's economic growth at risk, the head of the top financial regulator said Wednesday. Choi Jong-ku, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, told a forum that the government will unveil a fresh package of measures next month to rein in the growth of household debt. Household debt stood at 1,388.3 trillion won ($1.25 trillion) at the end of June, up 10.4 percent from a year ea
Aug. 30, 2017
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Salary of public sector CEOs gains 8.2% in 2016
The average salary of public corporations' CEOs climbed 8.2 percent in 2016 from a year earlier to recover the 200 million-won ($178,000) level in three years, a market tracker said Wednesday.The salary of CEOs of 35 public companies averaged 201.2 million won last year, up 15 million won from the previous year, according to CEO Score.The salary includes the base pay and various benefits. Their average base pay accounted for 61.7 percent of last year's salary. The average salary of public s
Aug. 30, 2017
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4th industrial revolution committee to launch by mid-September: ICT minister
A state committee chaired by President Moon Jae-in and aimed at seeking ways to capitalize on changes brought on by the fourth industrial revolution will be launched by mid-September, South Korea's chief ICT policymaker said Tuesday.The so-called "Fourth Industrial Revolution committee," comprised of some 30 senior government policymakers and businesspeople, is part of the Moon administration's pledge to upgrade the country's overall competitiveness. The committee aims to form a collab
Aug. 29, 2017
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Korea's finance minister discusses trade issues with US envoy
South Korea's top economic policymaker met with the acting US ambassador to Seoul on Tuesday and emphasized "friendly" consultations on issues concerning possible amendments to the bilateral free trade agreement, the finance ministry said.In a meeting with Marc Knapper, who is acting as the ambassador after Mark Lippert stepped down earlier in the year, Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said the South Korean government is hoping to maintain good relations as the two partners engage in fur
Aug. 29, 2017
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Government sets aside record W429tr budget for 2018
The government on Tuesday released a state budget plan for 2018 worth 429 trillion won ($381 billion), marking the steepest annual rise in nine years and advocating an expansionary fiscal plan in welfare and job creation to back President Moon Jae-in’s income-led growth economic initiative.The tentative budget for 2018, endorsed by the Cabinet in the morning, is up by 7.1 percent from this year’s 400.5 trillion won, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.With its approval
Aug. 29, 2017
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Independent panel launches review of financial regulatory reform
South Korea's financial regulator Tuesday set up an independent panel with the aim of drawing up plans for financial regulatory reform.Asia's fourth-largest economy has sought to strengthen its financial industry by easing regulations, but the government has been reluctant to give up its grip in the sector. The 13-member panel, headed by Yoon Suk-heun, a business professor at Seoul National University, will map out the plans for regulatory reform by the end of October, the Financial Service
Aug. 29, 2017
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More than 580,000 new homes supplied in July
More than 58,000 new homes were completed throughout the country in July, an increase of 62.3 percent from the month's average over the past five years, data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport showed Tuesday.A total of 58,718 units of new homes were supplied in the one-month period, 26,704 of them in Seoul and surrounding metropolitan areas for an increase of 22.9 percent from the five-year average for July, according to the ministry. It said 32,014 homes were built in regio
Aug. 29, 2017
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National health insurance rate to go up 2.04% in 2018
South Korea will increase its national health insurance rate by 2.04 percent next year, in line with the new Moon Jae-in administration's policy to strengthen the state's welfare infrastructure, the health ministry said Tuesday.The increase will push up insurance rates set at 6.12 percent of the monthly salary or income in 2017 to 6.24 percent in 2018, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said. Accordingly, salaried workers will pay an average of 102,242 won ($90.83) a month next year, up 1,966 wo
Aug. 29, 2017
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Health authorities order inspection of 4 imported food products
South Korean health authorities said Tuesday that they have ordered an indepth inspection into four imported foods that may pose potential health risks starting later this week.The products --Taiwanese mango, processed blowfish, Indian whilteleg shrimp, and moringa from drumstick tree -- will undergo the mandatory inspection starting on Wednesday, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said. The measure is part of the authorities' effort to secure safety of the food that may pose health risks, the
Aug. 29, 2017
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Accounting firms see sales gain 8.5% in fiscal 2016
Accounting firms in South Korea saw their combined sales rise 8.5 percent annually in the 2016 fiscal year, helped by a modest gain in revenues from their audits and consulting businesses, data showed Tuesday. The combined sales of 165 accounting firms stood at 2.67 trillion won ($2.37 billion) in fiscal 2016 that ended March of this year, compared with 2.46 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service.The nation's top four accounting firms -- Samil PwC
Aug. 29, 2017
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Rates for household loans inch up in July
Bank lending rates on new household loans inched up in July and interest rates paid by banks on new deposits slightly fell, central bank data showed Tuesday.The average interest rates on fresh household loans extended by local banks came to 3.46 percent in July, up 0.05 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. The BOK data came amid South Korea's efforts to tackle rising household debt. South Korea's overall household debt came to 1,388.3 trillion won
Aug. 29, 2017