Most Popular
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Medical profs at top hospitals suspend surgeries, clinics
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Samsung chip business back on track, logs W1.9tr operating profit in Q1
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Shinsegae faces showdown with investors over SSG.com's delayed IPO
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Hopes rise for possible Gaza truce deal
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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Ex-pro baseball player who killed debtor appeals sentence
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S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
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S. Korea to issue travel ban on Haiti amid intensifying gang violence
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Leaders of S. Korea, Angola agree to boost economic, trade cooperation
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Estimate puts public servants in top 7 percentile in annual income
A public servant paid an average of 88.53 million won ($78,868) a year, an amount equal to the top 7 percentile of the nation's average income, according to the Korea Taxpayers' Association.Based on basic salary information disclosed by the government and expenditure analysis of a ward office in Seoul picked as a representative sample, it costs about 179.9 million won a year to keep a public servant employed, the association said. Salary levels of government workers have become news after p
July 19, 2017
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Tough job market makes it harder for young people find work: govt. data
A tough market is making it harder for young people to find work with new jobseekers taking up to a year to land a position, government data showed Wednesday. According to Statistics Korea, the number of college graduates, dropouts and high-school graduates stood at some 4.82 million in May. Of them, about 4.18 million, or 86.8 percent, were employed or held a job at least once. The ratio of young people who had work experience fell 0.2 percentage point from a year ago. As for 4.09 million
July 19, 2017
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BOK says over 290m dormant coins back in circulation
South Korea's central bank said Wednesday that it has put more than 290 million dormant coins back into general circulation.People brought out some 296 million coins worth 40.8 billion won ($36.3 million) to have them changed into banknotes during the nationwide collection campaign in June, according to the Bank of Korea.This marked a 10.6-percent increase in the number of reclaimed coins vis-a-vis last year. Combined value of coins collected rose 10.9 percent. The annual campaign is designed to
July 19, 2017
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Dollar-won volatility eases in Q2
The volatility in the dollar-won exchange rates slightly eased in the April-June period from a quarter earlier as global financial markets stabilized, the central bank said Wednesday.The average daily variation, showing the change from the previous session's closing price, came to 4.2 won in the second quarter, down from 5.7 won in the previous quarter, according to data from the Bank of Korea.Meanwhile, the average gap between the daily high and low of the dollar-won exchange rates came to 5.8
July 19, 2017
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[News Focus] Will hike in minimum wage hurt labor market?
The sharp increase in the hourly minimum wage for next year, part of President Moon Jae-in’s vow to raise it to 10,000 won by 2020, was seen by many as an advancement in workers’ rights.The drastic increase, however, may also be a double-edged sword that squeezes the economy by discouraging cash-short business owners from recruiting, despite the government’s subsidy promises.Small and medium-sized firms and the distribution and service industries will be most affected by the ch
July 18, 2017
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[Monitor] More mothers opt to work
The number of South Koreans who are economically inactive due to reasons related to child care has dropped to a record low this year amid the country‘s chronic low birthrate, data by Statistics Korea showed Tuesday.The total number of economically inactive people aged over 15 stood at 15.83 million last month. Of them, about 1.24 million people, or 7.8 percent, were categorized as people not looking for work because they have to take care of children. It is the lowest since the government
July 18, 2017
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Korea moves to strengthen rights of franchisees
South Korea's antitrust regulator announced a set of measures meant to strengthen rights of franchisees Tuesday, a sign that underscores the government's commitment to ending unfair business practices across the board.The measures call for, among other things, food franchisers to release information on profit margins of essential goods that franchisees need to buy from their corporate parents, the Fair Trade Commission said.Commission officials will team up with their counterparts from the Seoul
July 18, 2017
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Ex-Daewoo shipyard CEO gets reduced sentence in appeal over accounting fraud
A Seoul appellate court on Tuesday commuted the sentence on a former head of a now debt-ridden shipyard convicted of massive accounting fraud that culminated in state-led fund injections.The Seoul High Court reduced the sentence for Ko Jae-ho, former chief executive of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., to nine years in jail. He was handed down a 10-year term by a lower court in January.Ko was indicted in July last year on charges of cooking the books worth over 5.7 trillion won i
July 18, 2017
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Sluggish economy means no summer holiday for 1 in 5 Koreans
One in five workers said that they will not be able to take time off work this summer, citing a sluggish economy and excessive workload as the main reasons, according to a survey by workers education company Hunet on Tuesday. Hunet’s survey of 934 employees found that 21.6 percent of the respondents said they are not planning on taking summer vacations this year. The results are slightly lower compared to last year, where 25.5 percent had said they could not take a vacation. In thi
July 18, 2017
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US Congress asks USTR for consultation in amending FTA with Korea
The US Congress has called on the United States Trade Representative to arrange for a consultation meeting in regards to any amendments to the free trade pact with South Korea, Seoul's trade promotion agency said Tuesday. Four leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives sent a letter to the US Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer, urging the office to "consult closely with Congress before meeting with South Korea and throughout its discussions," the Korea International Trad
July 18, 2017
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Minimum wage increase to raise pay for foreign workers by W1.75tr
The approved minimum wage increase next year will incur 1.75 trillion won ($1.55 billion) in additional pay for small and medium-sized enterprises that hire foreign workers, a local business association said Tuesday.Some 269,000 foreigners were working an average of 209 hours per month at local companies as of May this year. The hike in minimum wage will raise their monthly pay by 332,891 won, which covers basic pay, overtime and employee insurance, according to the Korea Federation of SMEs.&nbs
July 18, 2017
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Number of child rearing-related economically inactive people hit record low levels
The number of child rearing-related economically inactive South Koreans fell to a record low level this year amid the country's chronic low birthrate, government data showed Tuesday. Economically inactive people refer to those who are unemployed and not looking for jobs. They include those who have intentionally given up seeking jobs or are engaged in educational pursuits. According to the data provided by Statistics Korea, the number of economically inactive people aged over 15 stood at 1
July 18, 2017
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Korea could file suit with WTO against US protectionist measures: minister nominee
South Korea's trade minister nominee said Monday that he does not rule out the possibility of filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over US protectionist measures.Paik Un-gyu said the US has slapped excessive anti-dumping and countervailing duties on South Korean steel products at a time when they are neither being dumped nor benefiting from government subsidies.He outlined his views in a written answer to a question raised by an opposition lawmaker ahead of a parliamentary
July 17, 2017
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Korea’s growth potential plummeting
Bank of Korea’s upward revision last week of its 2017 growth forecast for the Korean economy was overshadowed by its gloomier estimate of the growth potential of Asia’s fourth-largest economy.The central bank revised up its growth outlook for this year to 2.8 percent from the 2.6 percent estimate in April. It cited a rise in exports and facility investment, which is expected to be coupled with a gradual improvement in private consumption in the second half of the year.In a move that
July 17, 2017
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[Monitor] Korea’s new power supply plan amibitious
According to a report on the new government’s new energy supply plan submitted to Rep. Choi Yeon-hye of the Liberty Korea Party, Korea’s target is similar to those of major countries and regions. But careful consideration of the effectiveness of the plan is needed considering the limited land space, a key factor in expanding sunlight and wind power generation, and the nation’s high reliance on energy imports, the lawmaker said.
July 17, 2017
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Semiconductor export prices hit 30-month high
Korea’s export price index of semiconductors hit 48.79 last month, reaching the highest in more than two years, according to the Bank of Korea on Monday. Last month’s price index of semiconductors was a 14.2 percent increase compared to December last year and marked the highest since December 2014 when it stood at 49.05. According to the BOK, the price hike is attributed to global rising demand for Korean chips. Exports of flash memory chips, widely used in smartphones, increased by
July 17, 2017
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Seoulites’ daily work commute exceeds 2 hours
It takes the average Korean worker more than 100 minutes to commute to and from work every day, according to data from Job Korea, an internet employment site, on Monday. For Seoul residents, the average daily commute was 2 hours and 15 minutes. Job Korea surveyed 820 men and women and found that the average worker spent 101.1 minutes commuting to and from work. Those surveyed said their commute to work takes roughly 48.1 minutes, while heading home from work takes 53 minutes. The survey also sh
July 17, 2017
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Data indicate tariff elimination doesn't account for increased Korean car exports to US
South Korea's car exports to the United States have declined, rather than increased, after the two countries abolished import taxes last year as part of their free trade agreement, data showed Sunday. The Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association published the analysis that rebuts a widespread belief in the US that lower tariffs increased Korean car sales in the country. It underlies the recent US calls for amendments to their five-year-old FTA. Korea's car exports to the US have increase
July 16, 2017
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BOK eyes slowdown in 2018 facility investment
Growth of South Korea's corporate capital expenditures is expected to lose steam sharply in 2018 due to this year's big investments by major companies, the central bank said Sunday.Corporate investment in new plants and equipment is projected to expand 3 percent next year, compared to an estimated 9.5 percent surge for this year, according to the Bank of Korea.In its latest economic outlook released Thursday, the central bank said the country's capital expenditures probably jumped 14.1 percent i
July 16, 2017
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Retailer confidence remains weak for Q3
A majority of South Korean retailers remain downbeat on their business conditions in the third quarter amid concerns over weak domestic demand and high household debt, a poll showed Sunday. The Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry said its retail business survey index stood at 91 for the July-September period of the year, up from 90 from three months earlier.The figure is based on a poll of some 1,000 retail businesses in Seoul and six other major cities nationwide. A reading below 100 means
July 16, 2017