Most Popular
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
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Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
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Will tug-of-war between doctors, government end soon?
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Climate impacts set to cut 2050 global GDP by nearly a fifth
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Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen
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[Graphic News] More Koreans say they plan long-distance trips this year
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[KH Explains] Hyundai's full hybrid edge to pay off amid slow transition to pure EVs
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North Korea removes streetlights along cross-border roads with South
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Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official
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Farming households dip below 1m for first time in 2023
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Foreign banks upgrade Korea's economic outlook
Some foreign investment banks have raised their growth forecasts for South Korea's economy this year, thanks to better-than-expected exports and facility investment, a financial research institute said Tuesday.The Bank of Korea has upgraded its growth forecast for the country to 2.6 percent from 2.5 percent, citing improving exports, the Korea Center for International Finance said. The British bank Barclays also recently raised its outlook for South Korea's gross domestic product this year
July 4, 2017
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Sales of image sensors set to soar through 2021
Global sales of image sensors are expected to rise through 2021 in line with the development of virtual reality and wearable devices, industry data showed Tuesday.According to the data compiled by IC Insights, the global market for CMOS image sensors is expected to reach $11.5 billion this year, up 9 percent from $10.5 billion posted a year earlier. Image sensors refer to system chips that detect images and converts them into electronic signals. They are installed in digital cameras and smartpho
July 4, 2017
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Korea has OECD’s highest proportion of low-paid women
South Korea had the highest proportion of low-paid female employees out of its total labor force among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2015, mainly due to the gender pay gap, data showed Monday.“Low paid” was defined as those receiving wages less than two-thirds of the median wage. The proportion of such women was 37.6 percent in Korea in 2015, the highest among 15 OECD members. The figure is much higher than that of the US, whic
July 3, 2017
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Economic showdown looms ahead for Korea-US FTA
The Korea-US summit in Washington last week finished with ambiguous statements from both sides as well as President Trump expressing his intent to renegotiate the current Korea-US Free Trade Agreement. In light of the circumstances, the Moon administration is expected to prepare a FTA task force for what is looking to be an intense economic showdown between the two nations. President Moon Jae-in proposed the launch of a consultation task force to investigate, analyze and evaluate the impact of t
July 3, 2017
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Mortgage approvals by 6 retail banks hit 7-month high in June
Mortgage lending by six major retail banks grew to a seven-month high in June, as more people sought to receive mortgages before the government tightens lending regulations for home mortgages, data showed Monday. The value of home loans at the six banks, including Shinhan, Kookmin and Woori, rose by 2.7 trillion won ($2.36 billion) to 383 trillion won at the end of June. It was the fastest monthly growth since November last year, when mortgage lending by the six banks grew by 3.1 trillion w
July 3, 2017
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Rise in household debt will not affect consumption due to rising
South Korea will not undergo a sharp drop in consumption despite the ever-rising household debt, a private think tank said Monday, citing growth in property and financial asset value.Households where the head of the family was over 55 have witnessed a 94.51 percent rise in income and 78.32 percent increase in savings in 2015 compared with 2001, according to a report by the Korea Economic Research Institute. The value of their property and financial assets surged 157.35 percent and 98.3 percent,
July 3, 2017
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Pay disparity widens between senior managers, ordinary workers
Senior managers at big service sector firms earned 4.2 times more than rank-and-file workers last year, highlighting the widening wage gap in earnings that began with the 2008-09 global financial crisis, according to official data Monday. A service worker's average monthly wage rose to 1.67 million won ($1,460) last year from 1.61 million won in 2009, according to data by the Bank of Korea and the Ministry of Employment and Labor. In comparison, a senior manager's average monthly wage stoo
July 3, 2017
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5 firms added to antitrust watch list in June
The number of South Korean business groups' affiliates under tight restrictions on mutual investment and loan guarantees rose slightly in June from a month earlier, the corporate watchdog said Monday.The Fair Trade Commission said 1,268 firms were on its monthly watch list as of end-June, up five 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.Ten groups, li
July 3, 2017
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Korean women paid much less than men compared to counterparts
South Korean women employees are paid less than their male counterparts among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member economies, due to wage discrimination, data showed Monday.The proportion of female low-salaried workers who are paid less than two-thirds of the median wage stood at 37.6 percent in 2015, down from 37.8 percent the previous year, according to the statistics by the OECD. The figure is the highest among 16 OECD member countries that have proveided comparab
July 3, 2017
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FTA renegotiation issue remains open upon summit
South Korean President Moon Jae-in flew back to Seoul on Sunday with a reaffirmed US alliance and renewed momentum to resolve the North Korea impasse, but he left open the controversial issue of Washington’s push to renegotiate a bilateral free trade agreement. Upon their talks Friday, President Moon and his US counterpart Donald Trump each adopted different tones toward the Korea-US FTA, with Moon emphasizing their joint statement that did not include phrases regarding renegotiation and T
July 2, 2017
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S. Korea's exports jump 13.7 ercent in June
South Korea's exports extended their winning streak for the eighth month in a row by expanding 13.7 percent last month on recovering global commerce, the trade ministry said Saturday.Outbound shipments came to US$51.4 billion in June, up from $45.2 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The latest number marked the second-largest monthly volume since October 2014, when shipments reached $51.6 billion, while it posted double-digit growth for six mo
July 1, 2017
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Foreign investors trading on Korean bourse up slightly in May
The number of foreign stock investors registered in South Korea rose slightly in May, with Americans accounting for the lion's share, the country's financial watchdog said Friday. The number of overseas investors who were registered in the Financial Supervisory Service reached 43,943 as of end-March, up 646 from end-December, according to the watchdog.Among them, retail and institutional investors totaled 10,883 and 33,060, respectively, as of March, up 120 and 526 from the end of December.By co
June 30, 2017
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Think tank raises Korea's growth outlook
The South Korean economy will likely grow at a faster pace this year than initially estimated on resilient exports and corporate capital spending, a private think tank said Thursday.In its second-quarter economic report, the Korea Economic Research Institute upgraded its 2017 growth outlook for Asia's fourth-largest economy to 2.9 percent from an earlier 2.5 percent.KERI, affiliated with the nation's big business lobby Federation of Korean Industries, attributed the upward revision to increased
June 29, 2017
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Rates for household loans inch up in May
Bank lending rates on new household loans inched up in May and interest rates paid by banks on new deposits remained unchanged, central bank data showed Thursday.The average interest rates on fresh household loans extended by local banks came to 3.47 percent in May, up 0.06 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 household debt stood at 1,359.7 trillion won ($1.2 trillion)
June 29, 2017
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Electronic payments hit record high in Q1
The amount of payments made electronically hit a record high in the first quarter, central bank data showed Thursday, in the latest sign that a growing number of South Koreans are using online means to conduct financial transactions.The daily average amount of electronic financial transactions came to 432.6 billion won ($379.8 million) in the January-March period, up 11.7 percent from the previous quarter, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.The figure is the highest reached since the c
June 29, 2017
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Korea's retail sales up 6.3% in May on online growth
Sales of key retailers in South Korea grew 6.3 percent last month from a year earlier, led by the strong performance in the online sector, government data showed Thursday.The combined revenue of 26 online and offline retailers reached 10.29 trillion won ($9 billion) in May, compared with 9.68 trillion won the previous year, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Of the total, 13 offline-based retailers, including department stores, discount chains and convenience
June 29, 2017
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Debt burden of Korean young adults soars over 3 years
The debt burden of South Koreans in their 20s and 30s has grown at the fastest pace among all age groups over the past three years amid a spike in household debt, central bank data showed Thursday.The so-called loan-to-income ratio for 20-somethings and 30-somethings has risen 36.2 percent over the three years, meaning their debt has gained at an annual average rate of 12 percent amid stalled income growth, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. Yet the LTI for the young Koreans came to 1
June 29, 2017
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Korea's manufacturing sentiment worsens for July
South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment for July worsened from this month as local companies expect a slight decline in domestic demand and exports, central bank data showed Thursday.The business survey index of manufacturing firms came to 80 for next month, down from 84 in June, according to the Bank of Korea. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists, while a reading above the benchmark means the opposite.An index measuring local firms' sentiments toward exports came to 8
June 29, 2017
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Korea needs to address inevitabilities of household debt: economists
South Korea does not face an imminent crisis over its growing household debt, but it needs to address some inevitabilities, foreign economists said Wednesday.South Korea's household debt stood at 1,359.7 trillion won ($1.2 trillion) as of end-March, a dramatic increase from 665 trillion won at the end of 2007, according to the Bank of Korea.The ratio of South Korea's household debt to gross domestic product came to 92.8 percent as of end-2016, up 4.7 percentage points from a year earlier, accord
June 28, 2017
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Cooperation trumps restrictions for sustainable reform: Herald forum
South Korea needs to address chronic problems in its economic structure in order to achieve sustainability in economic reforms, including those of family-run business groups known as chaebol by the new government, experts voiced at a forum on Wednesday. Around 300 government officials including Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Kim Dong-yeon, executives of major businesses, and economic scholars gathered at the 2017 Herald Business 氣UP Forum, a business policy conference, held at the Fo
June 28, 2017