South Korea's exports continued to rise in April, extending their winning streak to six months, on the back of brisk overseas sales of ships and chips, the trade ministry said Monday. Outbound shipments came to $51 billion last month, up 24.2 from $41.1 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The country's exports have been on a steady rise since...

Starting in July, the maximum parental leave subsidy for a second child will rise to 2 million won ($1,753) a month for the first three months, the Welfare Ministry said Sunday. In November 2014, the government started to provide a 1.5 million won monthly financial incentive when a second parent takes parental leave to care for their second child. The move was an effort to encourage more fathers...

The Bank of Korea said Sunday that despite US President Donald Trump celebrating his first 100 days in the White House, uncertainties over his policies have grown and are causing jitters. Citing concerns about Trump's protectionist moves, legal challenges over his anti-immigration policy and a revamped healthcare plan, the central bank urged Asia's fourth-largest economy to strengthen its monito...

A local private think tank said Sunday it has raised its growth outlook for South Korea this year, helped by increased exports and facility investments. The Korea Institute of Finance projected the country's gross domestic product to increase by 2.8 percent for 2017, higher than its earlier estimate of 2.5 percent growth forecast in October. It said the economy should expand 2.6 percent in the ...

South Korea's external earnings will fall by 2.7 percent if exports to China contract by 10 percent, a report by a state-run think tank showed Sunday. The report analyzing global trade friction released by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade showed Asia's fourth-largest economy being hurt if there is trade-related trouble between South Korea, the United States and China. KIET...

South Korea's exports to the United States are expected to suffer losses as much as $17 billion over five years if the two nations renegotiate a bilateral free trade deal, according to a report on Sunday. South Korea's businesses remain concerned after US President Donald Trump told Reuters in an interview last week that he will either renegotiate or scrap the free trade deal with South Korea, c...

South Korea's economy is still facing uncertainties, although it has shown signs of recovery, the nation's financial regulator said Friday. The South Korean economy expanded 0.9 percent in the first-quarter of this year, growing at the fastest pace since the second-quarter of last year, the Bank of Korea said this week. "There are estimates that show signs of recovery in exports and facility in...

The South Korean government is trying to figure out the exact meaning of US President Donald Trump's statement that he will fix or scrap a bilateral free trade deal between the two countries, officials here said Friday. In an interview with Reuters, Trump called the South Korea-US free trade agreement "horrible," saying, "We are going to renegotiate that deal or terminate it." His comments came...

South Korean businesses on Friday expressed serious concerns that US President Donald Trump's remarks on the bilateral free trade deal could trigger protectionism worldwide. In an interview with Reuters, Trump said he will either renegotiate or terminate the five-year-old trade agreement with South Korea, calling it "horrible" and "unacceptable." He said his administration aims to renegotiate t...

South Korea's central bank pledged Friday to keep the current monetary easing policy to support growth in Asia's fourth-largest economy. For this month, the Bank of Korea kept its key rate at an all-time low of 1.25 percent for the 10th consecutive month after dropping the rate to its lowest level to bolster the lackluster South Korean economy. The BOK will "maintain its stance of monetary poli...

Joint countermeasures against trade protectionism will be a central agenda item at an economic ministerial meeting of Asian and European countries in Seoul later this year, trade ministry officials said Friday. Senior officials from member states of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) met in Seoul on Friday to discuss topics for the ASEM Economic Ministers' Meeting, the Ministry of Trade, Industry an...

Lee Eun-hee, a 38-year-old lawyer, decided to visit Osaka in Japan with a friend in early November last year and set a new motto for this trip: spend less money on sleeping and focus more on eating and shopping. She downloaded the Airbnb application on her smartphone and searched for a suitable room close to a subway station and the large shopping districts of Dotonbori and Namba. On the app, i...

Cargo processed at South Korean seaports rose slightly during the first three months of 2017 from a year earlier amid a steady increase in exports, government data showed Friday. Cargo handled at the country's seaports came to 389.92 million tons in the January-March period, up from 375.64 million tons tallied a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Non-co...

South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment for next month improved slightly as local companies expect steady gains in domestic demand and exports, data by the central bank showed Friday. The business survey index of manufacturing firms came to 84 for May, up from 82 for April, according to the Bank of Korea. A reading over 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists, while a reading below the ...

South Korea plans to sell a combined 7.75 trillion won ($6.84 billion) in state bonds next month, the finance ministry said Thursday. The government will issue 1.8 trillion won in bonds with a maturity of three years and 1.9 trillion won in five-year bonds. It also plans to sell 1.8 trillion won worth of 10-year Treasurys and a combined 2.25 trillion won of bonds with a maturity of between 20 a...