SEJONG -- Almost 4 in every 5 foreign salaried workers in South Korea were found to be earning less than 3 million won ($2,500) a month, state data showed Tuesday. According to Statistics Korea and the Korea Immigration Service, around 811,000 foreigners were employed here this year, up 0.9 percentage point compared to the previous year. Of them, the portion of foreign employees whose monthly w...

SEJONG -- South Korea has publicized its goals of attaining full-fledged normalization of the economy beyond the pandemic crisis in 2022, alongside taking the lead in global competition to occupy future businesses. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki highlighted these dual goals during the government’s unveiling of economic policy directions for next year at the Government Com...

SEJONG -- The growth in housing prices in the Seoul metropolitan area -- Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon -- continued to outpace that of the nationwide average as of last month, government data showed Friday. According to the recent economic trends, published by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the average trading price of homes in the area of Seoul, Gyeonggi and Incheon climbed by 0.76...

SEJONG -- The local financial market will not face a high-level volatility despite the news that US monetary policymakers will accelerate their exit from quantitative-easing, Korea’s senior officials expected Thursday. At a meeting for macro economy and finance in Seoul, officials clarified that their prediction was based on Korea’s preemptive measures, involving hikes in the benchmark interest ...

SEJONG -- The number of employed in the nation increased by 553,000 in November, compared to a year earlier, continuing improvement in the hiring index over the past few months, state data showed Wednesday. But the number of de facto jobless -- unemployed plus underemployed -- still surpassed 3 million, with the actual jobless rate reaching 11 percent. The Ministry of Economy and Finance maintai...

SEJONG -- South Korea on Monday has expressed its commitment to joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is aimed at multilateral free trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, the nation has unveiled a policy to push for bilateral FTAs with more countries, including Mexico. In a ministerial meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Finan...

SEJONG -- South Korea was found to have conducted longer closures of on-the-spot classes at schools than other countries amid the pandemic situation, a state-run statistics agency said Friday. According to Statistics Korea, Korea closed elementary, middle and high schools for 68 weeks (77.3 percent) of the 88 weeks from March 2020 to October 2021. The closure includes partial or full-fledged (al...

SEJONG -- Deputy prime minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Wednesday that home prices in some districts of Seoul and others nationwide have stabilized. During a meeting with real estate-related ministers, Hong said prices of some apartments in Seoul have “stabilized to the level before entering a possible downhill phase.” His remarks indicate that some districts of the capital might b...

SEJONG -- The nation’s economy has faced downside risks in the wake of global industrial output and trade scaling back amid the ongoing pandemic, a state-funded research agency said Tuesday, casting concerns over a recent surge in manufacturers’ inventories. According to a report from the Korea Development Institute, the South Korean economy has been facing uncertainty with negative factors such...

SEJONG -- Homeowners will enjoy an increased capital gains exemption when they sell their homes after a law was passed. The National Assembly has passed the bill on raising the upper level for the tax exemption from the current 900 million won to 1.2 billion won. The revised law -- which is not applicable to multiple homeowners but to those owning only one home -- will take effect in the coming ...

SEJONG -- The growth in consumer prices posted the highest in almost a decade last month with prices of daily necessities such as diesel and agricultural products surging, sparking concerns over its impact on households. Statistics Korea said Thursday that consumer prices climbed 3.7 percent on-year in November, which marked the highest increase since the 4.2 percent growth in December 2011. Co...

SEJONG -- The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has maintained its outlook on the South Korean economy this year, while revising down its growth predictions for major countries. In a report released Wednesday, the Paris-based organization maintained its earlier forecast in September of a 4 percent growth in gross domestic product for Korea this year. “The Korean economy cont...

SEJONG -- South Korea’s monthly exports surpassed $60 billion last month for the first time on the back of the brisk outbound shipments of semiconductors and petrochemicals. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, exports posted an all-time high of $60.4 billion in November, up 32.1 percent from a year earlier. “After initially surpassing $50 billion in October 2013, the monthl...

SEJONG -- South Korea’s industrial output and facilities investment declined on-month, though the two sectors also recorded positive growth on-year, reflecting economic uncertainty under constant pressure of the pandemic, data showed Tuesday. The industrial output decreased by 1.9 percent in October from a month earlier, which marked the highest negative growth since it posted minus 2 percent in...

SEJONG -- Banpo-dong, Seoul, is likely to see the average trading price of homes exceed 100 million won ($83,800) per “pyeong” in the coming months. Apgujeong-dong, Seoul is poised to follow suit. In the nation, a pyeong is a basic unit used for real estate prices, equal to 3.3 square meters. These two districts in the capital’s Gangnam-gu, located just south of Han River, are the priciest in S...