The Korea Herald

[News Focus] Korea in FTA talks with Asian, South American powerhouses

IndustryJan 2, 2020

SEJONG -- South Korea has secured 16 free trade partners -- 12 countries and four trade blocs -- around the globe since it started pursuing bilateral free trade agreements two decades ago. The 12 co...
[News Focus] 5 ministries enjoy ‘Seoul-area stay’ thanks to law

PoliticsJan 1, 2020

SEJONG -- Sejong is expanding most quickly among the eight major cities and nine provinces in South Korea. The city is absorbing households from Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, Daejeon and the South and No...
[News Focus] Payouts for jobless soared 81% since 2017

EconomyDec 26, 2019

SEJONG -- Data provided by a state-funded agency showed that the volume of unemployment benefits paid to the jobless has sharply increased over the past two years. The figures, from the Korea Employ...
[News Focus] Korea falls short of G-20 average in Q3 growth

EconomyDec 24, 2019

SEJONG -- South Korea’s policymakers are struggling to invigorate the sluggish economy, having suffered minus 0.37 percent on-quarter growth in the first quarter this year. The nation posted 1.04 pe...
[News Focus] Men’s population in Korea falls for 4 consecutive months

Social affairsDec 23, 2019

SEJONG -- South Korea’s sex ratio -- ratio of males to females in a population -- has been showing drastic changes in recent years. The female population in Korea came to 25.98 million as of Novembe...
[News Focus] Korea clings to record-low rate despite unfavorable indices

MarketsDec 22, 2019

SEJONG -- South Korea’s benchmark interest rate ranged between 3 percent and 5.25 percent per annum from 2000 to 2008. Though the monetary policy committee of the Bank of Korea cut the key rate to 2...
[News Focus] Korea clings to record-low rate despite unfavorable indices

EconomyDec 19, 2019

SEJONG -- South Korea’s benchmark interest rate ranged between 3 percent and 5.25 percent per annum from 2000 to 2008. Though the monetary policy committee of the Bank of Korea cut the key rate to 2...
[News Focus] Korean economy in dire straits as policies flounder

EconomyDec 18, 2019

SEJONG -- As the 2010s is due to expire in two weeks, South Korea continues to face heightened economic uncertainties. The year 2000 was a new starting point for the fourth-largest economy in Asia. ...
[News Focus] Self-employed in S. Korea face strong headwinds

EconomyDec 16, 2019

SEJONG -- The sluggish domestic economy and a spike in statutory minimum wage in South Korea in recent years have dealt a severe blow to the self-employed. Most have been forced to close shop or hav...
[News Focus] Only 1 in 5 support Moon’s apartment policies: poll

PoliticsDec 12, 2019

SEJONG -- The approval ratings for President Moon Jae-in have recently inched up to hover around 45 percent, according to a variety of surveys by major pollsters. A noteworthy point in the latest po...
[News Focus] Korea 7th-highest in temporary-job portion among 42 countries

EconomyDec 10, 2019

SEJONG -- In South Korea, the government does not include people with nonregular jobs -- like temporary or contract employees -- when it counts the official number of jobless. As a result, the nation...
[News Focus] Number of Seoulites residing alone up 300,000 in 10 years

Social affairsDec 9, 2019

SEJONG -- The number of residents in Seoul stood at 9.73 million as of November 2019, according to the Ministry of Interior and Safety. This is estimated to be the lowest figure in more than 30 years...
[News Focus] Number of people paying into state pension falls 150,000 in 2019

Social affairsDec 5, 2019

SEJONG -- South Koreans born in 1969 or later cannot enjoy the old-age annuity benefits, paid by the national pension operator, for five years after they retire at the age of around 60. As they have...
[News Focus] Number of centenarians in Korea tops 20,000

Social affairsDec 3, 2019

SEJONG -- The number of people over the age of 70 is rapidly increasing in South Korea, which was dubbed an “aged society” two years ago, according to standards set by the United Nations. Further, t...
[News Focus] Gyeonggi, Sejong see unemployment-payouts surge

EconomyDec 2, 2019

SEJONG -- More than 3 million of the working-age population, aged 15-64, in South Korea have been de facto out of work, while the government highlighted that the nation’s jobless people stayed under ...