Most Popular
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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Korean labor force to shrink by 10 million by 2044: report
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Gov't appears to shelve punitive measures against mass walkout by doctors
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[AtoZ Korean Mind] Does your job define who you are? Should it?
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Govt. asks hospitals to mitigate impact of medical professors' absence
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Doggy patrol team on the move to protect their cities
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S. Korea's working-age population to dip nearly 10m by 2044 amid low births
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Allegations surrounding BTS resurface, enraged fans demand apology
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BOK stands pat amid looming virus fallout, again cuts growth outlook
South Korea's central bank on Thursday held its key policy rate steady, while slashing its growth outlook amid growing worries over the spreading coronavirus outbreak. The Bank of Korea left the base rate frozen at the current 1.25 percent. The central bank has been keeping the policy rate at the record low level since October when its seven-member board made its second rate cut in three months as the economy showed signs of a recovery. The decision to stand pat came despite a downward revis
Feb. 27, 2020
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S. Korea curbs exports of facial masks amid soaring virus cases
South Korea on Wednesday started to regulate the country's exports of facial masks as demand for sanitary products has been running high here amid the spread of the new coronavirus. Under the measures, effective until April 30, the government will limit mask exports to a maximum of 10 percent of total output here, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. While the country's daily production of masks reached 11 million units as of Tuesday, which doubled from two weeks earlier, South
Feb. 26, 2020
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Korean manufacturers' sentiment worsens for March
The business sentiment of South Korean manufacturers sharply deteriorated for the upcoming month, central bank data showed Wednesday, amid growing concerns that the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak may undermine the country's already weak exports and economic recovery. The business sentiment index (BSI) for manufacturing businesses here came to 69 for March, down from 77 for this month. It marked the lowest since February 2019 when the index stood at 65, according to the data from the Bank
Feb. 26, 2020
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Market eyes fixed on BOK’s imminent growth rate adjustment
Anxiety is mounting that South Korea, reeling under the prolonged impact of the fast-spreading novel coronavirus, may have no choice but to lower its already modest growth prospects for 2020. While speculations burgeoned that the central bank may cut its outlook by 0.2 percentage point to 2.1 percent, several global investing institutions set their estimation in the 1 percent range, some going as low as the zero percent range. The Bank of Korea’s upcoming Monetary Policy Board, slated
Feb. 25, 2020
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Seoul allocates W380b to support agricultural exports amid virus spread
South Korea said Tuesday it will spend 380 billion won ($311 million) to support local exporters of agricultural goods amid fears the global spread of the new coronavirus will deal a heavy blow to sales this year. "The spread of the COVID-19 virus has led to a slump in demand (for agricultural goods) from China, Hong Kong and Singapore," the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said in a statement. The virus, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has killed more
Feb. 25, 2020
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S. Korea's power generation drops 1.5% in 2019
South Korea's electricity generation fell for the first time in more than two decades in 2019 amid an economic slowdown and favorable weather conditions, data showed Tuesday. The amount of electricity generated by the nation's power plants came to 562,239 gigawatt hours last year, down 1.5 percent from the prior year, according to the data from state-run Korea Electric Power Corporation. It was the first on-year drop since the 4.1 percent decrease in 1998, when South Korea was in the heat of
Feb. 25, 2020
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S. Korea to take ‘special actions’ to counter COVID-19 impact on economy
The government said Monday it would soon announce “special actions” to deal with the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, defining the current situation as an “economic emergency.” It added that it would take necessary measures in case of increased volatility in the currency market while maintaining a wait-and-see approach. “Under the awareness that the current circumstances correspond to an economic emergency, the government will respond in a swift,
Feb. 24, 2020
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Special unit launched to probe illegal real estate brokers
South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Monday that it has launched a squad with investigative powers to effectively crack down on illegal or unfair practices in the real estate market. According to the ministry, the “special judicial police” will probe long-existing issues such as real estate contract frauds and illegal transfer of bank accounts that gives its holders unfair priority. It will also look into new issues including unregistered brokerin
Feb. 24, 2020
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Korean economy tipped to grow below 2% on virus
Major foreign investment banks (IBs) and economic institutes have forecast South Korea's economic growth to be below 2 percent in 2020 due to the fallout of the fast-spreading novel coronavirus. According to a recent survey by Bloomberg, five out of 42 foreign IBs and economic think tanks predicted Asia's fourth-largest economy to expand in the 1 percent range this year, hit by the COVID-19 outbreak. ING Group offered a growth forecast of 1.7 percent for the Korean economy, down from a 2.2 pe
Feb. 24, 2020
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Deepening COVID-19 crisis triggers rate cut speculations
While South Korea grapples with the rising new coronavirus infections, some market watchers are of the view that the central bank is likely to push for a base rate cut to minimize the downside economic impacts. Though many analysts are inclined toward a rate freeze scenario, the current economic situation could force the Bank of Korea to stipulate a record-low key interest rate, according to some. The three-year Treasury bond rate stood at 1.18 percent as of Friday, down 0.14 percentage poin
Feb. 23, 2020
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Korea's exports up 12.4% in first 20 days of February
South Korea's exports moved up 12.4 percent in the first 20 days of February, customs data showed Friday, led mostly by chips and auto parts. The country's outbound shipments reached $26.3 billion in the Feb. 1-20 period, compared with $23.3 billion a year earlier, according to the Korea Customs Service. By product, exports of chips soared 15.4 percent, and outbound shipments of auto parts surged 40.6 percent. But the average daily exports -- which reflect working days -- fell 9.3 percent on
Feb. 21, 2020
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S. Korea takes aim at Gyeonggi to curb housing prices
South Korea’s government on Thursday unveiled additional regulations to curb housing prices, this time focusing mostly on Seoul’s outskirts that have recently gained popularity. The latest measures marked the 19th housing-related regulations announced since the Moon Jae-in administration took office in May 2017. They were also the first to focus primarily on non-Seoul areas. The Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and the Financi
Feb. 20, 2020
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[News Focus] Number of de facto jobless up 440,000 in 2 months
SEJONG -- South Korea saw the number of de facto jobless people -- meaning those underemployed -- increase sharply in recent months, the latest data showed. According to Statistics Korea, the “extended (or sentiment-reflected)” unemployment rate climbed to 12.1 percent in January 2020. The figure indicates that 3.58 million of the extended economically active population of 29.65 million are de facto unemployed. This far exceeds the nation’s official jobless rate (4.1 pe
Feb. 20, 2020
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Vice finance minister briefs US investors, credit raters on Korean economy
Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom briefed US investors and officials from credit rating firms in New York on South Korea’s economic situation and government policies, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Thursday. Kim first met with 25 investors from New York-based investment banks and asset managers, including Blackrock, Morgan Stanley and UBS, in a meeting held Wednesday (US time). The vice finance minister explained that while Korea’s major indexes and chip prices have s
Feb. 20, 2020
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S. Korea's trade with Vietnam up 16.5% annually since FTA
South Korea's trade with Vietnam has expanded 16.5 percent annually since the two countries implemented a free trade agreement in 2015, data showed Thursday. The combined trade volume between the two countries reached $69.2 billion in 2019, compared with $37.6 billion posted in 2015, according to the Korea Customs Service. South Korea and Vietnam implemented the FTA in December 2015, after kicking off their first negotiations in 2012. Over the cited period, South Korea's trade with China, t
Feb. 20, 2020
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S. Korea goes all-out to boost exports amid new coronavirus spread
SEJONG -- South Korea said Thursday it plans to utilize all necessary measures to help local firms weather the economic fallout from the new coronavirus. In January, South Korea's exports fell 6.1 percent on-year, but when measured by working days, they increased 4.8 percent, marking the first on-year increase in 14 months. The January figure is being seen as a sign of recovery. Outbound shipments nosedived 10.3 percent in 2019 amid a prolonged trade feud between the United States and China
Feb. 20, 2020
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Refiners, chemical firms feared to take further hit from virus
The new coronavirus outbreak is expected to deal a fresh blow to South Korean oil refiners and chemical makers already reeling from worsening profits, industry sources said Thursday. The pessimistic outlook comes as South Korean refineries' exports to China, their largest overseas market, are projected to drop sharply because of the COVID-19 shock. South Korean refiners resort to exports more than domestic demand for their sales. China is estimated to account for nearly 20 percent of their to
Feb. 20, 2020
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S. Korea's economic growth nearly halves in past 2 decades
South Korea's economic growth rate has nearly halved in the past two decades due to low productivity and regulations, a local think tank said Thursday. South Korea's economy grew an average of 5 percent between 2001 and 2005 before falling to 2.7 percent during the 2016-2019 period, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement. South Korea ranked fifth among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a group of 36 mostly rich and advanced nations, in terms
Feb. 20, 2020
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S. Korean producer prices edge up in Jan.
South Korea's producer prices inched up in January from the prior month due to the increased cost of farm and fishery goods, central bank data showed Thursday. The producer price index for all commodities and services stood at 103.93 last month, up 0.2 percent from December, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. From the same month a year earlier, the country's producer prices climbed 1 percent. Producer prices serve as a key barometer of future inflation. The BOK said prices
Feb. 20, 2020
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S. Korea's IPOs up 22% in 2019
The value of South Korea's initial public offerings rose 22.8 percent in 2019 from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday. IPO proceeds came to 3.21 trillion won ($2.69 billion) last year, compared with 2.61 trillion won in 2018, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service. Still, the number of companies that made market debuts last year fell to 73 from 77 in 2018, the data showed. Main IPOs included Hanwha Systems Co., the defense industry unit of Hanwha Group, and SNK Corp.,
Feb. 19, 2020