Most Popular
-
1
1 in 3 Koreans live alone, family types becoming diverse
-
2
Korea, Japan finance chiefs vow to tame rampant FX market volatility
-
3
US 'incredibly concerned' about suspected NK-Iran military ties
-
4
K-pop group's manager dismissed for setting up spycam in theater dressing room
-
5
K-pop singer lost consciousness after being hit by foul ball, cancels show
-
6
Korean Muslim YouTuber's plan to build mosque in Incheon goes viral
-
7
[Kim Seong-kon] Democracy and the future of South Korea
-
8
Why is Apple Pay struggling to get purchase in Korea?
-
9
Yoon's office denies considering liberal figures for key posts
-
10
Seoul says Fu Bao loan 'not going to happen'
-
[Monitor] World Talent Ranking list 2018
Among 63 nations, Korea’s talent competitiveness ranked 33rd with a score of 62.32 out of 100 points according to the International Institute Management Development in Switzerland. Switzerland topped the list with a perfect score of 100, followed by Denmark, Norway, Austria and the Netherlands. Korea’s ranking rose six places from 39th last year, mostly due to a jump from 38th to 20th in the investment and development sector. In Asia, Singapore ranked the highest at 13th, the same as
Nov. 22, 2018
-
Weak govt. spending, inflexible labor rules constrain youth employment: report
South Korea's weak spending on labor market policies and inflexible employment rules have limited youth employment to some extent, a report said Thursday.According to the report published by the Bank of Korea, South Korea spent 0.231 percent of its gross domestic product on policies like job creation, vocational training and start-up incentives from 1985-2013. It ranked second from the bottom out of 21 advanced countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, ahead of the
Nov. 22, 2018
-
Household income grows in Q3, but wealth gap widens
South Korea's household income rose in the third quarter from a year earlier, but the income gap between the haves and have-nots widened, a government report showed Thursday.An average household earned 4.74 million won ($4,200) per month in the July-September period, up 4.6 percent from the previous year, according to the report by Statistics Korea. The inflation-adjusted real income increased 3 percent on-year over the one-year period, the data showed.The latest statistics showed households' in
Nov. 22, 2018
-
Number of foreign tourists to Korea soars 31% in October
The number of foreigners who visited South Korea rose 31.1 percent in October from a year earlier mainly due to a base effect after visits by Chinese nationals plunged in 2017, the local tourism promotion agency said Thursday.A total of 1.53 million foreigners visited South Korea last month, up from 1.17 million tallied the same month a year ago, according to the Korea Tourism Organization. The number of Chinese tourists shot up 37.6 percent.In March last year, China banned group tours to South
Nov. 22, 2018
-
OECD maintains S. Korea's 2018 economic growth estimate at 2.7 pct
South Korea's economy is expected to grow 2.7 percent this year, the same pace predicted in September, a Paris-based international organization said Wednesday.In its economic outlook, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) expected Asia's fourth-largest economy to expand 2.8 percent next year, also unchanged from its earlier projection three months ago. In September, the OECD cut its growth outlook for South Korea from its previous estimate of 3 percent made in May.&quo
Nov. 21, 2018
-
Moon’s policy weakens labor elasticity
The Moon Jae-in administration’s employment policy has precipitated the weakening of the Korean economy’s ability to create new jobs, experts say.According to the Bank of Korea, the country’s employment elasticity, which is calculated by dividing the rate of increase in the number of employees by the economic growth rate, is estimated to fall to a nine-year low of 0.11 this year. The higher the figure is, the more jobs are added by economic output.The central bank recently fore
Nov. 21, 2018
-
Korea to spend W2b next year to combat illicit online contents
South Korea said Wednesday that it will spend 2 billion won ($1.8 million) next year to develop technology that can detect and block obscene materials from Internet streaming websites and videos.The Ministry of Science and ICT made the announcement as government officials and experts held a meeting and discussed ways to effectively deal with the online circulation of pornography, obscene and harmful materials.The move comes after a series of so-called revenge porn incidents, in which people, mos
Nov. 21, 2018
-
Finance minister vows deregulation, support for startups
South Korea's chief economic policymaker said Wednesday that the government will ceaselessly seek deregulation and provide support for startups, which are key to innovation-led growth.Attending a meeting with businessmen, Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said his successor shares the view that smaller firms should play a leading role in the innovation-led growth strategy. "Startups, their growth and deregulation are very important (for innovation-led growth), and the government will continue
Nov. 21, 2018
-
Seoul shares close lower on Wall Street losses
South Korean shares closed lower Wednesday after the US stock market finished bearish for the second session in a row, analysts said. The Korean won closed lower against the dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 6.03 points, or 0.29 percent, to end trading at 2,076.55. Trading volume stood at a low 262 million shares worth 4.95 trillion won ($4.37 billion). Gainers outpaced losers 433 to 379. The drop came after the Dow Jones industrial average backtracked 2.21 percent, and
Nov. 21, 2018
-
US-China trade dispute could provide opportunity for Korean farmers: institute
The ongoing trade dispute between the United States and China is adding uncertainties to the global agriculture market, but it could create a favorable business environment for South Korean farmers, a state-run think tank said Wednesday. The Korea Rural Economic Institute said the tit-for-tat tariff conflict between Washington and Beijing could affect price competitiveness and overall conditions in the agro-food markets of the two countries, which could open up more opportunities for products fr
Nov. 21, 2018
-
Structural reform key task amid slowing global economy: BIS official
As the global economy faces an inevitable slowdown next year, major economies should lay emphasis on structural reforms to respond to the decline in labor productivity and growth potential, according to a top-level official of the Bank for International Settlements.“I agree with the International Monetary Fund’s revised forecast in September, when it cut down the global economic growth for next year to 3.7 percent from the former 3.9 percent,” Agustin Carstens, general manager
Nov. 20, 2018
-
Seoul shares close lower, tracking Wall Street
South Korean stocks closed lower on Tuesday after rising to a four-week high in the previous session as overnight losses on Wall Street, where investors were concerned over trade tension between Washington and Beijing, analysts said.The South Korean currency gained ground against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 17.98 points, or 0.86 percent, to 2082.58. Trading volume was relatively light at 274 million shares worth 4.8 trillion won ($4.26 billion), wi
Nov. 20, 2018
-
Regulator asks prosecutors to probe accounting breaches at Samsung BioLogics
South Korea's financial regulator formally asked state prosecutors on Tuesday to launch a criminal probe into accounting breaches at Samsung BioLogics Co., a move that is expected to deal another blow to the biotechnology unit of Samsung Group.After months of regulatory review, a panel of the Financial Services Commission ruled last Wednesday that Samsung BioLogics intentionally inflated the value of its affiliate, Samsung Bioepis Co., ahead of its listing in 2016. Trading of Samsung BioLo
Nov. 20, 2018
-
Global economy will slow down further in 2019: think tank
The pace of global economic growth will slow down further next year amid persistent downside risks, according to South Korea’s state-run think tank on Tuesday.The Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, an organization affiliated with the Prime Minister’s Office, set the world economic growth rate at 3.5 percent for next year, as compared with 3.7 percent expected this year.“The global economy, which has been on a recovery trend under the US lead, has surpassed its h
Nov. 20, 2018
-
Sales of Korean firms up for 2nd year in 2017
Combined sales by South Korean companies rose for the second-straight year in 2017 on better performances in the manufacturing, telecommunication and retail sectors, government data showed Tuesday.The combined sales from 12,579 companies, excluding financial firms, reached 2,343 trillion won ($2.07 trillion) last year, up 8.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It is based on a survey of the companies that have more than 50 regular workers and paid-in
Nov. 20, 2018
-
Vietnamese consumers positive about Korean goods: poll
The bulk of Vietnamese consumers are positive about the design and image of South Korean goods, but many feel burdened by their high prices, a poll showed Tuesday.The survey of 2,000 Vietnamese people, taken by the Ho Chi Minh City office of the Korea International Trade Association, showed 84 percent of the respondents think South Korean products have good designs.An additional 16 percent consider their designs ordinary, with no negative responses.Concerning the image of South Korean goods, 89
Nov. 20, 2018
-
Korea's producer prices fall for first time in nearly a year in Oct.
South Korea's producer prices backtracked for the first time in nearly one year in October as farm production recovered in the fall season, central bank data showed Tuesday.The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, reached 105.41 last month, down 0.4 percent from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It is the first on-month decline since November last year when the index edged down 0.1 percent. On a year-on-year basis, i
Nov. 20, 2018
-
Korea needs to boost service exports
Korea needs to step up efforts to increase exports in the service sector to offset a possible decline in the outbound shipment of its major manufactured goods, experts here say.Exports have shored up the slowing Korean economy so far this year, as decreasing investment and slumping consumption decelerate its growth.According to data recently released by Korea Customs Service, the country’s goods exports increased 22.7 percent on-year to $54.9 billion in October, mainly on the back of a ris
Nov. 19, 2018
-
Finance minister says it's time to help innovation-led growth bear fruit
South Korea's chief economic policymaker said Monday that more efforts should be placed on economic reform to help innovation-led growth policies bear fruit.In a meeting with businessmen, Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said it's time to seek measures so the incumbent Moon Jae-in administration's economic policy goals such as income-led growth can make headway."We have had much debate on those issues, but it's time to allow the policies to produce some results," the senior official said
Nov. 19, 2018
-
Retail investors own over W3t of suspended Samsung Biologics
Retail investors are estimated to hold more than 3 trillion won worth of Samsung BioLogics Co. shares, whose trading was suspended last week over window-dressing, a corporate researcher said Monday.As of last Wednesday, individual investors owned an estimated 9.6 million shares of Samsung BioLogics, or 14.53 percent, according to Chaebul.com. It translates into 3.2 trillion won ($2.83 billion) in value, based on the closing price Wednesday, when its trading was halted. Foreign investors held an
Nov. 19, 2018