Most Popular
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[Weekender] Geeks have never been so chic in Korea
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[News Focus] Mystery deepens after hundreds of cat deaths in S. Korea
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NewJeans members submit petitions over court injunction in Hybe-Ador conflict
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N. Korea says it test-fired tactical ballistic missile with new guidance technology
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S. Korea's exports of instant noodles surpass $100m for 1st time in April: data
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[KH Explains] Why Korea's so tough on short selling
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Actors involved in past controversies return first via streaming service originals
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US military commander in S. Korea during Gwangju uprising dies
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‘Kim desperately wanted to denuclearize,’ Moon writes in memoirs
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[Herald Interview] Byun Yo-han's 'unlikable' character is result of calculated acting
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S. Korea, IMF discuss ways of revealing currency market intervention
South Korea's chief economic policymaker discussed currency market-related issues, such as how to reveal records of its market interventions, with the International Monetary Fund, the finance ministry here said Friday.Seoul said earlier that the country is considering the detailed disclosure of its interventions in the foreign exchange market as part of a broader move to boost transparency and clear itself of suspicion of exercising undue influence on exchange rates.South Korea's financial autho
April 20, 2018
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Bank loans for rent jump this year as govt. tightens mortgages
Bank loans for rent payments in March increased 40 percent from the same period a year ago, data showed Friday, likely a side effect from the tightening of mortgages.Rent loans by the country's five leading commercial banks measured 50.77 trillion won ($47.8 billion) at end-March, up 3.61 percent from the previous month. The total is a jump of 40.99 percent from the same month last year. Comparatively, loans for rent came to 25.66 trillion won in March 2016 and rose to 30 trillion won in August
April 20, 2018
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Prime minister calls for passage of supplementary budget
Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon urged opposition parties Thursday to normalize the National Assembly and approve a supplementary budget the government proposed earlier this month in an effort to create more jobs for young people.The National Assembly has been idling despite the opening of an extraordinary session on April 2 as opposition parties have boycotted the session, demanding the ruling Democratic Party agree to pass a Broadcasting Act revision aimed at increasing opposition oversight of publi
April 19, 2018
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Analysts watch for end of 'Korea discount' on prospects of peace treaty
A peace treaty that would finally end the 1950-53 Korean War, one of the growing prospects for the upcoming cross-border summit next week, may also end the chronic "Korea discount" in the stock market, analysts said Thursday.South Korean President Moon Jae-in will meet North Korea's top leader Kim Jong-un on the southern side of the truce village Panmunjom on April 27. It will be the third such inter-Korean summit, and Seoul and Washington have indicated that a peace treaty could be an
April 19, 2018
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Calls grow for slower minimum wage hike
This year’s sharp increase in the minimum wage applied to all workplaces around the country is pushing many small companies to cut their payrolls to cope with labor costs.The number of people receiving unemployment benefits reached a record high of 628,433 in the first quarter of the year, according to recent data from the state-run Korea Employment Information Service.The figure marks a 6.9 percent rise from a year earlier. Government officials claim the increasing number of unemployment
April 18, 2018
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Long-term unemployment hits highest level in 18 years
SEJONG -- The number of long-term unemployed jobseekers, those unable to find work for over six months, exceeded 150,000 in the first quarter of this year, the highest tallied in 18 years, Statistics Korea said Wednesday.The latest data showed a total of 1.181 million people did not have a job in the three month period.The latest figure for people out of work for more than half a year represents an 18.8 percent increase from the same quarter of 2017. The jobless number is the highest since 159,0
April 18, 2018
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Korea, China to resume consultations on fisheries cooperation amid recovering ties
South Korea and China will hold a meeting on fisheries cooperation next week, resuming the regular consultations that have been suspended for nearly two years over the neighbors' diplomatic feud, sources said Tuesday.The two countries are currently discussing details of the 10th South Korea-China meeting on fisheries cooperation to be held in China sometime next week, the diplomatic sources said.The meeting will bring together officials from the countries' foreign ministries as well as governmen
April 17, 2018
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Questions raised about 3 percent growth target
Policymakers and private economists remain different in their forecasts on how fast the Korean economy will grow this year, following last year’s expansion of 3.1 percent.Most private research institutes here expect the 2018 growth rate to hover below the government-set target of 3 percent.A monthly report released by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance last week said Korea’s economy is maintaining a recovery momentum on the back of brisk exports and increased facility investment an
April 16, 2018
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Govt. to keep growth of household debt to below 8.2% in 2018
The government plans to keep the growth rate of household debt to below 8.2 percent this year by taking a set of steps to curb excessive lending, the nation's top financial regulator said Monday.Outstanding household debt stood at 1,450.9 trillion won ($1.35 trillion) in the fourth-quarter of last year, up 8.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea. It marked the slowest pace since the first quarter of 2015.Financial Services Commission Chairman Choi Jong-ku told
April 16, 2018
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Finance minister urges quick passage of extra budget bill
South Korea's chief economic policymaker on Monday urged the National Assembly to quickly approve a proposed extra budget bill that is urgently needed to tackle the country's chronic youth unemployment problem.Early this month, the government unveiled a set of measures, including bolder financial and tax incentives and the use of a 3.9 trillion-won ($3.64 billion) extra budget, to respond to the high jobless rate among young people. The government submitted the supplementary budget proposal to t
April 16, 2018
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[Feature] More Korean workers economically dependent on parents
South Korean college graduates in their mid-and late 20s are finding it increasingly difficult to land a job. Despite several government-led measures to increase youth employment over the past decade, a high proportion of young job seekers are still getting rejection slips from enterprises.As a result, those who have no regular income often rely their parents even after they turn 30.Latest polls show that more and more Koreans in their 20s and 30s are scrapping plans for marriage.More serious is
April 15, 2018
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Exports of Korean cigarettes drop on tax hike in key markets
Exports of cigarettes, which rank top on the list of export items tracked by South Korea’s Agriculture Ministry, plunged during the first quarter of this year. Cigarette exports totaled $210.6 million from January to March, marking a 28.3 percent drop from the same period last year, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on Sunday. The exports were hit hard by the United Arab Emirates’ imposition of a 100 percent special consumption ta
April 15, 2018
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S. Korea discusses post-sanctions economic cooperation with Sudan
South Korea and Sudan held a high-level policy consultation meeting on Thursday to discuss strengthening economic cooperation in the wake of the lifting of American sanctions on Sudan last year, the foreign ministry here said.Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs Yun Kang-hyeon welcomed the lifting of 20-year-old sanctions and discussed cooperation with Sudan's Undersecretary Abdel-ghani Elnaim, according to the ministry.In October 2017, the U.S. government dropped the economic sanctions,
April 12, 2018
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Finance minister tells US Seoul irrelevant to currency manipulation
South Korea’s chief economic policymaker on Thursday underlined to his US counterpart that the country does not fall under the currency manipulator list, while vowing to keep control over its own foreign currency policies, according to officials.In a 15-minute phone conversation with US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin earlier in the day, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon contended that given the trade and account balance figures, Seoul does not qualify for a curren
April 12, 2018
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Public institutions to buy W43b worth of products from SMEs
South Korean public institutions signed a deal to buy some 43 billion won ($40 million) worth of products made by small and medium-sized enterprises this year as part of Seoul's efforts to encourage the growth of smaller companies, the government said. Six public organizations, including the Korea Land & Housing Corp. and the Korea Electric Power Co., signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of SMEs and Startups to buy new products made by SMEs, the ministry said.If companies a
April 12, 2018
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BOK keeps policy rate unchanged at 1.5% for April
South Korea's central bank on Thursday held its key rate steady for April as Asia's fourth-largest economy is experiencing low inflationary pressure and a weaker pace of economic recovery.In a widely expected move, the monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea voted to keep the policy rate unchanged at 1.5 percent, extending its wait-and-see stance to five months.In November last year, South Korea's central bank adjusted up the key rate for the first time in more than six years, citing signs of
April 12, 2018
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Data deepen skepticism over income-led growth
A slump in private consumption and worsening unemployment are raising questions about the relevance of the Moon Jae-in administration’s income-led growth policy.According to data released by the Bank of Korea last week, the ratio of personal consumption expenditures to the country’s gross domestic product stood at 48.1 percent last year, the lowest since related data began being compiled in 1970.The ratio, which hovered above 70 percent in the 1970s, slid to 53.8 percent in 2000, 49.
April 11, 2018
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Unemployment rate hits 17-year high
South Korea’s unemployment rate in March hit is highest level in 17 years, amid a persisting slump in the construction industry and slowdown in population, data showed Wednesday.The number of employed people reached 26.55 million last month, up 112,000 from a year earlier, according to the report released by Statistics Korea. The on-month climb, though slightly higher from the previous month’s record of 104,000, continued to linger in the range of 100,000 for two consecutive months.T
April 11, 2018
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Korea's household lending increases at fastest pace in 4 months in March
South Korea's household lending by banks rose at the fastest clip in four months in March on increased home transactions ahead of the implementation of government-led measures to cool down the overheated real estate market, central bank data showed Wednesday.Outstanding household loans from lenders came to 776.3 trillion won ($728.6 billion) as of the end of March, according to the data by the Bank of Korea.The total marked a 4.3 trillion won increase from a month earlier, the largest on-month g
April 11, 2018
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State pension fund logs losses in stock investment in Q1
South Korea's national pension operator reported losses in its stock investment in the first quarter of this year, due mainly to the poor performance by major local equities amid unfavorable external conditions, a market research firm said Wednesday.The value of 302 company stocks in which the National Pension Service holds more than a 5 percent stake came to 121.22 trillion won ($113.92 billion) as of the end of March, down 2.01 percent from the end of 2017, according to the data by FnGuide Inc
April 11, 2018