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'
-
Record number of 20-somethings give up search for work in Nov.
A record number of South Koreans in their 20s gave up their search for work in November amid a severe job crunch, government data showed Thursday.A total of 284,000 South Korean 20-somethings were outside the labor force and did nothing to look for jobs last month, according to the data from Statistics Korea.The tally was up 48,500 from a year earlier and marked the highest-ever level for November. The number of 20-somethings giving up looking for work had been on the rise over the past se
Dec. 14, 2017
-
Corporate activity hampered by steep rise in costs
Concerns are growing that a steep rise in corporate costs to be incurred by the Moon Jae-in administration’s anti-business policies will hold back companies from increasing investment and employment.Korean businesses are now bracing for a corporate tax hike, a minimum wage increase and a reduction in work hours in the coming year, which experts forecast will see them shoulder combined additional costs of 36.5 trillion won ($33.4 billion).Ruling party lawmakers, joined by some legislators f
Dec. 13, 2017
-
Monthly living costs for retirees W1.77m per household: survey
The minimum living expenses for retired elderly people was tallied at 1.77 million won ($1,600) per month for each household, a survey showed Wednesday.The optimum monthly cost of living for retirees, however, is 2.51 million won per household, according to KB Financial Group's recent survey of 2,000 people aged between 20 and 74.Only 27 percent of those surveyed said they are prepared for their minimum living expenses after retirement. Less than half of those in their 50s said they have yet to
Dec. 13, 2017
-
Korea's jobless rate edges up in Nov.
South Korea's jobless rate rose slightly in November as the construction sector hired fewer temporary workers than before amid relatively cold weather, government data showed Wednesday. The unemployment rate stood at 3.2 percent last month, up 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier, according to the report compiled by Statistics Korea.From a month earlier, it remained unchanged.October's unemployment rate marked the lowest rate since December last year, when it hit 3.2 percent. The number of e
Dec. 13, 2017
-
[Monitor] Export, import price indexes fall in 5 months
Both South Korea’s export price index and import price index saw downturns for the first time in five months as of November, mainly due to the strength of the won against the greenback. The import price edged down 0.4 percent to 82.87 in November, while the export price sank 1.8 percent to 85.68, according to data by the Bank of Korea released on Tuesday. The drops came in spite of oil price hike in November, overshadowed by strengthening local currency, according to BOK. On the contract c
Dec. 12, 2017
-
List of 21,000 tax defaulters made public
Unpaid tax by Korean tax defaulters amounted to 11.3 trillion won ($10.4 billion) in 2017, the National Tax Service revealed on Monday. The tax agency annually discloses names of those whose unpaid tax money exceeds 300 million won. This year, there were about 4,700 more names on the list compared to 2016 because the standard for disclosure was lowered to 200 million won.Some 21,000 entities failed or delayed to pay their taxes amounting over 200 million won in 2017 without giving specific reaso
Dec. 12, 2017
-
Moon urges efforts to root out job irregularities at public firms
President Moon Jae-in called for swift measures Monday to reduce working hours and eradicate job-related corruption at public firms."Revising the Labor Standards Act to cut working hours is a task we can no longer afford to delay," the president said while meeting with his top presidential aides in a weekly meeting at his office Cheong Wa Dae."As both ruling and opposition parties share the common objective of (improving) the economy and people's livelihoods, I ask them to make re
Dec. 11, 2017
-
Confusion deepens over reducing work hours
Confusion over plans to reduce work hours is deepening, adding to the aggravating conditions faced by local businesses.Ranking members from ruling and opposition parties at a parliamentary committee last month agreed on a draft revision to the labor law to reduce the maximum workweek from 68 hours to 52 hours in three stages depending on company size. But the revised law would leave additional pay for holiday work unchanged at 50 percent of the wages for weekday work.The parliamentary passage of
Dec. 11, 2017
-
Regulator to call for banks to focus on risks of household debt
The top financial regulator said Monday it will order banks and other financial institutions to improve their risk management for household debt by restricting high-risk debt and improving emergency backstops. Choi Jong-ku, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, told a meeting of journalists that the FSC could amend the calculation system of a loan-to-deposit ratio to help financial institutions better manage risks of household debt. Among the possible measures is to draw a line between
Dec. 11, 2017
-
3 Gangnam districts take up 20% of national inheritance
Seoul residents inherited over 23 trillion won ($20.9 billion) over the last five years, which is 45 percent of the total inheritance that occurred across South Korea in the cited period, data released by the National Tax Service showed Sunday.In particular, the inheritance scale was big in Gangnam, Seocho and Songpa -- the three major affluent districts located in southern Seoul -- where a combined 10 trillion won was marked in inheritance. This accounted for 43 percent of the capital city&rsqu
Dec. 11, 2017
-
Korea, Britain to hold talks over post-Brexit trade deal
Trade officials of South Korea and Britain will meet this week to discuss ways to forge a new trade deal after London exits from the European Union, Seoul's trade ministry said Monday.South Korea signed a free trade agreement with the EU in 2011, but it will have to strike a fresh deal with Britain once it formally leaves the 28-nation bloc in March 2019.South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Britain's Department of International Trade formed a trade working group in December a
Dec. 11, 2017
-
Korea to strengthen oversight of financial groups
South Korea will strengthen oversight of local financial groups as part of its effort to better check the sector, the state regulator said Sunday.The Financial Services Commission said it will set a so-called financial group innovation body that will begin work on Monday. The special body will be made up of two teams that will be tasked with monitoring such matters as ownership structure risks, capital adequacy, internal trading bans and emergency contingency plans.The newly formed entity, which
Dec. 10, 2017
-
S. Korea to grow 3.1% this year on solid global economic expansion: HRI
South Korea's economy is expected to expand 3.1 percent this year on the back of solid worldwide growth, a local think tank said Sunday.The forecast marks a 0.4 percentage-point increase from estimates made two months earlier, Hyundai Research Institute said.The leading private think tank said it has marked up growth forecasts for 2018 by 0.3 percentage point to 2.8 percent."Growth is being fueled by a general economic recovery taking place all over the world," HRI said. It said expect
Dec. 10, 2017
-
Korea maintains second-largest coal subsidies in world: report
South Korea maintains the second-largest coal subsidies in the world, as other countries move to cut state support for such energy programs, a report by an autonomous intergovernmental organization said Sunday.The latest findings released in the 2017 World Energy Outlook by the Paris-based International Energy Agency showed Seoul spent $150 million to subsidize the coal sector in 2016.Energy-related subsidies are paid by the state to producers and consumers to bolster industries and make energy
Dec. 10, 2017
-
US lobby group opens FTA support site
Ahead of trade revision talks between Seoul and Washington over the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement, the US Chamber of Commerce has launched a website highlighting the benefits of the KORUS deal. Since the Donald Trump administration announced its intent to amend the five-year-old bilateral trade deal earlier this year, representatives of the US Chamber of Commerce have publicly voiced opposition against altering terms of the FTA, saying, “The KORUS agreement is working.” &ldquo
Dec. 8, 2017
-
Seoul to seek pre-emptive, market-centered corporate restructuring: finance minister
South Korea will engage in constant, pre-emptive, market-centered corporate restructuring going forward, breaking away from government-spearheaded responses to developments that have been the norm in the past, the country's chief economic policymaker sad Friday."The government will reshape its corporate restructuring paradigm in a way that can prod existing companies to seek innovation and strengthen their competitiveness," Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said at an economy-related mini
Dec. 8, 2017
-
Korean economy on recovery track thanks to exports: govt. report
The South Korean economy is maintaining its current recovery pace on the back of strong overseas sales, although there are some downside risks, such as North Korea's provocations and ongoing trade issues, a government report said Friday."The South Korean economy is keeping its recovery pace, aided by robust exports in line with the improving global economy," the finance ministry said in its monthly economy assessment report. "For the time being, its recovery pace is expected to co
Dec. 8, 2017
-
Korea to spend more on public homes, city renovation next year
South Korea plans to spend 23.3 trillion won ($21.3 billion) next year to provide more public residential houses and renovate existing homes and infrastructure facilities, the transport ministry said Wednesday.The figure represents 58 percent of the 40.4 trillion won allocated to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The 2018 expenditure for public homes and renovation projects jumped 10 percent from 21.2 trillion won a year earlier, the ministry said.The government said it will spe
Dec. 6, 2017
-
Korea collects W1.14tr in taxes from offshore tax evaders
South Korea's tax office said Wednesday that it has collected 1.14 trillion won ($1.04 billion) in taxes from suspected offshore tax evaders so far this year.The National Tax Service collected the amount in the first 10 months of the year from 187 offshore tax dodgers. The take is slightly more than the 1.1 trillion won dues collected from evaders in the same period a year earlier, it said.In 2016, the NTS collected a total of 1.3 trillion won from 228 overseas tax dodgers. Offshore tax evasion
Dec. 6, 2017
-
Finance minister vows to create more jobs
South Korea's chief economic policymaker vowed Wednesday to create more jobs even though the employment situation is not favorable at present.In a meeting with a group of employees of a local firm in southern Seoul, Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said the government's top priority is to generate good jobs. "This year's economic growth is expected to top 3 percent and exports remain bullish," Kim said. "But employment conditions are still facing difficulties." Some 20 trillion
Dec. 6, 2017