Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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Exports by startups to hit record $20b this year: KITA
Exports by South Korea's venture startups will likely hit a record $20 billion this year helped by surging shipments of instrumentation and control devices and semiconductor production equipment to China and Vietnam, industry data showed Friday.The amount reached $14.7 billion for the first nine months this year, up 14.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the statistics provided by the Korea International Trade Association.Exports by startups rose to $18 billion last year from $16.7 billi
Oct. 27, 2017
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Korea to eradicate solicited employment in public firms
South Korea will launch a thorough inspection of all state-funded firms to find out if any job favors were given to children of influential people in politics and business amid rising public anger over reports of illicit employment, the government said Friday.The decision was made at an emergency ministerial meeting chaired by Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon, with heads of 12 government ministries, including officials from the education and justice ministries, present.The government will set up a
Oct. 27, 2017
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Consumer sentiment rebounds in October on eased geopolitical risks
South Korea's consumer confidence rebounded in October as tensions subsided between North Korea and the United States, a central bank poll showed Friday.The composite consumer sentiment index for October stood at 109.2, up 1.5 points from the previous month, according to the survey by the Bank of Korea.In August, the index fell 1.3 points from July. A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists. Consumer sentiment was also weak in September.The BOK attributed the rebound to eased tens
Oct. 27, 2017
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Finance minister vows greater effort to maintain growth momentum
South Korea's top economic policymaker said Thursday that the government will take steps to maintain current growth momentum through next year, following the latest data, which showed Asia's fourth-largest economy is expected to reach its growth target of 3 percent in 2017.Earlier in the morning, the Bank of Korea said the economy expanded a solid 1.4 percent in the July-September period from the previous quarter, marking the fastest quarterly growth in seven years.The BOK forecast country's ann
Oct. 26, 2017
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Govt. discovers W9.3tr assets under borrowed names in 2012-16: data
The government discovered 9.3 trillion won ($8.2 billion) worth of assets stashed away under borrowed names by more than 11,000 people over the past five years, data showed Thursday.South Korea first introduced the real-name financial system in 1993 to stave off money laundering and tax evasion by banning transactions under phony or borrowed names and requiring people to use real names to open bank accounts or purchase stocks. As many as 11,776 people were caught concealing assets under the name
Oct. 26, 2017
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Korea's economic growth hits 7-year high in Q3
South Korea's economic growth hit a seven-year record high in the third quarter due to increased construction investment and exports, central bank data showed Thursday.In the July-September period, the country's gross domestic product increased 1.4 percent from the previous quarter, faster than the previous quarter's 0.6 percent on-quarter gain, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.The on-quarter growth is the fastest since the second quarter of 2010, when the economy rose 1.7 pe
Oct. 26, 2017
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Korea to hold public hearing on FTA renegotiation with US
South Korea will hold a public hearing next month on the renegotiation of a free trade pact with the United States, Seoul's trade ministry said Wednesday, as the two countries move to reset the terms at Washington's call. The hearing on the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA), slated for Nov. 10, will be an opportunity to exchange public views and collect opinions from experts in the related fields, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said. The public hearing is part of the legal p
Oct. 25, 2017
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Monthly rent highest for 20s, 30s in Gangnam
Among Seoul’s lower-income bracket, those in their 20s and 30s residing in the southern part of Seoul paid the highest amount of monthly rent, while those aged 60 and over living downtown paid the least, data showed Wednesday. According to an analysis submitted by Seoul Metropolitan Government to the parliamentary land, infrastructure and transport committee, the younger generation in Gangnam-gu, Seocho-gu, Songpa-gu and Gangdong-gu -- all located in the southeastern part of Seoul -- paid
Oct. 25, 2017
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Pro-labor policies risk hurting productivity
Concerns are growing that President Moon-Jae-in’s push for reducing work hours along with a steep increase in the minimum wage may further aggravate Korea’s labor productivity, which remains near the bottom among major economies.In a meeting with his aides last week, Moon said that, without job sharing through reduced work hours, it would be impossible to significantly raise the country’s employment rate and improve the quality of people’s lives. He cited a report from th
Oct. 25, 2017
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Venture minister nominee stresses role of small biz, startups
The nominee for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said Wednesday the South Korean economy can make the next leap forward when venture firms and small businesses are successful. Hong Jong-haak, a former lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party, made the remark two days after President Moon Jae-in appointed him to head the newly created office. "During the election campaign, I and others envisioned the four pillars of economic growth based on jobs, incomes, co-prosperity and innovation, and ma
Oct. 25, 2017
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Sin taxes collected by govt. up sharply fueled by dues slapped on tobacco: data
The amount of sin taxes levied on tobacco, liquor and gambling has risen dramatically in recent years due mainly to the sharp rise in dues levied on cigarettes, government data showed Wednesday.The government increased taxes on cigarettes by 2,000 won ($1.70) per pack from Jan. 1, 2015, raising the price to 4,500 won, and compelled tobacco companies to place graphic images showing the harmful effects of smoking on the upper part of cigarette packs in 2016 as part of efforts to discourage smoking
Oct. 25, 2017
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Data show large sums of untaxed wealth transfers
An average of about 60 trillion won ($53.09 billion) worth of wealth has been transferred or handed down every year since 2003, but less than half of the recipients had to pay taxes, data showed Wednesday.According to records from the National Tax Service that were analyzed by the office of Rep. Park Gwang-on for parliamentary audits, 251.56 trillion won of various assets were inherited by 2.73 million people in the 2003-2016 period. During the same period, 281.87 trillion won of wealth was tran
Oct. 25, 2017
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South Korea to tighten loan rules to curb household debts
The South Korean government on Tuesday came up with a comprehensive scheme to curb the nation’s whopping level of household debt by tightening loan availability for multiple-home owners and categorizing borrowers’ financial capacities to encourage debt repayment.The regulations is a follow-up to the Aug. 2 real estate measures and aimed to crub the mounting household debt hovering at nearly 1,400 trillion won. “The household debt issue is one of the core risks to our economy, a
Oct. 24, 2017
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[Monitor] Younger generation taking out more loans
An increasing number of younger people are taking out loans from lenders, according to data released by Rep. Um Yong-soo of the Liberty Korea Party during the parliamentary audit session.Using the numbers given by the Bank of Korea, Rep. Um said that the household debt held by those aged 30 and younger increased by 28.6 trillion won ($25.3 billion) between January and June this year from the previous six-month period. Another set of data released by Rep. Je Youn-kyung of the Democratic Party of
Oct. 24, 2017
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About half of salaried workers paid less than W2m per month: data
Nearly half of South Korea's salaried workers were paid 2 million won ($1,772) or less in monthly wages during the first six months of this year, government data showed Tuesday.About 32.6 percent of the country's 19.7 million salaried workers were paid between 1-2 million won per month while 10.4 percent received less than 1 million won, according to the figures by Korea Statistics. About 27.3 percent were paid 2-3 million won, 14.9 percent 3-4 million won and 14.8 percent over 4 million won. Th
Oct. 24, 2017
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Legislator calls for measures to revive Gwangyang Port
GWANGYANG -- A ruling party legislator called Tuesday for urgent measures to revive Gwangyang Port, a major seaport in South Korea whose cargo processing volume is rapidly diminishing.Rep. Lee Gae-ho, elected from the constituency including the southern city of Gwangyang, said the volume of cargo handled at the port has fallen for five consecutive years. "There were less than 2.3 million TEUs processed at Gwangyang last year, and the goal for 2.33 million TEUs this year is also unlikely to
Oct. 24, 2017
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Korea, Vietnam hold economic committee meeting to discuss cooperation
South Korea and Vietnam held a joint economic committee meeting on Tuesday to discuss cooperation in various areas and tackle any stumbling blocks that could hamper further development.The meeting, the 16th of its kind, was held in Seoul between Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Affairs Yun Kang-hyeon and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen The Phuong. "South Korea-Vietnam relations have developed into something special," Yun said at the start of the meeting. "The South Kor
Oct. 24, 2017
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President Moon to meet labor leaders over his new policies
President Moon Jae-in was set to hold a special meeting Tuesday with leaders of the country's top labor organizations over his new economic and labor policies.The meeting will be held at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.It was initially expected to involve officials from the country's two largest umbrella labor organizations -- the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions -- as well as several sectored and independent labor unions, but the KCTU has said
Oct. 24, 2017
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Many tax evaders receive lenient punishment: data
Many people caught not paying taxes receive lenient punishment, parliamentary data showed Tuesday.Only 13,548 tax evaders have been indicted in the past five years, constituting 20.9 percent of total evaders in comparison to the average indictment ratio of 37.9 percent of other crime suspects, the findings by the National Assembly Research Service said.As many as 49.1 percent of those indicted were tried without physical detention, with 45.3 percent receiving summary trials. Only 5.7 percent wer
Oct. 24, 2017
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IFEZ development to be delayed to 2030
INCHEON -- The development of Incheon Free Economic Zone, initially scheduled for completion by 2022, will be delayed to 2030 due to slowed investment in the aftermath of the global financial crisis and real estate market slump, officials said Tuesday.Known as IFEZ, the project was designated in August 2003 as South Korea's first such zone where foreign investors would receive tax and administrative benefits and services to promote their business activities in the country.The Ministry of Trade,
Oct. 24, 2017