Most Popular
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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[Grace Kao] Hybe vs. Ador: Inspiration, imitation and plagiarism
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Indebted households spending more income to repay loans
Households with loans use about a third of their disposable income on debt repayment, statistics showed Thursday, undermining efforts to spur consumption through spending.The National Assembly Budget Office analyzed figures provided by Statistics Korea and found that a household with loans on average had 46.35 million won ($40,147) in disposable income last year, of which 15.48 million won, or 33.4 percent, was used to pay back principal on loans. It was the first time that the ratio surpassed 3
July 6, 2017
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Deregulation, industrial policy out of focus
In a meeting with business leaders accompanying him on a trip to the US last week, President Moon Jae-in asked them to “trust in the new government’s economic policy, invest more and create jobs.”Describing himself as both pro-labor and pro-business, Moon said the core of his policy was to forge a fair and transparent environment for competition, which he said would be good for doing business and boost the country’s growth potential.The gathering in Washington marked the
July 5, 2017
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Foreign investors bought up Asian stocks amid US rate hikes: data
Foreign investors bought shares traded on the South Korean and Asian stock markets in the first half of this year despite concerns over capital flight as the US marked up its interest rates, industry data showed Wednesday.Foreign investors purchased $29.1 billion worth of stocks more than they sold in Asian countries, up compared to $27.6 billion for all of last year, according to statistics by the Korea Center for International Finance.Foreigners sold $4.1 billion of stocks in the Asian ma
July 5, 2017
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Vegetable prices rise due to downpour, drought
Prices of vegetables jumped sharply in recent weeks due to heavy downpours that followed a long drought, industry sources said Wednesday.The price of napa cabbage soared 26.2 percent to 1,416 won ($1.2) per kilogram Tuesday from a month earlier, according to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation. The price of spinach jumped 12.7 percent to 4,568 won per kilogram from 4,053 won, while that of lettuce gained 4.4 percent to 662 won from 634 won per 100 grams.The price of cucumbers w
July 5, 2017
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Korea's national debt exceeds W950t
South Korea's national debt as measured in outstanding state bonds issued exceeded 950 trillion won ($826.2 billion) last month, mainly due to the government's expansionary fiscal policy to cope with an economic slowdown, data showed Wednesday. The conservative administrations of ex-Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye had favored the issuance of Treasury bills and various types of bonds to finance the fiscal expansion, rather than raising taxes. The nation's debt, which covers the central
July 5, 2017
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Biz sentiment at over 2-yr high but still under par
South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment reached the highest in over two years, but pessimism still outweighed optimism overall, a survey showed Wednesday.A survey of some 2,200 manufacturing firms put the business sentiment index at 94 in the third quarter, up five points from the second quarter but under the threshold of 100, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry said. The reading marks the highest since the first quarter of 2015, when the comparable figure was 97. The last ti
July 5, 2017
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Korea's FX reserves hit record high in June
South Korea's foreign exchange reserves hit a record high in June due to a hike in the value of non-dollar currencies when converted into the U.S. greenback, central bank data showed Wednesday.As of the end of June, the country's foreign exchange reserves came to $380.57 billion, up $2.11 billion from the previous month, the Bank of Korea said in a statement. Foreign exchange reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, as well as International Monetary Fund re
July 5, 2017
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Korea tightens monitoring of financial market
The South Korean finance ministry said Tuesday that it tightened its monitoring of the local financial market following the latest missile launch by North Korea.After launching a ballistic missile earlier in the day, Pyongyang claimed in an official announcement that it has successfully test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile directly challenging calls by the international community to halt weapons of mass destruction development. The benchmark KOSPI lost 0.58 percent to finish at 2,380
July 4, 2017
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Mortgage loans by young household heads up sharply in past 4 1/2
Mortgage loans by those in their 20s and 30s have risen dramatically in the past 4 1/2 years, government data showed Tuesday, raising concerns of overdue payments.The average household whose head is in his 20s and 30s had 115 million won ($100,104) in mortgage loans last September, up 37.6 percent from 4 1/2 years earlier, according to figures by the Bank of Korea. Those in their 40s had 116 million won in mortgage loans last September, up 22.7 percent from 4 1/2 years earlier.The comparable fig
July 4, 2017
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Korea has greater income gap than 24 European countries: report
South Korea has a greater income gap at workplaces than 24 European countries, a local think tank said Tuesday. The Korea Economic Research Institute said the average salary earned by Korean workers with a career of 20-29 years in a company was 4.04 times higher than the average wage made by their junior colleagues with a career of less than one year. The result was in sharp contrast with a 1.56 times difference between the two groups in 23 European states, such as Germany, Spain, Britain and th
July 4, 2017
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Korea to boost public sector hiring of young people: panel
President Moon Jae-in's policy advisory panel said Tuesday that the government will expand hiring of young people in the public sector, the latest in a series of efforts to create jobs.Currently, public companies and other public agencies are required by law to employ a set number of unemployed youths each year. The government will raise the mandatory ratio of hiring of unemployed youths in the public sector to 5 percent, beginning next year, the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee said.Th
July 4, 2017
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Korean financial firms expand oversea branches, suffer from
South Korean financial firms have increased the number of foreign branches over the past five years, but such operations suffer from low profitability, the financial regulator said Tuesday. The number of overseas branches by local banks, credit card and other financial firms rose to 410 in 45 countries at the end of March this year, up 11 percent from the end of 2012, the Financial Supervisory Service said in a statement. Asia accounted for 67.8 percent of all overseas branches. North and
July 4, 2017
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Korea to hold Asian energy cooperation forum this week
Korea will hold a forum this week aimed at stepping up cooperation in the energy sector among Asian countries, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.The energy cooperation forum will be held in Seoul on Thursday with around 200 experts in the industry, academia and other areas from seven Asian countries, including the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia, in attendance.Three sessions will be held during the forum mostly reviewing industries related to power generation, renewable energy sources a
July 4, 2017
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Korea's new govt to unveil its economic plan within the month
South Korea's new government will unveil a comprehensive macroeconomic road map, including plans on taxation and public finances, later this month, the country's top economic policymaker said Tuesday."Some day in mid-July, the president and other officials will hold a meeting to discuss the government's fiscal policies and strategies for the next five years," Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said at a policy meeting with ministers in Seoul. He said after such gatherings, the finance mini
July 4, 2017
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BOK to take action to cope with foreign monetary policy changes
The chief of South Korea's central bank vowed Tuesday to take "appropriate" steps amid signs that major economies could change their monetary policies going forward.Last month, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised key interest rates by 0.25 percentage point, marking up the target range for the federal funds rate to 1-1.25 percent. The move marked the second time the Fed raised rates this year after the first hike in March. The Fed also said it plans to reduce its securities holdings, a move
July 4, 2017
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Foreign banks upgrade Korea's economic outlook
Some foreign investment banks have raised their growth forecasts for South Korea's economy this year, thanks to better-than-expected exports and facility investment, a financial research institute said Tuesday.The Bank of Korea has upgraded its growth forecast for the country to 2.6 percent from 2.5 percent, citing improving exports, the Korea Center for International Finance said. The British bank Barclays also recently raised its outlook for South Korea's gross domestic product this year
July 4, 2017
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Sales of image sensors set to soar through 2021
Global sales of image sensors are expected to rise through 2021 in line with the development of virtual reality and wearable devices, industry data showed Tuesday.According to the data compiled by IC Insights, the global market for CMOS image sensors is expected to reach $11.5 billion this year, up 9 percent from $10.5 billion posted a year earlier. Image sensors refer to system chips that detect images and converts them into electronic signals. They are installed in digital cameras and smartpho
July 4, 2017
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Korea has OECD’s highest proportion of low-paid women
South Korea had the highest proportion of low-paid female employees out of its total labor force among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2015, mainly due to the gender pay gap, data showed Monday.“Low paid” was defined as those receiving wages less than two-thirds of the median wage. The proportion of such women was 37.6 percent in Korea in 2015, the highest among 15 OECD members. The figure is much higher than that of the US, whic
July 3, 2017
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Economic showdown looms ahead for Korea-US FTA
The Korea-US summit in Washington last week finished with ambiguous statements from both sides as well as President Trump expressing his intent to renegotiate the current Korea-US Free Trade Agreement. In light of the circumstances, the Moon administration is expected to prepare a FTA task force for what is looking to be an intense economic showdown between the two nations. President Moon Jae-in proposed the launch of a consultation task force to investigate, analyze and evaluate the impact of t
July 3, 2017
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Mortgage approvals by 6 retail banks hit 7-month high in June
Mortgage lending by six major retail banks grew to a seven-month high in June, as more people sought to receive mortgages before the government tightens lending regulations for home mortgages, data showed Monday. The value of home loans at the six banks, including Shinhan, Kookmin and Woori, rose by 2.7 trillion won ($2.36 billion) to 383 trillion won at the end of June. It was the fastest monthly growth since November last year, when mortgage lending by the six banks grew by 3.1 trillion w
July 3, 2017