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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Korea's economic structure remains fragile: think tanks
South Korea's latest economic gains do not indicate that the country's financial condition is on a firm track, as the increases can be attributed to investment in the construction sector and not improvements in private consumption, a research showed Sunday.Hyundai Research Institute said in a report that South Korea's economic growth depends excessively on construction, while private consumption, which takes up 50 percent of the country's gross domestic product, only had a limited impact on the
June 4, 2017
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SMEs struggling with difficult conditions, has high hopes for new govt.
South Korea's small and medium enterprises have high hopes for the new Moon Jae-in administration as they struggle with difficult times, industry sources said Sunday.The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, or K-Biz, said its Chairman Park Sung-taek met with 25 regional SME business representatives in Yeosu, 455 kilometers south of Seoul, and exchanged views on the state of the regional economy. "Business leaders said at the gathering on Saturday that while export figures we
June 4, 2017
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Q1 GDP growth revised up to 1.1 percent
South Korea’s gross domestic product grew faster than expected in the first three months of this year, mainly due to stronger construction and exports, the Bank of Korea said Friday.Asia’s fourth-largest economy grew 1.1 percent in the first quarter from the previous quarter, the central bank said, updating seasonally-adjusted data from the previous estimate of 0.9 percent.The 1.1 percent quarterly growth was the fastest in six quarters, driven mainly by the private sector, not the g
June 2, 2017
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Half of top 30 groups trim workforces in 2016
Nearly half of South Korea's top 30 family-controlled conglomerates slashed their workforces in 2016 from a year earlier, data showed Friday, amid unfavorable market conditions at home and abroad.The combined workforce of the 30 leading business groups came to 1,305,939 as of the end of last year, down 1.1 percent, or 15,069, from a year earlier, according to the data from market tracker Chaebul.com.Of the total conglomerates known as chaebol here, Samsung, Hyundai Heavy Industries, POSCO, LG an
June 2, 2017
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[Monitor] Consumer prices continue to surge
Last month‘s consumer prices surged by 2 percent compared to the same month in the previous year, with livestock products showing the biggest increase at 11.6 percent, data by Statistics Korea showed Thursday.Consumer prices have been hovering around 2 percent since the first month of this year due to a sharp gain in oil prices. The latest upward trend in prices is also largely driven by higher meat and egg prices, with eggs surging 67.9 percent in the aftermath of an outbreak of avian inf
June 1, 2017
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US report predicts continued uncertainties in Korea
As political and economic woes continue to unfold regarding the deployment of an anti-missile system here and US President Donald Trump’s pending renegotiation of the Korea-US free trade agreement, the US Congressional Research Service predicted continued uncertainty for the future economic and political bilateral alliance. “Between 2009 and the end of 2016, relations between the two countries arguably reached their most robust state in decades. Political changes in both countries in
June 1, 2017
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UN ESCAP, Statistics Korea promote sustainable development using big data
In an effort to explore methods to utilize big data to achieve sustainable development, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and Statistics Korea have organized a forum on innovative data approaches from Wednesday to Friday in Songdo, Incheon. “In the information age, data is our most valuable currency,” said Kilaparti Ramakrishna, director and head of the ESCAP East and North-East Asia Office, in a press release by ESCAP on Wednesday. &ldq
June 1, 2017
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Korea’s global competitiveness sapped by political scandal, fine dust
South Korea’s global competitiveness ranking remained low at 29 among 63 countries in 2017, hit by a political scandal that rocked the nation last year, weak exports and fine dust, a report by an international institute showed Thursday.According to the International Institute for Management Development, a Switzerland-based private business school, Korea’s global competitiveness ranked at No. 29 in 2017, the lowest since 2008 when the economy was 31st. Among 14 countries in the Asia-P
June 1, 2017
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US may raise interest rate four times this year: Fed official
The US Federal Reserve could raise its interest rate four times this year if the economy strengthens, a senior Fed official said Thursday.John C. Williams, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said that three rate increases this year is a reasonable baseline view, but there is potential for upside occurrences in the economy. "I could imagine if the economy strengthens, four rate increases this year would be appropriate," Williams said in a news conference in
June 1, 2017
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Korea seeks to woo more foreign capital: regulator
South Korea aims to attract more foreign capital as part of its efforts to promote globalization of its financial industry, the top financial watchdog said Thursday. Zhin Woong-seob, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, made the remarks earlier in the day at an international conference of finance in the southern port city of Busan. South Korea is working to promote the derivative financial sector, although challenges remain, Zhin said. "The financial authorities have recentl
June 1, 2017
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Fewer than 4 in 10 temps benefit from state pension
Fewer than 4 in 10 irregular workers in South Korea benefit from the country's state pension program, a much lower percentage than full-time employees, a report said Thursday.Slightly over 36 percent of temporary workers had state pension subscriptions as of 2016, compared to 83 percent for regulars, according to the report by the Korea Labor Institute. Roughly 68 percent of all workers in the country had subscriptions to the pension scheme that was introduced in 1988 to guarantee income for the
June 1, 2017
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Possible US rate hike tipped to impact Korean bourse little
A potential US interest rate hike in June is likely to have an insignificant impact on the South Korean stock market as it is widely expected, analysts said Thursday.The Federal Reserve is slated to hold its monetary policy meeting on June 14-15 amid widespread expectations the US central bank will jack up its benchmark lending rate for the second time this year. The Fed raised rates in March on economic optimism. "As a recent survey shows, all watchers expect a rate increase in June, it wo
June 1, 2017
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BOK chief calls for measures for population aging
The head of South Korea's central bank called Thursday for measures to cope with population aging that could undermine growth in Asia's fourth-largest economy.Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said South Korea is not well-prepared for its rapidly increasing older population. Experts have expressed concerns that the aging population, coupled with a low birthrate, poses a serious threat to Asia's fourth-largest economy, as it could lead to fewer working people and increased spending on health and wel
June 1, 2017
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Korea's exports up 13.4% on-year in May
South Korea's exports jumped 13.4 percent last month from a year earlier to extend their winning streak to seven months on the back of brisk overseas sales of computer chips and displays, the trade ministry said Thursday.Outbound shipments came to $45 billion last month, up from $39.7 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The country's exports have been on a steady rise since November led by an upturn in oil prices and recovering global trade. I
June 1, 2017
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Korea's Q1 growth ranks high among OECD
South Korea ranked high in first-quarter economic growth among major advanced and emerging economies as its economy got a boost from recovering exports and investment, data showed Thursday.Asia's fourth-largest economy expanded 0.9 percent on-quarter in the January-March period from three months earlier, a quarterly increase of 0.4 percentage point in the fourth quarter of last year, according to the data by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. It was the sixth-highest quar
June 1, 2017
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Korea's consumer prices up 2% in May
South Korea's consumer prices continued their upbeat mode to touch the 2 percent level in May on high-flying oil and livestock prices, government data showed Thursday.The country's consumer price index gained 2 percent last month from a year earlier, slightly up from the previous month's 1.9 percent rise, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Consumer prices have been hovering around 2 percent since the first month of 2017 due to a sharp gain in oil prices, following a 1.3 percent
June 1, 2017
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[Herald Interview] ECCK chairman calls for deregulation
Following the ouster of former President Park Geun-hye and the election of President Moon Jae-in, some foreign investors in Korea have heaved a sigh of relief in anticipation that the country’s economic instability during the turbulent political times will finally begin to normalize. Foreign-invested firms make up 20.9 percent of the nation’s total exports and 5.7 percent of jobs. Of these firms, roughly 2,500 are European companies operating in Korea. Dimitris Psillakis, president a
May 31, 2017
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Manufacturing sentiment edges down
South Korea’s manufacturing sentiment inched down in May from the previous month, the first decline in nine months, as producers were psychologically pressured from reduced business days with more holidays in May, the Bank of Korea said Wednesday.The business survey index in the manufacturing sector dropped to 82 in May from 81 in April. The index remained low at 71-72 from August to December but began to rise in earnest from 75 in January to 83 in April with robust exports. The manufactur
May 31, 2017
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Merit pay system destined to be derailed
Confusion is growing over the implementation of a merit pay system at public organizations in the country, as President Moon Jae-in and his aides are pushing to repeal the measure introduced under previous administrations.During his campaign for the May 9 presidential election, Moon pledged to immediately abolish the performance-based wage system if he became president.Kim Jin-pyo, head of a commission functioning as the de facto transition team of the new administration, said last week that wor
May 31, 2017
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Korea's exports to ASEAN more than double thanks to FTA
South Korea's exports to the group of Southeast Asian countries more than doubled over the last decade as commerce and investment increased following the implementation of a free trade deal, government data showed Wednesday.Outbound shipments to the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations reached US$74.52 billion in 2016, compared with $32.1 billion in 2006, according to the data by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. With the South Korea-ASEAN free trade deal t
May 31, 2017