Most Popular
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Ador CEO denies allegations, accuses Hybe of mistreating NewJeans
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10-man S. Korea lose to Indonesia to miss out on Paris Olympic football qualification
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Hybe-Ador feud should have limited effect on Hybe's overall performance: analysts
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Second Gimpo civil servant found dead, after apologizing for not finishing work
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DP leader says he will meet Yoon without conditions
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Seoul to promote luxurious side of the city
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First-ever meeting of president, opposition chief set to finally happen
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NewJeans' singles, Japanese debut to proceed as planned, despite Hybe-Ador feud
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Experts raise concerns about Japan putting pressure on Naver over Line
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Samsung mobile chief, Google device head meet in Seoul
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New govt. set to increase taxes in 2nd half
The new Moon Jae-in administration will likely revise tax codes in the second half of the year to finance its election pledges to create jobs, government officials said Monday.On the campaign trail, President Moon promised to focus more on job creation and expanding welfare for young people. In particular, he said his government will create some 800,000 public jobs during his five-year term, grant an allowance to young jobseekers and offer public residence to newlyweds at lower rent. Many estima
May 15, 2017
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Korea logs 63rd consecutive trade surplus in April
South Korea posted a trade surplus for 63 straight months in April on a steady recovery in exports, customs data showed Monday.The country's trade surplus came to $13 billion last month, up from a surplus of $8.7 billion tallied a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.Asia's fourth-largest economy has enjoyed a trade surplus since February 2012. It posted $6.57 billion in trade surplus with Southeast Asian countries in April, followed by China with a surplus of $2.6
May 15, 2017
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Moon expected to set up new control tower for industrial restructuring
The Moon Jae-in administration is expected to set up a new control tower for industrial restructuring as soon as its new Cabinet takes shape, inside sources said Monday.President Moon's official campaign pledges do not specify actions or directions for restructuring. For the shipbuilding and shipping industries that are in the middle of major overhauls, the pledge has been that the two industries cannot be abandoned, and that they will be rebuilt through co-existence. Hong Jong-haak, a former le
May 15, 2017
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1 in 5 employees work 54 hours or longer per week
One in five South Korean employees work 54 hours or longer a week with the downtrend in weekly work hours losing steam in the 2010s, government data showed Monday.According to the data by Statistics Korea, some 5.33 million employees had a workweek of 54 hours or more in April, up 507,000 from a year earlier and accounting for 20.1 percent of the country's total workforce of 26.58 million. That translates into about 11 hours per day should they take Saturdays and Sundays off. South Korea started
May 15, 2017
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Listed companies increase facility investments in Q1
Facility investments by listed companies showed signs of recovery in the first quarter this year, increasing 25.9 percent from the same period last year, a tally from the Korea Exchange on Sunday showed.Total facility investments by firms on the main and secondary bourses were logged at 1.308 trillion won ($1.158 billion) during the three months, up from 1.039 trillion won for the same months a year ago. The number of companies that increased their investments also rose from 19 last year to 30.T
May 14, 2017
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AMCHAM to promote benefits of Seoul-Washington FTA in US
US businesses based in South Korea said Sunday they will send a delegation to the White House this month to promote the benefits of the free trade agreement between Seoul and Washington as the Donald Trump administration is reviewing the five-year deal for a possible renegotiation. The delegation of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea will visit Washington from Monday to Thursday and meet high-ranking officials at the White House. The visit came as US President Donald Trump has been
May 14, 2017
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More Korean women economically active in 2017: data
The rate of South Korean women either working or actively searching for jobs reached a record high in 2017, data showed Saturday, thanks to a rising number of married women returned to the job market.According to the data compiled by the Statistics Korea, 53 percent of women were found to be economically active this year, up 0.8 percentage points from a year earlier.This year's number is the highest since the agency started compiling data from June 1999. The figure refers to the portion of econo
May 13, 2017
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Korea's sovereign fund earns $4b last year
Korea Investment Corp., South Korea's sovereign wealth fund, said Friday it posted $4 billion in investment gains last year. The sovereign fund -- which handles $110.8 billion in assets under management -- reported a return ratio of 4.35 percent from its investments in overseas stocks and bonds for the whole of 2016, the KIC said in a statement. The fund's accumulated investment gains reached $15.8 billion last year.Last year, equities accounted for 41.2 percent of the KIC's overseas inves
May 12, 2017
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[Herald Interview] ‘Uncertainty Korea’s biggest economic challenge’
Export-reliant Korea’s overall economic growth in past years has been clouded by a prolonged weakness in global trade, a report by the United Nations Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific stated earlier this month.While the economies of the Asia Pacific region are expected to achieve a 1.2 percentage point lower economic growth on average this year, uncertainty will be the biggest challenge for South Korea, an expert from a UN panel said Friday.According to Kilaparti Ramakrish
May 12, 2017
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[Moon in Office] Sharp rise in housing prices unlikely: experts
The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles delving into the economic policies and tasks expected of the new Moon Jae-in administration. This is the third installment -- Ed.South Korea’s housing market is unlikely to see sharp rises under liberal President Moon Jae-in, who is more focused on market stabilization, real estate experts said Friday. As opposed to the former Park Geun-hye government’s deregulatory moves, the new Moon Jae-in government is expected to tighten some r
May 12, 2017
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President vows to remove all non-regular jobs in public sector
President Moon Jae-in on Friday reaffirmed his pledge to create hundreds of thousands of quality jobs in the public sector, vowing to turn all non-regular job openings in the public sector to regular, full-time employment within his term."I will open an era of zero irregular jobs in the public sector within my term," Moon said in a meeting with workers and citizens at Incheon International Airport Corp., a key public enterprise. The meeting marked the new president's first public event
May 12, 2017
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China invites Korea to economic development forum
China has invited South Korea to join a forum on Beijing's regional economic development plan in what appears to be a move to mend the bilateral relationship following the inauguration of new President Moon Jae-in in Seoul, a government official said Friday.The delegation to be led by Rep. Park Byeong-seug of the Democratic Party will leave for Beijing on Saturday to attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation that will kick off on Sunday for a two-day run, according to the offi
May 12, 2017
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Govt. to set aside supplementary budget for job creation
The finance ministry said Friday that it will set aside a supplementary budget to help create jobs, a key campaign pledge of Presidential Moon Jae-in."We will create jobs through aggressive macroeconomic policies, including a supplementary budget," the ministry said in its monthly economy assessment report called the "Green Book." The ministry also vowed to revitalize Asia's fourth-largest economy, which is showing signs of a recovery on increased exports.It marked the first
May 12, 2017
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[Monitor] Korea’s tourism deficit hits 10-year high
South Korea’s tourism industry recorded a deficit of $3.74 billion as of the end of March, marking a nearly decadelong record high, due largely to drop in Chinese visitors following the ban of Korea-bound trip sales by Beijing this year.The Bank of Korea said the deficit is the largest since $3.76 billion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2007.The deficit reached $1.35 billion in March alone, the biggest figure in nearly two years, after Korea saw $1.47 billion in travel deficit for July 2
May 11, 2017
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Unemployment hits 17-year high
Despite the number of employed individuals increasing last month, South Korea’s unemployment rate hit a 17-year high in April, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea on Thursday. The jobless number reached approximately 1.17 million, up by 99,000. This is the largest number for the month of April and the highest after February’s 1.35 million. The jobless rate also reached 4.2 percent, up 0.3 percentage point from the same month last year. It is the highest rate after the 4.5
May 11, 2017
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Korea's exports rise 4.5% in first 10 days of May
South Korea's exports increased 4.5 percent in the first 10 days of May from a year earlier on brisk overseas sales of petroleum products and semiconductors, latest customs data showed Thursday.Total outbound shipments reached $9.7 billion during the cited period, up from $9.3 billion tallied over the same period last year, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. The increase was led by a 117.8-percent on-year gain in exports of petroleum goods and a 43-percent surge for chi
May 11, 2017
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Hanwha chairman talks US relations with Heritage Foundation president
Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn sat down with Edwin J. Feulner Jr., president of the Heritage Foundation, in Seoul on Tuesday to discuss the future of Korea-US relations, according to Hanwha officials Wednesday. The Heritage Foundation is a representative conservative think tank in the US and focuses on policy development in the areas of politics, economy, diplomacy and security. Feulner, who also served as an assistant political adviser to US President Donald Trump, is considered a le
May 10, 2017
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[Moon in Office] Corporate governance to improve: analysts
The election of Moon Jae-in as the new president of South Korea is likely to improve corporate governance, along with Moon’s promise to reform chaebol, analysts at global investment banks said Wednesday.Goldman Sachs economist Kwon Goo-hoon said he expected corporate government to improve, along with the National Assembly’s broad support for better governance as a sound business strategy. “A more likely step toward better governance would be the adoption of the stewardship code
May 10, 2017
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[Moon in Office] Who will be finance minister to lead recovery?
As soon as President Moon Jae-in picked South Jeolla Province Gov. Lee Nak-yon to be prime minister, attention moved to who would become the concurrent deputy prime minister and finance minister to lift the sagging economy to recovery.The new top economic policymaker will face daunting tasks, such as making sure the recent rebound of exports and consumer sentiment lead to a recovery of domestic demand and jobs. External risks include dealing with the US over a possible renegotiation of a bilater
May 10, 2017
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Hyundai Asan hopes to resume inter-Korean tour program
Officials at Hyundai Asan, the operator of a halted inter-Korean tour program and developer of the closed Kaesong industrial park, announced its anticipation Wednesday for Korea’s new President Moon Jae-in to ease tension with North Korea so the company can resume its tour program and operations at the industrial park. “Hyundai Asan will by fully prepared for the moment that the two Koreas resume dialogue that could lead to a reopening of the Mount Kumgang tour. We hope that it won&r
May 10, 2017