Most Popular
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Debate rages over ‘overly fatty’ samgyeopsal
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40 flights canceled on Jeju Island due to bad weather
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[Weekender] Korean psyche untangled: Musok
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N. Korea slams US, other countries for seeking alternative to UN sanctions monitoring panel
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Pandemic left Korea more depressed than before: report
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Gov't appears to shelve punitive measures against mass walkout by doctors
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[Eye Interview] 'If you live to 100, you might as well be happy,' says 88-year-old bestselling essayist
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From fake prostitution ring to nonexistent robber, prank calls hamper police
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Missing S. Korean traveler in Paris found safe after 2 weeks
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S. Korea, China, Japan in talks to hold trilateral summit May 26-27: official
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BOK to keep monetary easing policy to support growth
South Korea's central bank pledged Friday to keep the current monetary easing policy to support growth in Asia's fourth-largest economy. For this month, the Bank of Korea kept its key rate at an all-time low of 1.25 percent for the 10th consecutive month after dropping the rate to its lowest level to bolster the lackluster South Korean economy.The BOK will "maintain its stance of monetary policy accommodation as the inflationary pressures on the demand side are not expected to be high given
April 28, 2017
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ASEM economic ministers to discuss measures against trade protectionism
Joint countermeasures against trade protectionism will be a central agenda item at an economic ministerial meeting of Asian and European countries in Seoul later this year, trade ministry officials said Friday.Senior officials from member states of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) met in Seoul on Friday to discuss topics for the ASEM Economic Ministers' Meeting, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said. The ministerial meeting is scheduled in Seoul on Sept. 21-22.Officials said participants
April 28, 2017
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Sharing economy expands presence in Korea
Lee Eun-hee, a 38-year-old lawyer, decided to visit Osaka in Japan with a friend in early November last year and set a new motto for this trip: spend less money on sleeping and focus more on eating and shopping.She downloaded the Airbnb application on her smartphone and searched for a suitable room close to a subway station and the large shopping districts of Dotonbori and Namba. On the app, it shows a list of apartments and guest houses uploaded by homeowners who have spare rooms or houses to s
April 28, 2017
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Korea's seaport cargo up 3.8% in Q1
Cargo processed at South Korean seaports rose slightly during the first three months of 2017 from a year earlier amid a steady increase in exports, government data showed Friday.Cargo handled at the country's seaports came to 389.92 million tons in the January-March period, up from 375.64 million tons tallied a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Non-container cargo rose 3.1 percent on-year to 278.54 million tons during the three-month period, while conta
April 28, 2017
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Korea's manufacturing sentiment up for May
South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment for next month improved slightly as local companies expect steady gains in domestic demand and exports, data by the central bank showed Friday.The business survey index of manufacturing firms came to 84 for May, up from 82 for April, according to the Bank of Korea.A reading over 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists, while a reading below the benchmark means the opposite. An index measuring local firms' sentiments toward exports came to 93 for ne
April 28, 2017
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Korea to sell W7.75tr state bonds in May
South Korea plans to sell a combined 7.75 trillion won ($6.84 billion) in state bonds next month, the finance ministry said Thursday.The government will issue 1.8 trillion won in bonds with a maturity of three years and 1.9 trillion won in five-year bonds.It also plans to sell 1.8 trillion won worth of 10-year Treasurys and a combined 2.25 trillion won of bonds with a maturity of between 20 and 30 years.For June, the ministry said it is planning to issue a total 8 trillion won worth of state bon
April 27, 2017
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FTA with Vietnam to boost exports on tariff removals
The three-year-old free trade agreement with Vietnam will allow South Korean companies to further increase their auto, steel and petrochemical exports on tax removal or cuts, customs experts said Thursday. In a seminar held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in central Seoul, customs experts called on Korean companies to aggressively take advantage of tariff benefits in the third year of the bilateral free trade pact with Vietnam and afterwards."Exports to South Korea's major mar
April 27, 2017
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Number of unemployed elderly hits record high: data
The number of unemployed people aged 65 or older hit a record high in recent months, government data showed Thursday, amid the lack of proper job openings for senior citizens,m whose number has been growing rapidly in recent years. The number of jobless people aged 65 or older rose to 123,000 for the first quarter this year, up 31,000 from a year earlier, according to the Statistics Korea data.The figure is the highest since Statistics Korea began compiling related numbers in 1999. The comparabl
April 27, 2017
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Supplementary budget seems unlikely option
Attention is being drawn to whether a new administration to be installed following the May 9 presidential election will push to draw up a supplementary budget this year.With the country’s economy showing signs of recovery, government policymakers are becoming increasingly negative on the need for additional fiscal spending.Korea’s gross domestic product increased 0.9 percent from the previous quarter in the January-March period, up from a 0.5 percent on-quarter expansion three months
April 27, 2017
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Industrial power consumption grows for 5 straight quarters in Q1
South Korea's industrial electricity consumption rose for five straight quarters in the first three months of the year on a sharp upturn in the chipmaking and chemical sectors, the government said Thursday.The amount of electricity consumed by the country's industrial sector reached 71.06 billion kilowatt-hours in the January-March period, up 2.4 percent from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The quarterly figure has been on a steady rise since th
April 27, 2017
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GDP growth accelerates in Q1 on strong exports, investment
South Korea’s economy grew at a faster pace in the first three months of the year on the back of robust exports and stronger-than-expected investment in construction and facilities, the central bank said Thursday.According to the Bank of Korea, the nation’s gross domestic product expanded 0.9 percent in the first quarter from the previous quarter, beating market expectations of 0.7-0.8 percent. The quarterly growth in the first quarter was faster than the 0.5 percent on-quarter growt
April 27, 2017
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Korea's economic growth accelerates in Q1: BOK
South Korea's economy grew at a faster pace in the first quarter than three months earlier due to increased construction investment and exports, central bank data showed Thursday.In the January-March period, the country's gross domestic product increased 0.9 percent from the previous quarter, improving from a 0.5 percent on-quarter expansion three months earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.The on-quarter growth is the fastest since the second quarter of last year.From a
April 27, 2017
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[Monitor] Women hired most in restaurants, bars
As of October last year, some 1.11 million women were hired in restaurant businesses, taking up 9.8 percent of the total working women. When adding bars and other beverage outlets, the proportion reached 12.0 percent, becoming the No. 1 industry in which women were employed, Statistics Korea data showed Tuesday.Half of the employed Koreans earned 2 million or less per month. When grouped by industry type, the number of employees was the largest in retail.
April 26, 2017
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Korea, India agree to avoid double taxation
South Korea's top tax official and his Indian counterpart agreed to avoid double taxation between the two countries, the government said Wednesday.National Tax Service chief Lim Hwan-soo and India's Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia also agreed to create stable tax conditions for investments during their meeting in Seoul, according to the NTS.The bilateral double taxation avoidance pact was reached in September last year, creating a mutual foundation to address double taxation issues facing South
April 26, 2017
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Private pension savings fall far short of investors' needs in old age
Payouts by private pension savings accounts to investors significantly fell short of needs for post-retirement life, official data showed Wednesday.The average monthly payout by private pension savings stood at 260,000 won ($231) last year, down 20,000 won from a year earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Including an average monthly payout by the National Pension Service, an investor received a total of 600,000 won in pension last year.The payout is compared wit
April 26, 2017
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Consumer sentiment for under-40 still frosty
Consumer sentiment had generally improved in April, but it worsened for those under 40, a detailed index from the central bank indicated Wednesday. The Bank of Korea said overall the consumer sentiment index for the month rose to 101.2 from 96.7 in the previous month. A reading above 100 means there are more optimists than pessimists. However, a separate index for the under-40 age group measuring their sentiment on current economic conditions fell 1 percentage point from 94 in March. This contra
April 26, 2017
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[Monitor] More companies have their credit ratings upgraded
The number of companies that had their credit ratings upgraded increased by 76.9 percent last year compared to the previous year. Those that had their credit ratings downgraded, meanwhile, dropped by 42.8 percent, the Financial Supervisory Service said Tuesday.But there were still three times as many companies with “negative” outlooks for their credit ratings than with “positive” outlooks.
April 25, 2017
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Annual AIIB meeting to be held in Jeju on June 16-18
The second annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will be held on South Korea's southern island of Jeju in June, the finance ministry said Tuesday.The meeting of the board of governors will held on June 16-18 with the theme "sustainable infrastructure" and more than 10 seminars and discussion sessions, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. Detailed programs include one-on-one business meetings for networking by people in the infrastruc
April 25, 2017
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Korea's terms of trade worsen in March
South Korea's terms of trade deteriorated slightly in March from a year earlier as a rise in export prices was offset by a hike in import prices, central bank data showed Tuesday.The terms of trade index for products came to 99.57 last month, down 4.5 percent from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The index measures the amount of imports a country can purchase for each unit of exports, showing how the country's exports are doing in comparison to others.In Marc
April 25, 2017
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[Photo News] Gold closed at W46,220 per gram Monday
April 24, 2017