South Korea's antitrust watchdog said Thursday that it has imposed a combined 796 million won ($699,000) in fines on two local electronics part suppliers for rigging bids for public railway construction projects. The two companies -- Yookyung Control Co. and Hyukshin Engineering Co. -- allegedly colluded to participate in five bids to supply electronic interlocking equipment arranged by state-ru...

South Korea's central bank said Thursday that it has decided to extend 4.6 trillion won ($4 billion) to small and medium-sized firms through commercial lenders in the latest move to boost potential growth numbers. The monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea said 3.6 trillion won will be provided to small and medium enterprises that are seeking to find new growth drivers and contribute to job ...

A total of 378 imported commercial vehicles, mostly trucks, were sold in South Korea last month, down 11.1 percent from the previous month, industry data showed Thursday. According to the data compiled by the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, Volvo topped the list with a total of 137 trucks sold, followed by 105 vehicles from MAN, 83 from Scania, 40 from Mercedes-Benz and ...

South Korea's auto exports continued to grow for six months in a row in July on rising demand from North America and Europe, government data showed Thursday. The total value of vehicles shipped overseas reached $3.65 billion last month, up 7.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The figure has remained in positive terrain si...

South Korea's fiscal spending is expected to rise by about 3 trillion won ($2.63 billion) annually over the next five decades due to its rapid population aging and low birthrate, a report said Thursday. Asia's fourth-largest economy is estimated to fork up an additional 2.8 trillion won per year between 2016 and 2065 due to the country's demographic change, according to the report published by t...

South Korea's national tax revenue continued to rise in the first six months of the year amid a steady pace of growth in Asia's fourth-largest economy, the finance ministry said Thursday. The government collected 137.9 trillion won ($121.2 billion) in taxes in the January-June period, up 12.3 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. It accounts for so...

South Korea's trade surplus in chips more than doubled in the first seven months from a year earlier, data showed Thursday, casting concern over the country's excessive dependency on the industry. According to industry data, the country's semiconductor surplus through July came to $28.8 billion, rising sharply from $12.6 billion in the same period in 2016. The latest numbers already beat the com...

South Korea’s gross domestic product ranked 11th in the world in 2016, with its per capita income based on purchasing power remaining unchanged, data from the World Bank showed Wednesday. The country’s global standing remained unchanged from the previous year. GDP refers to the total value of goods and services produced within the economy. Aside from ranking 10th in 2005, Korea’s GDP had stayed...

Concerns have been raised that Korea’s long-term fiscal soundness will be undermined by President Moon Jae-in’s policies that are set to be accompanied by a sharp rise in government spending. His administration has made clear it will expand annual fiscal expenditure at a faster pace than the country’s nominal economic growth rate, which is equal to real growth rate plus inflation. On his campai...

Amid the government’s continued struggle to tackle Korea’s high unemployment rate, the number of newly employed individuals reached 26.9 million last month, up 313,000 from the previous month, according to data released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday. It was the sixth consecutive month that the newly employed figure exceeded more than 300,000 on-month. July’s figure was also 15,000 more than ...

Volatility in South Korea's currency markets rose in July from a month earlier, though the stability of the global financial markets continued, the central bank said Wednesday. The session-over-session changes in the dollar-won exchange rates averaged 0.42 percent in July, compared with 0.28 percent a month earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement. "The won has fallen slightly against the...

The money supply in South Korea jumped 5.9 percent in June from a year earlier, the central bank said Wednesday. The nation's M2 totaled 2,470.8 trillion won ($2.17 trillion) in June, compared to 2,334.2 trillion won a year earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement. The money supply gained 0.4 percent on-month, the statement said. The growth rate of the money supply has been on the declin...

South Korea's household loans extended by banks rose 9.4 percent in July from a year earlier due to increased mortgages, central bank data showed Wednesday. Outstanding household loans from lenders came to 737.7 trillion won ($650 billion) as of the end of last month, compared with 673.7 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. Compared with June, the amou...

South Korea's top financial regulator on Wednesday unveiled details of upcoming ordinances that will require insurers to gradually increase their capital reserves from December to help them better cope with changes in global accounting rules. The Financial Services Commission will also ease some requirements on risk-based capital ratios for insurers to help them comply with the rules under the n...

South Korea's tax office said Wednesday that it has launched a probe into 286 people suspected of evading taxes through illegal real estate transactions as part of the government's drive to curb property market speculation. Last week, the government announced stricter measures to stabilize the country's overheated housing market around the capital city of Seoul and its surrounding areas. It impo...