More than 90 percent of small business owners say they plan to lay off workers following the government’s minimum wage hike next year, according to a survey by the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise on Wednesday. The survey polled 532 business owners from July 21 to 28 and found that 92.4 percent said they would most likely have to cut staff once the new minimum wage increase is implemented, ...

President Moon Jae-in’s income-led growth policy risks derailing efforts to accelerate structural reforms and encourage industrial innovation, economists say. His economic policy directions, which were unveiled last week, barely address the two tasks, seen as crucial to boosting the country’s long-term growth potential. Korea’s manufacturing industries have been faltering in recent years, excep...

A report by KB Financial Group’s research center showed that the number of those in South Korea with assets worth 1 billion won or more reached 242,000 at the end of last year, up by 14.8 percent from the previous year.

Revenue from taxes levied on cigarettes is forecast to reach 3 trillion won ($2.8 billion) for the first time ever this year, government data showed Wednesday. Starting in January 2015, South Korea jacked up the price of cigarettes by 80 percent from 2,500 won per pack to 4,500 won, in an effort to curb smoking. Following this move, taxes collected from the sale of individual cigarette packs ju...

State subsidies for childbirth and child rearing have helped increase South Korea's birthrate, but the effect is weakening over time, a report said Wednesday. According to the report from the Center for Economic Catch-up, subsidies can take credit for 0.122 of 0.163, or 75 percent, increase in the nation's birthrate between 2005 and 2015. The birthrate during the period rose from 1.076 to 1.239....

The savings rate of South Korean households is expected to lapse into negative territory in a decade due the country's rapid population aging, a central bank report said Wednesday. The Bank of Korea report estimated the household savings rate to start to register negative growth starting in 2026 in step with the country's fast population aging. The figure is forecast to fall from 8.9 percent in...

The delinquency rate of South Korean banks' won-denominated loans fell to a record low in June as banks significantly resolved distressed loans, government data showed Wednesday. The rate for bank loans more than 30 days overdue stood at 0.43 percent at the end of June, down 0.15 percentage point from a month earlier, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service. Compared to a yea...

South Korea continued to see brisk exports last month, backed by a rise in oil prices, recovering global trade and a rise in shipments of semiconductors, data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Korea International Trade Association showed Tuesday. Exports climbed 19.5 percent on-year in July, continuing its rise for nine consecutive months and posting double-digit growth for sev...

South Korea’s consumer prices surged in July at the fastest pace in four months, mainly due to a recent rise in fruit and vegetable prices after a period of alternating droughts and floods, government data showed Tuesday. Faced by record-high inflation in the costs of living necessities, the government pledged to offer discounts of up to 50 percent on selected vegetables and to increase the stoc...

International ratings agency Standard and Poor's said Tuesday it has assigned an "intermediate risk" rating to South Korea's property and casualty insurance industry, saying that the industry's strength is undermined by security risks from North Korea. In a report on the insurance industry and country risk assessment, S&P said South Korea's non-life insurers "will remain stable over the near to ...

South Korea's Cabinet on Tuesday approved a measure to remove import tariffs on egg products in the latest effort to resolve a supply shortage sparked by outbreaks of bird flu here, officials said. The move will allow local companies to import 28,000 tons of eggs -- 13,000 tons of shell eggs and 600 tons of hatching eggs and 14,400 tons of other products -- without tariffs up until the end of th...

The number of people in South Korea with financial assets worth more than 1 billion won ($892,295) rose 14.8 percent on year to 242,000 last year, thanks to the robust stock market, a report showed Tuesday. According to the annual survey by KB Financial Group Inc.'s research institute, people classified as wealthy held a total of 552 trillion won worth of financial assets in 2016, accounting for...

South Korea's exports continued their rally for nine straight months by rising a sharp 19.5 percent last month on brisk overseas sales of semiconductors, the trade ministry said Tuesday. Outbound shipments came to $48.85 billion in July, up from $40.88 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 ...

South Korea's central bank said Tuesday that it has set up a system meant to detect overseas financial instability at an early stage in the latest move to better cope with any possible external shock that could affect Asia's fourth-largest economy. The Bank of Korea said about 40 staff members will gather information to assess and analyze the resilience and vulnerabilities of the financial syste...

President Moon Jae-in’s administration is pushing for a steep increase in the minimum wage as a key stepping stone for its income-led growth policy. But critics say sharp pay increases detached from the reality faced by most businesses in the country might drag down the economy. Complaints are simmering especially from small business owners over last month’s decision by a commission of represen...