Most Popular
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Yoon sorry for shortcomings but insists policies were right
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S. Korea ‘strongly’ protests Japan’s claim over Dokdo in diplomatic bluebook
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US 'incredibly concerned' about suspected NK-Iran military ties
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Korean won weakens amid heightened uncertainty
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1 in 3 Koreans live alone, family types becoming diverse
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Sewol victims commemorated on tragedy's 10th anniversary
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Seoul says will cut power to porn festival planned on Han River
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Chanel, Louis Vuitton see muted growth in Korea
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Conservative bloc divided over Han’s role in election defeat
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Korea, Japan finance chiefs vow to tame rampant FX market volatility
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Govt., ruling party seek tax code revision for fairness, job growth
The government and the ruling Democratic Party said Thursday they will seek to revise the tax code this year in a way that will promote fair taxation and help boost job growth.Ruling party and government officials reached the agreement at their consultative meeting at a time when the Korean economy is slowing amid a sluggish job market."A revision of the tax code will center on improving income distribution and enhance taxation fairness in connection with the government's move to overhaul t
July 26, 2018
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Currency war complicates risks to Korean economy
A possible global currency war that might erupt amid escalating trade tensions between the world’s largest economies threatens to pose a complicated set of risks to the Korean economy.US President Donald Trump last week accused China and the European Union of “manipulating their currencies and interest rates lower.”Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin later put flesh on Trump’s accusation by saying Washington is closely monitoring whether China has manipulated its foreign ex
July 25, 2018
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S. Korea's July consumer sentiment slides at sharpest clip in 20 months
South Korea's consumer confidence plunged at the sharpest rate in 20 monthshowed Wednesday.s in July due largely to signs of an economic slowdown and intensifying trade disputes between the United States and China, central bank data The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI) for this month stood at a 14-month low of 101, down 4.5 points from the previous month, according to the survey by the Bank of Korea (BOK).It is the steepest on-month decline since the index lost 6.4 points in November 20
July 25, 2018
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Inflationary pressure grows on oil prices, heat wave, utility rates
South Korea is expected to face growing inflationary pressure in the coming months due to rising oil prices, the fallout of a record heat wave and signals of public utility rate hikes, observers noted Tuesday.The key point at issue is whether inflation will rise as high as to near the 2 percent mark, in which case the central bank is likely to speed up its retrenchment timeline and possibly raise the policy rate within the year.The recent weather factors and the mounting signs of utility rate hi
July 24, 2018
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LG Chem to invest W2.8tr to expand high value production
South Korea’s LG Chem announced Monday it will invest some 2.61 trillion won to expand manufacturing facilities to raise the capacities of the Naphtha Cracking Center and high value metallocene polyolefin by 800,000 tons each at its Yeosu plant in South Jeolla Province. The production will begin by the second half of 2021.It will also invest some 200 billion won to create an industrial complex to manufacture future materials in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province. Through the latest invest
July 23, 2018
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Tax revenue increase far from guaranteed
The Moon Jae-in administration’s expansionary fiscal policy will probably prove unsustainable in a couple of years due to a possible decline in tax revenue that might stem partly from reduced corporate profits, economists say.On the back of a continuous rise in tax revenue, President Moon’s government has been increasing fiscal spending at a steep pace to expand welfare and employment programs. It is also under growing criticism for squandering taxpayer money to cope with the uninten
July 23, 2018
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S. Korea, Tanzania agree to deepen economic cooperation
DAR ES SALAAM -- South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon held talks with his Tanzanian counterpart and agreed to work together to further deepen economic cooperation between the two countries, officials said.Lee arrived in Tanzania on Saturday for a three-day visit in the second stop of his weeklong trip to the region that already took him to Kenya and will also include a visit to Oman later this week. Bolstering economic and business ties with the countries is a key purpose of the trip. In Sund
July 23, 2018
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Payment at listed firms 3 times higher than minimum wage
The average hourly payment for South Korea's listed firms was more than three times higher than the country's minimum level, market data showed Sunday.A total of 1,932 firms listed on the main KOSPI and tech-laden KOSDAQ markets were presumed to have paid an average of 22,472 won ($19.79) per hour last year to their 1.56 million employees, according to the data from Chaebol.com, a research firm specialized in large businesses.In 2017, South Korea set the minimum hourly wage at 6,470 won. The amo
July 22, 2018
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S. Korean delegation to take part in RCEP talks in Bangkok
South Korean delegates will head to Thailand to participate in the latest round of talks for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a proposed mega trade deal involving Asian nations, Seoul's trade ministry said Sunday. The RCEP is in essence a massive regional trade deal between 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the six countries with which ASEAN has existing free trade agreements -- South Korea, China, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand.Kim Jung-il, Se
July 22, 2018
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NK economy retreats sharpest in 2 decades in 2017: BOK
North Korea’s annual real gross domestic product in 2017 retreated 3.5 percent on-year, marking the sharpest fall in over 20 years, as sanctions on the North appear to have taken a toll on its exports, data showed Friday. This comes in contrast to the secluded state’s 3.9 percent on-year economic growth in 2016, according to data compiled by the Bank of Korea. The degree of decline is the steepest since 1997, when the real GDP decreased by 6.5 percent on-year.The central bank cited a
July 20, 2018
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‘Essence of US-China trade war is to open China’s financial market’
SEOGWIPO, Jeju -- The nature of the ongoing trade war between the US and China is in Washington’s ambition to open Beijing’s financial market, a Korean expert on China’s economy said Friday.China’s strengths in the manufacturing sector are too much even for the US, but it has its weakness in financial industry and Trump is targeting that, according to Jeon Byung-seo, head of Institute for China Economy and Finance.“The fundamental motive of the bilateral trade war i
July 20, 2018
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Higher minimum wage feared to cut jobs for seniors
Korea's minimum wage hike is feared to deal a harsh blow to jobs for elderly people as many of them are subject to the pay regulation, sources said Friday.The government jacked up the minimum wage by 16.4 percent to 7,530 won ($6.62) per hour on Jan. 1 this year, the biggest hike in nearly two decades. Next year's minimum wage has been set at 8,350 won, up 10.9 percent from this year. According to Statistics Korea, nearly 205,000 Koreans aged 55 or older were employed by the business facil
July 20, 2018
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S. Korea, Canada discuss joint response to US auto tariffs
South Korea and Canada have agreed to jointly deal with the United States' move to levy tariffs on foreign autos and put on a united front against the rising protectionism in global trade, Seoul's trade ministry said Thursday. South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong met with Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland in Ottawa to discuss the latest trade issues and explore ways to expand bilateral economic cooperation. The two nations have mulled ways to defend their auto industries as the D
July 19, 2018
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Moon yet to follow up on pro-business gesture
President Moon Jae-in’s recent outreach to the business community seems to have so far fallen short of gaining full confidence and cooperation from corporate officials.The local corporate circle is cautiously watching whether he will follow through with his encouraging signals to shift to business-friendly policies despite objections from civic and labor groups as well as many ruling party lawmakers. In a move that was seen as heralding changes in his stance to keep a distance from the cou
July 18, 2018
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Korea cuts growth estimate, set to spend more for underprivileged
South Korea's government plans to increase spending to create more jobs and expand the social safety net, as Asia's fourth-largest economy is set to lose its steam down the road in the face of rising uncertainties, including the growing trade war between major economies and a slowdown in facility investment, Seoul's finance ministry said Wednesday.Charting out its second-half economic policy plans, the ministry cut its growth estimate to 2.9 percent this year from its earlier projected 3 percent
July 18, 2018
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S. Korea to expand support for low-income clusters in H2
South Korea’s government and the ruling party on Tuesday agreed to increase the amount of tax refunds for low-income households this year, in a move to help them deal with the side effects of the legal minimum wage increase.Officials are also set to speed up the timeline to subsidize low-income senior citizens and young job seekers, as part of an expansive fiscal program responding to sluggish employment and slow growth.“Support measures for the low-income bracket will focus on creat
July 17, 2018
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Minimum wage rise discord deepens
With neither business owners nor workers’ unions satisfied with the latest settlement of the legal minimum wage for next year, South Korean President Moon Jae-in struggled to appease both sides, while admitting his election pledge to raise it to 10,000 won by 2020 was nigh impossible. His comments followed a string of oppositions lodeged by both the business and labor sides, while his chief financial policymaker criticized the double-digit growth as hurting the economy. Earlier i
July 16, 2018
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Korea mulling more cash subsidies for heavier wage burden
The government is considering an increase in cash subsidies for smaller businesses in order to help ease the burden of higher payroll costs following the decision on an 11 percent minimum wage hike for next year, officials said Monday.The Minimum Wage Commission decided Saturday to raise next year’s minimum wage by 10.9 percent to 8,350 won ($7.37) per hour after an overnight meeting boycotted by business representatives. This year’s minimum wage is 7,530 won per hour, up 16.4 percen
July 16, 2018
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Concerns rise on indebted self-employed businesses
A growing level of debt owed by self-employed businesses is becoming a ticking time bomb that hangs over the Korean economy, experts say.A continuous increase in the minimum wage amid sluggish domestic demand is set to add to precipitating the pace of debt growth.According to data recently submitted by the Bank of Korea to a lawmaker, the outstanding debt held by self-employed businesses in the country amounted to 549.2 trillion won ($487 billion) last year, up 14.4 percent from the previous yea
July 16, 2018
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Finance minister, BOK chief meet over economic conditions
South Korea's top economic and monetary policymakers met Monday to discuss an array of economic issues, such as the growing trade tussle between the United States and China and sluggish job creation.The meeting between Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon and Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol is their seventh round of policy talks since Kim took office in June of last year.Other senior officials from the finance ministry and the central bank also attended the gathering. "We are looking at potential
July 16, 2018