Most Popular
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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KT launches new mobile plans for foreign residents
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Banks' lending rates slightly drop in Jan.
Lending rates on fresh loans extended by banks in South Korea dropped slightly from a month earlier in January, central bank data showed Friday. The average interest rate on all new bank loans came to 3.19 percent in the month, down 0.03 percentage point from the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The rate on all outstanding loans came to 3.38 percent, down 0.02 percentage point from December. The average rate on fresh corporate loans slipped 0.04 percentag
Feb. 28, 2020
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S. Korea offers to bear 50% of rent discounts amid coronavirus fallout
South Korea’s government announced Thursday that it will share the cost burden of landlords who voluntarily offer a rental discount to tenants amid the new coronavirus fallout, according to the top fiscal policymaker. “For landlords who reduce the rental fees for their small business owner tenants during the first six months of this year, (the government) will reduce 50 percent of the (lease) reduction amount from (their) income tax or corporate tax, regardless of their total in
Feb. 27, 2020
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[News Focus] Employment falls in almost all age groups
SEJONG -- The tight hiring market has been a point of contention over the past two or three years, though the Moon Jae-in administration has continued to express a strong commitment to job creation as often as possible. Recent data from a government agency showed that people are still having difficulty holding jobs, which particularly has been witnessed among almost entire generations. According to Statistics Korea, the number of employed people fell for the second consecutive month -- from 2
Feb. 27, 2020
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BOK freezes rate despite coronavirus, lowers growth outlook
Despite the economic fallout of the new coronavirus, South Korea’s central bank on Thursday froze its policy rate, but chose to cut the growth outlook, reflecting heightened uncertainties. Instead of taking immediate monetary easing decisions, it decided to focus on microscopic actions such as expanding financial support for affected industries. The Bank of Korea’s rate-setting Monetary Policy Board held its second meeting for this year and decided to keep the nation’s ba
Feb. 27, 2020
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S. Koreans' work hours edge down in 2019
Average work hours in South Korea decreased 0.5 percent last year as the country enforced a shorter workweek system, government data showed Thursday. According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor's survey, the average South Korean employee worked 1,957 hours in 2019, 10 hours less than the previous year. The figure for companies hiring at least five workers was 1,978, a 0.4 percent decrease from 2018. The reduction came despite the fact that 2019 had two more working days than 2018.
Feb. 27, 2020
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[Newsmaker] BOK holds first press briefing via YouTube amid coronavirus fears
The Bank of Korea held a press conference on its rate decision via YouTube on Thursday, in a first for the central bank. The conference was held online as part of the central bank’s efforts to combat the spread of the coronavirus and ensure the safety of its officials and reporters, a BOK official said. Following the announcement of its decision to keep its interest rates unchanged at 1.25 percent, BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol answered questions from reporters in the livestream on YouTube.
Feb. 27, 2020
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Moody's sees short-term coronavirus virus impact on S. Korean firms
Moody's Investors Service said Thursday it expects the spreading coronavirus outbreak to have a short-term impact on South Korean companies as the virus may be contained in the coming months. The rapid spread of COVID-19 in South Korea and its countrywide efforts to contain the infection are credit negative for local companies in many sectors over the short term as it will increase disruptions of Korea-based production lines and further weaken domestic demand for months to come, Moody's said i
Feb. 27, 2020
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Number of discouraged workers hits new high in 2019
SEJONG -- The number of discouraged workers in South Korea touched an all-time high in 2019, data showed Thursday, pointing to a tough employment situation amid an economic slowdown. Asia's fourth-largest economy registered a monthly average of 533,000 discouraged workers last year, up 1.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea and the office of Rep. Choo Kyung-ho of the main opposition United Future Party. The figure was the largest since 2014, when data com
Feb. 27, 2020
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BOK cuts growth outlook to 2.1% on fallout from coronavirus
South Korea's central bank lowered its growth estimate for the year by 0.2 percentage point to 2.1 percent on Thursday as the fast-spreading coronavirus may have a far-reaching impact on Asia's fourth-largest economy. The downward revision came as the COVID-19 outbreak is feared to badly hurt the economy, which was earlier expected to grow 2.3 percent this year. The BOK singled out the virus outbreak as a main reason for the downward revision of its growth outlook but said the economy will re
Feb. 27, 2020
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BOK stands pat amid looming virus fallout, again cuts growth outlook
South Korea's central bank on Thursday held its key policy rate steady, while slashing its growth outlook amid growing worries over the spreading coronavirus outbreak. The Bank of Korea left the base rate frozen at the current 1.25 percent. The central bank has been keeping the policy rate at the record low level since October when its seven-member board made its second rate cut in three months as the economy showed signs of a recovery. The decision to stand pat came despite a downward revis
Feb. 27, 2020
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S. Korea curbs exports of facial masks amid soaring virus cases
South Korea on Wednesday started to regulate the country's exports of facial masks as demand for sanitary products has been running high here amid the spread of the new coronavirus. Under the measures, effective until April 30, the government will limit mask exports to a maximum of 10 percent of total output here, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. While the country's daily production of masks reached 11 million units as of Tuesday, which doubled from two weeks earlier, South
Feb. 26, 2020
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Korean manufacturers' sentiment worsens for March
The business sentiment of South Korean manufacturers sharply deteriorated for the upcoming month, central bank data showed Wednesday, amid growing concerns that the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak may undermine the country's already weak exports and economic recovery. The business sentiment index (BSI) for manufacturing businesses here came to 69 for March, down from 77 for this month. It marked the lowest since February 2019 when the index stood at 65, according to the data from the Bank
Feb. 26, 2020
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Market eyes fixed on BOK’s imminent growth rate adjustment
Anxiety is mounting that South Korea, reeling under the prolonged impact of the fast-spreading novel coronavirus, may have no choice but to lower its already modest growth prospects for 2020. While speculations burgeoned that the central bank may cut its outlook by 0.2 percentage point to 2.1 percent, several global investing institutions set their estimation in the 1 percent range, some going as low as the zero percent range. The Bank of Korea’s upcoming Monetary Policy Board, slated
Feb. 25, 2020
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Seoul allocates W380b to support agricultural exports amid virus spread
South Korea said Tuesday it will spend 380 billion won ($311 million) to support local exporters of agricultural goods amid fears the global spread of the new coronavirus will deal a heavy blow to sales this year. "The spread of the COVID-19 virus has led to a slump in demand (for agricultural goods) from China, Hong Kong and Singapore," the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said in a statement. The virus, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has killed more
Feb. 25, 2020
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S. Korea's power generation drops 1.5% in 2019
South Korea's electricity generation fell for the first time in more than two decades in 2019 amid an economic slowdown and favorable weather conditions, data showed Tuesday. The amount of electricity generated by the nation's power plants came to 562,239 gigawatt hours last year, down 1.5 percent from the prior year, according to the data from state-run Korea Electric Power Corporation. It was the first on-year drop since the 4.1 percent decrease in 1998, when South Korea was in the heat of
Feb. 25, 2020
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S. Korea to take ‘special actions’ to counter COVID-19 impact on economy
The government said Monday it would soon announce “special actions” to deal with the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, defining the current situation as an “economic emergency.” It added that it would take necessary measures in case of increased volatility in the currency market while maintaining a wait-and-see approach. “Under the awareness that the current circumstances correspond to an economic emergency, the government will respond in a swift,
Feb. 24, 2020
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Special unit launched to probe illegal real estate brokers
South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Monday that it has launched a squad with investigative powers to effectively crack down on illegal or unfair practices in the real estate market. According to the ministry, the “special judicial police” will probe long-existing issues such as real estate contract frauds and illegal transfer of bank accounts that gives its holders unfair priority. It will also look into new issues including unregistered brokerin
Feb. 24, 2020
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Korean economy tipped to grow below 2% on virus
Major foreign investment banks (IBs) and economic institutes have forecast South Korea's economic growth to be below 2 percent in 2020 due to the fallout of the fast-spreading novel coronavirus. According to a recent survey by Bloomberg, five out of 42 foreign IBs and economic think tanks predicted Asia's fourth-largest economy to expand in the 1 percent range this year, hit by the COVID-19 outbreak. ING Group offered a growth forecast of 1.7 percent for the Korean economy, down from a 2.2 pe
Feb. 24, 2020
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Deepening COVID-19 crisis triggers rate cut speculations
While South Korea grapples with the rising new coronavirus infections, some market watchers are of the view that the central bank is likely to push for a base rate cut to minimize the downside economic impacts. Though many analysts are inclined toward a rate freeze scenario, the current economic situation could force the Bank of Korea to stipulate a record-low key interest rate, according to some. The three-year Treasury bond rate stood at 1.18 percent as of Friday, down 0.14 percentage poin
Feb. 23, 2020
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Korea's exports up 12.4% in first 20 days of February
South Korea's exports moved up 12.4 percent in the first 20 days of February, customs data showed Friday, led mostly by chips and auto parts. The country's outbound shipments reached $26.3 billion in the Feb. 1-20 period, compared with $23.3 billion a year earlier, according to the Korea Customs Service. By product, exports of chips soared 15.4 percent, and outbound shipments of auto parts surged 40.6 percent. But the average daily exports -- which reflect working days -- fell 9.3 percent on
Feb. 21, 2020