Most Popular
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Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
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Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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Seoul alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
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[Graphic News] Number of coffee franchises in S. Korea rises 13%
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S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
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Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
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Public backlash against division of Gyeonggi Province under 'corny' name
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Army takes group action against Hybe for neglecting BTS
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[Robert J. Fouser] AI changes rationale for learning languages
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Senior employment rate up 1.1% in May
The employment rate of senior citizens in South Korea gained ground in May from a year earlier as a growing amount remained in the job market or sought work amid the rapidly aging population, government data showed Tuesday.The employment rate of those aged between 55 and 79 reached 54.8 percent as of May, up 1.1 percentage points from a year ago, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.The number of the employed in the age group rose 424,000 to 7.08 million over the cited period, whil
July 25, 2017
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Korea to cut credit-card processing fees for small merchants
South Korea will cut credit card processing fees for small merchants starting later this month, in the latest move to push forward pro-consumer regulations against commission fees charged by financial service providers, the financial regulator said Tuesday. The move is in line with a campaign pledge by President Moon Jae-in that the new administration aims to ease financial burdens on consumers by assessing "propriety" of commission fees charged on banking and financial services.
July 25, 2017
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Moon urges swift execution of extra budget for maximum output
President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday urged swift execution of the extra budget recently approved by the parliament, also stressing the need to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of the additional spending."Regarding the supplementary budget, the issue is now to execute it with speed. I want you to now show that the extra budget will in fact lead to new jobs, a reduction in the youth jobless rate and economic growth with actual proof," the president said at the start of a weekly Cabi
July 25, 2017
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Effective corporate tax rate falls under official rate, data shows
The effective corporate tax rate for the country's largest companies fell below the official rate of 22 percent last year due to various adjustments, data from a conglomerate research firm showed Tuesday.Chaebul.com analyzed 131 companies who earned over 200 billion won ($179.37 million) in pre-tax profits and found their average corporate tax rate came to 18.9 percent after deductions.The selected companies included 11 affiliates of Hyundai Motor Group, nine from Samsung Group, seven under SK,
July 25, 2017
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Fed‘s move to cut asset holdings to increase rates in emerging markets
The move by the US Federal Reserve to reduce its massive asset holdings is expected to increase interest rates in emerging markets as a strong US dollar could spark equities fund outflows, a local think tank said Tuesday. The Fed is widely predicted to begin gradually scaling back the size of $4.5 trillion in Treasury bonds and other bond assets from September, as it has already raised interest rates from record lows set following the 2008 financial crisis. According to a report by local think t
July 25, 2017
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Korea revises up economic growth forecast to 3% for 2017
South Korea on Tuesday raised its growth forecast for 2017 by 0.4 percentage point to 3 percent as Asia's fourth-largest economy has been basking in brisk exports led by the global economic recovery. For the next year, the government expects the economy to pull off around 3 percent growth, according to the new economic policy plan endorsed by the Cabinet."In 2017, the economy will likely grow an improved 3 percent on the back of an upturn in exports and investment and fiscal expansion broug
July 25, 2017
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Korean firms step up US lobby as trade issues take center stage
S. Korea's big name exporters have stepped up their lobbying activities in the United States after the Donald Trump administration took office, data showed Tuesday, apparently to smooth out potential trade issues.US Senate Lobbying Disclosure Database showed that tech giant Samsung Electronics spent $1.47 million on lobbying activities in the first half of this year, triple the $490,000 spent in the same period in 2016. The total this year breaks down to $680,000 in the first quarter and $790,00
July 25, 2017
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Korea suggests US carry out joint study on FTA‘s economic effect
South Korea suggested the United States carry out a joint study on the economic impact of the Seoul-Washington free trade agreement before starting talks on its amendment, Seoul's trade ministry here said Tuesday."Regarding your request to convene a special session of the Joint Committee under the KORUS FTA, Korea agrees to hold the requested Joint Committee in accordance with the due procedures set in the agreement," Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Paik Un-gyu said in a letter
July 25, 2017
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Consumer sentiment jumps to more than 6-year high in July
Korea's key consumer sentiment index improved for a sixth consecutive month in July to reach more than a six-year high, a central bank survey showed Tuesday, as the economy shows signs of improvement.The composite consumer sentiment index for July came to 111.2, up from 111.1 a month earlier, according to the survey from the Bank of Korea. The July figure marked the highest since January 2011 when the index stood at 111.4.A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists.Korea's exports h
July 25, 2017
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Korea to repay W3.5tr won worth of state bonds next month before maturity
South Korea plans to repay 3.5 trillion won worth of state bonds next month ahead of their maturity, the finance ministry said Monday. The government will repay 1.5 trillion won worth of treasury bonds on Aug. 2, 1 trillion won worth of bonds on Aug. 11 and 1 trillion won worth of debt on Aug. 23. The treasury bonds include five-year bonds that will mature in March 2018 and three-year bonds that will mature in June 2018, according to the ministry. (Yonhap)
July 24, 2017
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[News Focus] Energy policy swings with political winds
Korea’s energy policy has made an abrupt turn with changes of government in the past few decades, leaving the country short of securing stable, efficient and environmentally sustainable supply of energy.According to an index released by the World Energy Council last year, it ranked No. 72 and No. 88 out of 125 countries in terms of energy security and environmental sustainability, respectively.In the latest twist to energy policy, which has swung every five years, President Moon Jae-in&rsq
July 24, 2017
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Survey shows employees fear job cuts following minimum wage hike
More than half of Korea’s part-time employees are concerned about potential job cuts due to the government’s minimum wage hike starting next year, according to a survey conducted by Albamon, a portal site operated by Job Korea, on Monday. The survey of 3,955 part-time workers and 656 employers showed that 72.9 percent of participating part-time workers expressed concerns about the upcoming minimum wage increase, while 90.5 percent of employers said they were concerned. Earlier this
July 24, 2017
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Underprivileged more reliant on non-banking loans, exposed to rate hikes
People with low income, senior citizens and the self-employed are more reliant on non-banking institutions when taking out loans, exposing themselves to interest rate hikes, an analysis from Korea Institute of Finance showed on Monday.Data showed that 55 percent of household loans last year borne by the bottom 20 percent income group came from non-banking lenders such as savings banks, cooperatives, insurance companies and private lenders. This is much higher than the 34.2 percent average for al
July 24, 2017
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US trade deficit with Korea not result of FTA: experts
The United States' trade deficit with Korea is not a result of their bilateral free trade agreement, two experts here have said, dismissing President Donald Trump's push to revise the deal.Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, and Euijin Jung, a research analyst at the same institution, made the case in a contribution to The Hill last week, saying it "makes no sense" to try to modify the FTA now."Trump sees US bilateral trade d
July 24, 2017
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[Monitor] Tax increase plan by ruling party
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea‘s Chairwoman Rep. Choo Mi-ae last week proposed a new tax plan levying higher taxes for the rich and large conglomerates during a finance meeting with the government.
July 23, 2017
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Korean SMEs annual 'indirect exports' top 80 tln won: KITA
South Korean small and medium-sized enterprises "indirectly exported" over 80 trillion won ($71.5 billion) worth of goods in 2015 by supplying raw materials or intermediate products to local exporters, an industry report showed Sunday. According to the report by the Korea International Trade Association, all production-related materials supplied to exporters, was valued at 170.8 trillion won ($152.6 billion) in the one-year period with SMEs responsible for 82.7 trillion won worth of go
July 23, 2017
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RCEP mega FTA talks to be held in India this week
Talks to forge a mega free trade agreement encompassing Asia and Oceania will take place in India this week with countries striving for an early settlement of the accord, the government said Sunday.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said its chief FTA negotiator Yu Myeong-hui will lead a 60-person team to Hyderabad, India for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership talks that run from Monday through Friday. RCEP involves the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, South Korea, Ja
July 23, 2017
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State pension fund management assets surpass 600 tln won for first time
The size of assets under management by South Korea's state pension fund surpassed the 600 trillion won ($536.2 billion) mark for the first time ever, the government said Sunday. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the total value of funds controlled by the National Pension Service reached 601 trillion won as of Monday, making it the world's third-largest in terms of size after Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund and the Government Pension Fund of Norway. The NPS has over 20 m
July 23, 2017
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President says will be no tax hike for low-income firms, people
President Moon Jae-in said Friday that a tax hike was inevitable to fund the new government's 100 policy tasks but that there will be no tax increase for average citizens or small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)."Initially, the ways to fund the policy tasks included a tax increase, but we have been unable to set the scope or direction of the tax hike," the president said in a meeting with over 200 policymakers from the government and the ruling party to discuss ways to finance his
July 21, 2017
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Govt. to adopt 'universal' mobile fees in 2018
The government will adopt "universal" mobile subscription fees sometime next year in line with its efforts to reduce the cost burden for mobile phone users, the ICT ministry said Friday.According to the draft version of the revision to the telecommunication law -- subject to parliamentary endorsement -- a service package with between 1 and 1.3 gigabytes of data priced at 20,000 won ($18) per month will be introduced, said the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.The new package
July 21, 2017