Most Popular
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
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[KH Explains] Will alternative trading platform shake up Korean stock market?
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Illit, mired in controversy, remains on Billboard charts for 5th week
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S. Korea lowers COVID-19 warning level, lifts last-remaining antivirus mandates
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Korea's export prices hit 8 year record high in April
South Korea's export prices hit a record eight year high in April due to strong demand for electric and electronic products as well as petrochemicals, central bank data showed Wednesday.In local currency terms, export prices rose 8.7 percent on year last month, according to preliminary data provided by the Bank of Korea. The dollar came to an average of 1,132.73 won in April, down 0.2 percent from a month earlier the latest findings showed.For exporters, the won's gain means decreased income as
May 17, 2017
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[Monitor] Slump-hit shipbuilding workforce shrinks by 14.8%
Hit by the prolonged slump, South Korean shipbuilders and related businesses cut 8,670 or 14.8 percent of their workforce last year, data by industry tracker Chaebul.com showed Tuesday.The data based on 2016 business reports from 1,831 listed firms showed that their combined workforce reached 1.51 million at the end of last year, down 5,915, or 0.4 percent, from a year ago.Samsung Group slashed part of its workers as its flagship Samsung Electronics and other major subsidiaries implemented large
May 16, 2017
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Koreans' overseas card spending up 65% during 'golden' holiday in May
Overseas card spending by South Koreans rose 65 percent during the "golden" holiday period in May from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday.The data compiled by KB Kookmin Card Co. showed that purchases made by its credit and debit card customers in foreign countries amounted to 25.4 billion won ($22.7 million) during the April 29-May 9 holiday period, compared with 15.4 billion won from the same period last year.South Koreans could have enjoyed up to an 11-day "golden" holida
May 16, 2017
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KITA to send special economic mission to US in June
The Korea International Trade Association announced Monday that it plans to send a special economic mission to the United States in June, the first such visit to be made since US President Donald Trump took office in January. The 10-strong envoy group, which KITA Chairman Kim In-ho represents, will visit Washington DC and New York City during the five-day trip that kicks off on June 6. The group is expected to attend seminars on the Korea-US trade relationship, talks with offshore branches
May 15, 2017
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[Monitor] One in five Koreans work 54 hours or more
One out of every five employees working in South Korea work 54 hours a week or longer, Statistics Korea‘s data showed Monday.While the average working hours continued to drop since the introduction of a five-day workweek in 2004, the weekly working hours have remained stagnantly long since 2010.The data comes in light of new President Moon Jae-in’s pledge to share jobs by reducing working hours.The number of employees working 54 hours or more a week reached 5.33 million last month, u
May 15, 2017
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Xi stresses ties with S. Korea in meeting with Seoul delegate
Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the importance of improving South Korea-China relations during his meeting with a South Korean delegation visiting the country, the South Korean chief of the delegation said Monday.On the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, the delegation led by Rep. Park Byeong-seug, a veteran politician with close ties to President Moon Jae-in, held a meeting with Xi on Sunday evening, Park told reporters. Moon dispatched the delegation on S
May 15, 2017
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Kotra hosts Cuba Week to promote economic ties with island nation
South Korea's trade promotion agency said Monday it is hosting an event in Seoul this week to promote economic ties with Cuba. In the five-day-long 2017 Cuba Week in Korea that runs through Friday, government officials and business leaders from the two countries will discuss possible ties in the financial, energy and medical fields, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said in a statement. Cuba has sent a 16-member delegation made up of officials and businessmen to the second annual
May 15, 2017
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FTA renegotiation with US looms large for Moon administration
In his second week as Korea’s new president, Moon Jae-in faces an uphill battle in the global trade arena, as he has to mend fences with the nation’s major trading partner, the US. One of the biggest economic issues in the domestic trade industry is US President Donald Trump’s vow to renegotiate the terms of the five-year Korea-US FTA. He has referred to the deal as “horrible.” The KORUS FTA has reported an annual average of more than $65 million in exported g
May 15, 2017
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Household loans up 9.8% in April
South Korea's household loans extended by banks rose 9.8 percent in April from a year earlier due to increased mortgages, central bank data showed Monday.Outstanding household loans from lenders came to 718.6 trillion won ($637 billion) as of end-April, compared with 654.3 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. Compared with March, the amount rose by 4.6 trillion won. Mortgages climbed 3.3 trillion won on-month to 541.8 trillion won in April. In March, mo
May 15, 2017
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Practical ties sought with China, Japan
President Moon Jae-in’s government is seen to be moving to decouple security and historical issues from South Korea’s economic ties with China and Japan.Moon expressed such intention during phone talks with his Chinese and Japanese counterparts a day after being sworn in last week. He asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to lift restrictions and sanctions imposed on South Korean people and businesses apparently in retaliation for Seoul’s hosting of a US anti-missile shield, calle
May 15, 2017
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New govt. set to increase taxes in 2nd half
The new Moon Jae-in administration will likely revise tax codes in the second half of the year to finance its election pledges to create jobs, government officials said Monday.On the campaign trail, President Moon promised to focus more on job creation and expanding welfare for young people. In particular, he said his government will create some 800,000 public jobs during his five-year term, grant an allowance to young jobseekers and offer public residence to newlyweds at lower rent. Many estima
May 15, 2017
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Korea logs 63rd consecutive trade surplus in April
South Korea posted a trade surplus for 63 straight months in April on a steady recovery in exports, customs data showed Monday.The country's trade surplus came to $13 billion last month, up from a surplus of $8.7 billion tallied a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.Asia's fourth-largest economy has enjoyed a trade surplus since February 2012. It posted $6.57 billion in trade surplus with Southeast Asian countries in April, followed by China with a surplus of $2.6
May 15, 2017
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Moon expected to set up new control tower for industrial restructuring
The Moon Jae-in administration is expected to set up a new control tower for industrial restructuring as soon as its new Cabinet takes shape, inside sources said Monday.President Moon's official campaign pledges do not specify actions or directions for restructuring. For the shipbuilding and shipping industries that are in the middle of major overhauls, the pledge has been that the two industries cannot be abandoned, and that they will be rebuilt through co-existence. Hong Jong-haak, a former le
May 15, 2017
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1 in 5 employees work 54 hours or longer per week
One in five South Korean employees work 54 hours or longer a week with the downtrend in weekly work hours losing steam in the 2010s, government data showed Monday.According to the data by Statistics Korea, some 5.33 million employees had a workweek of 54 hours or more in April, up 507,000 from a year earlier and accounting for 20.1 percent of the country's total workforce of 26.58 million. That translates into about 11 hours per day should they take Saturdays and Sundays off. South Korea started
May 15, 2017
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Listed companies increase facility investments in Q1
Facility investments by listed companies showed signs of recovery in the first quarter this year, increasing 25.9 percent from the same period last year, a tally from the Korea Exchange on Sunday showed.Total facility investments by firms on the main and secondary bourses were logged at 1.308 trillion won ($1.158 billion) during the three months, up from 1.039 trillion won for the same months a year ago. The number of companies that increased their investments also rose from 19 last year to 30.T
May 14, 2017
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AMCHAM to promote benefits of Seoul-Washington FTA in US
US businesses based in South Korea said Sunday they will send a delegation to the White House this month to promote the benefits of the free trade agreement between Seoul and Washington as the Donald Trump administration is reviewing the five-year deal for a possible renegotiation. The delegation of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea will visit Washington from Monday to Thursday and meet high-ranking officials at the White House. The visit came as US President Donald Trump has been
May 14, 2017
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More Korean women economically active in 2017: data
The rate of South Korean women either working or actively searching for jobs reached a record high in 2017, data showed Saturday, thanks to a rising number of married women returned to the job market.According to the data compiled by the Statistics Korea, 53 percent of women were found to be economically active this year, up 0.8 percentage points from a year earlier.This year's number is the highest since the agency started compiling data from June 1999. The figure refers to the portion of econo
May 13, 2017
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Korea's sovereign fund earns $4b last year
Korea Investment Corp., South Korea's sovereign wealth fund, said Friday it posted $4 billion in investment gains last year. The sovereign fund -- which handles $110.8 billion in assets under management -- reported a return ratio of 4.35 percent from its investments in overseas stocks and bonds for the whole of 2016, the KIC said in a statement. The fund's accumulated investment gains reached $15.8 billion last year.Last year, equities accounted for 41.2 percent of the KIC's overseas inves
May 12, 2017
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[Herald Interview] ‘Uncertainty Korea’s biggest economic challenge’
Export-reliant Korea’s overall economic growth in past years has been clouded by a prolonged weakness in global trade, a report by the United Nations Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific stated earlier this month.While the economies of the Asia Pacific region are expected to achieve a 1.2 percentage point lower economic growth on average this year, uncertainty will be the biggest challenge for South Korea, an expert from a UN panel said Friday.According to Kilaparti Ramakrish
May 12, 2017
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[Moon in Office] Sharp rise in housing prices unlikely: experts
The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles delving into the economic policies and tasks expected of the new Moon Jae-in administration. This is the third installment -- Ed.South Korea’s housing market is unlikely to see sharp rises under liberal President Moon Jae-in, who is more focused on market stabilization, real estate experts said Friday. As opposed to the former Park Geun-hye government’s deregulatory moves, the new Moon Jae-in government is expected to tighten some r
May 12, 2017