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BTS becomes 1st band since Beatles to score 3 Billboard No. 1 albums in sin...
3.8 magnitude quake hits off S. Korea's east coast
Moon marks return of remains of Korean independence fighters from Kazakhsta...
[Justin Fendos] Beware of those who only complain
[Graphic News] S. Korea’s defense technology 9th in world
Feud between ruling and opposition bloc deepens
CheongKwangJang launches new red ginseng brand
[Herald Interview] Diminutive ‘Kids Creators’ inject fresh perspective in...
[Robert Cheek] Robonomic question: economics of scarcity and economics of a...
No Koreans reported killed or injured in Sri Lanka bombings: embassy

Apr 19, 2019 Economy

S. Korea says exports likely to improve in 2nd half

South Korea's exports are likely to improve in the second half as demand for semiconductors picks up gradually, a senior government official said Friday.Lee Ho-seung, the first vice minister of economy and finance, made the forecast in a regular meeting with officials from the central bank and other relevant financial authorities.South Korea's outbound shipments fell 8.2 percent on-year to US$47.1 billion in March due to falling global prices of chips. It marked the fourth straight month that ex

[News Analysis] High inheritance tax fuels chaebol monopoly

Following the death of Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho last week, the inheritance tax his bereaved family will have to pay is in the spotlight, with estimates suggesting as much as 200 billion won ($175 million).According to analysts, the lofty taxes could shrink the owner family’s stake. However, they also note that it is unlikely, reminding that the high inheritance tax rate is actually what drives the obsessive culture of family-monopolized management among conglomerates here. South Korea h

Apr 19, 2019
Economy
BOK cuts growth forecast to 2.5%, freezes base rate

Central bank judges Seoul’s growth to be lower than ministry target and IMF prediction

Apr 19, 2019
Economy
BOK freezes key rate at 1.75% for April

South Korea's central bank held its policy rate unchanged at 1.75 percent for April on Thursday amid persistent concerns over an economic slowdown, despite a decline in inflationary pressure. The monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea voted to leave the bellwether call rate steady for the fifth straight month after raising it by a quarter percentage point in November last year.The BOK's wait-and-see stance had been widely expected as South Korea's economy shows some signs of a downturn in ex

Apr 18, 2019
Economy
Working Koreans spend annual W1.4m on cash gifts: survey

South Koreans holding office jobs spend over 1.4 million won ($1,235) annually on cash gifts for special occasions, a poll showed Monday. The research, conducted by job research portal Saramin, involved 435 local office workers. Cash gifts cost about 73,000 won on average per event, the survey revealed, and respondents attended an average of 1.6 events per month, so their monthly expenses on such gifts totaled about 117,000 won. (Yonhap)Of the respondents, 74.3 percent cited “maintaining connect

Apr 16, 2019
Economy
Seoul calls on Washington for auto tariff exclusion

Finance minister meets with US counterpart over trade, FX agendas

Apr 15, 2019
Economy
Seoul calls for exemption from US auto duties in Washington

South Korea's finance minister called on the United States to exempt it from new import duties on imported vehicles at meetings of Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors held in Washington last week, the ministry said Sunday. Hong Nam-ki, the minister of economy and finance, made the request to US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on the sidelines of the annual international conferences on the global economy and other issues. Hong Nam-ki, the minister of economy and finance (Yo

Apr 14, 2019
Economy
IMF welcomes S. Korea's extra budget: finance ministry

WASHINGTON -- The head of the International Monetary Fund hailed South Korea's plan to draw up an extra budget, South Korea's finance ministry said Friday.IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said an extra budget is a policy direction that meets the international lender's recommendations. She made the comments in a meeting with South Korean Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Washington, according to the ministry.Hong told Lagarde

Apr 13, 2019
Economy
S. Korea to prepare internally for inter-Korean economic projects: minister

South Korea's finance minister said Friday that Seoul will make internal preparations to carry out economic projects with North Korea when the conditions are right.Hong Nam-ki, the minister of economy and finance, was in the U.S. capital to attend a meeting of the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors.Speaking to reporters on the margins, Hong said he believes Thursday's summit in Washington between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump created mom

Apr 13, 2019
Economy
[Monitor] S. Korea likely to allocate supplementary budget below W7tr in 2019

South Korea’s Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Wednesday that he expects to draw up a supplementary budget worth less than 7 trillion won ($6.1 billion) to resolve domestic issues. The size of the budget “would not exceed 7 trillion won,” he explained, though the exact figure has yet to be confirmed. The government is expected to submit an extra budget bill to the National Assembly this month.On top of the stagnant global economy, the domestic issues include coping with fine dust air pollution,

Apr 12, 2019
Economy
[News Focus] Korea’s benchmark rate stays under 2% for 4 years

SEJONG -- South Korea’s key interest rate slid below 2 percent for the first time in history in March 2015, when the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Korea lowered it to 1.75 percent.After further dipping to an all-time low of 1.25 percent in June 2016, the benchmark rate has hovered under 2 percent for the 49th consecutive month. It was set at 1.75 percent in November 2018 and has not changed since then. (Graphic by Heo Tae-seong/The Korea Herald)Compared to 3.25 percent in June 2011 an

Apr 12, 2019
Economy
Korea’s employment rate reaches record 60.4 percent in March

South Korea’s employment rate reached a record 60.4 percent in March, with the number of newly added hires rising by around 250,000 from the previous month, data from the state-run statistics agency showed Wednesday.　Statistics Korea said the number of employed people stood at 26.8 million in March, increasing by 250,000 from the same month last year. This builds on the improvement seen in February, when the employed population grew by 200,000 on-month. 　This brings the employment rate -- the pr

Apr 11, 2019
Economy
S. Korea's jobless rate drops to 4.3% in March

South Korea's jobless rate slightly fell to 4.3 percent in March, government data showed Wednesday, amid the government's efforts to create more jobs in Asia's fourth-largest economy, with newly added jobs surpassing the 200,000 mark for the second straight month.The March unemployment rate declined 0.2 percentage point from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.The number of employed people reached 26.8 million in March, an increase of 250,000 from the same month in

Apr 10, 2019
Economy
US auto tariffs to hurt S. Korea's economic growth: Moody's

Potential tariffs by the United States on imported cars will drag down South Korea's economic growth this year by 0.3 percentage point, a global ratings agency said Tuesday.In a report released on the day, Moody's Investors Service said that the direct impact of the US tariffs is estimated "to account for around 0.2 percentage point deceleration in 2019 growth for Germany and around 0.3 percentage point for Japan and (South) Korea." (Yonhap)The world's largest economy is moving to levy duties on

Apr 9, 2019
Economy
S. Korea pays 2nd highest dismissal costs among OECD nations

South Korea ranked second among 36 OECD member countries in terms of the cost of dismissing workers last year, a local think tank said Tuesday.In 2018, Korean companies shouldered the second-highest burden in dismissing employees, or the equivalent of 27.4 weeks of salary, behind Turkey's 29.8 weeks of wages, the Korea Economic Research Institute said in a statement. (Yonhap)The 36 OECD members paid an average of 14.2 weeks of salary to fire a worker last year, KERI said, citing data from the W

Apr 9, 2019
Economy

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