Most Popular
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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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S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
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[Graphic News] Number of coffee franchises in S. Korea rises 13%
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Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
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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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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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Woman dangling from power lines rescued by residents holding blanket
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Ador CEO's request for exclusive right to terminate NewJeans' contract with Hybe refused in February
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S. Korea's jobless rate surges to 10-year high amid pandemic
SEJONG -- South Korea's jobless rate surged to a 10-year high in May as the coronavirus pandemic hammered job markets, data showed Wednesday. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 4.5 percent in May, marking the highest level since January 2010, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The number of employed people fell by 392,000 to 26.93 million in May, marking the third consecutive monthly decline. It was the first time that the nation lost jobs for the third str
June 10, 2020
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World Bank names S. Korea ‘COVID-19 safe spot’
The World Bank has added South Korea to the list of countries that are providing efficient emergency medical services to its employees, Seoul’s Finance Ministry said Tuesday. The multilateral agency’s decision is seen as its recognition of Korea’s successful handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The World Bank has decided to name Korea as a medical evacuation destination to take care of the emergent medical needs of its employees located in the East Asia and Pacific reg
June 9, 2020
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Vice finance minister urges National Assembly to swiftly approve 3rd extra budget
SEJONG -- Vice Finance Minister An Il-whan called Tuesday for the National Assembly to swiftly approve the third extra budget to help revive an economic recovery as the coronavirus pandemic resulted in contractions across industrial sectors. Last week, South Korea proposed its third extra budget worth 35.3 trillion won ($29 billion) meant to help key industries cushion the economic blow from the coronavirus pandemic and protect jobs. "The effectiveness of this extra budget depends on it
June 9, 2020
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Top 100 firms' Q1 overseas sales fall 10% amid virus
South Korea's top 100 companies posted a 10 percent on-quarter decline in their overseas earnings in the January-March period due to the new coronavirus impact on industries, an industry association said Tuesday. The 100 biggest companies in terms of sales reported their combined overseas sales fell to 170.42 trillion won in the first quarter from 190.17 trillion won in the fourth quarter, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) said in a statement. Companies hit hard by the COVID-19
June 9, 2020
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S. Korea to beef up exports of ready-to-eat fishery products amid pandemic
South Korea said Tuesday it plans to develop new ready-to-eat products utilizing local fishery goods to take advantage of the rising demand for processed food items as more people refrain from dining out amid the new coronavirus pandemic across the globe. Under the plan, the country will join forces with local businesses and develop at least nine different kinds of new processed fishery products that can be easily prepared at households by the end of this year, according to the Ministry of Oce
June 9, 2020
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Tax revenue continues to decline in April
South Korea collected 46.8 trillion won ($38.8 billion) in taxes in April, down 3 trillion won from a year earlier, the finance ministry said Tuesday. Income tax revenue amounted to 6.6 trillion won in April, up 1 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Dues collected from companies reached 6.4 trillion won in the month, up 3.7 trillion won from a year earlier. Value-added tax revenue reached 14.5 trillion won in April, down 2.6 trillion won from
June 9, 2020
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S. Korea's corporate bond sales jump 54% in May
Corporate bond issues in South Korea soared nearly 54 percent to recover to pre-coronavirus levels in May, with foreign bond holdings hitting a new high, data showed Monday. South Korean companies floated bonds of 11.4 trillion won ($9.47 billion) last month, up 54.1 percent from the previous month, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. The amount is close to the corporate debt sales of 12.3 trillion won in February, a month before the World Health Organizatio
June 8, 2020
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Listed firms' earnings outlooks swing to upturn
Earnings forecasts for South Korea's listed firms rebounded from a long downturn last week amid rising hopes for their possible exit from the coronavirus shock, a market tracker said Monday. Companies listed on the country's main stock market saw the average estimate of their earnings per share (EPS) for the next 12 months amount to 6,038 won ($4.99) on Thursday, up 2.5 percent from the prior week, according to FnGuide. The increase in EPS, or a company's profit divided by its outstanding com
June 8, 2020
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S. Korea faces prolonged economic contraction: KDI
Despite some recovery on the back of the government’s expansionary fiscal moves, South Korea’s economy is continuing to contract, as the negative impact of COVID-19 spreads across all industries, a state-run think tank warned Sunday. The pessimistic analysis came as the country is exerting all policy efforts to boost the virus-hit economy, including a 35.3 trillion-won ($29.2 billion) supplementary budget bill submitted to the National Assembly on Thursday. “The Korean econo
June 7, 2020
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[News Focus] Is it time to recalibrate the Korean won?
SEJONG -- In 2019 South Korea ranked 20th in gross domestic product per capita among the 37 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, outstripping Japan and Spain. In terms of GDP alone, over the past five years Korea has moved around on the list, occupying the eighth through the 11th positions. Further, it is one of the world’s six largest exporters. But Korea is one of only two OECD countries where the value of the currency against the US dollar posts four
June 7, 2020
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Global economy seen to contract 4% this year: poll
Business lobby groups in 18 countries forecast the global economy to contract 4 percent this year due to the impact of the new coronavirus outbreak, a South Korean industry association said Sunday. The 4 percent negative growth outlook is worse than the International Monetary Fund's forecast of a 3 percent contraction for the year and better than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's 5.1 percent contraction, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) said in a statement.&
June 7, 2020
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S. Korea's exports of EVs, ships to EFTA gain on free trade deal
South Korean exports of electric vehicles and ships to the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) gained momentum in 2019 on the back of a bilateral free trade agreement, Seoul's trade ministry said Friday. Seoul signed the pact with the four-nation economic block comprising Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Lichtenstein in July 2005 before implementing it a year later. It was South Korea's FTA with European nations. "The agreement has played a pump-priming role in expanding bilateral tra
June 5, 2020
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S. Korea sees largest current account deficit in 9 years in April
South Korea in April saw its largest current account deficit in nearly a decade, with the COVID-19 pandemic dealing a blow to the nation’s trade, data from the central bank showed Thursday. The export-reliant economy suffered a current account deficit of $3.12 billion, marking the largest amount since January 2011 when the corresponding figure stood at $3.16 billion, the Bank of Korea said. The figure also marked the first current account deficit in nearly a year, as the nation had mai
June 4, 2020
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S. Korea to allow forex delivery, commercialize drone taxis
South Korea will allow consumers to receive foreign currencies via non-face-to-face delivery services, to induce competition among service providers and promote innovation, the nation’s fiscal chief said Thursday. The government will also seek to commercialize urban air mobility services, such as drone taxis, to alleviate the ground traffic congestion and create a new growth engine for the economy. “Innovation in the foreign exchange sector has recently expanded beyond mere proc
June 4, 2020
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FSC replaces 3 senior deputy governors at FSS
South Korea’s financial regulator said Thursday it had replaced three senior deputy governors at the Financial Supervisory Service, appointing the incumbent head of the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit as the FSS’s first senior deputy governor. Kim Geun-ik was officially named as the financial watchdog’s first senior deputy governor by the Financial Services Commission during its temporary meeting on Thursday morning, officials said. The KoFIU
June 4, 2020
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NTS launches tax evasion probe into Starbucks Korea
The National Tax Service has launched a special probe into allegations of tax evasion by Starbucks Korea, according to local media outlets Thursday. The Seoul office of the NTS has conducted an irregular tax investigation into allegations the US coffee chain rigged prices of raw materials and products while importing them from its overseas branches, according to terrestrial broadcaster SBS. In May, the tax agency secured audit books and computerized data from Starbucks Korea’s head offi
June 4, 2020
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S. Korea to allow consumers to get foreign currencies via delivery service
SEJONG -- South Korea will allow consumers to get foreign currencies via a no-contact delivery service if they change the Korean won into foreign currencies through a digital platform, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday. The move is part of the government's efforts to ease regulations as it seeks to revive economic growth and promote contactless industrial sectors amid the coronavirus pandemic. To spur competition in foreign exchange transactions, the government will also allow broke
June 4, 2020
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S. Korea suffers largest current account deficit in nearly decade in April
South Korea suffered the largest current account deficit in almost a decade in April due mainly to a sharp decline in exports caused by the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Thursday. The country posted a current account deficit of $3.12 billion in the month, marking a turnaround from a $5.96 billion surplus the month before, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reading marks the largest current account deficit since January 2011. The deficit also came
June 4, 2020
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S. Korean economy could contract over 2% in Q2: finance minister
South Korea‘s economy may contract by more than 2 percent in the second quarter of this year as the country reels from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the country’s top economic policymaker said Wednesday. In a interview with Yonhap News TV, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said while the country‘s real gross domestic product (GDP) posted minus 1.3 percent growth in the first quarter of 2020, compared with three months earlier, that number could fall into the lower negat
June 3, 2020
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Extra budget to push debt-GDP ratio to record-high, rattle fiscal soundness
Despite the rosy picture painted by the government about its third supplementary budget of 35.3 trillion won ($29 billion) announced Wednesday, concerns are rising about the nation’s fiscal soundness as national debt will increase by around 100 trillion won, propelling the debt-gross domestic ratio to a record-high. The proposal follows the first and second supplementary budgets worth a combined 23.9 trillion won, allocated in recent months, to minimize the economic fallout from the COVI
June 3, 2020