Most Popular
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1 in 3 Koreans live alone, family types becoming diverse
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Korea, Japan finance chiefs vow to tame rampant FX market volatility
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US 'incredibly concerned' about suspected NK-Iran military ties
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K-pop group's manager dismissed for setting up spycam in theater dressing room
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K-pop singer lost consciousness after being hit by foul ball, cancels show
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Korean Muslim YouTuber's plan to build mosque in Incheon goes viral
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
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Why is Apple Pay struggling to get purchase in Korea?
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Yoon's office denies considering liberal figures for key posts
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Seoul says Fu Bao loan 'not going to happen'
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BOK chief takes prudence over ‘rate cut’ possibility
The chief of South Korea’s central bank on Tuesday underscored that the prolonged low inflation trend does not necessarily indicate an imminent cut of the nation’s key interest rate, while leaving the door open to “necessary measures.”The monetary policymaker’s defensive remark came amid recently mounting market speculations that the central bank is likely to soon take further easing actions to deal with aggravating external conditions, mostly caused by th
June 25, 2019
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[News Focus] Korea’s agricultural products to tap America after Paris
SEJONG -- South Korea is sparing no efforts to promote its agricultural products globally, including Korean traditional dishes, beverages and alcoholic drinks.According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, “K-food Fair” held in Paris earlier this month drew wide attention from European consumers and retailers.“Twenty-one Korean producers participated in the fair in France and signed export contracts worth $17 million (19.6 billion won),” said a ministry
June 25, 2019
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Average age of first-time homebuyers climbs in heated market
Escalating housing prices and tighter loan regulations have pushed up the average age of first-time homebuyers here, government data showed Monday.The average age of householders at the time of their first home purchase stood at 43.3 as of 2018, according to data submitted by the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The data was based on a survey conducted from June to December last year targeting a random sample of 61,275 household
June 24, 2019
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S. Korea tipped to cut 2019 growth target next month
South Korea's finance ministry is expected to slightly cut its growth estimate for the year in the face of a delayed recovery in chip prices and the escalating trade dispute between the United States and China, sources said Sunday.The South Korean government has been adhering to the stance that Asia's fourth-largest economy will gather pace during the second half of the year on the back of an improvement in prices of chips, a major export item for the country, and expanded fiscal spending.But a
June 23, 2019
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S. Korea's ICT exports down for 7th straight month in May
South Korean exports of information and communication technology products fell for the seventh straight month in May on weak demand for semiconductors, mobile phones and displays, data showed Friday.Total outbound shipments reached $14.3 billion last month, a plunge of 22.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT. Exports of semiconductors, one of the country's key export items, nose-dived 30 percent on-year to a little over $7.6 billion, ma
June 21, 2019
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Hyundai, Kia top J.D. Power's annual quality survey
South Korean carmakers Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors said Thursday they have garnered the three highest marks in J.D. Power’s annual automotive quality survey. The companies said they expected the achievements to help boost sales in the United States as J.D. Power’s closely followed Initial Quality Study is widely accepted as a barometer of automotive quality. In the 2019 IQS report released Wednesday, Hyundai Motor, its independent brand Genesis and Kia Motors, long regarded as
June 20, 2019
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[News Focus] Korea’s 2019 growth may fall to 10-year low
SEJONG -- Two major economic indices under the Moon Jae-in administration have plumbed to new lows since the nation was hit by the 2008-09 global financial crisis.Those are the growth of gross domestic product in the first quarter and the current account balance in April 2019.South Korea suffered a contraction of 0.4 percent in GDP during the January-March period on a quarter-to-quarter basis.This was the worst quarter-on-quarter GDP performance since the first year of the Lee Myung-bak governme
June 20, 2019
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S. Korea’s largest bills dominate cash market: BOK
Ten years since issuance, South Korea’s largest-denomination banknotes have solidified the position as the nation’s most essential form of paper money, accounting for a sweeping majority in money value and the highest proportion in volume, the central bank said Wednesday.As of the end of May, the 50,000 won banknotes accounted for 98.3 trillion won ($83.5 billion) or 84.6 percent of the total value of banknotes in circulation, while accounting for 1.97 billion in sheer number or 36.9
June 19, 2019
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South Korea to map out AI strategy this year, build 2,000 AI-based factories by 2030
South Korea announced its vision to create a “manufacturing renaissance” over a number of industries, viewing manufacturing as the nation’s economic foundation and a way of creating high-quality jobs and innovative growth. “The government has mapped out strategies for the nation to become an innovative manufacturing powerhouse over the next decade by being away from ‘quantitative and market follower strategies,’” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Trade,
June 19, 2019
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Fitch cuts growth outlook for S. Korea to 2 percent
Global credit appraiser Fitch Ratings has substantially slashed its growth outlook for South Korea‘s economy this year to 2 percent, citing weaker underlying momentum.The latest forecast, contained in its global economic outlook report posted on its website Monday, represented a sharp downward revision from its previous forecast of 2.5 percent in February. Fitch said the South Korean economy would grow 2.6 percent in both 2020 and 2021.The South Korean economy expanded 2.7 percent in 2018,
June 18, 2019
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Average spending by foreign tourists to Korea tumbles in Q1
Average spending by foreign tourists visiting South Korea has decreased to a level last seen 10 years ago, data showed Tuesday.According to the data from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization, foreign tourists coming to South Korea spent an average of $1,268 per person per trip in the first quarter of this year. The figure is down 12.1 percent from $1,442 a year ago and marks the fourth quarterly decrease in a row.Average spending hovered around $1,
June 18, 2019
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Corporate revenue, profit down in Q1 on sluggish exports
South Korean companies suffered a heavy loss in their sales and profits in the first quarter, central bank data showed Tuesday, apparently due to a sharp drop in exports and tepid local consumption.In the first three months of the year, the average sales of local businesses declined 2.4 percent from the same period last year, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. The figure follows a 6 percent on-year growth in their sales during the fourth quarter of last year. The country's exports dip
June 18, 2019
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[News Focus] Korea’s household debt-to-income to top 200%
SEJONG -- The record household debt in South Korea is an Achilles’ heel when it comes to economic growth, as the financial liability of citizens is putting a damper on private consumption.Some market analysts say that Korea’s collective household debt is estimated to have topped 2,000 trillion won ($1.68 trillion). They claim the latest figure of about 1,500 trillion won, released by the Bank of Korea, does not include loans extended to the self-employed.In any case, the outstanding
June 16, 2019
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Employment of males in 40s hit most by sluggish manufacturing industry
The number of employed men in their 40s shrank at the fastest pace in 27 years last month, attributable to the declining population and lackluster local manufacturing industry, government data showed Sunday.The number of employed males aged between 40 and 49 stood at 3.83 million in May, shedding 115,000 from a year earlier, according to the data by Statistics Korea. Employment of males in their 40s has kept sliding for 53 consecutive months since January 2015, but the latest figure was th
June 16, 2019
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Treasury bond yield hits new low, gold price surges amid uncertainties
Responding to mounting speculations that South Korea’s central bank may soon lower the policy rate amid uncertainties, Treasury bond interest rates hit a record-low this year, market observers noted Sunday.Gold price, in contrast, has remained strong and hit a new high, reflecting investors’ increasing appetite for low-risk assets.The yield on three-year Treasury bonds closed at 1.470 percent on Friday, marking the first case that the figure fell under 1.5 percent since November 2016
June 16, 2019
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Downside risks looming larger: finance minister
South Korea's economy is increasingly facing downside risks amid the trade tussle between the United States and China, the country's chief economic policymaker said Friday, stressing the need to take quick and bold actions to buttress the economy."There are growing calls to take bolder actions as the economy is faced with increased downside risks," Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said in a meeting with heads of private economic think tanks.Exports have been on a constant decline, and dome
June 14, 2019
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Govt. ministries request 6.2% budget increase for 2020
South Korea's government ministries and state agencies have requested a 6.2 percent hike in their budgets for next year as they want to spend more on welfare, research and development, and defense, the finance ministry said Friday.Ministries and state agencies have asked the government to set aside a combined 498.7 trillion won ($422 billion) for the budget for next year, up 29.1 trillion won from this year's 469.6 trillion won, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.The government req
June 14, 2019
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Jobless rate at 4% in May, job additions gather pace
South Korea's jobless rate remained flat at 4 percent in May from a year earlier, and job additions again exceeded the 200,000 mark, government data showed Wednesday.The number of employed people reached 27.32 million in May, an increase of 259,000 from the same month in 2018, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The statistics agency said the number of unemployed people stood at 1.145 million in May, the highest level for any May since 2000.The unemployment rate for young adults
June 12, 2019
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Exports down 16.6% in first 10 days of June
South Korea's exports sharply fell 16.6 percent in the first 10 days of June mainly due to decreased shipments of semiconductors, one of the country's key items, customs data showed Tuesday.The country's exports stood at $10.3 billion in the June 1-10 period, compared with $12.3 billion in the same period last year, according to the Korea Customs Service. By product, exports of electronic appliances and vessels jumped 68.1 percent and 169.7 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, outbound
June 11, 2019
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S. Korea should continue expansionary actions: finance minister, IMF chief
South Korea’s top fiscal policymaker and the chief of the International Monetary Fund have agreed that Asia’s fourth-largest economy needs to continue its current pump-priming policies in order to respond to external risks and to boost growth, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Monday.The finance minister also pledged his dedicated efforts to effectuate the government’s supplementary budget bill worth 6.7 trillion ($5.7 billion), which has been pending here since late Apr
June 10, 2019