Most Popular
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Yoon, Lee end first talks with differences, agree to meet more
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What is Hybe’s next move?
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Medical profs at top hospitals suspend surgeries, clinics
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Police to open alleged stalking probe over pastor over Dior bag scandal
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Samsung chip business back on track, logs W1.9tr operating profit in Q1
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[News Focus] Lee tells Yoon that he has governed without political dialogue
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Hopes rise for possible Gaza truce deal
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Shinsegae faces showdown with investors over SSG.com's delayed IPO
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Ex-pro baseball player who killed debtor appeals sentence
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Seventeen shows who is the ‘Maestro’ of K-pop in greatest hits album
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Moon's wage hike plan could dampen employment: think tank
A major state-run think tank on Monday warned that the government’s minimum wage hike plan could hinder employment in the upcoming years, underpinning the uneasiness over drastic changes and the consequent impact on the market. The study also laid bare the recently suspected feud between the nation’s top two economic officials -- presidential chief of staff for policy Jang Ha-sung and Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon.The Korea Development Institute, affil
June 4, 2018
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Korea, Russia to hold economic cooperation meeting this week
SEJONG -- South Korea and Russia will hold a joint committee meeting to discuss ways to further expand cooperation in such areas as the economy and sciences, Seoul's finance ministry said Monday.During the 17th South Korea-Russia Joint Committee on Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation meeting slated for Thursday in Seoul, the two countries will discuss a variety of issues, such as developing infrastructure in the Russian Far Eastern region, as well as a potential trilateral project
June 4, 2018
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Korea, Philippines agree on further economic cooperation
SEJONG -- South Korea and the Philippines agreed on Monday to further expand their economic cooperation and work together for an early conclusion of a regional economic trade deal, Seoul's finance ministry said.In a meeting with the Philippines' Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, South Korea's chief economic policymaker Kim Dong-yeon gave high marks to the Asian country's massive infrastructure development project and said Seoul will actively support such projects through extended financial hel
June 4, 2018
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Income growth rates for 90 pct of S. Koreans up this year: presidential aide
Income growth rates for 90 percent of South Koreans improved this year, a presidential aide said Sunday, in a move to rebut criticism over recent comments by President Moon Jae-in.Last week, Moon said 90 percent of the effects of the minimum wage hike have been positive, sparking some criticism that the drastic hike in the minimum wage is to blame for a decline in income of low-income bracket. The government raised the minimum wage by 16.4 percent to 7,530 won ($7) on Jan. 1 this year, the
June 3, 2018
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[Newsmaker] BOK, ministry dismiss economic skepticism
Amid ongoing claims that the country’s headline growth indicators fail to fully reflect the economic situation in Korea, officials are countering skeptical media reports, in apparent support of President Moon Jae-in’s economic growth initiative.Despite the economic upturn in the first quarter, as well as strong exports, the Moon administration has recently been criticized for failing to realize its vision of a “people-centered, innovative economy.”In a press briefing Frid
June 1, 2018
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[Monitor] Growth in Seoul property prices slows
Driven by a slowdown in the growth of apartment prices in Gangnam-gu, the weekly increase rate in apartment prices in 11 districts in southern Seoul declined from the previous week for the first time in eight months in the last week of May, data from the Korea Appraisal Board showed.The rise in apartment prices in metropolitan areas also weakened for the first time in 70 weeks.As of the survey conducted on May 28, apartment prices in Seoul rose 0.03 percent, smaller than 0.04 percent recorded th
June 1, 2018
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S. Korea's consumer prices up 1.5% in May
South Korea's consumer price growth continued to hover above 1 percent in May on a rise in prices of agricultural goods and services, government data showed Friday.The country's consumer price index climbed 1.5 percent last month from a year earlier, slightly decelerating from the previous month's 1.6 percent on-year gain, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.From a month earlier, the index rose 0.1 percent.Core inflation, which excludes volatile oil and food prices, grew 1.3 perce
June 1, 2018
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S. Korea's exports jump 13.5% on-year in May
South Korea's exports spiked 13.5 percent in May from a year earlier, rebounding from a brief dip in the previous month, due to a rise in prices of key products and a global boom in the IT sector, government data showed Friday.Outbound shipments reached $50.98 billion last month, compared with $44.92 billion a year ago, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Imports surged 12.6 percent on-year to $44.25 billion.South Korea's trade surplus came to $6.73 billi
June 1, 2018
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S. Korea economy grows revised 1% in Q1: BOK
South Korea's economy grew at a slower-than-expected pace in the first quarter from three months earlier on sluggish construction and facilities investment, central bank data showed Friday.The country's gross domestic product expanded 1 percent in the January-March period, rebounding from a 0.2 percent on-quarter contraction three month earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.The latest reading marks a slight decrease from an earlier estimate of a 1.1 percent expansion rele
June 1, 2018
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Moon calls for fiscal expansion to respond to slow growth, polarization
Warming up for next year‘s budget planning, South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Thursday indicated a further increase in government expenditure as part of its long-term plan to address the nation’s structural problems such as low birth, elderly poverty and unemployment. He also added pressure on the economic team -- led by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon -- to speed up with the government‘s innovative growth initiative.“Key macroeconomic in
May 31, 2018
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[Monitor] Jeju's land price surges at highest
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Thursday that as of Jan. 1 this year, the appraised individual land price has been officially released, showing an average 6.28 percent increase. It is the fifth consecutive yearly rise of the land value. By city and province, Jeju showed the highest surge at 17.51 percent, the ministry said. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)
May 31, 2018
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Prospect of Korea’s exports being dimmed
Concerns are growing over the long-term prospects for Korea’s exports, which have supported its economic growth in recent years amid sluggish domestic demand and industrial activity.Mainly on the back of a rise in global trade, Asia’s fourth-largest economy had extended the streak of on-year monthly increases in exports to 18 months before its outbound shipments fell 1.5 percent from a year earlier in April.Trade officials attributed the decline partly to a base effect from an unusua
May 30, 2018
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[Monitor] Convenience store businesses flourish in South Korea
Ever since the first-ever convenience store 7-Eleven was opened by then-copy printer manufacturer Dong-Hwa Industrial in May, 1989, in Bangi-dong, southern Seoul, the convenience store industry has greatly expanded.With some 30 years of history, the industry continues to expand in light of a rise in one-person households and double-income families seeking quick, easy consumption of daily necessities 24-7.According to a report by the Korea Association of Convenience Store Industry, the combined r
May 29, 2018
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[Monitor] Korean businesses post largest revenue increase
According to the business analysis report for 2017 released by the Bank of Korea, the amount of revenue made by South Korea’s entire industries last year posted a 9.9 percent increase on-year.The on-year increase rate in revenue for large businesses turned from a minus 0.3 percent in 2016 to 9.5 percent, while the corresponding ratio for small and mid-sized companies expanded from 7.4 percent to 11.3 percent.Revenues made by manufacturing and non-manufacturing companies each surged by 9.8
May 29, 2018
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Moon urges early implementation of extra budget to create more jobs
President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday instructed the government to quickly implement its extra budget to create more jobs and called for efforts to smoothly implement the cut in working hours."The working hour reduction that goes into effect as of July 1 will bring significant changes to our society. It will be a chance for our workers, who have been working over 300 hours more than the average working hours of OECD countries, to escape from overwork and start enjoying a full life by spending mo
May 29, 2018
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Korea's consumer sentiment rebounds in May
South Korea's consumer confidence rebounded in May after five months of losses thanks to improved inter-Korean relations, a central bank poll showed Tuesday.The composite consumer sentiment index for this month stood at 107.9, up 0.8 point from the previous month, according to the survey by the Bank of Korea. A reading above 100 means that people have an optimistic outlook, compared to the average sentiment over the past 14 years.The May figure ended the five consecutive months of losses that st
May 29, 2018
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Shipbuilding cities to get emergency assistance
South Korea has designated Ulsan, Geoje, Mokpo and other cities reeling from the ailing shipbuilding business as emergency industrial zones, in line with its economic drive to boost employment and growth, the country’s chief economic policymaker said Tuesday.The designation is a follow-up measure, as the cities were already subject to government subsidies and incentives due to the prolonged slump of the country’s once-prosperous shipbuilding industry.“The newly designated areas
May 29, 2018
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Dispute rising over pace, effect of minimum wage hike
The parliamentary move to revise the labor act to expand the scope of the minimum wage marks a rare legislative step that works against the interests of waged workers in the country.Under an agreement reached last week by lawmakers on the parliamentary labor committee, monthly bonuses and lodging and transportation expenses will be gradually incorporated into minimum wage calculations by 2024. Next year, monthly bonuses that exceed 25 percent of the minimum wage and lodging and transportation ex
May 28, 2018
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K-Water leads regional meeting on water problems
South Korea’s state-run Korea Water Resources Corp., or K-Water, last week chaired a key regional council meeting to discuss Asia’s water problems, as part of its initiative to alleviate water scarcity and to promote jobs in the water industries.The sixth annual meeting of the Asia Water Council, the largest regional body dedicated to water-related problems, was held in Bangkok from Thursday to Saturday, officials said Sunday. The AWC, established in March 2016 under the leadership o
May 27, 2018
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S. Korea's Q1 growth ranks 5th among OECD nations
South Korea's economic growth rate ranked fifth among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in the first quarter of the year, a sharp turnaround from three months earlier, OECD data showed Sunday.Asia's fourth-largest economy expanded 1.1 percent in the January-March period from three months earlier, the fifth-highest among OECD member nations after Latvia (1.7 percent), Poland (1.6 percent), and Hungary and Chile (1.2 percent).South Korea tied with Finland and Mex
May 27, 2018