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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Govt. to raise public contract prices for smaller firms to ease wage burden
The government will advance its plan to raise contract prices for smaller companies to reflect the suppliers' increased costs from the latest minimum wage hike, officials said Thursday.The government and the ruling Democratic Party reached the agreement during a policy meeting to help small and medium-sized enterprises suffering from the effect of the increased labor costs."We have decided to address the time gap between labor cost increases and their calculation in contract prices in the p
April 5, 2018
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Korea to decide fate of fisheries agreement with Japan by April
Korea will decide the fate of protracted negotiations for a bilateral fisheries agreement with Japan if the two nations fail to reach a deal within this month, Seoul's oceans minister said this week.Working-level negotiations have been underway to renew their fisheries agreement to decide the fishing quota for each other's exclusive waters, but they have failed to narrow the gap for nearly two years."We have a set a deadline for working-level negotiations for the fisheries agreement by Apri
April 5, 2018
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Korea's current account surplus reaches $4.03b for Feb.
South Korea's current account surplus halved in February from a year earlier due mainly to an increase in the deficit in the service account, central bank data showed Thursday.The country's current account surplus reached $4.03 billion in February, down sharply from a surplus of $8.18 billion a year ago, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.It marked the 72nd consecutive month of a current account surplus, which started in March 2012.The services account deficit widened to $2
April 5, 2018
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Korea maps out new export targets amid rising protectionism
Korea will shift its reliance on trade with China and the United States to emerging economies to foster new growth drivers in the face of rising protectionism, the trade ministry said Thursday.Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong announced the "New Trade Policy," which focuses on expanding trading territories and joining mega-trading blocs to boost exports of Asia's fourth-largest economy."We need to actively deal with the changing trading environment in the wake of protectionist practic
April 5, 2018
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Korea expresses concern over China's ban on import of plastic waste: govt.
Korea recently joined forces with the United States, the European Union and several other countries in expressing concerns over China's ban on the import of plastic waste, the government said Thursday.Korea's garbage pickup services stopped collecting plastic bags and Styrofoam containers starting Monday, citing a spike in processing costs. The value of waste resources has crashed in the wake of China's ban on the importation of plastic waste from January. The development is making it hard for l
April 5, 2018
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Concerns deepen over rising state liabilities, debt
Concerns over Korea’s mounting state liabilities and debt are being deepened by the Moon Jae-in administration’s push to hire a massive number of public sector workers and expand government spending beyond limits set by an existing fiscal management plan.Korea saw its state liabilities for pensions paid to retired public employees and debt owed by central and regional governments more than double over the past six years to exceed 1,500 trillion won ($1.42 trillion) combined last year
April 4, 2018
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Extra budget to be spent to tackle youth unemployment
country's chronic youth unemployment as well as to help those who have lost their jobs in the wake of corporate restructuring, a senior government official said Tuesday."The government will create some 4 trillion won ($3.75 billion) in funds that will be spent to help young people find jobs and set up their own businesses," Kim Yong-jin, deputy finance minister, said in a meeting with scholars and other government officials.The supplementary budget plan is to be submitted to parliament
April 3, 2018
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Household debt growth seen accelerating in March ahead of tougher rules
The growth of household debt appears to have accelerated last month as households took out more loans ahead of tougher mortgage rules, industry data showed Tuesday.Household loans provided by the five major banks, including Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank, rose by 3.06 trillion won ($2.89 billion) in March on a monthly basis, according to the data.It was the sharpest monthly growth since November last year, when it grew by 4.6 trillion won. The government has implemented a series of measures to co
April 3, 2018
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Private spending falls to record low in 2017
South Korea's private spending fell to record low levels last year, according to the central bank Tuesday.Data from the Bank of Korea showed the ratio of private spending to the country's gross domestic product came to 48.1 percent, the lowest since record keeping began in 1970.The ratio used to run in the 70 percentile in the 1970s, but it slid to 53.8 percent in 2000 and further to 49.3 percent in 2015, the data showed. It further dipped to 48.7 percent in 2016.Comparisons with other countries
April 3, 2018
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Korea's consumer prices rise 1.3% in March
South Korea's consumer prices increased more than 1 percent in March on a rise in the costs of agricultural goods and services, but growth slowed from a month earlier, government data showed Tuesday.The country's consumer price index climbed 1.3 percent last month from March of the previous year, decelerating from the 1.4 percent on-year gain in February, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.The March figure is well below the Bank of Korea's target of 2 percent for the year, stokin
April 3, 2018
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BOK chief stresses change, innovation in extended term
The central bank chief on Monday pledged to focus on change and innovation, signaling a more active and practical policy approach in the next four years compared to his initial first term in office. “For the past four years, we have placed focus on aligning the organization but from now on (we) will seek change and innovation,” Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol told reporters after his inauguration ceremony, starting his second term in office.Lee, who is the first BOK chief in 44 years
April 2, 2018
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Modest recovery faces severe downside risks
Recent economic data show a modest recovery in the country’s economy that has fallen short of boosting employment and improving people’s livelihoods.Underlying the trend is a widening polarization between large and small companies and between exporting and domestically focused firms, experts say.What is further concerning is the economy is set to face severe downside risks in the latter half of this year when the impact from deteriorating external and internal conditions will begin b
April 2, 2018
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Moon says revised KORUS FTA will benefit both countries
South Korean President Moon Jae-in welcomed the recently concluded negotiations between his country and the United States to revise their bilateral free trade agreement Monday, saying it will benefit both countries.The president also insisted the conclusion of negotiations will aid the local economy by removing uncertainties."Removing external uncertainties by concluding negotiations to revise the FTA with the US is a great achievement, especially when trade protectionism is spreading,"
April 2, 2018
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[Monitor] Loans taken by self-employed surge
Last year, the increase rate of loans taken out by the the self-employed surpassed by tenfold the rise of the number of self-owned businesses, data by Statistics Korea and the Bank of Korea showed.With the anticipated rise of interest rates, the debt repayment burden is expected to augment for those running their own businesses.A total of 5,682,000 are registered as self-employed as of the end of last year, up 1.2 percent from the previous year.According to data from the Bank of Korea, some 535.
April 1, 2018
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Korea's exports rise 6.1% on-year in March
South Korea's exports rose 6.1 percent last month from a year earlier to mark the largest monthly tally for March, government data showed Sunday.Outbound shipments reached $51.58 billion in the one-month period, up from $48.64 billion a year ago, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.They increased for the 17th consecutive month, with the total being the highest for all March figures.Imports gained 5 percent on-year to $44.72 billion. South Korea's tra
April 1, 2018
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Korea's industrial output rises 1.1% in Feb.
South Korea's industrial output increased in February from a month earlier on a rise in production in the automaking and retail sectors, government data showed Friday.Production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries rose 1.1 percent on-month in February, following an adjusted 0.9 percent on-month gain in the previous month, according to the data by Statistics Korea.From a year earlier, industrial output plunged 6.4 percent in February, following a 4.3 percent on-year gain
March 30, 2018
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Korea denies US' claim of currency talks within KORUS FTA revision
The South Korean government on Thursday demanded the US correct a recent statement concerning the Korea-US bilateral free trade deal amendment, saying that the trade negotiation did not involve a currency cap deal.The refutation came in the wake of reports from Washington late on the previous day that both states had agreed to prohibit deliberate currency devaluation on the sidelines of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement renegotiation, in which case Seoul’s export-dependent economy would be
March 29, 2018
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Senior officials declare W1.35b of personal assets on average
A total of 1,711 senior government and public officials declared an average 1.35 billion won ($1.26 million) of personal assets, up about 83 million won from a year earlier, the government gazette showed Thursday.Under an anti-corruption law, senior officials at government agencies and national universities as well as other high-level public office holders are required to report the status of their assets to the Government Ethics Committee once a year.According to this year's declaration carried
March 29, 2018
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Trump hails revised Korea trade deal
WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump on Wednesday hailed the revised free trade agreement with South Korea as a "great deal" for workers in both countries.In a tweet sent shortly after the revision was formally announced, Trump said, "@USTradeRep just announced an agreement in principle with South Korea on KORUS!" KORUS is shorthand for the Korea-US free trade agreement that went into effect in 2012. Trump has slammed it as a bad deal that took away American jobs and widen
March 29, 2018
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Korea moving to be clear on currency intervention
Korea is moving to free itself of the possibility of being designated by the US as a currency manipulator, which remains an uncertain factor for its exporters after the two countries this week reached an agreement on amending their bilateral free trade deal and exempting Korea from US steel tariffs.The Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Bank of Korea said in a joint statement earlier this month they had studied plans to advance the foreign exchange market in the country.No decision has bee
March 28, 2018