South Korea’s exports set a new high of $600 billion in 2018 mainly driven by a strong performance in chips, petrochemicals and machinery, according to the government on Tuesday. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said the nation’s trade volume hit a record high of $1.1 trillion, having a trade surplus of $70 billion. Exports stood at $605 billion, up 5.5 percent from 2017, and imports r...

The nation’s largest companies including Samsung have improved transparency in their corporate governance by cutting the links of cross-shareholding structures often blamed for strengthening control of the founders’ descendants over the conglomerates, the antitrust watchdog said Friday. On Friday, the Fair Trade Commission announced 15 companies -- out of the nation’s largest 60 firms -- that ha...

South Korean conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor, have set aside around 7.7 trillion won ($6.8 billion) to help reduce the wage gap between large and small companies, joining efforts for mutual growth initiated by the privately run Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership. A total of 21 companies and public organizations agreed to allocate the money for the next thre...

South Korean prosecutors will speed up their probe into the alleged accounting fraud of Samsung Biologics, focusing on securing evidence as to whether Samsung’s now-defunct control tower was involved. Investigators plan to summon former and incumbent employees of the biotechnology firm within the week, according to sources Sunday. The prosecution raided the main office of Samsung BioLogics in S...

South Korea must increase its efforts to enforce laws against bribery of foreign public officials, as enforcement is weak in view of the size of the nation’s economy and its export-oriented nature, said a report released Thursday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. “The decrease in foreign bribery enforcement (in Korea) since 2011 is a cause for concern, especially in v...

It is easy to misread Kim Sang-jo, the chairman of the Fair Trade Commission, who is well known as an erudite economist and a passionate anti-chaebol activist. Ever since he was named to head the nation’s top watchdog in June 2017, views have clashed between those that forewarned an end to the heyday of South Korea’s conglomerates and those that impugned whether the “chaebol sniper” would live up...

Hyundai Heavy Industries said Tuesday it has signed a contract with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration for depot maintenance of the third unit (1,800 tons) of the Chang Bogo-II submarine. Under the contract worth 55.5 billion won ($49 million), the Korean shipbuilder is slated to deliver the submarine to the Korean Navy by 2020. The depot maintenance project is designed to replace a...

In line with the South Korean government’s push to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties with Southeast Asia, Korean entrepreneurs are increasingly seeking new opportunities in the region to benefit from its fast-growing economies, which have a combined population of 630 million and a combined gross domestic product of $2.4 trillion. The New Southern Policy is the Moon Jae-in administration’s ...

Hyundai Heavy Industries has completed building an eco-friendly power plant in Colombia’s northern port city of Santa Marta, with its own dual-fuel engine, HiMSEN, according to the Korean shipbuilder on Sunday. In February of last year, Hyundai Heavy Industries won an $80 million contract from Colombian private power company Axia to build a 93-megawatt power plant. The firm said its own dual-fu...

A continued battle between the US and China to fight for global technological hegemony may pose higher risks to Korea’s two-biggest memory chipmakers, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, next year, according to a report released by the Korea International Trade Association on Monday. During the latest G-20 summit, the US and China temporarily agreed to a cease-fire over their prolonged trade war. ...

The fear of losing jobs due to automation will not become reality, as innovation will continue to create jobs, according to World Bank Group Senior Director Michal Rutkowski. Still, nations should consider how to better protect workers in the changing work environment driven by technology advances, he added. The notion that automation makes traditional jobs obsolete has always been a source of f...

Top exporters including Samsung Electronics, Pubg, L&F and Intellian Technologies on Friday received awards out of 1,264 exporters that have contributed to the nation’s achievement of $600 billion in exports this year. They received awards at an annual ceremony held by the Korea International Trade Association to mark the 55th Day of Trade. The event was attended by President Moon Jae-in, Minis...

In South Korea, the image of massage services has long been negative, viewed in relation to illicit sexual service providers. Either that, or massages were seen as the prerogative of the elite at posh and luxurious spas. Now, with growing interest in health services amid increasingly sedentary lifestyles and the consequent branching out of massage to become more affordable and accessible, it has...

Representatives of South Korea, China and Japan are to discuss a regional free trade deal in Beijing from Thursday to accelerate negotiations on market liberalization for products, services and investment, the Seoul government said Wednesday. The two-day negotiations will be attended by senior trade officials representing the three nations, who will discuss ways to open up goods and services mar...

The Korea International Trade Association is hosting a two-day trade fair from Tuesday to match global retail buyers and local exporters in Seoul. The 11th Korea Grand Sourcing Fair 2018, sponsored by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and KB Kookmin Bank, is taking place at the Coex Convention and Exhibition Center with 118 buyers from 24 nations an...