Seoul shares inch up 0.06 pct on Samsung gains

South Korean stocks ended 0.06 percent higher on Thursday after topping the 1990-mark mid-session, led by large gains by market leader Samsung Electronics following its decision to buy back shares, analysts said. The South Korean won gained ground against the greenback.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 1.25 points to 1,982.09. The figure once topped the psychologically important 1990-mark during the morning trade, the highest since Oct. 1.    Trading volume was low

Nov. 27, 2014

Number of salaried workers in 50s exceeds younger people

The number of salaried workers in their 50s exceeded those in their 20s for the first time in 2013, data showed Thursday, pointing to tougher employment conditions for younger generations.    According to the data by Statistics Korea, salaried workers in their 50s stood at 3.03 million last year, compared with 3 million for those in their 20s.    This marked the first time that workers in their 50s surpassed those in their 20s since related data started to be compiled in 2011.    Last year, the

Nov. 27, 2014

Personal bailouts on rise as household debt grows

The number of filings for personal bailouts in South Korea rose 7.6 percent in the first 10 months of the year from a year earlier and may well reach a new record, an analysis of data indicated Thursday, in what market watchers see as a symptom of mounting household debts.  A total of 93,105 people sought a state-managed bailout during the January-October period, according to court records and financial sources.   The number has been increasing since 2010, from 46,972 that year to 65,171 in 2011

Nov. 27, 2014

S. Korea to ease investment regulations to boost stock market

South Korea will ease the stock investment limit for the state postal service agency as part of a comprehensive strategy to help invigorate the slumped local stock market and strengthen the market's role in providing corporate capital, the financial regulator said Wednesday.   Korea Post, one of the country's biggest public funds, will be able to invest in securities with up to 20 percent of its deposited funds, up from the current limit of 10 percent, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) sai

Nov. 26, 2014

S. Korea ranks 15th among G20 nations in clean energy investment

South Korea ranked 15th among the world's industrialized economies, known as the Group of 20 (G20), in clean energy investment last year, according to a report by a U.S. non-governmental organization on Wednesday.  According to the annual report by the Washington-based Pew Charitable Trusts, South Korea invested about US$1 billion (1.1 trillion won) in clean energy in 2013, taking the 15th place among G20 countries.    The country's investment declined 9 percent from the previous year but its ra

Nov. 26, 2014

Economic recovery momentum still weak: BOK report

South Korea's economic recovery momentum still remains weak as private spending stagnates, a central bank report showed on Wednesday.  While Asia's fourth-largest economy continued to post a modest recovery pace in the past month, consumer sentiment remained feeble and companies are still reluctant to expand facility investment, according to the report by the Bank of Korea (BOK).   "On the demand side, a recovery in domestic demand is weak as consumer sentiment remains feeble... and the corporat

Nov. 26, 2014

S. Korea's economy to grow 3.6 percent in 2015: global investors

Global investment banks (IBs) forecast that South Korea's economy will advance in the mid 3-percent range next year, data showed Wednesday, lower than growth estimates by the Seoul government and institutions.    Average projections from 34 major IBs show South Korea's gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic performance, growing 3.6 percent next year, according to Bloomberg data. Last year, the Korean economy grew 3 percent and was forecast to expand in the mid-3 percent r

Nov. 26, 2014

S. Korea to seek structural reform on labor market next year: minister

South Korea will make structural reform one of its key policy objectives for next year, as it focuses on overhauling the inflexible labor market, the country's top economic policymaker said.     The remarks by Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan come as the government prepares its economy management plan for next year.   "The Korean economy is facing tough situations right now, internally with weak consumption and low inflation and externally with the weakening yen and China's move to slash its key

Nov. 26, 2014

S. Korean consumer sentiment dips to 14-month low: data

Consumer sentiment in South Korea remained positive but soured to a 14-month low in November, data showed Wednesday, reflecting concerns over Asia's fourth-largest economy caused by a weakening Japanese yen and the intangible effects of government stimulus.   The overall consumer sentiment index (CSI) reached 103 in November, slipping from 105 in the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). A reading above 100 means that optimists outnumber pessimists.   The November figure marks th

Nov. 26, 2014

S. Korea's economy to grow 3.8 pct in 2015: OECD

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- South Korea's economy is expected to grow 3.8 percent in 2015 on the back of the government's efforts to boost it through fiscal stimulus and monetary policy easing, a report by a leading international economic organization showed Tuesday.The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said in its Economic Outlook report that South Korea's gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic performance, will move up from the 3.5 percent growth foreca

Nov. 25, 2014

S. Korea ranked No. 2 in ICT development

South Korea ranked No. 2 in development of its information and communications technologies (ICT), a U.N. agency said Tuesday, giving up its first place to Denmark.The International Telecommunications Union said Asia’s fourth-largest economy ranked second among 166 countries surveyed. It marked the first time for South Korea to miss the top spot since 2010.Sweden came in at third, followed by Iceland, Britain, Norway, the Netherlands and Finland. Hong Kong and Luxembourg also made the top 10 list

Nov. 25, 2014

Think tank says S. Korean economy will grow 3.7 pct next year

South Korea's economy is expected to grow 3.7 percent in 2015 with its exports rising at a slightly faster rate to reach a record high, a state-run think tank said Tuesday.   In its report, the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET) said local economic conditions were continuing to improve, though the rate of economic recovery slowed from the start of the year.  "In 2015, the local economy is expected to post an annual growth of around 3.7 percent, slightly higher than that of

Nov. 25, 2014

More people forced to change jobs in 2013

The number of people who were forced to change jobs after being laid off or for other unwanted reasons jumped in 2013, reflecting tough economic conditions, data showed Monday.According to the data from Statistics Korea, the Financial Supervisory Service and the Bank of Korea, some 718,000 people had to change jobs last year, up from the previous year’s 619,000.Of the 2.63 million workers who switched to another workplace in 2013, 27 percent made the change involuntarily, the data indicated.Anal

Nov. 24, 2014

Over 30 percent of South Korea's fisheries imports coming from China

One-third of South Korea's fisheries imports up to September this year were from China, a study said Sunday, an already sizeable figure that is expected to further increase when a bilateral trade deal takes effect.The tally by the Korea Maritime Institute (KMI) showed South Korea imported some 959,000 tons of fisheries products in the January-September period, of which 31.6 percent came from China. In terms of value, imports from China amounted to US$3.11 billion.This marks a 19.3 percent increa

Nov. 23, 2014

Seoul's income from foreign patients grows 7-fold in 4 yrs

The city of Seoul earned nearly 300 billion won (US$269.5 million) last year from foreign patients seeking medical services in the metropolis, marking a more than seven-fold increase from four years earlier, according to the city government on Sunday.Hospitals and medical clinics based in Seoul made 289.9 billion won in 2013 from patients from abroad, city records showed. The amount accounted for 74 percent of the 393.4 billion won earned from foreign patients across the country.Last year's medi

Nov. 23, 2014

S. Korea's recovery momentum remains weak: finance minister

South Korea's economy is steadily improving from a slump thanks to government-led stimulus efforts, but the recovery momentum still remains weak, the finance minister said Friday."Our economy is steadily improving out of the second-quarter slump, driven by expansionary macroeconomic policies and property-boosting plans," Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan said at a meeting with heads of major economic research institutes in Seoul."In the third quarter, government spending and investment in constru

Nov. 21, 2014