WTO chief to visit Korea over rice tariffs

Roberto Azevedo, director-general of World Trade Organization, will visit Korea on Thursday and Friday, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Wednesday. On the invitation from Trade Minister Yoon Sang-jick, Korean Azevedo is expected to meet high-ranking officials who will determine how widely to open up the country’s rice market. “Azevedo is expected to share his views on trade issues including ways to boost multilateral trade arrangements, negotiations for the Doha Development Agenda

May 14, 2014

Korea to eliminate nearly a third of trade, investment regulations

South Korea will remove nearly one-third of government regulations on trade and foreign investment, and ease other restrictions that hamper investment, the government said Monday.Of the 62 regulations that currently apply to trade or foreign investment 19, or 30.6 percent, will be completely eliminated before the incumbent Park Geun-hye administration’s five-year term ends in February 2018, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The decision came at a public hearing chaired by V

May 12, 2014

Korea to eliminate nearly a third of trade, investment regulations

South Korea will remove nearly one third of government regulations on trade and foreign investment, and ease other restrictions that hamper investment, the government said Monday.Of the 62 regulations that currently apply to trade or foreign investment, 19 or 30.6 percent will be completely eliminated before the incumbent Park Geun-hye administration's five-year term ends in February 2018, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The decision came at a public hearing chaired by Vi

May 12, 2014

S. Korea ranks 33rd in per-capita GDP: IMF data

South Korea ranked 33rd in per-capita gross domestic product in 2013, with its global standing rising eight notches over the past five years, data showed Monday.According to the data by the International Monetary Fund, South Korea's per-capita nominal GDP came to $24,329 last year, which was the 33rd highest in the world. This is up from 34th in 2012 and 41st in 2008. Luxembourg topped the list with $110,423 last year, followed by Norway with $100,318, Qatar with $100,260 and Switzerland with $8

May 12, 2014

Clean Energy Ministerial meeting kicks off in Seoul

The fifth Clean Energy Ministerial meeting opens Monday in Seoul and run for two days under the theme of “Act Together, Think Creative,” according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Sunday.CEM is a voluntary and collaborative global forum of energy ministers from 23 governments with the distinctive goal of accelerating the world’s clean energy transition.During the meeting, Korea, as the host country, will call for lowering trade barriers to products and services related to renewab

May 11, 2014

Seoul to keep closer tabs on financial speculative forces

South Korea will step up its monitoring of any speculative movement in the financial markets, the finance ministry said Friday, amid worries over the local currency’s fast ascent against the greenback.“The government will intensify its market monitoring to see if there is any speculative movement in foreign capital flows and transactions in the non-deliverable forward market in relation to recent currency exchange rates,” the ministry said in a message sent to reporters.The ministry added that t

May 9, 2014

Seoul shares rise on Amore, Hyundai Motor

Local stocks appeared to be picking up on Friday on gains in big caps, such as Amore Pacific and Hyundai Motor.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 0.19 percent, or 3.69 points, to 1,954.29 as of 11:20 a.m. The market suffered from losses in Samsung Electronics in early morning trading, but it later recouped its losses on the back of gains in Hyundai Motor and Amore Pacific. Cosmetics maker Amore Pacific rose 8.14 percent, and auto steelmaker Hyundai Hysco advanced by t

May 9, 2014

BOK freezes key rate for 12th straight month in May

South Korea's central bank froze the key interest rate for the 12th straight month on Friday amid concerns that the deadly sinking of the passenger ferry Sewol is feared to diminish consumer spending.Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Lee Ju-yeol and his five fellow policymakers held the benchmark seven-day repo rate, called the base rate, at 2.5 percent as widely expected.Analysts said that the Korean economy is recovering, but the deadly sinking of the ferry has emerged as a risk factor threatening to c

May 9, 2014

Foreigners turn net buyers of local stocks in April

Foreigners became net buyers of South Korean stocks last month, snapping their five-month-long selling spree, due to optimism about the recovery of the global economy, the financial watchdog said Thursday.Overseas investors bought 3.8 trillion won ($3.71 billion) worth of local shares in April, a turnaround from the 1.2 trillion won net sell-off a month earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.Their portion of stock ownership stood at 32.1 percent, worth 424.2 trillion won, slight

May 8, 2014

Chinese tourists cite language as biggest shopping nuisance

Chinese travelers in South Korea cited communication problems as the biggest obstacle they face when shopping here, while Japanese tourists were more irked by aggressive salespeople, a poll showed Wednesday.According to the survey conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 150 tourists each from China and Japan in early April, almost 60 percent of the Chinese visitors cited the language barrier as the biggest difficulty in shopping here. “A steady growth in the number of Japanese

May 7, 2014

Seoul stocks end sharply down on exporters’ losses

South Korean stocks ended 1 percent lower on Wednesday as a stronger won hurt exporters such as LG Electronics, analysts said. The South Korean won rose to a near-six year high against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 19.56 points to 1,939.88. Trading volume was weak at 189.64 million shares worth 3.54 trillion won ($3.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 571 to 237. The KOSPI started higher but soon reversed course in early morning trading due to los

May 7, 2014

OECD revises up 2014 growth estimate for S. Korea to 4 pct

SEJONG (Yonhap) -- The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development revised up its 2014 growth outlook for South Korea, saying that the global economic recovery could help boost its exports. Its growth projection for Korea was hiked to 4 percent for this year from the previously-forecast 3.8 percent. The international entity also raised its growth estimate for next year from 4 percent to 4.2 percent. The 2014 outlook is in line with projections by the Bank of Korea and the Seoul governm

May 6, 2014

Korea’s exports surge to second-highest in April

South Korea’s exports surged to their second-highest monthly tally in April with imports also growing at a steady pace, the government said Thursday.Outbound shipments came to $50.31 billion in April, up 9 percent from the same month last year. Imports rose 5 percent on-year to $45.85 billion, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The country’s trade surplus widened to $4.46 billion last month from $2.45 billion in April 2013, marking the 27th consecutive month of surplus. “The

May 1, 2014

S. Korea's exports surge to second-highest in April

South Korea's exports surged to a second-highest monthly tally in April with imports also growing at a steady pace, the government said Thursday.Outbound shipments came to $50.31 billion in April, up 9 percent from the same month last year. Imports rose 5 percent on-year to $45.85 billion, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The country's trade surplus widened to $4.46 billion last month from $2.51 billion in April 2013, marking the 27th consecutive month of surplus."The coun

May 1, 2014

Seoul to cut red tape for start-up stimulus

Policymakers on Wednesday vowed to simplify the regulatory procedures for venture start-ups to set up business as part of the administration’s three-year plan for market renovation.During a meeting of economy-related ministers, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok pointed out that the business start-up segment stood at 34th, even as Korea ranked seventh in the World Bank Group’s 2013 overall Ease of Doing Business report.“Those seeking to set up their own businesses will benef

April 30, 2014

Seoul shares fall 0.15% ahead of FOMC results

South Korean stocks finished 0.15 percent lower on Wednesday as investors reverted to a cautious mode ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting and lukewarm corporate earnings reports. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index, helped by overnight gains on Wall Street, started in positive territory but lost ground during the trading session to finish at 1,961.79, down 2.98 points from Tuesday’s close.Trading volume was relatively light a

April 30, 2014