Park cautions against broadcasting monopolies

President Park Geun-hye ordered broadcasting regulators Monday to ensure that the industry won’t fall into the hands of a handful of conglomerates, saying diversity and fairness are key to revitalizing the broadcasting sector.Park issued the instruction during a joint policy briefing by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and the Korea Communications Commission.She said the broadcasting industry strongly influences the economy and is directly related to people’s everyday lives.“Cong

Feb. 17, 2014

Shares up on foreign buying

South Korean stocks closed higher on Monday thanks to net buying by foreign investors and institutions, who kept alive last week’s modest growth momentum. The South Korean won gained against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index, starting the day in positive territory, gave up some of its gains to end at 1,946.36, up 0.31 percent, or 6.08 points, from Friday’s close. Trading volume on the main market was relatively light at 211.72 million shares, with 3.36 trillion won

Feb. 17, 2014

S. Korea, China, Japan to hold 4th round of free trade talks this week

South Korea, China and Japan will hold a fourth round of negotiations this week aimed at forging a trilateral free trade agreement, a Seoul diplomat said Monday, despite a diplomatic impasse over Tokyo's nationalist moves regarding historical and territorial issues.The three Northeast Asian nations kicked off formal negotiations earlier last year and have held three rounds of talks since, with Seoul officials describing the third round as being "productive.""The fourth round of Korea-China-Japan

Feb. 17, 2014

Korean won set for best week in five months

Korean won headed for the best week since September as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s pledge to cut stimulus in “measured steps” increased demand for emerging-market assets. The currency was supported also by data from China, South Korea’s largest overseas market, which showed exports increased 10.6 percent from a year earlier in January, compared with the 0.1 percent gain projected in a Bloomberg News survey. The Bloomberg JP Morgan Asia Dollar Index (ADXY), which tracks the region’s 10 m

Feb. 16, 2014

Gov't to pursue mass deregulation

The South Korean government is set to announce a new three-year economic innovation plan that will include a negative list system for deregulation to help encourage investment, officials said Sunday.The plan, expected to be announced later this month, will see that regulations are not applied to areas not named on the list.The government will also introduce a limit on the total number of regulations, where the amount of government spending and economic impact from new regulations must be offset

Feb. 16, 2014

S. Korea, China divided over illegal fishing in FTA talks

South Korea and China remain divided over a number of issues such as illegal fishing that may prevent early conclusion of their negotiations for a free trade agreement, officials here said Sunday."We are hoping to include a provision that can effectively prevent illegal fishing in the FTA, but China maintains it will not even discuss the issue," a government official here said on condition of anonymity.Seoul is pressing the issue that has become a major diplomatic sticking point. The number of C

Feb. 16, 2014

Ssangyong secures public orders worth 107b won

Ssangyong Engineering and Construction Co., which was placed under court protection early this year, has effectively secured three public work projects worth 107 billion won ($100.8 million), industry sources said Friday.The sources, who declined to be identified, said the orders issued by the state-run Korea Expressway Corp., and Pohang Regional Maritime Affairs and Port Administration are expected to be finalized next week.The construction projects include two sections of a highway connecting

Feb. 14, 2014

Housing transactions more than double in January

Sales of homes in South Korea more than doubled in January from a year earlier, data showed on Thursday, indicating a recovery in the local property market.The number of home transactions came to 58,846 last month, up 117.4 percent from the same month last year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The ministry attributed the increase partly to a base effect stemming from a large drop posted in January 2013.“Home transactions dropped by large margi

Feb. 13, 2014

Overseas direct investment drops 11% in 2013

South Korea’s overseas direct investment dropped 11 percent on-year in 2013 amid instability in the financial market and lingering uncertainty over the global economy, a government report showed Thursday.According to the report compiled by the finance ministry, the country’s overseas direct investment totaled $35.12 billion last year, down from the $39.46 billion tallied a year earlier.Overseas direct investment refers to Korean residents’ equity investment in foreign countries or money spent to

Feb. 13, 2014

Listed companies suffer growth setbacks in 2013: report

South Korea's leading listed companies suffered bigger growth setbacks in 2013 compared to the post-global crisis year of 2009, a report compiled by conglomerates' lobbying group said Thursday.The report by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) said sales growth numbers for the 148 large listed companies were poorer than those for the 1,536 non-financial sector businesses traded on the country's main and secondary stock exchanges.Large companies refer to businesses with annual sales exceedin

Feb. 13, 2014

S. Korea's top FTA negotiator says more talks required before joining TPP

South Korea may need more time to decide whether to take part in ongoing negotiations for a regional free trade pact, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the country's deputy trade minister said Wednesday, noting it may also require additional bilateral talks with other countries."Holding preliminary talks with all participating countries does not mean we are ready (to make a decision). Different countries have different conditions, and thus some may require two or even three rounds of talks

Feb. 12, 2014

Banks' household loans decline in Jan.

Household loans extended by South Korean banks declined in January as households' balance sheets improved on the back of year-end bonuses, and mortgage lending also fell, the central bank said Wednesday.Outstanding household loans by local banks, including home-backed and credit loans, reached 477.8 trillion won ($448 billion) as of end-January, down 2.6 trillion won from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.The January figure also compares with the 2.9-trillion-won growth in Decem

Feb. 12, 2014

S. Korea calls on foreign biz to expand investment, employment

South Korea on Wednesday called on foreign companies to expand investment and employment, promising that it will work hard to create the world's most investment-friendly environment.In a meeting with foreign business leaders in central Seoul, Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok also promised to improve transparency of laws and implement its policies in a "stable" manner, eliminating any inconveniences foreigners could encounter in doing business here.The meeting was attended by heads of major business

Feb. 12, 2014

S. Korea, New Zealand to resume FTA negotiations next week

South Korea and New Zealand will resume their negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement next week after a near four-year pause, the South Korean government said Wednesday.The fifth round of FTA negotiations between the two countries will be held in Wellington from Monday through Friday, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The fresh round will mark the first of its kind since May 2010. The countries agreed to resume their negotiations late last year in a bilateral trad

Feb. 12, 2014

S. Korea's farm exports dip 1.5% in Jan.

South Korea's exports of food and agriculture products shrank slightly from a year earlier last month amid large drops in shipments to China and European countries, the government said Wednesday.In January, outbound shipments of farm products amounted to $445.9 million, down 1.5 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs."The drop in exports last month appears to have been caused by shrinking shipments of ginseng, sugar and processed c

Feb. 12, 2014

Gov't launches task force to nurture service industry

The government has launched a task force aimed at mapping out plans to nurture the country's service industry that could result in more job creation, the finance minister said Wednesday."The government launched and started to operate a one-stop task force last month to nurture five promising service sectors -- health and medical treatment, education, tourism, finance and software," Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok said at a meeting with other economy-related policymakers in Seoul."We also plan to l

Feb. 12, 2014