Imported beef sales rise sharply amid widespreading foot-and-mouth disease

Sales of imported beef are rising steeply in South Korea as the country has been struggling with foot-and-mouth disease and avian influenza, industry data showed Sunday.According to the data by leading retail chain E-Mart, imported beef sales rose 12 percent during the Feb. 5-9 period from a week ago, while those of Korean beef tumbled 19.6 percent. (Yonhap)The decline came as the fifth foot-and-mouth disease outbreak was confirmed earlier in the day following the first infection on Feb. 5. Near

Feb. 12, 2017

FKI in search of new chief to keep group from falling apart

The Federation of Korean Industries, South Korea's largest business lobby, is now in a desperate search for a new chief, who will replace outgoing chairman Huh Chang-soo, but also keep the organization from falling apart, informed sources said Saturday.The search for a new chairman follows the withdrawal of membership by key conglomerates, including Samsung Group and Hyundai Motor Group. (Yonhap)The two and many others have quit the organization with over 50 years of history after they came unde

Feb. 11, 2017

Korea's exports continue expanding in Feb.

South Korea's outbound shipments have continued to expand so far this month, government data showed Saturday, suggesting a possible recovery in exports following a downturn over the past two years.In the first 10 days of February, outbound shipments amounted to $15.1 billion, up 72.8 percent from the same period last year, according to data from the customs office. (Yonhap)An on-year increase for the entire month of February will mark a fourth consecutive month of increase for the first time at

Feb. 11, 2017

Korea's finance minister calls for stronger restructuring

 South Korea's finance minister on Friday called for intensive structural reform to regain the growth momentum of Asia's fourth-largest economy."In order to make a breakthrough for the economy, we have to change the fundamentals of our economy through strong structural reform," Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said in a keynote speech at a Seoul symposium. "We cannot avoid the demand for restructuring. We have to push for it as its achievement leads to the next government and generation." South Korea'

Feb. 10, 2017

[Eye Interview] ECCK chief urges stable regulation to foster wider investment

While the recent inauguration of US President Donald Trump has the local business community in a frenzy, anticipating drastic alterations to the Korea-US free trade agreement, the roughly 2,500 European companies currently operating in Korea have their focuses set elsewhere. 　In an annual Business Confidence Survey conducted late last year by the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea and Roland Berger, the majority of European businesses in South Korea voiced concerns over the increasing difficu

Feb. 10, 2017

Korea logs budget surplus for 2 straight yrs in 2016

South Korea posted a budget surplus for two years in a row in fiscal 2016 as its tax revenue rose sharply on increased corporate and value added taxes, the finance ministry said Friday.The gross revenue that the government brought in last year came to 345 trillion won ($299.7 billion), while its expenditures totaled 332.2 trillion won, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance after closing its books for the fiscal year 2016. (Yonhap)With 4.8 trillion won worth of the balance carried for

Feb. 10, 2017

FMD outbreak leads to meat price hike

Meat prices in South Korea have risen nearly 10 percent since this year's first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease and may skyrocket should the epidemic spread further, industry sources said Friday.The government confirmed the fourth outbreak at a cow farm Thursday after the first infection was reported last Sunday. It also raised the nation's FMD alert to the highest level and closed all livestock trading markets in a desperate bid to stem its spread. Cows are being vaccinated at a farm in Ando

Feb. 10, 2017

Europe, consumer goods key to export increase

A rise in shipments to European markets will likely boost South Korea's overall exports this year, a local trade agency said Friday, urging local firms to focus on consumer goods and large construction projects in Europe.Citing a recent survey of 162 South Korean companies and their buyers in Europe, Kim Jae-hong, head of the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, said the country's exports to Europe were expected to rise 3.8 percent this year, surpassing the 3.4 percent on-year incr

Feb. 10, 2017

[Kaesong 1 Year On] Kaesong Complex: A faded dream

Two months after leaders of the two Koreas -- the South’s Kim Dae-jung and North’s Kim Jong-il -- had a historic submit in 2000, a project to launch an economic zone in Kaesong, a North Korean city near the borders of the two Koreas, began. The idea was to create economic synergy by combing South Korea’s capital and technology and North Korea’s cheap labor and land. The South-North joint Kaesong industrial park, a symbol of inter-Korean cooperation, produced its firs

Feb. 9, 2017

Manufacturing sector's goods supply up 3.6% in Q4

The supply of goods both locally produced and imported in South Korea rose at the fastest pace in three years in the fourth quarter of last year, aided by a boom in the chipmaking and construction sectors, government data showed Thursday.The index of domestic manufacturing supply gained 3.6 percent in the October-December period from a year earlier, with Korean-made products gaining 2.8 percent on-year and imported goods also rising 5.5 percent on-year, according to the report by Statistics Kore

Feb. 9, 2017

Top groups remain undecided over hiring plans

Most leading conglomerates in South Korea have yet to finalize their hiring plans for this year, making university graduates and other young jobseekers jittery, sources said Thursday.Amid a prolonged economic slump and the fallout from a massive corruption scandal, many family-controlled business groups are still working on employment plans for 2017, with some feared to cut the number of new employees. This undated file photo shows a student looking at employment notices at a Seoul university. (

Feb. 9, 2017

Korea to strike balance of rice supply, demand by 2019

The South Korean government said Thursday that it will strike a balance between rice supply and demand by 2019 through efforts to reduce rice cultivation and boost consumption.The country has been suffering from a chronic oversupply of the staple grain for years due to a sharp drop in rice consumption. (Yonhap)Some 300,000 tons of rice remained in excess last year, as the 4.2 million ton supply outnumbers the 3.9 million tons consumed, and the glut will likely stay at 200,000 tons in 2017.Meanwh

Feb. 9, 2017

Korea's imports of candies, chocolates hit fresh record high in 2016

South Korea's imports of candies and chocolates reached a fresh record high last year on growing demand for foreign confectioneries, customs data showed Thursday.A record $373 million worth of chocolates and candies, or 64,000 tons, were imported last year, up 8.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data released by the Korea Customs Service. (Yonhap)The amount of confectionery imports has been on a sharp rise in recent years, hitting new record highs every year since 2010. Imports of

Feb. 9, 2017

KEF chief urges labor market deregulation for 'quality' jobs

The head of a major business lobby in Seoul on Thursday urged the government to further remove unnecessary regulations governing the country's labor market, saying they are preventing the creation of new jobs across all industrial sectors.Bahk Byong-won, chairman of the Korea Employers Federation, also called on the government to stop producing what he called budget-wasting jobs. Dozens of jobseekers attend a job fair hosted by the Busan office of the Korea Employers Federation in Busan, South K

Feb. 9, 2017

Faltering private consumption drags recovery momentum

The recovery momentum for the South Korean economy has remained fragile as an upturn in exports and investment was offset by a drop in private consumption, a government report said Thursday."The South Korean economy saw investment improve on the back of recovering exports, but a slump in consumer sentiment and private consumption slowed down the recovery pace," the finance ministry said in its monthly economy assessment report called the "Green Book." (Yonhap)The report is based on the latest ec

Feb. 9, 2017

Frozen job market makes students reluctant to leave school

When Kim Joo-young entered Ewha Womans University in 2011, she didn't imagine she would still be on campus six years later. She expected to have already graduated, landed a well-paying job and started to build a promising career following four years of study.That dream is two years behind schedule, and she might need even more time to reach it. Knowing that her attempt to get a job at a financial firm fell through in late December, the 26-year-old grudgingly decided to put off graduation once ag

Feb. 9, 2017

Samsung Pay launched in Thailand

Samsung Electronics Co. said Wednesday that its mobile-payment service, Samsung Pay, was officially launched in Thailand.The official launch in Thailand is the latest move by Samsung to expand the mobile-payment service globally.  (Yonhap)The company has launched Samsung Pay in the United States, China, Spain, Australia, Singapore and Brazil. "We hope that Samsung Pay will play a big role in transforming Thailand in line with its national e-payment strategy," said Wichai Pornpratang, vice presid

Feb. 8, 2017

Regulator vows more financial support for youth in need

South Korea's top financial regulator said Wednesday the government will offer "tailored" financial support for the youth in need, as a growing number of college graduates struggle to get jobs."Financial support for college students and other young people is one of the top priorities in this year's policy on low-income brackets," Yim Jong-yong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said. "(The government) will expand timely and tailored support so that they can concentrate on studying a

Feb. 8, 2017

Korea's cigarette exports hit record high in 2016

South Korea's cigarette exports rose sharply to surpass the $1 billion mark for the first time last year on growing demand from the Middle East and Japan, the latest customs data showed Wednesday.The total value of tobacco exports reached a record $1.01 billion in 2016, up 11 percent from the previous year's $914 million, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. (Yonhap)The figure has been on a sharp rise at an average on-year growth of 20.2 percent during the 2014-2016 perio

Feb. 8, 2017

BOK chief calls for steps to ride out worsening trade environment

The chief of South Korea's central bank said Wednesday that the government should cooperate with private companies to address challenges in global trade markets."Coming up with measures to ride out deteriorating trade environments should be the government's top priority," BOK Governor Lee Ju-yeol said in a meeting with trade experts and professors. (Yonhap)His comments underscored worries that growing protectionism of the new U.S. government could hurt South Korea's exports, which in turn could

Feb. 8, 2017