Park to reveal stance on TPP at APEC forum

President Park Geun-hye is expected to disclose her government’s position on joining the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership, a proposed multilateral free trade agreement by some Asia-Pacific countries, next week.Ju Chul-ki, Park’s senior secretary for foreign affairs, said Thursday that the president could mention the issue at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum next week in Bali, Indonesia.“The government has been studying the possibility (of joining the trade talks),” Ju said. “Since m

Oct. 3, 2013

Retailers’ Q4 biz sentiment remains strong

South Korean retailers predicted that their business conditions will be bullish in the fourth quarter of the year thanks to hopes that restoring consumer sentiment may lead to year-end shopping sprees, a poll showed Wednesday.According to the survey of 943 retailers by the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the retail business survey index fell to 101, down four points from 105 for the third quarter, remaining above the benchmark level. The index rose above the benchmark level in the third

Oct. 3, 2013

Korea to seek status as FMD-free country

South Korea is seeking to regain the status of a country free of foot-and-mouth disease with vaccination, the government said Wednesday, a move partly aimed at boosting the country’s exports of pork and beef products.The country plans to file a request with the Organization for Animal Health on Friday to regain its status as an FMD-free country with vaccination, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.The animal health organization, better known by its French name Office

Oct. 3, 2013

Korea plans to boost food self-sufficiency

South Korea revealed a set of measures to develop the country’s agriculture industry and rural areas that are also designed to boost its farm exports and self-sufficiency of food.The five-year plan was reviewed and approved at a Cabinet meeting, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.Through its development plan, the government will seek to boost the country’s agricultural output to 50 trillion won ($46.55 billion) in 2017 from 46.4 trillion won in 2012, also raising th

Oct. 3, 2013

Samsung mulls changes in recruitment system

Samsung Group, the country’s largest business group, said Wednesday that it is considering modifying its recruitment system for recent college graduates, as a larger than expected number of people have applied for the group’s new positions. More than 100,000 college students submitted their applications last week to the group. Samsung plans to hire some 5,500 new college graduates for the second half of the year.“We cannot help but review our recruitment system, as a large number of college stud

Oct. 2, 2013

Richest households in S. Korea earn tenfold the poorest

The richest households in South Korea earned about 10 times more than those in the poorest income brackets last year, data showed Wednesday, pointing to a still-wide gap between the haves and have-nots.According to the data provided by Statistics Korea and the finance ministry, the average monthly income of the richest 10 percent of households stood at 9.21 million won ($8,580) last year. The amount compared with 903,000 won for the poorest 10 percent of households, the data showed. This means t

Oct. 2, 2013

S. Korea's exports shrink 1.5% in Sept.

South Korea's trade surplus widened from a year earlier last month despite a slight drop in exports as its imports shrank at a faster rate, the government said Tuesday.In September, the country's exports dropped 1.5 percent from the same month last year to $44.74 billion, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Its imports dropped 3.6 percent on-year to about $41.03 billion with its trade surplus coming to $3.71 billion.The trade surplus for September compares with a surplus of $

Oct. 1, 2013

Korea's consumer prices in Sept. grow at slowest pace in 14 years

South Korea's consumer prices grew at the slowest pace in 14 years in September, affected by falls in costs of farming products, a government report showed Tuesday.The country's consumer price index rose 0.8 percent on-year in September, decelerating from a 1.3 percent gain tallied in the previous month, according to the report by Statistics Korea.The September figure marked the slowest on-year consumer price growth since September 1999 when it also rose 0.8 percent.The core inflation, which exc

Oct. 1, 2013

Over 12% of Korea's population aged 65 or older: report

Senior citizens aged 65 or older made up more than 12 percent of South Korea's population this year, a report showed Monday, raising concerns the fast-aging demographic transition could pose a heavy drag on the country's economy.According to the report by Statistics Korea, the ratio of people belonging to the age group made up 12.2 percent of the country's population of about 50 million, up from 11.8 percent tallied in the previous year. The ratio is expected to keep growing in the decades to co

Sept. 30, 2013

S. Korea's labor productivity dwindles in Q2

South Korea's labor productivity dropped slightly from a year earlier in the second quarter as labor input grew at a faster rate than total output, the government said Sunday.   The labor productivity index for all industries in the April-July period came to 98.6, down 0.3 percent from the same period in 2012, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.   Labor productivity is measured by dividing total industrial output by total labor input. The figure, however, excludes the fishin

Sept. 29, 2013

Gov't seeks to ensure fiscal soundness through 'paygo' system

The South Korean government is expected to introduce the so-called pay-as-you-go (paygo) system to help ensure its fiscal soundness while working to significantly boost its tax revenues, officials said Sunday.The paygo is a system widely practiced in the United States and other advanced countries where any increase in direct spending prompted by a new law or revision must be offset by other spending decreases or revenue increases, meaning any new law that requires government spending must find i

Sept. 29, 2013

U.S. NTSB chief to visit Seoul next week

The head of the U.S. federal agency charged with investigating civil aviation accidents plans to visit Seoul next week for talks with South Korean officials as part of her Asia trip, an official said Friday.Deborah Hersman, chief of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, is scheduled to arrive on Wednesday for talks with her South Korean counterpart as well as Yeo Hyung-koo, vice minister of land, infrastructure and transport, over the deadly crash of an Asiana jet in July.She also plans

Sept. 27, 2013

Kim Yu-na most favored advertising model: survey

South Korea’s figure skater Kim Yu-na topped the list of favored models for commercials, relegating other celebrities to far distances, a survey showed on Friday.According to the survey conducted by the Korea Broadcast Advertising Corp., Kim was the celebrity whom local consumers liked best in commercials, with 8.7 percent showing support for the Olympic gold medalist.The figure skater was also picked as the most favored advertisement model in 2009 and 2010. Actor-singer-emcee Lee Seung-gi follo

Sept. 27, 2013