Government struggling to find capable workers in Sejong City

The government is having a hard time finding capable workers who are willing to work in the new government complex in Sejong, officials said Tuesday.The difficulty in finding workers apparently stems from the fact that the new government complex is located in the newly built city of Sejong, 120 kilometers south of Seoul, meaning new employees will probably have to move here unless their home is already nearby.According to officials from the Fair Trade Commission, the commission had sought to hir

Sept. 24, 2013

Korea’s workforce to dwindle next decade: BOA Merrill Lynch

Korea and China are likely to suffer from problems of a typical aging society, since their working-age population is projected to shrink over the next 10 years, an economist at a major U.S. investment bank predicted.A research report of Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Hak Bin Chua was quoted by broadcaster CNBC as saying that “the next decade will be very different from previous decades when most of Asia was still experiencing demographic divides, including China and Korea.”Chua asserted

Sept. 23, 2013

Korea elected council member of standardization body

South Korea was elected as a council member of the International Organization for Standardization, an international standard-setting organization composed of representatives from various nations, at its general assembly in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Sept. 18-20, officials said Monday.The Industry Ministry said being part of the ISO council ― currently comprised of 20 countries including the United States, Germany, Japan, Britain, France, China and Russia ― would help Korea boost its status in th

Sept. 23, 2013

S. Korea's producer prices fall for 11th straight month in Aug.

South Korea's producer prices declined for the 11th straight month in August due to on-year retreats in oil costs and the local currency's gain against the U.S. dollar, the central bank said Tuesday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, slid 1.3 percent in August from a year earlier, compared with a 1 percent on-year decline in July, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).On an annual basis, the producer prices have fallen every month since October 2012 when such pri

Sept. 17, 2013

Korea moves to form East Asian trade bloc

Keeping an eye on the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership forum, the Korean government is also engaging actively in the talks to form an economic bloc in Northeast and Southeast Asia.The second round of the ASEAN-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is scheduled to be held from next Monday to Friday in Brisbane, Australia.Headed by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy trade negotiating director Woo Tae-hee, the delegation is to include officials from the Ministry of Strategy and

Sept. 16, 2013

Government seeks to spend 100 trillion won on welfare

The government will give utmost priority to boosting welfare and job creation in its spending plans next year, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Monday.In a briefing to the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok said that the Park Geun-hye administration seeks to invest more than 100 trillion won ($92.4 billion) in various welfare projects next year, by far the biggest investment in the sector by a single Korean governm

Sept. 16, 2013

S. Korea moves to tackle non-tariff trade barriers

South Korea has set up a new office specifically tasked with dealing with non-tariff trade barriers raised by other countries, the government said Monday, in a move to boost its exports.The move comes as the government is expected to announce a list of plans for dealing with non-tariff trade barriers at the end of this month.A recent survey showed nearly three out of every 10 small- and medium-sized enterprises here that export their goods and services to Japan have experienced some type of non-

Sept. 16, 2013

BOK chief warns of risks amid connected market

The global economy faces greater risks of cyclic downturns as the financial markets have become more interconnected since the demise of Lehman Brothers five years ago, the Bank of Korea chief warned.In a meeting with commercial bankers on Friday, BOK Gov. Kim Choong-soo said the interconnectedness of markets worldwide had become “stronger” as economies tried to fix the global crisis.This market development is likely to increase financial risks worldwide, the central bank chief said.He added that

Sept. 13, 2013

Ministry says Korean waters unaffected by Japanese radiation leak

South Korean seas are still safe from the radiation leak at a Japanese nuclear power plant, the government said Thursday in an attempt to ease growing public concerns here.A recent radiation check of six areas close to Japan found no or only minuscule traces of induced or artificial radioactive materials, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.“The result of an analysis of waters from six sea areas that was conducted jointly with the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission showed no tr

Sept. 12, 2013

FKI urges against inclusion of bonuses in ‘ordinary pay’

The Federation of Korean Industries, the nation’s largest lobby group, expressed concerns about proposed legislation related to workers’ wages and the use of chemical materials.“The revision bills concerning ordinary pay and chemical substance registration currently under debate can be a roadblock to creating jobs and spurring investment,” the FKI said in a statement released after a meeting of its leaders on Thursday.The FKI said such regulations may prompt foreign investors to avoid investment

Sept. 12, 2013