S. Korea's foreign debt declines in Q1

South Korea's external debt fell in the first quarter due to a weaker won, with the ratio of the short-term foreign debt against the total debt hitting an over 13-year low, the central bank said Wednesday.The country's external debt totaled US$410.3 billion as of the end of March, down $3.3 billion from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).The data marked the lowest reading since $398.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011.The BOK said that foreign investors continued to b

May 22, 2013

Seoul eyes engagement policy with Moscow

Korea is looking to engage Russia with a new set of foreign and economic policies that it hopes will lead to the restart of their free trade negotiations.Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok said Tuesday that Korea would need to readjust its foreign and economic policy, and implement so-called “New Nordpolitik” toward Russia.South Korea’s Nordpolitik was first adopted by the administration of former President Roh Tae-woo to engage communist countries or allies of North Korea,

May 21, 2013

Microsoft to roll out Surface tablet in Seoul

Microsoft Korea announced on Tuesday that it would begin to sell its new tablet computer Surface in Korea from June 11.Company officials said Surface was a hybrid of a PC and tablet made of light but strong material with a detachable keyboard cover. Microsoft said that Surface Pro came with a digital pen that allowed its users to write on the touchscreen. For Surface RT users, the company provides pre-installed Microsoft Office.“Having the strengths of both tablets and PCs, Surface is optimized

May 21, 2013

Ministry set to commercialize graphene

The government has begun in earnest to commercialize “graphene,” a new advanced material, announcing Tuesday six consortiums to lead material-related research and development projects.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said the commercialization of the material could spawn ultra-thin but strong electronics goods, such as paper-thin and flexible TV screens. Graphene, thin sheets of carbon, was discovered in 2004, rocking the science industry. The world’s thinnest and strongest nano-materi

May 21, 2013

S. Korea seeks resumption of free trade talks with Russia

South Korea is seeking to resume talks on a free trade deal with Russia as part of efforts to expand its economic cooperation with the country, the government said Tuesday.Free trade agreement (FTA) talks with Russia came to a halt in 2008 when Russia suspended negotiations unilaterally. In a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok to discuss trade affairs, the government decided to resume FTA talks with Russia as quickly as possible, a move aimed at pre-empting the market there and lay

May 21, 2013

Credit card spending growth continues to slow in April

South Korea's credit card spending grew at a slower pace in April from a year earlier as the economic slowdown continued to dent consumer sentiment, a trade association said Tuesday.Purchases made with plastic cards totaled 44.8 trillion won ($40.1 billion) last month, up 4.5 percent from the 42.9 trillion won tallied a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Credit Finance Association (CREFIA).The country's card spending sank to an all-time low in February, growing 3.4 percent on-ye

May 21, 2013

Korea transfers forestry know-how to Indonesia

Korea launched a four-day educational program on forest-related polices for a group of Indonesian policymakers from May 20-24, according to the Korea Forest Service.“About 15 officials from the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry and Perum Perhutani, an organization given a mandate by the Indonesian government to manage forests in Java and Madura, joined the program,” the KFS said. The program includes field trips and a variety of lectures on forest policy, including the nation’s reforestation and f

May 20, 2013

Parliamentary report berates BOK's May rate cut

SEOUL, May 20 (Yonhap) -- The National Assembly Research Service on Monday criticized the Bank of Korea (BOK)'s surprise slash of the key interest rate in May as having undermined consistency of policy and independence of the central bank."It was as if a car turned right while the blinker was signaling a left turn," said a report from the service that conducts research and analysis upon legislators' requests.After six consecutive months of freeze, the BOK on May 9 cut the benchmark rate by a qua

May 20, 2013

S. Korea’s growth feared to fall behind Japan's this year

Japan’s economic growth rate is expected to surpass that of Korea for the first time in 15 years as the world’s third-largest economy gains momentum on the yen’s rapid depreciation.South Korea is estimated to grow at an annual rate of 2.6 percent this year from a year earlier, while Japan is forecast to advance 2.9 percent, according to the data by the Bank of Korea and the Bank of Japan. If the estimates come true, South Korea's economic growth rate would fall behind that of Tokyo for the first

May 19, 2013

Park voices strong objections against unfair practices

President Park Geun-hye voiced strong objections Thursday against the widely-denounced practice of big businesses coercing small franchise distributors to accept products in excess of their capacities, saying such a practice should never happen under her government.Park made the remark during a dinner meeting with small business owners as the already-high public outrage over the practice rose further following Tuesday's suicide of a distribution shop owner for a local liquor maker after he suffe

May 16, 2013

KNOC to join Vietnam oil storage project

The state-run Korea National Oil Corp. will join Vietnam’s underground oil storage facility construction project, company officials said. “KNOC has decided to join the project to build an underground facility to store up to 3.8 million barrels of oil in Dung Quat, Vietnam, in cooperation with Vietnam-based PVOS,” the officials said, adding that the project would be KNOC’s first oil storage project overseas. Petro Vietnam Oil Stockpile embarked on the project to accommodate the needs of the oil a

May 16, 2013

Korea facing another summer of electric power shortages

Despite the planned resumption of construction for 52 high-voltage transmission cable towers in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, next week, Korea is highly likely to again face power shortages this summer and winter, according to industry watchers. The construction, which is essential to transmit and distribute power generated from the newly-built unit 3 of the Shin Gori nuclear power plant to the North Gyeongsang Province region, has been suspended since January this year when a farmer in hi

May 15, 2013