Household credit hits record, but growth slows in Q3

South Korea’s household credit climbed to a fresh all-time high in the third quarter, but its on-year growth rate slowed for the fifth straight quarter amid an anemic property market, the central bank said Thursday.Household credit totaled 937.5 trillion won ($867.3 million) as of the end of September, up 13.6 trillion won from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. The third-quarter growth compared with a 12.8 trillion won gain tallied in the second quarter.From a year earlier, h

Nov. 22, 2012

FTC opposes presidential candidates' chaebol reform plans

The head of South Korea's antitrust watchdog voiced his opposition Thursday to some measures being pushed by presidential candidates to reform the country's large conglomerates, known as chaebol.The three major candidates have called for an overhaul of sprawling conglomerates under the name of "economic democratization" in what critics say is meant to curry favor with voters ahead of the Dec. 19 presidential election.Fair Trade Commission Chairman Kim Dong-soo cautioned against imposing a ceilin

Nov. 22, 2012

Seoul shares start higher on U.S. gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday as investor sentiment got a boost from overnight gains on Wall Street following improved jobs data, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 15.25 points, or 0.81 percent, to trade at 1,899.29 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics increasing 1.08 percent and top steelmaker POSCO adding 0.81 percent. No. 2 carmaker Kia Motors edged up 0.3

Nov. 22, 2012

Korea's exports on growing trend in Nov.: data

South Korea's exports are likely to gain ground in November, weathering the global economic slowdown and the local currency's ascent to the U.S. dollar, data showed Thursday.The value of Korea's outbound shipments reached US$28.2 billion during the first 20 days of this month, up 1.7 percent from a year earlier, according to estimates by the finance ministry and the state-run customs agency.The uptrend comes after South Korea's exports grew 1.1 percent in October from a year earlier, the first o

Nov. 22, 2012

BOK chief urges firms to boost investment, jobs

South Korea’s top central banker called for local companies Wednesday to expand investment and create more jobs in a bid to help the economy recover from a prolonged slowdown.Bank of Korea Gov. Kim Choong-soo said in a meeting with six heads of large firms that companies are facing tough business conditions amid the global downturn, but they should play a key role in helping the Korean economy pull out of the longstanding slowdown.“It may be difficult for companies to make investments under such

Nov. 21, 2012

Car exports to Africa soar on rising demand

Shipments of South Korean vehicles to African countries rose sharply in the first nine months of the year thanks to rising demand with the region’s political situations stabilized, a trade association said Wednesday.According to the Korean Automobile Manufacturers Association, a total of 146,976 cars were exported to Africa through September this year, up 21.4 percent from 121,030 units shipped to the region last year.However, car exports to Asian countries plunged 18.2 percent on-year to 129,07

Nov. 21, 2012

Poll: Entrepreneurs may have better health

U.S. entrepreneurs are less likely to report chronic health problems such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure or diabetes, a survey indicates. The findings are based on more than 273,175 interviews conducted Jan. 2, 2011, to Sept. 30, 2012, with U.S. adults as a part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. Gallup classified 6,896 of these respondents as entrepreneurs if they self-identified themselves as both self-employed and as a business owner.Entrepreneurs report better health habits

Nov. 21, 2012

Korean economy to grow over 3% next year: JPMorgan

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― The South Korean economy will likely grow more than 3 percent in 2013 from this year amid improving external and internal macro environments, JPMorgan said Tuesday.The U.S. investment bank predicted South Korea’s real gross domestic product will recover to the 3 percent level next year, compared to an estimated 2.3 percent in 2012, with exports to rise and fiscal policy to turn more supportive.“On a quarterly basis, real GDP growth has slowed for three straight quarters

Nov. 20, 2012

Seoul to develop technology to store spent nuke fuel rods

Korea will work to develop indigenous technologies needed to store or process spent nuclear fuel rods, along with its first permanent facility to store spent fuel, the government said Tuesday.The move comes as the Korea Atomic Energy Promotion Council recommended the government start looking for candidate sites for a spent fuel storage facility at least from 2016 for completion of construction in 2024.Currently, spent fuel rods are stored in temporary storage facilities at the country’s nuclear

Nov. 20, 2012

New European Chamber of Commerce opens

A new European Chamber of Commerce in Korea opened in Seoul on Tuesday upon government approval.Promoters of the new organization said the Ministry of Knowledge Economy informed the chamber of its permission on Monday.The ECCK replaces the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea, known as EUCCK, which shut down in September after being slapped with fines and overdue taxes worth 4.5 billion won ($4.2 million).ECCK members said the new organization’s basic role of developing industrial relatio

Nov. 20, 2012

Korea projected to benefit most from three-way FTA

South Korea, China and Japan on Tuesday declared the kickoff of the official negotiations for a trilateral free trade agreement early next year.In Phnom Penh, commerce ministers from the three Asian countries announced the launch of FTA talks, which would create one of the world’s largest economic blocs.Economists say the deal would be comparable to the European Union and the North American Free Trade Agreement as the collective gross domestic product of the three countries will reach $12 trilli

Nov. 20, 2012

Asia-Pacific to launch trade pacts amid tensions

PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Asia-Pacific nations will launch negotiations for two giant free trade pacts Tuesday that diplomats say may foster warmer ties at a time of deep tensions over multiple territorial rows.China, Japan and South Korea, embroiled in maritime disputes that have frayed diplomatic ties, were due to start talks for a free-trade agreement when their trade ministers met on the sidelines of an Asian summit.Negotiations for a separate Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership involving t

Nov. 20, 2012

S. Korea’s growth potential halves since 1997 crisis

South Korea's growth potential has been almost cut in half since the economy survived the Asian financial crisis, data showed Tuesday, sparking concerns over the lack of drivers for future growth.The potential growth rate of Asia's fourth-largest economy is estimated at an annual 3.7 percent as of this year, compared with 6.1 percent tallied just before the outbreak of the financial turmoil, according to data by the Bank of Korea, Statistics Korea and the Financial Supervisory Service. The figur

Nov. 20, 2012

S. Korea's household spending on food hits 11-year high

Spending by South Korean households on food and other groceries surged to the highest level in 11 years in the first half of this year amid a prolonged economic slump, data showed Tuesday.According to the data released by the Bank of Korea, the country's total household spending rose 4.7 percent from a year earlier to nearly 324 trillion won ($298 billion) in the January-June period.Of the total, the amount spent on food and non-alcoholic beverages came to 44 trillion won, up 6.3 percent from th

Nov. 20, 2012

Naro space rocket launch likely on Nov. 29

South Korea will likely launch a space rocket next Thursday, the government said Monday, two days after the arrival of a replacement for a defective part in the rocket partly built by Russia.“When considering the time needed to thoroughly examine the new part and prepare for a launch, Nov. 29 is technically the most suitable for a third launch of the Naro rocket,” the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said in a press release.The ministry added the Launch Preparation Committee will be

Nov. 19, 2012

Seoul shares start higher on U.S. gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday as investor sentiment was boosted by last week's gains on Wall Street, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed 13.77 points, or 0.74 percent, to trade at 1874.60 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics increasing 0.84 percent and leading carmaker Hyundai Motor adding 0.46 percent. Top builder Hyundai Engineering & Construction climbed 1.15

Nov. 19, 2012

Korea’s exports to Middle East rise 14.1% by October

South Korea’s exports to the Middle East rose 14.1 percent in the first 10 months of the year from a year earlier thanks to strengthened consumption power in the oil-rich region, customs data showed Sunday.According to the data by the Korea Customs Service, shipments of South Korean products to Middle East countries rose 14.1 percent to $30.3 billion in the January-October period, compared with last year’s annual volume of $32.8 billion.However, shipments to the European Union and Japan shrank 1

Nov. 18, 2012