S. Korea's consumer price growth slows in July

South Korea's consumer prices grew at a slower pace last month amid government efforts to keep inflationary pressure down, a report showed Wednesday.The country's consumer price index rose 1.5 percent from a year earlier in June, compared with a 2.2 percent on-year gain the previous month, according to the report by Statistics Korea.July's reading marks the first time since July 2009 that inflatio

Aug. 1, 2012

Ruling party chief renews debate on extending retirement age

Hwang calls for introduction of peak salary systemThe ruling Saenuri Party chairman Hwang Woo-yea said on Tuesday that his party would take steps to obligate all businesses to set the retirement age at 60.At present, companies are only recommended to set the retirement age at 60. The average retirement age for local firms with over 300 employees is 57.4, and people actually retire at age 53 on average, according to the Korea Labor Institute.“We will initially push for extending the legal retirem

July 31, 2012

Seoul shares jump 2.07 percent on eurozone hopes

South Korean stocks finished 2.07 percent higher Tuesday as investors' sentiment was boosted by expectations that stimulus measures from Europe and the U.S. will come, analysts said. The local currency rose sharply against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) soared 38.2 points to close at 1,881.99 Trading volume was moderate at 353.6 million shares worth 5.55 tr

July 31, 2012

Seoul shares start tad higher on eased Europe woes

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Tuesday on eased eurozone debt concerns ahead of a meeting of the European Central Bank (ECB), analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 2.99 points, or 0.16 percent, to 1,846.78 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares traded mixed with market bellwether Samsung Electronics rising 1.49 percent and the country's biggest

July 31, 2012

Korean jobseekers target 27 million won in salary: report

The average annual salary requirement of Korean jobseekers is 27.56 million won, according to a survey released on Monday by Saramin, a local online recruitment website.The survey of 1,062 Korean jobseekers showed that they preferred 27.56 million won ($24,254) on average as their annual salary requirement.The survey also revealed that 29.4 percent of the total respondents preferred working for major conglomerates while only 17 percent wanted small and medium-sized companies.Meanwhile, more than

July 31, 2012

S. Korea's industrial output growth decelerates in June

South Korea's industrial output grew in June, but its pace sharply decelerated in the face of headwinds from the eurozone debt crisis and concerns over global slowdowns, a government report showed Tuesday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries expanded 1.6 percent last month from a year earlier, sharply slowing from the2

July 31, 2012

Korea gets exclusive rights to undersea mine in Indian Ocean

Korea has secured exclusive rights to explore and develop a deep ocean mine in the Indian Ocean that can produce over $300 million worth of minerals per year, the government said Monday.At a general assembly held in Kingston, Jamaica last week, members of the International Seabed Authority unanimously agreed to recognize the country’s rights to the offshore mine that lies across an area of 10,000 square kilometers in the Indian Ocean, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Aff

July 30, 2012

Sales at duty-free shops surge in H1

Sales at duty-free shops in airports and downtown Seoul surged to a record high in the first half of the year on the back of a rise in inbound and outbound tourists, industry sources said Monday.Hotel Shilla Co., a South Korean luxury hotel and resort operator, posted sales of 956 billion won ($843 million) at its duty-free shops in the first half, up 39 percent from a year earlier.Its operating income spiked to 60 billion won from a mere 15 billion won over the cited period, according to the so

July 30, 2012

Korea, Turkey to ink FTA on Wednesday

Korea and Turkey are scheduled to ink a bilateral free trade agreement and an agreement on trade in goods on Wednesday in Ankara, Seoul’s Trade Ministry said on Monday.Trade Minister Bark Tae-ho and Turkish Minister of Economy Zafer Caglayan will sign the trade pact, which will be the ninth FTA to be signed by Korea. Turkey will be the 46th country to sign an FTA with Korea.The two countries had announced in March that they concluded the FTA negotiations, which began in March 2010.Bark is also s

July 30, 2012

Korea nears legal limit on temporary public borrowing

The government neared its legal limit for temporary borrowing ― 20 trillion won ($17.56 billion) ― due to increased loans taken out by the Bank of Korea, stoking concerns of a negative impact on the central bank’s credit and monetary policy.As of the end of June, the government’s temporary borrowing stood at 19.1 trillion won, including 8.1 trillion won in treasury bill balance and another 11 trillion won in the central bank’s outstanding loans. Treasury bills have a maturity of one to three mon

July 30, 2012

Early bird special for AMCHAM picnic

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea will hold an early bird special for this year’s Labor Day Picnic on Sept. 1.Those who register by Aug. 10 will receive discounts between 10,000 won and 20,000 won. The event is free for children under age 8. The event will be held at the Misari Motorboat Racing Park, located in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province. Visit www.amchamkorea.org for more details. (renee@heraldm.com)

July 30, 2012

Seoul shares up 0.8 percent on Europe optimism

South Korean stocks finished 0.8 percent higher Monday on optimism that European policymakers will take action to ease the debt crisis, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 14.63 points to close at 1,843.79. Trading volume was moderate at 333.1 million shares worth 3.8 trillion won ($3.3 billion) with gainers

July 30, 2012

Seoul shares open higher on eased European woes

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Monday driven by optimism that European leaders will take practical actions to save the euro, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 19.08 points, or 1.04 percent to 1,848.24 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with top-cap Samsung Electronics jumping 2.35 percent and leading c

July 30, 2012

Minister voices concern on corporate bashing

Korea's knowledge economy minister on Saturday warned that growing calls for economic democracy should not lead to an assault on local conglomerates."Conglomerates have and will continue to contribute to the local economy. (I) oppose indiscriminate attacks on those companies," Knowledge Economy Minister Hong Suk-woo said in a conference held by the Federation of Korean Industries.The FKI, led by G

July 28, 2012

KTX breaks down in tunnel

A high-speed train on its way from Seoul to Busan broke down for 68 minutes in a tunnel on Friday, news reports said. The KTX train stopped running suddenly near Busan between 3:42 p.m. and 4:50 p.m. while passing through Geumjeong Tunnel, the country’s longest, just 5 minutes from Busan station. A mechanical malfunction is believed to have been the cause but further inspection is necessary, a spokesman of Korea Railroad Corp. said.All the electric devices including air conditioning system stopp

July 27, 2012