Korea, UAE agree on joint study on desalination plant development

South Korea and the United Arab Emirates have reached an agreement to carry out a joint study on developing desalination plants for the Middle Eastern country, the finance ministry here said Tuesday.In an economic cooperative meeting, South Korea's Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho and his UAE counterpart Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri signed a joint development agreement to carry out collaborative studies on researching energy-saving desalination plants and installing pilot models.They also agreed to se

May 31, 2016

PM urges Nat's Assembly to focus on economy

Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn said Tuesday that the new National Assembly should focus on revitalizing the country's economy, adding the government will take steps to work closely with lawmakers."It is regrettable that the major economy-related laws were not concluded at the 19th National Assembly," Hwang said during the Cabinet meeting.The comments come as the 20th National Assembly began work on Monday with lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties placing more emphasis on cooperati

May 31, 2016

Korean firms sign deals worth more than $3 mln with African partners

More than 20 South Korean companies signed deals worth more than $3.1 million with African partners, mostly Ugandan firms, by capitalizing on President Park Geun-hye’s African tour, South Korea’s presidential office said Monday.The deals were reached in a meeting between executives of 27 South Korean companies and more than 210 Ugandan firms and other African firms as well as multinational corporations in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, on Monday.South Korea said $3.1 million accounts more than 15 pe

May 31, 2016

Korea's global competitiveness ranking drops to 29th: IMD report

South Korea's global competitiveness ranking fell by four notches this year due mainly to sluggish economic performance and business efficiency, an international institute said Tuesday.According to the 2016 report by the International Institute for Management Development, South Korea ranked 29th in terms of global competitiveness among 61 countries surveyed.IMD is a Swiss-based institute that releases competitiveness rankings every year based on a country's economic achievements, infrastructure,

May 31, 2016

KHNP implements new management model

The Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., the nation’s largest power generator under the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp., has successfully implemented a new integrated management model, according to company officials on Sunday. When the KHNP moved its headquarters to Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, early this year, the nuclear operator started to effectively implement a new management model to level itself to international standards. The Shin-Hanul nuclear power plant is under construction

May 30, 2016

Employment policy worsens job market polarization

President Park Geun-hye’s administration has put top priority on increasing employment. In June 2013, it unveiled a roadmap to boost the country’s employment rate gradually to 70 percent by 2017.Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho, who also serves as deputy prime minister for economic affairs, last week acknowledged the goal might be unachievable.“To be candid, (I) think it may be a little difficult to accomplish the employment rate of 70 percent,” said Yoo during a lecture to a group of regional busines

May 30, 2016

More women joining, receiving benefits from national pension system

More women are getting state pensions for the elderly, now accounting for about one-third of the total recipients, the latest tally showed Monday.The National Pension Service had 3.16 million subscribers as of February this year after surpassing the 3 million line for the first time in 2015. The number compares with 2.49 million in 2011. National Pension Service (Yonhap)Of the total, elderly female recipients accounted for 995,693.This number is up from 764,719 in 2011.The NPS said more women we

May 30, 2016

BOK chief says employment, structural reform keys to growth

South Korea's top central banker on Monday called for stepped-up efforts to create quality jobs and spearhead structural reform, calling them keys to balanced and sustainable growth.In his opening remarks marking the start of an annual international conference, Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said the role of employment has shifted from supporting economic growth to one that ensures growth."I believe that the 2008 global financial crisis gave us an opportunity to rethink the importance of employm

May 30, 2016

Manufacturing confidence soars to 1-year high in June

South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment climbed to a 12-month high for June with more companies anticipating improved conditions for their financing and employment in the upcoming month, a poll showed Monday.The business survey index of manufacturing companies came to 74 for next month, up from 73 for May, according to the survey by the Bank of Korea.The June reading marks the highest level since June 2015. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists, while a reading above th

May 30, 2016

Korea’s OECD growth ranking drops to 12th

South Korea’s annual economic growth fell out of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development top 10 for the first time in nine years in 2015.Asia’s fourth-largest economy grew 2.6 percent last year, ranking 12th, behind Eastern European economies including the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, according to the OECD. The Czech Republic grew 4.2 percent last year, while Hungary 2.9 percent and Poland 3.6 percent. The country’s growth was also lower than that of small economies such

May 29, 2016

BOK to issue first commemorative banknote for PyeongChang Olympics

South Korea's central bank said Sunday it will issue the country's first commemorative banknote for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, along with coins.   The Bank of Korea said it plans to sell the commemorative banknote in the future, taking example from the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.   The bank earlier said it would start the sales of the first sets of commemorative coins in November, composed of two gold, eight silver and one bronze.    The bank added

May 29, 2016

S. Korea's economic growth falls behind fast-expanding OECD members

South Korea's annual economic growth lagged behind fast-expanding members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), data showed Sunday.   Asia's fourth-largest economy saw its annual economic growth reach 2.6 percent on-year in 2015, ranking 12th among the members of the Paris-based organization of economically developed countries.   It marked the first time since 2006 that South Korea did not make the top-10 list of the fastest expanding member states.   South Korea's

May 29, 2016

Manufacturers' sales fall for second consecutive year

South Korean companies suffered a further setback last year following a sluggish 2014, with manufacturers grappling with sales reductions amid the global economic slowdown, a report showed Friday. Sales by 19,638 companies whose assets were valued over 12 billion won ($10.1 million) slipped 2.4 percent in 2015 compared with a year ago, the Bank of Korea said in a 2015 report on corporate management.Revenue from manufacturers, the nation's main growth driver, fell 4.2 percent on-year due to a slo

May 27, 2016

[Graphic News] Polarization of small and big firms widens

The wage gap between small businesses and conglomerates is widening, indicating increased polarization between the two groups, according to a report released by the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business on Wednesday. The number of SMEs reached 3.54 million, 99.9 percent of all businesses in Korea, in 2014, a 15.5 percent increase from 2009, during which there were about 3.06 million firms. SMEs employed 14.02 million people in 2014, about 87.9 percent of the total workforce of 15.96 mill

May 26, 2016

Number of Koreans changing residences drops in April amid economic slowdown

The number of people changing their place of residence sank 13 percent in April from a year earlier, the state statistics agency said Thursday, amid a protracted economic slump and soaring housing prices.The number of people changing their residences came to some 564,000 last month, down 85,000 from the same month a year earlier, according to data provided by Statistics Korea.The population mobility rate -- the number of those changing their residence for every 100 people -- edged down 0.18 perc

May 26, 2016

New housing permits jump 16% in April

New housing permits in South Korea spiked 16 percent from a year earlier in April, data showed Thursday, amid government efforts to prop up the local real estate market.The number of new home permits issued came to 59,675 last month, up 8,330 from the same month last year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.April marked the 16th consecutive month of an on-year increase in new home permits.The sharp rise last month was driven by a robust gain in p

May 26, 2016

SM Group not buying part of SPP Shipbuilding: report

Samra Midas Group, or SM Group, has no intention to acquire part of midsized shipyard SPP Shipbuilding from its creditors, a local news report said Thursday.The business group, which owns listed shipper Korea Line and builder Woobang Construction, could not narrow differences in the price negotiation for SPP’s shipyard in Sacheon, Yonhap said. “We had estimated that additional 140 billion won ($118 million) would be needed for SPP Shipbuilding based on the result of due diligence. But creditors

May 26, 2016

Salaries at top tier firms more than double of bottom tier: data

Employees at South Korea's top 30 percent of companies in terms of sales are getting paid more than double the salaries of their counterparts in the bottom 30 percent, according to an analysis released on Thursday.Data provided by a research team of local daily Energy Economic News said the average annual salary last year at the country's top 2,000 companies, sorted by their annual sales, was 47.3 million won ($39,983), an increase of 4.9 percent.  Petrochemical firms had the highest average of

May 26, 2016

Korea's consumer sentiment dips to 3-month low in May

South Korea's consumer sentiment fell in May from a month earlier with more people expecting worsening conditions for their livelihoods down the road in the wake of revamps in the corporate sector, central bank data showed Thursday.The composite consumer sentiment index came to 99 for May, moving down from 101 the previous month, according to data from the Bank of Korea. The figure marks the lowest since February.A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists, while a reading below the

May 26, 2016

BOK chief says credibility of GDP figures falling

South Korea's central bank will develop a supplementary economic indicator to offset the limitations of gross domestic product figures, its chief said Wednesday, attributing their falling credibility to the changing landscape of global industries.In a bimonthly meeting with economists, Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol said, "GDP has been a representative indicator that shows the size of an economy, the pace of its growth and its status of prosperity. But its credibility is on the decline as it

May 25, 2016