Korean businesses hasten entry into Iranian market

Korean administrators rushed to Iran over the weekend to resume the Korea-Iran Joint Economic Committee meeting after a decade, with the business delegation hoping to reap economic benefits from the end of U.S. sanctions against Iran. On Monday, the Korean delegation -- led by Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan and accompanied by the leaders of 95 companies and organizations – held two meetings with high-profile Iranian officials and businessmen. Abdolreza Zorofchian (center), chairman of Iranian ste

Feb. 29, 2016

Korean manufacturing sentiment remains low for March

Korean manufacturers' business sentiments continued to remain bleak for the upcoming month while their actual business conditions in February turned out to be worse than anticipated, a poll showed Monday.The business survey index (BSI) for manufacturing companies came to 66 for March, unchanged from the previous month when the index dipped to a seven-month low, according to the survey by the Bank of Korea (BOK).However, the performance BSI for manufacturers, showing actual performance of manufac

Feb. 29, 2016

College graduates outside labor force double over 15 years

The number of college graduates outside the labor force has more than doubled over the past 15 years due to a rise in those who gave up looking for jobs amid a prolonged economic slump, government data showed Monday.Korean college graduates who are neither employed nor unemployed reached 3.35 million in 2015, compared with 1.59 million in 2000, according to the data by Statistic Korea. Job fair in Seoul (Yonhap)From a year earlier, the number rose 4.7 percent."Companies recruit fewer workers due

Feb. 29, 2016

Korea reaffirms strong economic ties with China

(Yonhap)Before the opening of the financial ministers meeting of the Group of 20 nations in Shanghai on Friday, bilateral relations between Seoul and Beijing seemed to be touch-and-go due to geopolitical risks sparked by North Korea's nuclear test and rocket launch.South Korea and the United States started discussions on the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system following North Korea's provocations. China slammed the plan, insisting that the missile system would ta

Feb. 28, 2016

Foreigner-only casino to be built on Yeongjongdo Island by 2020

A consortium proposing the development of a casino-driven integrated resort on Yeongjongdo Island in Incheon has won the business license to do so, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Friday. The island is where Incheon International Airport is located. Inspire Integrated Resort, a special purpose company, jointly set up by U.S.-based casino operator Mohegan Sun, Incheon Airport and KCC, a leading Korean construction materials maker, won the heated bid, the ministry added. The compa

Feb. 26, 2016

[Graphic News] About 3 percent of salaried workers are high-wage earners: report

About three out of 100 wage earners in Korea receive an annual salary of more than 100 million won (about $80,000), according to a report by Rep. Lee No-geun of the ruling Saenuri Party on Thursday.The report, which was based on tax authorities’ year-end tax adjustment, showed that high-wage earners number at 526,689 out of the total 16.68 million salaried people here. By region, Ulsan, the nation’s southeastern industrial city, topped the proportion of high-wage earners at 8.5 percent. There we

Feb. 25, 2016

Major trade body vows full support for exports

The head of a major trade association in Korea said Thursday that his organization will make a concerted effort to help the country's trade volume rebound to the $1 trillion level by expanding its support for sagging exports. Korea's trade had surpassed $1 trillion for four straight years until 2014, but last year it tumbled below the mark as exports dwindled due to the global economic slowdown.In January, the country's exports nosedived 18.8 percent from a year earlier on sluggish overseas dema

Feb. 25, 2016

Korea to extend 550 bln won loans to Kaesong firms

The Korean government said Thursday that it will extend special low-interest loans worth 550 billion won ($445 million) to firms based in a jointly run industrial park in a North Korean border town that have suffered losses due to the abrupt shutdown.Earlier this month North Korea expelled South Korean workers from the Kaesong Industrial Complex and froze the assets of companies operating there a day after the South suspended operations in retaliation for Pyongyang's rocket launch. Kaesong Indus

Feb. 25, 2016

Domestic demand weak amid external uncertainty: finance minister

The Korean economy is plagued by dwindling vitality in the private sector stemming from some structural problems amid rising external uncertainties, the finance minister said Thursday."Since the beginning of the year, Korea's exports have been in the doldrums due to fast-falling oil prices, Chinese financial turmoil and Japan's negative interest rate," Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said in a meeting with heads of state-funded agencies. Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho (Yonhap)"Economic vitality in the pr

Feb. 25, 2016

Outbound travelers at all-time high in Jan.

The number of Koreans who traveled abroad reached a monthly high in January, according to figures from a government-run tourism agency Thursday. A total of 2.11 million departed the country last month, up 15.1 percent from a year ago, said the Korea Tourism Organization. It cited cheap airfare as the main reason for the jump.  Travelers seen at Incheon International Airport. (Yonhap)The number of visitors to Taiwan surged 15.9 percent to 57,700 during the cited period, as local airlines gave dis

Feb. 25, 2016

Korea’s consumer sentiment hits 8-month low

Korean consumer sentiment fell to an eight-month low in February as more people expected their future incomes to deteriorate, central bank data showed Thursday.The composite consumer sentiment index stood at 98 for February, compared with 100 for January, according to the Bank of Korea. Consumers shop at a supermarket in Northern Seoul. (Yonhap)The February reading marks the first time the index has fallen below 100 since June. A reading below 100 indicates pessimists outnumber optimists, and a

Feb. 25, 2016

Finance ministry to beef up fiscal frontloading for Q1

Korea's finance ministry said Wednesday that it will speed up its budget-frontloading efforts to pump-prime the economy struggling with faltering exports.The ministry earlier said it will spend 144 trillion won ($116.6 billion) out of the 330.6 trillion won budget for 2016 in the first three months of the year as key economic data showed that the country is facing some tough challenges.Asia's fourth-largest economy is grappling with plummeting exports in the face of a sharp downturn in oil price

Feb. 24, 2016

U.S. seeking to tag Korea as currency manipulator

The United States is moving to tag Korea as a currency manipulator at a time when the country is struggling with plunging exports, local observers said Wednesday.Korea and other countries that have consistently posted trade surpluses with Washington will likely be designated currency manipulators in the coming months after U.S. President Barack Obama signs an amendment to a related bill, according to the local observers."Korea along with Taiwan may be among the first to be designated as countrie

Feb. 24, 2016

Korean stocks down 0.1% on profit-taking

Korean shares erased earlier gains to close 0.11 percent lower on Tuesday as investors continued to opt for a profit-taking mode. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 2.14 points to finish at 1,914.22. Trading volume was slim at 324 million shares, worth 3.95 trillion won ($3.21 billion) with losers outnumbering gainers 437 to 362.The local bourse started a tad higher following overnight gains on Wall Street and rebounding o

Feb. 23, 2016

Korea's terms of trade improve on weaker import prices in January

Korea's terms of trade improved from a year earlier last month but mostly due to import prices falling at a faster rate than export prices, central bank data showed Tuesday.The terms of trade index for products came to 101.34 in January, up 5.6 percent from the same month last year, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).From a month earlier, the January figure marks a 0.6 percent rise.The index measures the amount of imports a country can purchase for each unit of exports, s

Feb. 23, 2016

BOK seeks to expand performance-based wage system

The Bank of Korea (BOK), Korea's central bank, is seeking to expand its performance-based wage system to include lower grade officials as part of efforts to boost efficiency and competitiveness, bank officials said Tuesday.A new task force on expanding the new wage system has been set up following a recent order from BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol, the officials added, while speaking on the condition of anonymity. Bank of Korea (Yonhap)Senior officials at the managerial level or higher are already subject

Feb. 23, 2016

Contract employees make up one-in-five jobs at brokerage firms: data

Contract workers made up one-in-five of all jobs in local brokerages as firms cut back on their regular workforce in the face of a prolonged market slump, data by a local capital investment organization showed Tuesday. According to Korea Financial Investment Association (KOFIA), in the five years up through 2014, contract workers accounted for between 16-18 percent of all workers, but jumped to over 20 percent as of December. It said there were some 7,411 contract employees working for 64 securi

Feb. 23, 2016

Korean stocks end flat amid profit-taking

Korean shares closed nearly flat Monday as profit-taking by institutions and individuals was offset by foreign buying. The local currency finished steady against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ticked up 0.12 point, or 0.01 percent, to finish at 1,916.36. Trading volume was slim at 261.98 million shares, worth 3.4 trillion won ($2.75 billion) with gainers outnumbering losers 470 to 331. KOSPI (Bloomberg)The index rose 4.4 percent last week, with local curr

Feb. 22, 2016