Number of newly formed firms up 12.6% in 2014: data

The number of new companies grew by double digits in 2014 as more people took advantage of steady economic growth to go into business, government data showed Wednesday.In 2014, some 843,000 new companies were created, up 94,000 or 12.6 percent, from the year before, Statistics Korea said.Employees working for these companies reached over 1.34 million, a gain of 12.2 percent from a year earlier.The rise follows Asia's fourth-largest economy growing at a stable 3.3 percent, which is much better th

Dec. 23, 2015

Korea breaks ground on creative economic zone

South Korea on Wednesday began construction of a creative economic zone south of the nation's capital as part of efforts to promote the country's flagship economic policy.South Korea plans to invest 1.5 trillion won ($1.27 billion) in establishing the 430,000-square-meter Creative Economy Valley in Pangyo, south of Seoul, which aims to host 1,600 companies employing more than 100,000 people.The plan calls for creating a high-tech industrial park that will be linked to the nearby Pangyo Techno Va

Dec. 23, 2015

Korean housing permits surge in Nov.

South Korea's new housing permits jumped 27.7 percent on-year in November, government data showed Wednesday, a sign that the country's real estate market is continuing to make headway.The number of new home permits issued came to 62,823 last month, up from 49,181 a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.November marked the 11th consecutive month of an on-year increase, although the pace slowed from the 41.2 percent surge tallied for the previous month."The

Dec. 23, 2015

Korea to frontload 29.2% of 2016 budget in Q1 to spur growth

South Korea will frontload 9.2 percent of next year's budget in the first quarter to help prop up economic growth, the government said Wednesday.The finance ministry said it made the decision as the effect of the 11.53 trillion won ($9.84 billion) extra budget will end this year and could cause a drying up of state funds reaching the market. The injection of money is also needed as the government will again mark up excise taxes levied on cars and large consumer appliances in the new year, which

Dec. 23, 2015

Korean households' excess cash holdings shrink in Q3

Excess cash held by households and non-profit organizations here continued to dwindle in the third quarter due to a rise in demand for homes and a surge in home rental fees, central bank data showed Wednesday.Excess funds held by local households and non-profit organizations came to 20.2 trillion won ($17.24 billion) as of the end of September, compared with 24.9 trillion won three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea.In the second quarter, the amount had slipped 4.7 trillion won from

Dec. 23, 2015

Fed rate hike just one factor in BOK's rate policy: governor

The head of South Korea's central bank Wednesday ruled out the possibility of the recent U.S. rate hike immediately prompting his country to raise its own interest rate, saying that any change to the key rate depends on a number of factors."The United States' key rate is of course a very important factor to consider when deciding our key rate, but the Bank of Korea does not immediately raise its key rate simply because the U.S. does so," Lee Ju-yeol said in a monthly meeting with a group of econ

Dec. 23, 2015

Foreign investment inflow hits record high in 2015: gov't

Foreign direct investment in South Korea surpassed the $15 billion mark this year for the first time ever, driven by a free trade pact with China and more favorable business conditions, the government said Wednesday.As of Tuesday, the amount of FDI that arrived in the country reached $15.19 billion, a surge of 28.6 percent from a year earlier, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said. Total FDI pledged from Jan. 1 onwards also rose 11.2 percent on-year to $20.43 billion. "Both numbers rep

Dec. 23, 2015

Korean economy to grow 2.6% in 2016: think tank

The South Korean economy is expected to grow 2.6 percent in 2016 from this year amid a prolonged slump in exports and weak consumer spending, a major private think tank said Tuesday.The forecast by the Korea Economic Research Institute is grimmer than the government's prediction of 3.1 percent and the Bank of Korea's 3.2 percent projection. In its latest economic outlook, the think tank said the local economy "is forecast to show an L-shaped trajectory by logging a mere 2.6-percent expansion fol

Dec. 22, 2015

U.S. rate hike may have 'considerable' impact on Korea: BOK

A recent U.S. rate hike may have little direct impact on the South Korean economy but its fallout may grow considerably should it cause financial instability in newly emerging markets in Asia, the country's central bank said Tuesday."There is a possibility the U.S. rate hike will reduce global liquidity, which in turn may significantly increase the burden of newly emerging market countries to repay their foreign debts while also expanding capital outflow from such countries," the Bank of Korea (

Dec. 22, 2015

Korea's per capita coal consumption ranks 5th worldwide in 2014

South Korea's per capita coal consumption was the fifth largest in the world last year. Asia's fourth-largest economy still relies on fossil fuels for most of its energy, data showed Tuesday.The average coal use per person stood at 2.29 tons of coal equivalent in 2014, following Kazakhstan, Australia, Taiwan and South Africa, the report by the International Energy Agency showed.The amount surpasses the 2.07 TCE per capita consumption in China, the world's biggest coal consumer, and is double the

Dec. 22, 2015

Trade commission recommends slapping antidumping duties on Chinese plywood

South Korea's trade commission said Tuesday that it will recommend slapping antidumping duties on Chinese plywood made with needleleaf trees.The Korea Trade Commission said it confirmed unfair price cutting practices that distorted the market and decided to set punitive tariff rates of 4.22-7.15 percent. It said these measures would be enforced for four year.It said the recommendations have been sent to the finance ministry, which will make the final decision on what actions will be taken.The KT

Dec. 22, 2015

Card spending up nearly 10% in Nov.

South Korea's card spending grew sharply in November, data showed Tuesday, pointing to a gradual recovery in domestic demand. Purchases made with plastic cards reached 54.1 trillion won ($45.94 billion) last month, up 9.8 percent from a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Credit Finance Association. The data includes transactions on credit, debit and prepaid cards. Cash advances, overseas spending and card loans were not included.Of the amount, credit card spending increased 8.8 perc

Dec. 22, 2015

Korea, China agree to expand cooperation in carbon trading

South Korea and China agreed Monday to expand their cooperation on emissions trading that includes joint efforts to link the countries' carbon trading markets, Seoul's carbon trading market operator said.The Korea Exchange, also the country's bourse operator, said it signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation with China Beijing Environment Exchange.Under the agreement, the sides will exchange market information and share their experience."They will also work together toward market link

Dec. 21, 2015

Korean household debt rises in 2015: data

South Korean household debt rose in2015 from a year earlier as people with high incomes moved to buy homes, government data showed Monday.According to Statistics Korea, the average household was 61.81 million won ($52,500) in debt as of late March of this year, up2.2 percent compared to the year before. Of the total, 69.9 percent, or 43.21 million won, was financial loans, up 4.9 percent on-year, with the rest in security deposits that must be paid back down the line.Data showed that 64.3 percen

Dec. 21, 2015

Foreigners turn net sellers of Korean shares in 2015

Foreign investors turned net sellers of South Korean stocks this year, snapping their three-year buying streak, data showed Monday. Offshore traders sold a net $154 million on the main KOSPI market during the first 11 months of the year, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange. From Dec. 1 until last Friday, they offloaded $2.53 billion.It is the first time since 2011 that foreigners shunned local stocks. They picked up a net $5.89 billion worth of shares last year, $5.09 billion in

Dec. 21, 2015