'Zombie companies' on rise in S. Korea

A growing number of South Korean companies failed to generate enough operating profit to pay tax and interest payments on their debt, data showed Sunday. The number of listed companies that logged pre-tax operating loss last year amounted to 541 companies, or 31.1 percent of the total, according to corporate tracker Chaebul.com. The number of companies that were exempt from corporate tax due to operating loss rose to the highest level in five years, adding 30 firms from 2010, the website said. T

Sept. 20, 2015

S. Korea, France agree to cooperate on creative economy

South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn and his French counterpart, Manuel Valls, have agreed to cooperate to improve the creative economies of the two countries.  The two leaders said Seoul and Paris will come up with specific measures for bilateral cooperation on the creative economy, as well as action plans for cooperation in each sector.  The agreement was reached during their meeting at the Hotel Matignon, the French prime minister's official residence, on Thursday.  The two leaders expla

Sept. 18, 2015

U.S. rate freeze to ease market uncertainty: vice minister

The U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to hold its key interest rate steady is expected to help alleviate continued uncertainty in the international financial market, a senior government official said Friday.   After a two-day policy meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee froze the interest rate on Thursday, citing a cooling global economy even as the U.S. economy grows steadily.   "The rate freeze is a factor that could ease market uncertainty to some degree, but financial volatility at home a

Sept. 18, 2015

S. Korea's producer prices drop in Aug.

Producer prices in South Korea shrank significantly from a year earlier in August, marking the 13th consecutive monthly drop largely caused by a cut in global oil prices, data showed Friday.   The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, reached 100.88 last month, down 4.4 percent from the same month last year, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).   The figure also marks a 0.5 percent drop from a month earlier.   The price of gasoline plunged 30.

Sept. 18, 2015

Lawmakers slam FTC over portals’ dominance

A group of lawmakers said Thursday that the antitrust regulator has been negligent in curbing the oligopoly of the nation’s two major Internet portal giants.During a parliamentary audit on the Fair Trade Commission, some members of the National Policy Committee of the National Assembly claimed that Naver and Daum Kakao have expanded their business operations recklessly by exploiting their market dominance.“Naver has captured 70 percent of the online information market. It is not a portal but a b

Sept. 17, 2015

S. Korea‘s ICT exports edge up in August

South Korea's exports of information communication technology products rose slightly in August from a year earlier on a rise in shipments of key products, data showed Thursday.  Outbound shipments of ICT products amounted to $14.44 billion last month, up 0.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.  Imports also surged 11.4 percent on-year to $7.55 billion last month, with the country logging a surplus of $6.9 billion.  The increa

Sept. 17, 2015

S. Korea sees biggest foreign exodus among emerging markets

South Korea has suffered the largest outflow of foreign stock funds over the past two months among Asian emerging economies amid concerns over a U.S. interest rate hike and turbulence in China, industry data showed Thursday. Foreign investors pulled out $5.2 billion from the South Korean stock market in the past eight weeks, the biggest foreign exodus among Asian emerging markets, according to the data compiled by the Korea Center for International Finance. India was the second-biggest loser wit

Sept. 17, 2015

S. Korea's FTAs help bolster trade in H1: data

South Korea's free trade deals helped prop up weak exports and imports in the first half amid the sluggish pace of the global economic recovery, government data showed Thursday.  Asia's fourth-largest economy reported two-way transactions contracting 10.2 percent on-year in the January-June period, with numbers for countries that have free trade agreements backtracking 6.6 percent the Korea Customs Service said.   In comparison, trade with countries that do not have an open trade arrangement dro

Sept. 17, 2015

Morgan Stanley cuts Korea's growth estimate

Global investment bank Morgan Stanley has slashed its forecast for South Korea's economic growth citing the country's sluggish exports stemming from slowing Chinese demand, industry sources said Wednesday.It expected Asia's fourth-largest economy to expand 2.3 percent this year, slower than the previously projected 2.5 percent gain, according to sources who are familiar with the matter.An economic slowdown in China, South Korea's biggest trade partner, will work to drag down South Korea's overal

Sept. 16, 2015

Public-sector debt ratio to fall below 200 pct this year: gov't

South Korea's public-sector debt ratio is expected to fall below the 200 percent mark in 2015 for the first time in five years thanks to reforms and measures taken to enhance state companies' fiscal health, the government said Wednesday.In its 2015-2019 mid- and long-term fiscal management plan, the finance ministry predicted total debt will likely stand at 496.6 trillion won ($421 billion) by year's end, down 1 trillion won from a year earlier.This will push down their combined ratio of debt to

Sept. 16, 2015

Chaebol family minors own 96.2 bln won in shares: report

Minors belonging to families that control South Korea's large business conglomerates, or chaebol, hold 96.2 billion won ($81.4 million) in shares, a report by an opposition lawmaker's office showed Wednesday.According to data provided by the Fair Trade Commission to Rep. Shin Hak-yong's office, 39 children and teenagers who are directly related to owners of 15 conglomerates had stakes in their affiliates as of Sept. 8.This translates into an average 2.5 billion won worth of shares per person, th

Sept. 16, 2015

Top conglomerates' labor costs up in H1: data

The labor costs for South Korean conglomerates have risen during the first half of the year although their bottom lines suffered a setback from an economic slowdown, data showed Wednesday. The total amount paid by 271 affiliate firms under the country's top 30 conglomerates to workers came to 33.47 trillion won ($28.4 billion) in the January-June period, up 4.7 percent from the previous year, according to the data compiled by corporate researcher CEO Score. In contrast, the companies' net profit

Sept. 16, 2015

S. Korea's economic freedom fell in 2013: report

South Korea's level of economic freedom fell seven notches in 2013 from a year earlier, a report showed Tuesday, pointing to the need for more drastic reforms to prop up the country's economic growth. The economic freedom index for South Korea stood at 7.38 out of a possible 10 points to rank at 39th place in 2013, down from 32nd place a year earlier, according to this year's report of the Economic Freedom of the World, The annual report, published by a group of 91 institutions and think tanks a

Sept. 15, 2015

S. Korean economy to grow 2.7 pct in 2016: think tank

The South Korean economy is expected to grow only 2.7 percent on-year in 2016 due to a continued downturn in exports and sluggish domestic demand, a private think tank said Tuesday.In its latest economic outlook, the LG Economic Research Institute  predicted that weak exports stemming from a slowdown in China and consumer spending hit hard by the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak will continue to weigh on Asia's fourth-largest economy next year. The think tank added that the South Korean

Sept. 15, 2015

S. Korea's household debt-GDP ratio highest among emerging markets: report

The ratio of South Korea's household debt to its gross domestic product was the highest among key emerging countries last year, a report showed Tuesday, adding to growing concerns over the country's already high level of such liabilities.The country's household credit accounted for 84.3 percent of its GDP at the end of 2014, which was well higher than 13 other emerging countries, including Malaysia with 68.9 percent, Hong Kong with 65.6 percent and Singapore with 60.6 percent, according to the q

Sept. 15, 2015

Finance Ministry urged to tackle rising national debts

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance has come under criticism for reportedly inflating its yearly growth target, which caused the government to see far less-than-expected tax revenue, opposition lawmakers said Monday.During the National Assembly’s audit on the ministry, Rep. Yun Ho-jung of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy said the Finance Ministry has set its nominal growth target of between 6 to 7 percent over the past three years.The main difference between real and nominal gross domest

Sept. 14, 2015

Seoul shares down 0.51 pct ahead of U.S. Fed meeting

South Korean stocks fell 0.51 percent on Monday as investors took to the sidelines ahead of a crucial policy meeting by the U.S. Federal Reserve on a rate hike later this week. The local currency gained ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 9.91 points to 1,931.46. Trading volume was slim at 359.48 million shares worth 4.09 trillion won ($3.46 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers at 519 to 297."The market remained bearish as investors kept a

Sept. 14, 2015

Financial regulator downplays 'September crisis'

South Korea's top financial regulator on Monday vowed to take stern measures to mitigate any potential impact from China and the United States, dismissing ballooning fears of a financial crisis this month.The South Korean economy has been rattled by speculations that Asia's fourth-largest economy may brace for another financial jolt sometime this month in the aftermath of a much-awaited U.S. interest rate hike and China's stock market rout, which are feared to further worsen the country's alread

Sept. 14, 2015

Daum Kakao denies rumors over mobile casino games

Daum Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea's most-used mobile messenger KakaoTalk, said Monday it has no plans to tap into the mobile casino market, denying earlier rumors surrounding its game business."Daum Kakao is not considering adopting casino content in the gaming platform," the company said. Rumors had it that Daum Kakao may launch gambling-related content on its entertainment platform linked to KakaoTalk, which boasts around 38 million users in the country of 50 million.Daum Kakao cur

Sept. 14, 2015

S. Korea's home rental deals fall 4.3 pct in Aug.

South Korea's home rental transactions shrank 4.3 percent on-month in August due mainly to a seasonal decline in demand, the government said Monday.In August, the number of home rental transactions reached 117,280 units, down from 122,552 units in July, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. Compared with the year before, transactions rose 4.4 percent on-year, with the number rising 1.6 percent to 1,011,164 units in the first eight months of the year vis-a-vis the same period i

Sept. 14, 2015