Auto, electronic industries feeling pinch of strong won

South Korea’s automobile and consumer electronics sectors are feeling the pinch of a strong local currency that is forcing some to downgrade second-quarter earnings estimates, industry sources said Sunday.The Korean won started to strengthen against the U.S. dollar in late March and rose to 1,020.1 won to the greenback as of Friday, compared with an exchange rate that hovered in the 1,060 won to 1.070 won range in the first few months of 2014.According to Korea Automotive Research Institute, a t

June 1, 2014

South Korea’s privatization rate among lowest in OECD: report

The South Korean government ranked near the bottom among nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in terms of how far it has come in “privatization” of various public services, a report by a local think tank showed Sunday.According to the Korea Institute of Public Finance, the percentage of public services contracted out to private firms stood at just 6.8 percent of gross domestic product. This placed South Korea at 26th among 28 OECD countries checked.Contracting out

June 1, 2014

May exports slide 0.9% on fewer work days

South Korea’s exports dropped 0.9 percent from a year earlier in May while its imports rose slightly, the government said Sunday.The country’s outbound shipments amounted to $47.88 billion last month and imports gained 0.3 percent on-year to $42.53 billion, with the trade surplus coming to $5.35 billion, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.May marked the 28th consecutive month the country has posted a trade surplus.The ministry attributed the drop in exports partly to a cut i

June 1, 2014

Emerging stocks advance as technology companies rally to record

Emerging-market stocks climbed for the first time in three days as Samsung Electronics Co. led a gauge of technology companies to a record after U.S. data added to signs the world’s biggest economy is rebounding.Samsung, which gets a third of its sales from the U.S., rose 1.9 percent in Seoul. Lenovo Group Ltd. posted its longest rally since 2003 in Hong Kong as Chinese technology companies surged on bets they will benefit from the government’s dispute with the U.S. over cyberspying. South Afric

May 28, 2014

Korean economy expected to grow 3.7% in 2014: KDI

South Korea’s economy is expected to grow 3.7 percent this year, a state-run think tank forecast Tuesday, amid expectations that the economy might be recovering from a long-term slump.Reflecting recent changes in calculation methodology for gross domestic product, however, the Korea Development Institute said its latest growth outlook represented about a 0.1-0.2 percentage point downgrade from the previous growth outlook unveiled in November last year.“The actual downgrade stemmed mostly from a

May 27, 2014

Finance minister calls for more corporate spending

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok on Monday urged the business community to increase its spending and scale up investment plans to revive waning domestic demand in the wake of the Sewol ferry disaster. “Consumption-related economic indicators, hit by the public’s continuing pain over the ferry disaster, are showing signs of decelerating contraction,” Hyun said during the meeting of the public-private consultation body for creative economy.But he said cooperation between the

May 26, 2014

Korea’s trade terms improve in April

South Korea’s terms of trade improved in April from a year earlier as prices for imports fell at a faster pace than those for exports, the central bank said Friday.The country’s net terms-of-trade index for goods came in to 89.3 in April, up 0.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea.In January, the trade terms posted the first on-year decline since November 2012. The figure is calculated by dividing the index for export prices by that for import prices. The base year is 201

May 23, 2014

Monthly household income grows 5% in Q1

Monthly household income in South Korea grew 5 percent on-year during the first quarter, thanks to improving labor market conditions that led to more employment, a government report said Friday.The income of households consisting of two members or more averaged 4.4 million won ($4,300) per month during the January-March period, up from 4.2 million won a year earlier, according to the report by Statistics Korea. When adjusted for inflation, income grew 3.9 percent.The growth rate is faster than t

May 23, 2014

Korea recoups 63.5% of bailout funds

The government has recouped 63.5 percent of the public funds it spent to bail out troubled financial firms during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, the financial regulator said Thursday.The government has retrieved 107 trillion won ($104 billion) of 168.7 trillion won used from the public funds as of the end of March, according to the Financial Services Commission.The recovery rate was slightly up from 63.4 percent at the end of 2013, it added.The massive amounts of public funds were poured in

May 22, 2014

Seoul and Beijing to hold new round of FTA negotiations

South Korea and China will hold a fresh round of negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement next week, the government said Thursday.The 11th round of South Korea-China FTA talks will be held from Monday through Friday in China’s Sichuan, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.“The two sides are set to hold comprehensive, in-depth discussions on all areas of FTA from products, service and investment to regulations and cooperation,” it said in a press release.The negotiatio

May 22, 2014

Korea, Vietnam hold free trade negotiations

South Korea and Vietnam opened a fresh round of negotiations Tuesday for a bilateral free trade agreement as the countries seek to conclude their negotiations before the end of the year.The fifth round of FTA negotiations will be held in Seoul until Friday, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.“At the fifth round of negotiations, the two countries will hold in-depth discussions in each area, including products, service, investment, country of origin, customs and cooperation,”

May 20, 2014

Korea to ease regulations on entering FEZs

South Korea will lower entry barriers to its free economic zones and remove regulations on profit reinvestment, the trade ministry said Monday.Following a special meeting over the weekend, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said firms will be allowed to set up business in South Korea’s FEZs by entering into a contract with the zone operators. Under the current regulation, the firms must have prior approval from the ministry.In all, the government will eliminate 17 of the existing 58 regu

May 19, 2014

Seoul shares to continue upward move next week: analysts

The South Korean stock market is expected to continue its climb next week on the back of a continued foreign buying, although its gains may be capped due to profit-taking, analysts said Saturday.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished at 2,013.44 points on Friday, up 2.9 percent from a week earlier.   The main index, backed by massive foreign buying, continued to gather ground through the week, reaching this year's all-time high on Friday.   Analysts said a series of

May 17, 2014

Major economies set for recovery: BOK chief

Advanced economies are shifting to a recovery track, South Korea's top central banker said Friday, recounting the discussions at a Bank for International Settlements (BIS) meeting held earlier this week.Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol said that participants at the BIS meeting maintained their view on the economic recovery from a month earlier, citing positive indicators in countries such as China, Japan and the United States.After attending a G20 meeting in April, Lee said that major ec

May 16, 2014