South Korea’s terms of trade improved to a four-month high in December as import prices fell at a faster pace than export costs, the central bank said Thursday.The country’s net terms-of-trade index for goods ― a gauge of trade terms ― came in at 89.9 in December, up 1.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. It marked the highest since 90.4, tallied for August last year. The index is calculated by dividing the export price index by the import price index. The base year is

Jan. 23, 2014

South Korea’s financial regulator said Thursday it would announce next month comprehensive measures aimed at protecting personal data handled by financial firms, as the latest data breach has fueled concerns over their poor management of client information.On Wednesday, the Financial Services Commission vowed stern punishments over any data leak at financial firms, warning of heavy penalty and suspension or dismissals of top executives. “The measures unveiled yesterday are a kind of guideline, a

Jan. 23, 2014

South Korea's economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter from three months earlier but logged the fastest expansion in two years in 2013 on exports, the central bank said Thursday.Korea's gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic performance, grew 0.9 percent in the October-December period from three months earlier, compared with a 1.1 percent on-quarter gain in the third quarter, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).The fourth-quarter growth was the slowest since a 0.8 pe

Jan. 23, 2014

A state-run think tank called on the government Wednesday to step up efforts to stimulate job creation for younger people and boost their entrepreneurship through early education and training.The report by the Korea Development Institute addressed worsening labor market conditions for the younger generation.Government data showed that the employment rate among people aged 15-29 hit a record low of 39.7 percent last year.“The difficulty facing younger people in landing jobs is one of the major an

Jan. 22, 2014

South Korea’s exports are expected to grow in the first quarter of this year as the global economic recovery gains momentum, a survey of foreign buyers and assessment of trade data showed Monday.According to the leading export index compiled by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, the country’s outbound shipments should expand compared with the fourth quarter of last year.The prediction is noteworthy because last year’s export tally of $560 billion was the largest in the country’s histor

Jan. 20, 2014

Asian stocks fell, led by Nintendo Co., after China’s economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter as gains in factory output and investment spending eased.Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the nation’s biggest lender by market value, dropped 1.4 percent in Hong Kong. Nintendo tumbled 8.2 percent in Tokyo, the biggest decline on the regional benchmark index, after the maker of Wii video-game consoles forecast a surprise full-year loss. Ssangyong Motor Co. rose 3 percent after controlli

Jan. 20, 2014

South Korea’s producer prices declined for the 15th straight month in December as the local currency’s ascent to the U.S. dollar cut import prices, the central bank said Monday.The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, slid 0.4 percent in December from a year earlier, compared with a 0.9 percent on-year decline in November, according to the Bank of Korea.On an on-year growth basis, the producer prices have fallen every month since October 2012, when they fell 0.5 percen

Jan. 20, 2014

South Korean stocks closed lower Friday as investors sat on the sidelines ahead of monetary policy meetings of the U.S. and Japan later this month, analysts said. The Korean won closed higher against the greenback.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 12.84 points, or 0.66 percent, to 1,944.48. Trading volume was low at 252.7 million shares worth 3.13 trillion won ($2.95 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 428 to 347.Analysts said Seoul shares lost ground as investor

Jan. 17, 2014

South Korean brokerage houses, hit by a decline in stock turnover and a bearish run on the local stock market, have been trading near yearly lows, but going against the investor crowd may hold true for the ugly duckling shares, analysts said Friday.Shares of major brokerage houses led by Samsung Securities and Woori Investment Securities have been on a downhill road with the a subindex gauging the sector’s share prices dropping more than 17 percent since the end of 2012, as investors bet that th

Jan. 17, 2014

South Korea's international airline traffic rose to a new record high in 2013, the government said Friday, reflecting a surge in the number of passengers to and from the country.The total number of international flights to and from the country came to 380,744 last year, up 6.6 percent from 357,276 in 2012, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The country's overall airline traffic also reached a record high of some 585,000 flights last year as domestic air traffic rose

Jan. 17, 2014

South Korea will greatly increase the number of safety tests this year on fishery products sold here, including for radiation, the government said Thursday.According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the government plans to conduct 7,200 safety checks, 18 percent more than in 2013. Tests for antibiotic residues and prohibited drugs will increase the most, to over 5,700, it said.The number of tests for radiation will increase from 811 last year to 911, according to the ministry.A widesprea

Jan. 16, 2014

South Korea's exports of industrial parts surged to a record high last year as did the sector's trade surplus, the government said Thursday.In 2013, outbound shipments of industrial parts and materials reached $263.1 billion, up 3.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The amount accounts for over 47 percent of the country's total exports in 2013, which came to $559.6 billion.Imports gained 1.9 percent on-year to $165.5 billion.The trade surplus i

Jan. 16, 2014

The Korea Exchange (KRX), the country’s stock market operator, said Wednesday that it aims to run the country’s first carbon trading market starting in 2015 with some 500 firms expected to join.The KRX, designated as the sole operator of the carbon trading market, will adopt systems for emissions trading that are similar to the current stock market trading schemes. The regular trading hours will run from 10 a.m. to noon, the bourse operator said.The country has been joining efforts to reduce gre

Jan. 15, 2014

The weakness of the Japanese yen led to a decrease in the number of Japanese tourists visiting South Korea in the first 11 months of last year, data showed Wednesday.In the January-November period of 2013, 2.53 million Japanese tourists came to South Korea, down 23.1 percent from a year ago, according to Statistics Korea. In June alone, the number of Japanese tourists to South Korea totaled 201,000, down 33.5 percent from the same period a year ago. The sharp fall, especially between April and J

Jan. 15, 2014

Local builders are coming under increasing pressure as they undergo investigation for suspected bid-rigging amid difficult market conditions, industry sources said Wednesday.Insiders said the Fair Trade Commission is examining all large-scale public construction projects undertaken during the previous Lee Myung-bak administration. The FTC has not confirmed the investigations, but industry sources said at least seven or eight builders are being probed over work related to railway lines in Busan a

Jan. 15, 2014

The nation’s jobless rate rose in December from a month earlier, but job creation remained strong, raising hopes that labor market conditions might be improving, a government report showed Wednesday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, the jobless rate stood at 3 percent last month, up from 2.7 percent in November. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate also inched up from 2.9 percent to 3 percent.Job creation still remained strong. The number of employed people was 24.96 million in Decemb

Jan. 15, 2014

South Korea's jobless rate rose in December from a month earlier, but job creation remained strong, raising hopes that labor market conditions might be improving, a government report showed Wednesday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, the jobless rate stood at 3 percent last month, up from 2.7 percent in November. The seasonally adjusted jobless rate also inched up from 2.9 percent to 3 percent.Job creation still remained strong. The number of employed people was 24.96 million in Decem

Jan. 15, 2014