South Korea's trade surplus widened from a year earlier last month as the growth of its exports significantly outpaced that of its imports, the government said Sunday.In August, the country's outbound shipments came to about US$46.36 billion, up 7.7 percent from the same month last year, while its imports only inched up 0.8 percent on-year to some $41.45 billion, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The country's trade surplus reached $4.91 billion, up from $2.75 billion in Au

Sept. 1, 2013

　As seen in recent regular press conferences in the first eight months of 2013, the Vietnamese government has pointed out that the economy is showing positive signs. A fairly stable macro economy has been achieved, inflation is under control, bank interest rates have declined, credit growth has been on a good trend, challenges in production and trading sectors have been partly resolved, industrial outputs -- particularly in the processing and manufacturing industries -- have steadily improved, e

Aug. 31, 2013

South Korean tech giant LG Electronics Inc. said Friday that it has clinched a three-year sponsorship deal with German football club Bayer Leverkusen as part of its efforts to strengthen its sports marketing in Europe.Under the agreement, LG Electronics will be allowed to attach its corporate logos to the players’ jerseys and display its brand images on the walls of the team’s home stadium, the BayArena, said the company. The Leverkusen-based football club is one of the strongest teams in the Bu

Aug. 30, 2013

The South Korean government said Thursday that it has requested the World Trade Organization to begin a settlement process for the United States’ punitive duties on South Korean washing machines.“The government has relayed its request for bilateral consultation under WTO’s dispute settlement understanding clause to the U.S. side through the U.S. mission in Geneva and to the WTO Secretariat,” the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a press release.The move came after a request from Sou

Aug. 30, 2013

More than 3 in 4 bilingual professionals in Korea saw their salaries rise this year, according to a global recruitment company specializing in finding senior-level bilingual officials for multinational companies.In its Employee Insights Survey 2013, Robert Walters Korea said that 75.4 percent of the respondents saw a salary rise this year, among which 18 percent received an increase of over 10 percent, officials said Thursday.Only 3.3 percent experienced a salary decrease and for 21.3 percent, t

Aug. 29, 2013

High-level officials from Korea and four Southeast Asian countries discussed ways to cooperate in the so-called REDD+ projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by preventing forest degradation and deforestation, officials said.The Korea Forest Service opened a two-day meeting with senior officials from Indonesia, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos on Jejudo Island on Thursday.The focus of their discussion was on REDD+ activities and their positive effect on the mitigation of climate change, ac

Aug. 29, 2013

South Korea has been ranked seventh in terms of trade surplus in the first half of the year among members of the World Trade Organization on the back of decreased imports, data showed Wednesday. According to the data by the Korea International Trade Association, the country’s exports rose 0.6 percent to $276.6 billion in the January-June period, with imports down 2.8 percent to $256.6 billion. The prolonged slump in domestic demand drove the country’s imports to fall, pushing up its trade surplu

Aug. 28, 2013

The amount of South Korean land owned by foreign nationals dropped slightly from three months earlier in the second quarter, the government said Wednesday.The amount of land owned by foreign investors or companies came to 225.74 million square meters as of the end of June, down 0.42 percent from three months earlier, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The land owned by foreigners accounted for 0.2 percent of South Korea’s total area with the estimated value of the la

Aug. 28, 2013

The chairman of South Korean food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group, who had been arrested for massive slush funds, successfully underwent a five-hour kidney transplant surgery in Seoul Wednesday, the group said. Lee Jay-hyun has been taken to a recovery room of the Seoul National University Hospital in downtown Seoul after he had an operation to receive a kidney from his wife, CJ said.Lee had been behind bars since early last month under a court-issued arrest warrant pending trial on char

Aug. 28, 2013

South Korea’s 30 largest business groups plan to expand both their investment and employment in the second half in an apparent response to the government’s deregulation efforts, the government said Wednesday.For the entire year of 2013, the top 30 companies plan to invest a combined 155 trillion won ($138.8 billion), up 12.3 percent from 138 trillion won in 2012, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The amount also represents a 4 percent increase from 148.8 trillion won planne

Aug. 28, 2013

The first meeting between President Park Geun-hye and top conglomerate leaders demonstrated their common understanding on the need to quickly revive the nation’s economy.Chaebol leaders promised to expand their investment and hiring while Park indicated that she could ease her policies on large firms.Analysts said the president might have felt the need to dispel concerns among chaebol about her “economic democratization” campaign as she needs their support to revitalize the economy and create mo

Aug. 28, 2013

South Korea's economic growth inched up in July and August, compared with the second quarter, on increased exports and facility investment, but consumption still remained weak, the central bank said Wednesday.Asia's fourth-largest economy has been on the modest recovery track since the fourth quarter of last year as its overseas shipments are faring well, weathering the yen's weakness and China's slowdown, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said in its newly issued report dubbed the BOK Golden Book.The Kor

Aug. 28, 2013

South Korea's top central banker said Wednesday that global central bankers mostly agreed that current jitters in emerging markets are not likely to flare up into a major crisis although those countries could undergo difficulties in coping with turmoil.Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Kim Choong-soo delivered remarks by the world's central bankers over rout in emerging markets including India and Indonesia after joining the annual Jackson Hole policy retreat held in Wyoming, U.S., on Aug. 22-24.He said

Aug. 28, 2013