Coming election may hamper countermeasures against eurozone crisisThe overall economy could face severe difficulties in the coming months due to a combination of uncertainties at home and abroad, according to projections by some local economists.They forecast that the government would fall short of being able to effectively cope with the worsening debt crisis in Southern European countries, mainly because Korea has to cope with election season and a new president. “For Korea, it would not be eas

Oct. 15, 2012

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Monday that it had told firms to reduce carbon emissions by a total of 17.2 million tons by the end of next year. The amount ― expressed in terms of tons of CO2 equivalent, or tCO2e ― is more than double the 8 million tCO2e target in 2012, when the ministry first set such targets. The steel, cement and petro-chemical industries are the three industries facing the largest greenhouse gas emission cut targets next year, making up 68 percent of the total. POSCO

Oct. 15, 2012

The World Bank said Monday that it will open its office in South Korea next year in order to deepen joint efforts between the two sides in finding development solutions for emerging countries.The Seoul government also agreed to launch a $90 million fund with the global lender to step up cooperation in supporting emerging countries for their development, according to heads of the two sides.The "Kor

Oct. 15, 2012

The Export-Import Bank of Korea announced Sunday that it had obtained $100 million from the National Bank of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Eximbank CEO Kim Yong-hwan and NBAD head Michael Tomalin signed the loan facility agreement on Friday in Tokyo, Japan. The contract was concluded in a favorable condition for Ex-Im Bank as international credit rating agencies including Moody’s and S&P recently upgraded their credit ratings for South Korea. “We were able to down the interest rate an a

Oct. 14, 2012

Samsung Heavy Industries has won a construction order for an 84 megawatt offshore wind farm from Daejeong Offshore Wind Power Co., the company said Sunday. However, the company did not reveal the value of the deal. To build the wind farm, Samsung Heavy will construct 14 turbines with a capacity of 7 megawatts by the end of 2014 in shallow waters off the coast of the island’s Daejeong County. Commercial operations of those wind power plants will start in 2015.“The power farm on Jeju Island will b

Oct. 14, 2012

TOKYO -- South Korea's top central banker said Saturday that emerging countries must beef up their domestic consumption via free trade agreements to maintain stable growth and help spur the global economy."Following the global financial crisis, the rapid growth rate in Asian and Latin American countries has played an important role in the recovery of the global economy," Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. K

Oct. 13, 2012

South Korea's top central banker said Friday that the country's potential growth rate is estimated at around 3.8 percent following the global financial crisis and the eurozone debt crisis.South Korea's potential growth rate, or the maximum possible rate at which an economy can grow without triggering inflation, reached around 6.1 percent between 1991 and 2000 and has largely continued to decline,

Oct. 12, 2012

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Friday following overnight losses on Wall Street as investors remained jittery over the global economic slowdown, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 0.90 points, or 0.05 percent, to trade at 1,932.19 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 0.38 percent, and top carmaker Hyundai

Oct. 12, 2012

South Korea's central bank cut the key interest rate on Thursday following the second straight month of the freeze as the local economy loses steam on weaker exports and sluggish domestic demand.Bank of Korea Gov. Kim Choong-soo and his six fellow policymakers lowered the benchmark 7-day repo rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.75 percent for October, the second rate cut this year.The October

Oct. 11, 2012

South Korea's jobless rate inched down in September from a month earlier and job creation also quickened, raising hopes that the labor market conditions are improving, a government report showed Wednesday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, the jobless rate stood at 2.9 percent last month, down from 3 percent tallied in the previous month. The number of jobs added to payrolls also acceler

Oct. 10, 2012

The Korean economy is again expected to take a beating this year on account of bleak global economic conditions. The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday lowered its forecast for Korea’s economic growth this year to 2.7 percent, down from the 3 percent it previously predicted in September. The prolonged eurozone debt crisis and lackluster performance of the U.S. economy, the organization said, were the main causes behind the revision. The IMF also slashed its projections for Korea next year to

Oct. 9, 2012

South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries has won a $3.2 billion order to build a thermal power plant in Saudi Arabia for state-run Saudi Electricity, a report said Tuesday.The world’s top shipbuilder by orders will build the 2.64-gigawatt power-generating plant over the next four years in Jeddah, Dow Jones Newswires said, citing a person with knowledge of the matter.A Hyundai spokesman declined to comment on the report.Hyundai, which builds ships, heavy machinery and plants, had set a target of $2

Oct. 9, 2012