Korea's deficit in intellectual property rights narrows in Q1

South Korea's deficit in the trade of intellectual property rights narrowed from a year earlier in the first quarter on the back of a sharp cut in shortfalls from industrial property rights, data showed Wednesday.In the January-March period, South Korea posted a trade deficit of $780 million in intellectual property rights, down 60.4 percent from $1.97 billion from the same period last year, according to the Bank of Korea. (Yonhap)South Korea exported $2.8 billion and imported $3.58 billion in i

Aug. 24, 2016

Finance minister urges parliament to pass extra budget bill

Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho on Wednesday said the National Assembly must speed up deliberation to pass the extra budget plan, adding that the fund must be distributed as soon as possible to effectively revitalize the national economy.Political parties, including the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, failed to put the extra budget bill of 11 trillion won ($9.82 billion) to a vote by Monday's deadline.Yoo said the parties must promptly pass the bill, noting that th

Aug. 24, 2016

Index shows Korea's exports slowing

South Korea’s terms of trade slightly improved last month, according to preliminary data by the Bank of Korea on Tuesday.The terms of trade -- an index that measures a country’s trade performance by comparing the amount of exports and imports -- stood at 100.09 in July, up 0.4 percent from a year ago, indicating that the country is exporting more than spending on imports.However, the central bank noted that the improvement was mostly due to “a bigger drop in import prices than export prices” on

Aug. 23, 2016

Korea, Japan see heightened possibility of resuming swap line

Speculation has been raised here that Japan may propose to reopen a currency swap line with South Korea that was closed in February 2015, during a meeting of finance ministers from the two countries in Seoul this weekend.Observers say it is possible for Tokyo to make the proposal as part of efforts to draw Seoul closer to it at a time when South Korea sees relations with China fraying over its decision to introduce an advanced U.S. missile defense system.Tokyo announced earlier this month it wou

Aug. 23, 2016

[Monitor] Refiners show decent profitability in H1

South Korean refiners, such as S-Oil and SK Innovation, made decent profits in the first half of the year, driven by better-than-expected sales and relatively high cracking margins, according to data compiled by market researcher CEO Score on Monday.

Aug. 22, 2016

Korean economy ridden with downside risks: think tank

The South Korean economy is expected to attain 2.6 percent growth this year, the same rate recorded in 2015, as sluggish domestic spending and shrinking exports continue to weigh on Asia's fourth-largest economy, a local think tank said Monday.Its growth will likely slow to 2.4 percent in the second half following an estimated 3 percent growth in the first half, the Korea Institute of Finance said in a report."Private consumption is expected to post 1.4 percent growth in 2016, lower than 2.2 per

Aug. 22, 2016

Foreign shopping sites preferred for cheaper price tags: poll

South Koreans, who make direct purchases of foreign goods, prefer overseas online shopping malls over local retailers to get better deals, especially on luxury goods, and baby and health products, a survey showed Monday.According to the survey conducted by the Korea Consumer Agency on 1,000 consumers, 80 percent used international online stores to buy cheaper products, considering their price tags are an average of 31.7 percent lower than those offered by domestic retailers. The respondents used

Aug. 22, 2016

Korea to present road map for new energy business in global conferences　

Since the Paris Climate Agreement last year, Korea has been sparing no effort to take preemptive policy action to brace for a low-carbon economy. The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy has been formulating policies to develop new energy businesses and putting them into practice with the aim of not only fighting climate change, but also nurturing the nation‘s new growth engine. In September, it will have a chance to present its roadmap for the new energy industry development to the world thro

Aug. 22, 2016

Korea’s household savings increase twofold on weak economy

South Korea’s economy saw its household saving rate increase among the fastest in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to the OECD.The OECD forecast that Korea’s household saving rate is expected to increase more than twofold this year, compared to four years ago, from 3.9 percent in 2012 to 8.66 percent in 2016. This would rank Korea as the fifth highest in the OECD following Switzerland with 20.13 percent, Sweden with 16.45 percent; Luxembourg with 17.48 percent

Aug. 21, 2016

Monthly household spending stays flat in Q2

South Korea's monthly household spending stayed flat in the second quarter from a year ago amid a protracted economic slowdown, a government report showed Friday.An average household spent 2.49 million won ($2,245) per month in the April-June period, remaining unchanged from the same period a year earlier, according to the report by Statistics Korea.The average consumption propensity, or the ratio of total consumption spending to disposable income, stood at 70.9 percent, down 0.7 percentage poin

Aug. 19, 2016

Korea to reorganize policy on FEZs to attract more investors

South Korea's trade minister on Friday said the government will revamp its policy on free economic zones to attract more investors as the special areas have failed to offer enough incentives to attract local and foreign companies."FEZs played a role in leading South Korea's economic development to some extent, but their achievements have failed to meet our expectations," Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan said in a breakfast meeting with local experts and businessmen in Incheon, on the western outski

Aug. 19, 2016

Producer prices drop in July

South Korea's producer prices dropped slightly from a year earlier in July on a large cut in prices of coal and petroleum products, central bank data showed Friday.The producer price index for July came to 98.95, down 2.4 percent from the same month last year, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.Producer prices serve as an indicator of future consumer inflation.The July index marked a slight decrease from a revised 99.02 in the previous month.Prices of manufactured goods lost 0.

Aug. 19, 2016

50,000-won note balance tops record 70 tln won: BOK

The volume of 50,000-won ($45.15) notes in circulation has exceeded 70 trillion won for the first time on growing demand and increased supply, the central bank's data showed Thursday.The outstanding balance of South Korea's highest-denominated banknote, came to 70.43 trillion won as of the end of July, up 0.8 percent from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. Since the bill was introduced in June 2009, its supply has been on a rapid rise. The amount totaled 60 trillion won in Septembe

Aug. 18, 2016

Fiscal plan inadequate to cover welfare spending

Finance Ministry officials have suggested the national budget will exceed 400 trillion won ($364 billion) for the first time next year, while reassuring the state debt will still be held below 40 percent of gross domestic product.A senior ministry official said last week the 2017 budget would increase by more than 3.5 percent from this year’s 386.4 trillion won to hover slightly above the 400 trillion won mark.The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that, despite the planned inc

Aug. 17, 2016

[Monitor] Top 10 groups cut 4,700 employees in H1

Some 4,700 employees were let go in the first half of the year at listed affiliates of South Korea’s top 10 conglomerates, according to data compiled by corporate tracker Chaebul.com on Wednesday. Two-thirds of the jobs lost were reported to be from the shipbuilding sector, which has been hard-hit by the prolonged slump.

Aug. 17, 2016

Foreign subscribers to national pension program tops 260,000

The number of foreign residents in South Korea subscribing to the country's national pension program has reached over 260,000, but the number represents only a fraction of foreigners here, a lawmaker said Wednesday.As of end-May, the number of subscribers with foreign citizenship came to 264,651, the highest number since the national pension program was launched in 1988, Rep. Kim Sang-hoon of the ruling Saenuri Party said, citing related data from the National Pension Service.The government bega

Aug. 17, 2016