Korea’s economic recovery lost some steam recently, with production and consumption slowing at home and exports continuing to get pounded by global trade woes, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday. In its latest monthly economic survey, the ministry expected the pace to pick up later this year, if and when the government’s fiscal stimulus and consumption-boosting steps exert their anticipated effect. “With industrial output sluggish, Korea’s economy is undergoing a correction in consumption, due

March 9, 2016

One out of three Korean people living alone skip breakfast, indicating they have abnormal eating habits and are vulnerable to malnutrition, a survey showed Wednesday.According to a survey of 500 single-person households and 500 households with more than two members by the state-run Korea Rural Economic Institute, 33.5 percent of those living alone eat no breakfast, nearly double the 18.1 percent of the other group. In particular, 44.2 percent of the singles aged 30 or younger skip breakfast.They

March 9, 2016

Korea's industrial production and domestic demand have remained sluggish in recent months, but they are expected to slightly recover later this year, the finance ministry said Wednesday.A protracted slump in the nation's exports is also expected to ease, while the recent government decision to extend the individual consumption tax cut may have a positive effect on domestic consumption, said the ministry in its latest economic assessment report called the Green Book.According to the report, retai

March 9, 2016

The head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry called on the National Assembly to act on a set of economic bills before the closure of the parliamentary extraordinary session this week.“It is regrettable that the debate on pending economic bills in the Assembly has stopped,” KCCI chairman Park Yong-maan said in a meeting with a group of reporters on Monday. KCCI chief Park Yong-maan meets the press in Seoul on Monday.　Among more than 10 pending bills aimed at economic revitalization and

March 8, 2016

Korea has the thickest glass ceiling in the corporate world, out of the 30 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to an OECD report released on Monday.The report showed that the proportion of male executives to all employees was 2.4 percent in 2014 while the proportion of female executives stood at 0.4 percent.Among the nation’s 348 major companies, there were 273 (2.3 percent) female executives as of June last year. On the other hand, there were 11,447 (

March 7, 2016

The Korean economy has entered a slowdown mode due largely to faltering exports and flaccid domestic consumption coupled with waning global demand, a state-run think tank said Monday."Korea's major indicators exhibited continuing sluggishness, signaling a gradual deceleration in economic growth," the Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in its monthly evaluation of the country's economic conditions."Exports declined continuously due to slowing global growth. As a result, mining and manufacturi

March 7, 2016

The number of new companies kicking off operations in Korea advanced 1.7 percent on-year in January, data showed Sunday, marking a record-high figure for the month.According to data compiled by the state-run Small and Medium Business Administration (SMBA), the number of new businesses in the country reached 8,210 in January, compared to the 8,070 posted a year earlier.The growth, however, marked a sharp decrease from the 10 percent on-month increase posted in December.The SMBA said the slowed gr

March 6, 2016

The U.N. Security Council’s tougher economic sanctions against North Korea is expected to deal a serious blow to North Korea’s economy as they include a ban on the North’s major export items like coal and iron ore.According to a report released by South Korea’s Trade-Investment Promotion Agency on Thursday, North Korea’s external trade amounted to $7.6 billion in 2014 but its deficit widened to $1.29 billion, a 41 percent increase from a year earlier.North Korea’s major export goods included min

March 3, 2016

Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Thursday exchanged views with local business leaders on doing trade with China to help them find ways to better penetrate the world's second largest economy.During a meeting with eight company executives and related government officials, Hwang explored policy options to better assist companies in expanding exports, the Prime Minister's Office said.  Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn (Yonhap)Hwang stressed the importance of utilizing the bilateral free trade pact which

March 3, 2016

Although overshadowed by the hotly debated antiterror bill, a raft of key bills pertaining to various aspects of Corporate Korea passed through the National Assembly on Thursday. Among them, four bills that govern corporate restructuring, moneylending, insurance fraud and executive pay disclosure hold particular significance for their expected impact on businesses and individuals, particularly at this time of economic hardship. Lawmakers attend a plenary session at the National Assembly in Seoul

March 3, 2016

South Korea’s industrial output fell for a third consecutive month in January, a government report showed Wednesday.Output declined 1.2 percent from a month earlier, but moved up 1.8 percent from the same month in 2015, according to Statistics Korea.  Workers assemble a car at a local auto plant. (Yonhap)Production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries dropped 1.9 percent last month from a year earlier. Communications equipment production tumbled 24.5 percent from a year e

March 2, 2016

Pinched by weak overseas demand and low oil prices, South Korea’s exports plummeted 12.2 percent in February compared to the same month a year before, continuing the double-digit fall trend for the third straight month. The country’s overall outbound shipments tumbled to $36.4 billion last month from $41.5 billion in the same month last year, according to a monthly trade report by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Tuesday.The February figure showed a slight improvement from January’s 18.

March 1, 2016

Debt-to-income ratio of deficit households, whose spending is higher than their disposable income, reached 42 percent 2014, according to a report released by the LG Economic Research Institute on Monday. The proportion of income spent on debt repayments is far higher than the overall figure for all households of 28.3 percent.The ratio for households in deficit has risen steeply since it exceeded 30 percent for the first time in 2009, peaking in 2013, when their DTI ratio hit 42.7 percent. “Consi

Feb. 29, 2016