China's 2015 economic growth decelerates to 25-year low

China's economy grew 6.9 percent last year, official data showed Tuesday, marking the weakest annual growth in 25 years. The world's second-largest economy expanded 6.8 percent in the fourth-quarter of last year, down from 6.9 percent from the previous quarter. The quarterly figure also marked the slowest expansion of the Chinese economy since the 2008 global financial crisis. Softening trade and manufacturing have fueled concerns about the Chinese economy, which has been struggling with stock m

Jan. 19, 2016

SK head to attend global economic forum in Switzerland

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won plans to attend an economic forum that opens in Switzerland later this week, the group said Tuesday, marking his first official overseas trip after a scandal surrounding his extramarital relationship.Chey will participate in the World Economic Forum, scheduled to kick off Wednesday for a four-day run in the Swiss ski resort town of Davos, where thousands of state officials and business heads around the world will gather to discuss key global agenda.SK Group said th

Jan. 19, 2016

Korea eyes nationwide sales event to boost consumption

South Korea will start another round of nationwide discount events later this month in a bid to boost domestic consumption around the Lunar New Year's holiday, the finance ministry said Tuesday.The so-called Korea Grand Sale will begin on Jan. 25 and run through Feb. 7 across the nation before the holiday, with the participation of 300 local traditional markets, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.For foreign tourists, the event will take place from Feb. 1 in duty-free shops and ot

Jan. 19, 2016

Korea's producer prices extend slump in Dec.

Producer prices in South Korea dipped to a new six-year low in December due largely to a drop in prices of industrial goods, central bank data showed Tuesday.The producer price index came to 99.06 last month, down from a revised 99.25 the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.Producer prices serve as a barometer of future consumer inflation.The December figure marked a 0.2 percent on-month drop, slowing from a 0.4 percent cut in the previous month.However, December

Jan. 19, 2016

Korea's stock day trading doubles in 2015

Day trading of shares in Korea doubled in 2015 from a year earlier as overall stock transactions rose and mobile gadgets boosted convenience for investors, the bourse operator said Monday.The Korea Exchange said day trading came to 119.4 billion shares worth 658 trillion won in 2015 on the benchmark KOSPI and the tech-laden KOSDAQ markets.Last year's trading volume was up 100 percent from 59.7 billion shares in 2014, with the turnover rising 98.7 percent from 331 trillion won, according to the K

Jan. 18, 2016

Seoul to triple R&D spending to 7 tln won

The South Korean government said Monday that it will funnel 7 trillion won into research and development activities over the next two years to foster the new growth engine industries, such as renewable energy and biofuel technologies.In its annual policy plan reported to the presidential office, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said that it will increase the government's R&D spending to 7 trillion won in 2016 and 2017 from 2.5 trillion won in 2015. Selected industries of services, cult

Jan. 18, 2016

Customer complaints rise as e-commerce thrives

A growing number of customers have been filing complaints against e-commerce operators over product quality and service in the wake of their explosive growth in recent years, data showed Monday.The Korean online shopping market has rapidly grown in the world's most-wired country to become a major retail channel, with monthly transactions reaching nearly 5 trillion won in November.The Korea Consumer Agency said it received 6,701 complaints related to digital shopping services last year, up 21.1 p

Jan. 18, 2016

Korean firms eye Iran after sanctions relief

South Korean companies are expecting to find a slew of business opportunities in Iran as the lifting of sanctions on the oil-rich nation could open up new investments to rebuild its battered economy, industry officials said Sunday. The U.N. nuclear agency on Saturday certified that Iran has met all of its commitments under last summer's landmark nuclear deal to crimp Tehran's ability to make atomic weapons. For Iran, the move lifts Western economic sanctions that have been in place for years, un

Jan. 17, 2016

Foreign stock ownership dips to lowest since 2009

South Korea has suffered the largest outflow of foreign stock funds in more than six years as China's stock market rout and plummeting oil prices added uncertainties in the financial market, data showed Sunday. Offshore investors held 403.12 trillion won ($331.78 billion) worth of stocks in the main KOSPI and tech-laden KOSDAQ markets as of Friday, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange (KRX). Their ownership accounted for 28.7 percent of the total, the lowest since August 2009, th

Jan. 17, 2016

China emerges as S. Korea's No. 2 trading partner in Q4

China became South Korea's second-largest trading partner in the fourth quarter of last year, unseating Japan for the first time, data showed Sunday.According to the data by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), South Korea's trade with China came to US$75.6 billion in the October-December period, with Seoul's trade with Japan reaching $71.7 billion. The United States was Seoul's top trading partner.South Korea's trade with Japan had been hovered above that of Japan, though Seoul's e

Jan. 17, 2016

Low oil prices feared to hurt Korean exports

A prolonged downturn in international crude prices is feared to have a negative impact on South Korea's exports by hitting emerging markets and Middle Eastern countries, watchers said Sunday.Hurt by concerns over growth of the world economy and a supply glut, oil prices sank below the $30 a barrel last week for the first time in 12 years.Falling oil prices are widely seen as a boon to South Korea, which depends entirely on imports for its oil needs, as they usually lead to lower production costs

Jan. 17, 2016

Korean youths face tight job market

South Korea's employment-to-population ratio inched up last year thanks to a rising number of new employees in their 60s, but younger jobseekers still struggled with a slack labor market, data showed Sunday. The employment-to-population ratio ticked up 0.1 percentage point to 60.3 percent in 2015, hitting the highest mark ever but failing to reach the government's 70 percent target, data by Statistics Korea showed. Employees aged 60 or over grew at the fastest clip, with 172,000 landing new jobs

Jan. 17, 2016

Korea's macroeconomic uncertainty hits 3-year high

South Korea's macroeconomic uncertainty touched a three-year high in late 2015 as the U.S.interest rate hike and China's economic slowdown have shaken financial markets across the world, the Korean central bank said Sunday. The Bank of Korea (BOK) said the macroeconomic index based on eight indicators, including economic growth, business sentiment and stock market indices, stood at 37.5 in December 2015, the highest since January 2013. The index bottomed out in the first half of 2007 but surged

Jan. 17, 2016

Seoul shares fall on China woes

South Korean shares dropped 1.1 percent to hit a five-month low on Friday as investor sentiment was again spooked by losses in the Chinese stock market. The local currency remained flat against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 21.14 points to close at 1,878.87, the lowest since Sept. 8, 2015. Trade volume was thin at 303.9 million shares worth 4.39 trillion won ($3.62 billion), with losers outnumbering winners 584 to 274.Foreigners remained net sellers for 10

Jan. 15, 2016