Trump calls on Korean business leaders to invest more in US

US President Donald Trump on Sunday called on owners of South Korea’s biggest conglomerates to expand their investments in the United States during a meeting before a bilateral summit with President Moon Jae-in. Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Senior Vice Chairman Chung Euisun, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, CJ Group Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik, Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn and other officials from the business c

June 30, 2019

'Back on track': Trump, Xi agree to resume trade talks

OSAKA, Japan (AFP) -- US President Donald Trump said trade negotiations with China were "back on track" after "excellent" talks Saturday with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in which Washington reportedly agreed to hold off on new tariffs.The crunch talks on the damaging trade war between the world's top two economies came on the sidelines of a meeting of the G20 in Japan's Osaka, with all eyes on whether the pair would agree a truce. "We had a very good meeting

June 29, 2019

China, US agree at Xi-Trump meeting to restart trade talks: Xinhua

BEIJING (AFP) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump agreed on Saturday to restart fractious China-US trade negotiations, with Beijing saying Washington agreed not to slap new tariffs on its exports, according to Chinese state media.The two countries will restart the talks "on the basis of equality and mutual respect", according to the official Xinhua news agency after the two leaders met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka.  Xi opened the meeti

June 29, 2019

Trump says meeting with Xi was 'excellent'

OSAKA, Japan (AFP) -- US President Donald Trump said Saturday his high-stakes trade meeting with China's President Xi Jinping was "excellent" with negotiations now "back on track"."We had a very good meeting with President Xi of China... I would say excellent," Trump said after the talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit."We are right back on track," he said, adding both sides would be releasing official statements shortly. (AFP)

June 29, 2019

Trump tells China's Xi open to 'historic' trade deal

OSAKA, Japan (AFP) -- Washington is open to a "historic" trade deal with China, President Donald Trump said Saturday as he met President Xi Jinping, who called for "cooperation and dialogue"."It would be historic if we could do a fair trade deal," Trump said at the start of the high-stakes meeting to thrash out a tariff war between the world's top two economies. "We are totally open to it," added Trump after Xi said "cooperation and dialogue"

June 29, 2019

Seoul stocks end lower ahead of Trump-Xi meeting

South Korean shares ended lower Friday as investors remained cautious ahead of the US-China trade talks Saturday that could provide a pivotal cue for markets. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 3.7 points, or 0.17 percent, to close at 2,130.62. Trade volume was moderate at 530 million shares worth 4.2 trillion won ($3.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 533 to 269. All eyes are now on Saturday's planned meeting between US.Pres

June 28, 2019

S. Korea, ASEAN to launch science center for cooperation

South Korea and ASEAN have agreed to establish a center for science and technology partnership to promote exchanges and policy sharing programs, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Friday.  The agreement was made at the fourth meeting of the Korea-ASEAN Joint Science and Technology Committee in Indonesia. Around 30 officials in charge of S&T policies from the 10-member ASEAN nations attended the biennial event.Alongside establishing a new S&T center, they also agreed to launch an e

June 28, 2019

State pension fund logs 6.81% return rate through April

South Korea's state pension fund posted a return rate of 6.81 percent in the first four months of2019 on the back of solid performances in domestic and foreign stock markets, the fund's operator said Friday.The state pension logged a 9.97 percent investment return from the local stock market and a 20.34 percent yield from investments in overseas stocks, according to the National Pension Service. The NPS' return rates from investments in domestic and foreign bonds reached 1.42 percent and 6.

June 28, 2019

Bank lending rates drop in May

The average lending rate for fresh loans extended by banks dropped in May from a month earlier on a large dip in the rates for businesses that more than offset a slight increase in rates for households, central bank data showed Friday.The average interest rate on all new bank loans came to 3.62 percent last month, down 0.03 percentage point from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.The drop comes amid growing market expectation that the central bank may be poised to s

June 28, 2019

Korea seeks stronger ties with young, fast-growing economies of Southeast Asia

South Korea is deepening ties with Southeast Asia in hopes of creating new growth engines in the region’s young, fast-growing economies and seeking a breakthrough amid growing uncertainties in global trade. In 2017, the Moon Jae-in administration launched the New Southern Policy as its key foreign economic policy, reflecting its strong commitment to prosper with ASEAN countries -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. As a f

June 27, 2019

[News Focus] 2019 jobless rates exceed levels during decade-old crisis

SEJONG -- An election campaign pledge of President Moon Jae-in early 2017 was to create 1.31 million jobs -- 500,000 in the private sector and 810,000 in the public sector.At that time, he criticized the theory that employment should follow market principles, saying that “the (next) government (unlike past administrations) will be able to create up to 1.31 million jobs by taking the initiative (not by handing it over to the market).”In addition, he suggested that parents with prescho

June 27, 2019

S. Korea to inject W70tr to foster underdeveloped service sector

The South Korean government said Wednesday it will inject 70 trillion won ($60.5 billion) into service industries over the next five years, centered on stimulating research and development and reducing the discrimination with the manufacturing sector.“The advancement of the service sector is a matter of vitality in order for our economy to take a leap forward,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki, citing the high potential of the service industries in terms of

June 26, 2019

BOK chief takes prudence over ‘rate cut’ possibility

The chief of South Korea’s central bank on Tuesday underscored that the prolonged low inflation trend does not necessarily indicate an imminent cut of the nation’s key interest rate, while leaving the door open to “necessary measures.”The monetary policymaker’s defensive remark came amid recently mounting market speculations that the central bank is likely to soon take further easing actions to deal with aggravating external conditions, mostly caused by th

June 25, 2019

[News Focus] Korea’s agricultural products to tap America after Paris

SEJONG -- South Korea is sparing no efforts to promote its agricultural products globally, including Korean traditional dishes, beverages and alcoholic drinks.According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, “K-food Fair” held in Paris earlier this month drew wide attention from European consumers and retailers.“Twenty-one Korean producers participated in the fair in France and signed export contracts worth $17 million (19.6 billion won),” said a ministry

June 25, 2019

Average age of first-time homebuyers climbs in heated market

Escalating housing prices and tighter loan regulations have pushed up the average age of first-time homebuyers here, government data showed Monday.The average age of householders at the time of their first home purchase stood at 43.3 as of 2018, according to data submitted by the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The data was based on a survey conducted from June to December last year targeting a random sample of 61,275 household

June 24, 2019

S. Korea tipped to cut 2019 growth target next month

South Korea's finance ministry is expected to slightly cut its growth estimate for the year in the face of a delayed recovery in chip prices and the escalating trade dispute between the United States and China, sources said Sunday.The South Korean government has been adhering to the stance that Asia's fourth-largest economy will gather pace during the second half of the year on the back of an improvement in prices of chips, a major export item for the country, and expanded fiscal spending.But a

June 23, 2019

S. Korea's ICT exports down for 7th straight month in May

South Korean exports of information and communication technology products fell for the seventh straight month in May on weak demand for semiconductors, mobile phones and displays, data showed Friday.Total outbound shipments reached $14.3 billion last month, a plunge of 22.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT. Exports of semiconductors, one of the country's key export items, nose-dived 30 percent on-year to a little over $7.6 billion, ma

June 21, 2019

Hyundai, Kia top J.D. Power's annual quality survey

South Korean carmakers Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors said Thursday they have garnered the three highest marks in J.D. Power’s annual automotive quality survey. The companies said they expected the achievements to help boost sales in the United States as J.D. Power’s closely followed Initial Quality Study is widely accepted as a barometer of automotive quality.  In the 2019 IQS report released Wednesday, Hyundai Motor, its independent brand Genesis and Kia Motors, long regarded as

June 20, 2019

[News Focus] Korea’s 2019 growth may fall to 10-year low

SEJONG -- Two major economic indices under the Moon Jae-in administration have plumbed to new lows since the nation was hit by the 2008-09 global financial crisis.Those are the growth of gross domestic product in the first quarter and the current account balance in April 2019.South Korea suffered a contraction of 0.4 percent in GDP during the January-March period on a quarter-to-quarter basis.This was the worst quarter-on-quarter GDP performance since the first year of the Lee Myung-bak governme

June 20, 2019

S. Korea’s largest bills dominate cash market: BOK

Ten years since issuance, South Korea’s largest-denomination banknotes have solidified the position as the nation’s most essential form of paper money, accounting for a sweeping majority in money value and the highest proportion in volume, the central bank said Wednesday.As of the end of May, the 50,000 won banknotes accounted for 98.3 trillion won ($83.5 billion) or 84.6 percent of the total value of banknotes in circulation, while accounting for 1.97 billion in sheer number or 36.9

June 19, 2019