Conglomerates claim 61% of Korea's corporate operating profit

Conglomerates with assets worth over 10 trillion won ($8.9 billion) accounted for 61 percent of combined operating profit of all South Korean businesses last year, government data showed Thursday.The data underscored that Asia's fourth-largest economy is still dominated by conglomerates, known here as chaebol.In 2017, the country had 2,191 big companies control such large assets. They accounted for a mere 0.3 percent of the country's 666,163 companies, according to the data compiled by Statistic

Dec. 6, 2018

Rising housing prices have weaker wealth effect in Korea: report

Rising housing prices have rarely encouraged home owners in South Korea to expand their spending due mainly to worries over how they will cope with old age, a report said Thursday.According to the report by the Bank of Korea, a 1 percentage point rise in housing prices leads to a 0.02 percentage point gain in consumption growth by people who own property. The statistics were based on data between 2013-2016 when South Korea experienced a real estate market boom. By age group, the consumption elas

Dec. 6, 2018

Tax office names more than 7,100 people and companies that are evading taxes

Former South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan is among thousands of people who failed to pay more than 200 million won ($179,000) in dues, tax authorities said Wednesday.The National Tax Service made public the names of 5,021 people and 2,136 companies, and the amount of money they have not paid, on its website in an attempt to pressure them into paying their dues. The agency said those on the list owed the government a combined 5.24 trillion won in taxes.Among them, 4,300 people -- or 60.1 percen

Dec. 5, 2018

[Monitor] Consumer prices in Nov. increase 2% on-year

The consumer price index in November reached 104.73, up 2.0 percent from a year ago, according to data released by Statistics Korea.Prices of agricultural goods rose 14.4 percent on-year, while livestock product prices dropped 1.5 percent. Due to reduced fuel surcharges, prices of industrial goods dropped. But as the impact from last year’s cut in gas prices diminished, overall consumer prices continued to increase within the 2 percent range in November for the second consecutive month, th

Dec. 5, 2018

Labor resistance puts Gwangju work project into crisis

GWANGJU -- The Gwangju job project, intended to create thousands of new low-paying jobs to help fight unemployment in provincial areas, appears to have hit a snag in the face of resistance from laborers, officials said Wednesday.The project calls for Hyundai Motor to build a new assembly plant in Gwangju, about 330 kilometers south of Seoul, and hire up to 12,000 employees at half the wages the automaker's workers currently receive at its main plant in Ulsan, with the Gwangju government offering

Dec. 5, 2018

NPS’ stock holding value slips W19tr this year

The National Pension Service, South Korea’s largest institutional investor, saw the total value of its stock holdings drop drastically this year despite a slight increase in the number of investment targets, data showed Wednesday.The overall downturn was attributable to the stock market trend which has recently been reeling under uncertainties such as trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, as well as the prolonged slow growth of the domestic economy. According to local corpora

Dec. 5, 2018

Online shopping hits record high in October

The total value of online shopping in South Korea reached a record high in October, a government data showed Wednesday, in the latest sign that a growing number of South Koreans are using computers or mobile devices to buy things ranging from clothes to electronic goods.Total online transactions reached 10.04 trillion won ($9.03 billion) in October, up 36 percent, or 2.65 trillion won, from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The reading marked the highest amount

Dec. 5, 2018

US-China trade war poses biggest threat to Korean financial system: poll

Escalating trade tensions between the United States and China are the biggest risk that South Korea's financial system is now facing, a central bank survey showed Wednesday.According to the poll of 86 market watchers, financial officials, researchers and investors conducted by the Bank of Korea, 81 percent said intensifying trade disputes are the biggest problem that could harm stability in the financial system.  South Korea is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world, as it depend

Dec. 5, 2018

Economic downturn, aging population push up youth unemployment rate: report

An economic slowdown and a rapidly aging population have resulted in more South Korean youths being jobless in recent years, a report said Wednesday.South Korea's unemployment rate of those in their late 20s was 9.5 percent as of 2017, up sharply from 6.9 percent in 2010, according to the report published by the Bank of Korea. The report noted that the steep gain in the youth jobless rate came as South Korea's gross domestic product growth number dropped to below 4 percent after 2011.Its GDP gre

Dec. 5, 2018

Korean tourists ranked among top in overseas spending

Overseas spending by South Korean tourists ranks among the top of advanced economies, research data showed Wednesday.Figures provided by the Korea Economic Research Institute, affiliated with the Federation of Korean Industries, put the proportion for South Korea at minus 1.9 percent in 2016, ranking it the fifth highest among 32 member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The institute derived the proportion by subtracting overseas expenditures by South Koreans f

Dec. 5, 2018

[Monitor] Korea’s senior unemployment rate surpasses US’ this year

The unemployment rate among elderly and middle-aged workers between 55 and 64 years old in Korea reached 2.9 percent in the second quarter of this year, up 0.4 percentage points from a year ago. This was higher than the rate of 2.7 percent in the US in the same period, according to data released by Statistics Korea and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.In the third quarter, the rate inched up further to 3 percent, while the US recorded 2.9 percent.Korea’s worsening

Dec. 4, 2018

[Newsmaker] Finance minister nominee defends ‘income-led growth’ initiative in hearing

Rival parties on Tuesday locked horns over the efficacy of the Moon Jae-in administration’s “income-led growth” paradigm at the parliamentary confirmation hearing of deputy prime minister and finance minister nominee Hong Nam-ki.The hearing, however, was largely overshadowed by the ongoing brawl over the delayed passage of the 470.5 trillion won ($424 billion) state budget bill for next year.“Though there have been disputes over the income-led growth initiative, I believe

Dec. 4, 2018

Govt. to protect industries for small merchants

A set of measures will take effect next week to prevent conglomerates from entering industries that small merchants need for their livelihood, the SMEs ministry said Tuesday.The ordinance passed by the Cabinet goes into force on Dec. 13, setting the details of who can apply for industry designation, the operation of a deliberation committee that will decide on applications and any exceptions to the rules.Organizations with more than 30 percent membership by small merchants can apply for a partic

Dec. 4, 2018

S-Oil’s Al-Ghamdi named Korea’s best CEO of the year

S-Oil CEO Othman al-Ghamdi has been selected as the best CEO of the year by Korean Management Association Consulting, the company said Tuesday.Al-Gamdi became the first CEO of foreign nationality to receive the award at the annual Management Grand Awards 2018 hosted by KMAC.The firm said the CEO has been recognized for his leadership since taking office in 2016. He oversaw the completion of its residue upgrading complex and olefin downstream complex projects worth some 4.8 trillion won ($4.33 bi

Dec. 4, 2018

Hite Jinro expands distribution of Isul Tok Tok soju in Thailand

South Korean distiller Hite Jinro said Tuesday it has started selling its low-alcohol drink Isul Tok Tok at a major convenience store chain in Thailand, expanding distribution of the product in the country. The carbonated drink is being sold at Thailand’s Lotus Express, which has 1,500 stores nationwide.  With the latest launch, Hite Jinro products are now being sold at a total of 4,200 stores across Thailand, the company said.Hite Jinro said sales of soju in the Southeast Asian count

Dec. 4, 2018

Korean consumer prices rise 2% on-year in Nov.

South Korea's consumer prices rose two percent for the second straight month in November from a year earlier on increased utility and service prices, government data showed Tuesday.From a month earlier, the index fell 0.7 percent, according to Statistics Korea.The reading marks the highest since September 2017, when the comparable figure stood at 2.1 percent. Core inflation, which excludes volatile oil and food prices, rose 1.3 percent on-year.Utility prices rose 1.5 percent on-year last month,

Dec. 4, 2018

Korean economy grows 0.6% on-quarter in Q3: BOK

The South Korean economy expanded 0.6 percent in the third quarter from three months earlier, central bank data showed Tuesday, amid rising concerns over an economic downturn.The July-September growth rate was the slowest since the fourth quarter of last year when the economy contracted 0.2 percent, according to the preliminary data by the Bank of Korea.Following a 0.6 percent rise in the second quarter, Asia's fourth-largest economy has been below the 1 percent expansion line for two quarters i

Dec. 4, 2018

[Monitor] K-pop artists-turned-entrepreneurs top list of richest celebrities

There are seven celebrities in South Korea with stocks worth at least 10 billion won ($9 million) as of November this year, data from corporate tracker Chaebul.com showed.Three are celebrities-turned-entrepreneurs running the nation’s biggest entertainment companies, it said.The combined value of the stocks held by these seven conglomerates was 709 billion won, an increase in value of 55.2 percent compared with January.The value of all stocks owned by Park Jin-young, owner and executive pr

Dec. 3, 2018

Finance Ministry pressed by budget delay, minister’s hearing

The Ministry of Economy and Finance was off to a rocky start Monday, as it faced mounting pressure with the delayed passage of next year’s state budget while its new minister nominee is set to have his confirmation hearing Tuesday.A concern for the ministry is that Minister nominee Hong Nam-ki could take office without a fixed budget plan, which could weaken the momentum of the government’s economic policies.The budget bill remained pending on Monday afternoon, with opposition partie

Dec. 3, 2018

US, China ties to remain contentious, to affect Asia: Moody's

The pause in the Sino-American trade dispute may help to lower tensions, but their relations will remain contentious and will likely affect key Asian nations including South Korea, a global ratings agency said Monday.On Saturday, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping held bilateral talks and agreed upon several measures to de-escalate trade frictions, including the US cancellation of a planned tariff hike starting next year in return for China's pledge to purchase more Ameri

Dec. 3, 2018