Hike in penalties against financial firms approved

South Korea's Cabinet on Tuesday approved raising fines that can be slapped against financial firms over violations in public disclosures, state regulators said. Under the tougher rules, fines will be raised by about two to three times their current levels from Oct. 19 if financial firms violate relevant laws on public disclosures or obstruct probes by financial authorities, the Finance Services Commission said in a statement. Along with the tougher regulation, the Cabinet approved nine other re

Oct. 10, 2017

Recalled goods producers required to inform public through SNS, TV ads: FTC

The government said Tuesday it has revised regulations to require manufacturers of recalled products to provide consumers with timely information of problems found through SNS messages and TV commercials.The new regulations also stipulate automobiles, livestock products, manufactured goods, bottled water, cosmetics and consumer chemical products should have health hazard classification, the Fair Trade Commission said.Only foods, medicine, medical equipment and health foods are currently subjecte

Oct. 10, 2017

Korea's consumer goods losing ground in China

China's imports of consumer goods from South Korea all shrank except for a handful of products despite a rise in demand for similar goods made in other countries, a report from a trade group said Tuesday.The report from the Beijing office of the Korea International Trade Association said South Korea accounted for 3 percent of all consumer goods imported by China in the January-July period of this year. Detailed data for the top 20 consumer products showed that global shipments to China during th

Oct. 10, 2017

Finance chief appeals for religious taxation

South Korea's finance chief expressed thanks to a Confucian leader Tuesday, following a positive response to the idea of levying taxes on local clergy.Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon delivered his appreciation in Seoul to Kim Young-geun, head of Sung Kyun Kwan, a body that advocates for Confucianism. Sungkyunkwan was a Confucian academy in the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Kim also said he will listen to any concerns about the religious taxation that is set to take effect in January. The polic

Oct. 10, 2017

Data shows Korea's presence shrinking in Chinese import market

South Korea's share in the Chinese import market is weakening, likely to fall to under 10 percent this year despite strong exports to the neighbor country led by semiconductors and petrochemicals, trade data showed Tuesday.Statistics from the Korea Center for International Finance, data firm CEIC and the trade industry said South Korean products accounted for 9.4 percent of China's imports in monetary terms for the January-August period this year.South Korea's market share in Chinese imports had

Oct. 10, 2017

Imports of e-cigarettes rose sharply since conventional tobacco tax hike in 2015: data

Imports of electronic cigarettes more than doubled after the government raised taxes on conventional tobacco in 2015 to discourage smoking, government data showed Tuesday.Industry sources attribute the sharp rise to smokers switching to e-cigarettes which are exempted from higher taxes.The government increased taxes on cigarettes by 2,000 won ($1.70) per pack from Jan. 1, 2015, raising the price to 4,500 won per pack, and compelled tobacco companies to place graphic images showing the harmful ef

Oct. 10, 2017

BOK chief says talks under way with China over currency swap deal

South Korea and China were to hold another meeting Tuesday to discuss whether to extend the existing currency swap deal, the head of South Korea's central bank said.Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said an expiration is not necessarily all that important as the two sides are holding negotiations on the deal."It would be good if everything is concluded before the existing deal expires, but it may not be the case (in the process of consultations)," Lee told reporters at the BOK headquarter

Oct. 10, 2017

N. Korea risk emerged as economic recovery confidence gained speed: BOK chief

The North Korea risk triggered by the country's nuclear and missile provocations emerged as confidence in South Korea's economy started to gain some momentum, the head of the central bank said Monday.Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol, after chairing an economic-financial assessment meeting, said that there is a need to carefully keep tabs on uncertainties surrounding Pyongyang. Local media has been pressing the BOK in regards to the overall health of the economy, which could allow the central bank

Oct. 9, 2017

Construction industry in deepening slump

Korean builders are struggling with deteriorating conditions at home and abroad, raising concerns over the impact of the slumping construction industry on the country’s economy.Local construction orders dropped 3.4 percent from a year earlier in August, following a 33.6 percent decrease in the previous month, according to data from Statistics Korea. The value of accomplished construction works across the country also declined 2 percent on-month in August.This downward trend is set to

Oct. 9, 2017

Korea's growth to hover under 1% range for two quarters: data

Slowdown in South Korea's economic recovery is expected to cause the country's growth rate to hover under 1 percent for the second quarter in a row, forecast data by the government, central bank and local think tanks showed Monday.According to the estimates, economic growth for the third quarter will likely be in the mid zero percent level, and be similar to the 0.6 percent numbers tallied for the April-June period of this year. The latest predictions based on data provided by the Bank of Korea,

Oct. 9, 2017

Korean economy in slow expansion stage: budget office

The South Korean economy is currently in an expansionary stage that is notable for being very long and sluggish, the parliamentary budget office said Monday.The report by National Assembly Budget Office based on various official coincident composite and cycle of coincident indices, showed Asia's fourth-largest economy hit bottom in early 2013 and has been making a comeback ever since."The economy has effectively expanded for 52 months as of July," NABO said. It added this is the longes

Oct. 9, 2017

One in three Koreans in debt as they borrowed by to buy houses: report

One in three South Koreans have borrowed money to buy houses, and they took a greater amount of loans than other debtors, becoming one of the main reasons behind the ballooning household debt in Asia's fourth-largest economy, a report showed Monday. A total of 18.57 million South Koreans, 36 percent of the total population, borrowed 1,439 trillion won ($1.2 trillion) from local lenders as of June, with each holding 77.47 million won of debt on average, according to the office of Rep. Chung Sye-k

Oct. 9, 2017

Export of ramyun, beer, dried laver to China surge despite THAAD row

Exports of South Korean ramyun instant noodles, beer and dried laver to China have surged despite the diplomatic row over the deployment of an advanced anti-missile system here, government data showed Monday.According to data provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Rural Affairs exports of the three products from January through August of this year reached to around $150 million. This is equivalent to 18 percent of the country's processed food and farm exports in the same period that was v

Oct. 9, 2017

Number of Korea’s self-employed fourth-highest in OECD

The number of self-employed South Koreans who run businesses without any employees is the fourth-largest among the world’s major nations, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Sunday. 　According to the OECD’s Entrepreneurship at a Glance 2017 report, the number of self-employed workers in Korea was 3.98 million, the fourth-highest among all 35 OECD member countries as well as Lithuania, Romania and South Africa. 　The country’s numbe

Oct. 8, 2017

Korean chaebol's overseas subsidiaries increase gradually in recent years: report

The number of local subsidiaries established abroad by South Korea's 30 biggest business groups rose gradually in recent years, a report said Sunday, as they actively made inroads into overseas markets to survive the keen competition.The figure surged to 3,332 last year from 2,650 in 2013 and 3,053 in 2015, according to market researcher Chaebol.com. Chaebol refers to South Korea's major business groups.By country, China accounted for the biggest share with 753 or 22.1 percent of the total. 

Oct. 8, 2017

S. Korea, US agree to begin process to amend FTA

South Korea and the United States agreed Wednesday to begin a process to amend their free trade agreement at Washington's request, Seoul's trade ministry said.The agreement was reached during talks in Washington led by South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the ministry said in a statement. "The two sides shared an understanding of the need to amend the free trade agreement to further strengthen the mutual benefits of the Korea-US FTA,"

Oct. 5, 2017

Prices of imported food soar over Chuseok

Driven by high demand for overseas products during the long Chuseok holiday, the import prices of certain food items soared, according to data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. According to KCS’ data, import prices of seafood and livestock products, such as US beef, saw a significant spike compared to last year, with the prices of some food items increasing by more than 100 percent. In particular, the import prices of king crab and croaker fish more than doubled in a year, the data sh

Oct. 3, 2017

Growth policy refocused as economy weakens

Data released last week pointed to the deepening sluggishness of the Korean economy, strengthening the case for readjusting the new administration’s policy focused on expanding welfare benefits and guaranteeing higher wages and a more secure job status for employees.Retail sales and facility investment fell 1 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, from a month earlier in August, according to the data from Statistics Korea.Accomplished construction work also recorded an on-month drop of 2 p

Oct. 2, 2017

South Korea’s economy faces multiple challenges after Chuseok

South Korea’s hope upon this year’s 10-day Chuseok holiday was that the long break would boost consumption and revive the domestic market momentum, but external risks mean that the nation’s economic prospects for the last quarter of the year remain murky.The foreseeable challenges include the ongoing dissent between Korea and the US over their bilateral trade deal, the imminent expiration of the Korea-China currency swap agreement, and impact on the markets from escalating mili

Oct. 2, 2017

More than 10 mln S. Koreans swipe credit cards overseas

More than 10 million South Koreans swiped their credit cards in foreign countries in 2016 on a sharp rise in overseas travelers, a report showed Monday.A total of 10.79 million people made overseas purchases worth 16.35 trillion won through credit cards in 2016, up from 9.19 million a year ago, according to the report by Rep. Park Kwang-on from the ruling Democratic Party. The number of overseas credit card users has been on a steady rise for years: 5.55 million in 2012, 6.36 million in 201

Oct. 2, 2017