Korea's exports to ASEAN more than double thanks to FTA

South Korea's exports to the group of Southeast Asian countries more than doubled over the last decade as commerce and investment increased following the implementation of a free trade deal, government data showed Wednesday.Outbound shipments to the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations reached US$74.52 billion in 2016, compared with $32.1 billion in 2006, according to the data by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. With the South Korea-ASEAN free trade deal t

May 31, 2017

[Monitor] Professional women still paid less than men

While the number of women professionals increased significantly in the past seven years, their average wage compared to men remained low, a report by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics & Trade showed.The KIET surveyed the number and structure of the female professional workforce aged 20-59 between 2008 and 2015.Out of all female workers, 26.6 percent were those with professional jobs in 2015, up from 22.0 percent in 2008.Comparatively, out of all male workers, 22.8 percent were in

May 30, 2017

Regulator to ease capital rules for insurers ahead of global accounting change

South Korea's financial regulator said Tuesday it will relax some capital rules and other technical standards for insurance firms to help them better cope with changes in global accounting rules. South Korea is one of more than 100 nations that will adopt the new global bookkeeping standard or the International Financial Reporting Standards 17, starting in January 2021.  When adopted, some insurers in South Korea will face capitalization pressure, analysts said. To help insurers alleviate p

May 30, 2017

Public agencies‘ Q1 hiring undershoots target

South Korean public agencies' employment fell just short of their target in the first quarter of the year, data showed Tuesday, but they are expected to expand hiring for the rest of the year in line with the new government's jobs push.The country's public institutions hired 5,046 new workers in the January-March period, some 100 shy of their combined goal unveiled at the start of the year, according to the government portal All Public Information in One. In January, the finance ministry said it

May 30, 2017

New home permits tumble 27% in April

New home permits in South Korea plunged nearly 30 percent in April from a year earlier, the government said Monday, amid its move to limit housing sales as a way of curing household debt and rising interest rates.Construction permits issued for new homes came to 43,568 last month, down 27 percent from the same month a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. April marked the fifth consecutive month of decline. In the first four months of the year, new home p

May 29, 2017

Korea’s GDP to include digital sharing economy from 2019: BOK

With the rapid emergence of new platforms that enable peer-to-peer transactions, such as Airbnb and Uber, South Korea will start reflecting the digital sharing economy in its gross domestic product from March, 2019, the Bank of Korea said Monday.While existing digital transactions such as e-commerce and the trade of digital content are already included in the current GDP, unregistered Airbnb service providers have not been reflected in Korea, the BOK said. “The first (GDP) figure that refl

May 29, 2017

Door closed for communication with businesses

Discord over the issue of irregular workers has exposed a rift in relations between the Moon Jae-in administration and business circles.The new liberal government has not been supposed to be business-friendly as the appointment of key economic policymakers reflects Moon’s resolve to implement his campaign pledge to reform the country’s large family-run conglomerates known as chaebol. But the heavy-handed reaction by Moon and his aides to criticism by a local employers’ group of

May 29, 2017

More people, especially women, voluntarily subscribing to state pension

More South Koreans, especially women, are voluntarily subscribing to the state pension as a means to secure stable income for their senior years, data showed Monday.As of the end of last month, 317,800 people -- 48,843 men and 268,957 women -- were voluntary subscribers to the state pension plan, according to the National Pension Service. These people are not required to have pension subscriptions, which applies to people aged 18-60 and have an income, but are mostly housewives, military personn

May 29, 2017

Moon’s policy planner slams chaebol as priority to change

Slamming the conglomerates for resisting change, the Moon Jae-in administration’s de-facto transition team chief said Sunday that it was the chaebol that must first reflect on themselves to change the society.“Those that enjoy the most vested interests in our country are the chaebol. … In order to properly reform the society and achieve social harmony, chaebol’s self-reflection must come first,” said Kim Jin-pyo, chairman of the State Affairs Policy Planning Commit

May 28, 2017

SMEs led consumer goods exports in 2016: report

South Korea's exports of cosmetics, medicine and other major consumer goods were led by small and medium-sized enterprises last year, with the active establishment of new firms in the industry, data showed Sunday.The ratio of exports of cosmetics, medicine, clothing, agro-fishery products and household items by SMEs reached $19.8 billion, or 84.1 percent of the total $23.5 billion, last year, according to the figures by the Korea International Trade Association. Big businesses shipped $3.7 billi

May 28, 2017

Korea's terms of trade worsen in April

South Korea's terms of trade deteriorated slightly in April from a year earlier as a rise in export prices was offset by a hike in import prices, central bank data showed Friday.The terms of trade index for products came to 101.38 last month, down 1.1 percent from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea . The index measures the amount of imports a country can purchase for each unit of exports, showing how the country's exports are doing in comparison to others.Last m

May 26, 2017

Consumer sentiment hits record 3-year high on improved exports

South Korea's overall consumer sentiment hit the highest level in more than three years helped by a rise in exports and expectations of the new government's economic policies, central bank data showed Friday.The composite consumer sentiment index for May came to 108.0, up from 101.2, a month earlier, according to data from the Bank of Korea. The May figure marked the highest since April 2014 when the index stood at 108.4. A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists.A BOK official sa

May 26, 2017

[Monitor] Korea's old-age dependency ratio to spike

South Korea’s old-age dependency ratio is forecast to surge to some 80 individuals aged 65 and over for every 100 persons of working age (20-64) by year 2075, which will be the highest among the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.Citing the OECD indices, the National Assembly Research Service said that this means 1.25 working-age people would be financially responsible for one senior citizen 60 years from now.Currently, as of 2015, the comparative ratio is

May 25, 2017

Employers blast zero irregular workers plan

The Korea Employers Federation on Thursday strongly criticized the new government’s policy to eliminate irregular working positions, contending it would further divide the gap between small and large firms. KEF Vice Chairman Kim Young-bae expressed his concerns regarding the Moon Jae-in administration’s pledge to regularize irregular workers at public firms, saying it has negative impacts on job creation and small businesses, during a forum in Seoul on Thursday.  Less than a mon

May 25, 2017

BOK to lift growth forecast in July, keeps rate on hold

The Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said on Thursday that the central bank is likely to revise up the nation’s 2017 growth forecast in July from its April projection of 2.6 percent, citing robust exports and investment.“The economic recovery in April was better than expected. Although private consumption is still weak, exports, facility investment and construction are on a robust trend. Exports and investment are likely to continue to improve going forward,” Lee said at a press

May 25, 2017

Korea's income disparity widens in 2016

South Korea's income disparity widened significantly last year despite the government's efforts to narrow the gap between the rich and poor, government data showed Thursday.The Gini coefficient of total income of an average household stood at 0.353 in 2016, up from the previous year's 0.341, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The numbers for household's disposable income, which involves tax payments and government subsidies and pensions, was 0.304 in 2016, up from 0.295 a year e

May 25, 2017

BOK holds key rate steady at 1.25% in May

South Korea's central bank on Thursday held its key rate steady in May as the new government is pushing to expand fiscal spending to help revive Asia's fourth-largest economy.In a widely expected move, the monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea unanimously voted to keep the key rate at 1.25 percent, extending its wait-and-see approach for the 11th consecutive month. In June last year, South Korea's central bank made a surprise rate cut, citing a need to stimulate the lackluster economy amid

May 25, 2017

Korea's dependency ratio to rise fast: report

South Korea's dependency ratio is expected to spike over the next 60 years in line with its fast aging population, becoming the highest among major advanced economies, a report said Thursday.Asia's fourth-largest economy is forecast to have a dependency ratio of some 80 people in 2075, the highest among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to the report by the National Assembly Research Service. That means that 1.25 working-age people should support the

May 25, 2017

[Monitor] Top conglomerates’ operating profits soar

The operating income of South Korea’s top 10 conglomerates surged by more than 80 percent on-year in the first quarter of this year, according to Chaebul.com, Wednesday.The combined operating income of the groups’ 89 nonfinancial subsidiaries increased to 17.9 trillion won ($15.9 billion) with their debt servicing capabilities significantly improved. The country’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor Group was the only one that suffered a setback, with the operating profit dropping

May 24, 2017

[Photo News] Recruitment exhibition for mid-sized companies take held at COEX

May 24, 2017