Korea's economy facing uncertainties despite signs of recovery

South Korea's economy is still facing uncertainties, although it has shown signs of recovery, the nation's financial regulator said Friday. The South Korean economy expanded 0.9 percent in the first-quarter of this year, growing at the fastest pace since the second-quarter of last year, the Bank of Korea said this week.  "There are estimates that show signs of recovery in exports and facility investment," Zhin Woong-seob, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, said at a me

April 28, 2017

Govt. moving to check Trump's statement to scrap Seoul-Washington FTA

The South Korean government is trying to figure out the exact meaning of US President Donald Trump's statement that he will fix or scrap a bilateral free trade deal between the two countries, officials here said Friday.In an interview with Reuters, Trump called the South Korea-US free trade agreement "horrible," saying, "We are going to renegotiate that deal or terminate it." His comments came days after Vice President Mike Pence said earlier that Washington will review and r

April 28, 2017

Trump's remarks on FTA with Korea could trigger protectionism: biz lobby

South Korean businesses on Friday expressed serious concerns that US President Donald Trump's remarks on the bilateral free trade deal could trigger protectionism worldwide. In an interview with Reuters, Trump said he will either renegotiate or terminate the five-year-old trade agreement with South Korea, calling it "horrible" and "unacceptable."  He said his administration aims to renegotiate the trade pact with South Korea after it completes a revamp of the North Ameri

April 28, 2017

BOK to keep monetary easing policy to support growth

South Korea's central bank pledged Friday to keep the current monetary easing policy to support growth in Asia's fourth-largest economy. For this month, the Bank of Korea kept its key rate at an all-time low of 1.25 percent for the 10th consecutive month after dropping the rate to its lowest level to bolster the lackluster South Korean economy.The BOK will "maintain its stance of monetary policy accommodation as the inflationary pressures on the demand side are not expected to be high given

April 28, 2017

ASEM economic ministers to discuss measures against trade protectionism

Joint countermeasures against trade protectionism will be a central agenda item at an economic ministerial meeting of Asian and European countries in Seoul later this year, trade ministry officials said Friday.Senior officials from member states of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) met in Seoul on Friday to discuss topics for the ASEM Economic Ministers' Meeting, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said. The ministerial meeting is scheduled in Seoul on Sept. 21-22.Officials said participants

April 28, 2017

Sharing economy expands presence in Korea

Lee Eun-hee, a 38-year-old lawyer, decided to visit Osaka in Japan with a friend in early November last year and set a new motto for this trip: spend less money on sleeping and focus more on eating and shopping.She downloaded the Airbnb application on her smartphone and searched for a suitable room close to a subway station and the large shopping districts of Dotonbori and Namba. On the app, it shows a list of apartments and guest houses uploaded by homeowners who have spare rooms or houses to s

April 28, 2017

Korea's seaport cargo up 3.8% in Q1

Cargo processed at South Korean seaports rose slightly during the first three months of 2017 from a year earlier amid a steady increase in exports, government data showed Friday.Cargo handled at the country's seaports came to 389.92 million tons in the January-March period, up from 375.64 million tons tallied a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Non-container cargo rose 3.1 percent on-year to 278.54 million tons during the three-month period, while conta

April 28, 2017

Korea's manufacturing sentiment up for May

South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment for next month improved slightly as local companies expect steady gains in domestic demand and exports, data by the central bank showed Friday.The business survey index of manufacturing firms came to 84 for May, up from 82 for April, according to the Bank of Korea.A reading over 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists, while a reading below the benchmark means the opposite. An index measuring local firms' sentiments toward exports came to 93 for ne

April 28, 2017

Korea to sell W7.75tr state bonds in May

South Korea plans to sell a combined 7.75 trillion won ($6.84 billion) in state bonds next month, the finance ministry said Thursday.The government will issue 1.8 trillion won in bonds with a maturity of three years and 1.9 trillion won in five-year bonds.It also plans to sell 1.8 trillion won worth of 10-year Treasurys and a combined 2.25 trillion won of bonds with a maturity of between 20 and 30 years.For June, the ministry said it is planning to issue a total 8 trillion won worth of state bon

April 27, 2017

FTA with Vietnam to boost exports on tariff removals

The three-year-old free trade agreement with Vietnam will allow South Korean companies to further increase their auto, steel and petrochemical exports on tax removal or cuts, customs experts said Thursday. In a seminar held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in central Seoul, customs experts called on Korean companies to aggressively take advantage of tariff benefits in the third year of the bilateral free trade pact with Vietnam and afterwards."Exports to South Korea's major mar

April 27, 2017

Number of unemployed elderly hits record high: data

The number of unemployed people aged 65 or older hit a record high in recent months, government data showed Thursday, amid the lack of proper job openings for senior citizens,m whose number has been growing rapidly in recent years. The number of jobless people aged 65 or older rose to 123,000 for the first quarter this year, up 31,000 from a year earlier, according to the Statistics Korea data.The figure is the highest since Statistics Korea began compiling related numbers in 1999. The comparabl

April 27, 2017

Supplementary budget seems unlikely option

Attention is being drawn to whether a new administration to be installed following the May 9 presidential election will push to draw up a supplementary budget this year.With the country’s economy showing signs of recovery, government policymakers are becoming increasingly negative on the need for additional fiscal spending.Korea’s gross domestic product increased 0.9 percent from the previous quarter in the January-March period, up from a 0.5 percent on-quarter expansion three months

April 27, 2017

Industrial power consumption grows for 5 straight quarters in Q1

South Korea's industrial electricity consumption rose for five straight quarters in the first three months of the year on a sharp upturn in the chipmaking and chemical sectors, the government said Thursday.The amount of electricity consumed by the country's industrial sector reached 71.06 billion kilowatt-hours in the January-March period, up 2.4 percent from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The quarterly figure has been on a steady rise since th

April 27, 2017

GDP growth accelerates in Q1 on strong exports, investment

South Korea’s economy grew at a faster pace in the first three months of the year on the back of robust exports and stronger-than-expected investment in construction and facilities, the central bank said Thursday.According to the Bank of Korea, the nation’s gross domestic product expanded 0.9 percent in the first quarter from the previous quarter, beating market expectations of 0.7-0.8 percent. The quarterly growth in the first quarter was faster than the 0.5 percent on-quarter growt

April 27, 2017

Korea's economic growth accelerates in Q1: BOK

South Korea's economy grew at a faster pace in the first quarter than three months earlier due to increased construction investment and exports, central bank data showed Thursday.In the January-March period, the country's gross domestic product increased 0.9 percent from the previous quarter, improving from a 0.5 percent on-quarter expansion three months earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.The on-quarter growth is the fastest since the second quarter of last year.From a

April 27, 2017

[Monitor] Women hired most in restaurants, bars

As of October last year, some 1.11 million women were hired in restaurant businesses, taking up 9.8 percent of the total working women. When adding bars and other beverage outlets, the proportion reached 12.0 percent, becoming the No. 1 industry in which women were employed, Statistics Korea data showed Tuesday.Half of the employed Koreans earned 2 million or less per month. When grouped by industry type, the number of employees was the largest in retail.

April 26, 2017

Korea, India agree to avoid double taxation

South Korea's top tax official and his Indian counterpart agreed to avoid double taxation between the two countries, the government said Wednesday.National Tax Service chief Lim Hwan-soo and India's Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia also agreed to create stable tax conditions for investments during their meeting in Seoul, according to the NTS.The bilateral double taxation avoidance pact was reached in September last year, creating a mutual foundation to address double taxation issues facing South

April 26, 2017

Private pension savings fall far short of investors' needs in old age

Payouts by private pension savings accounts to investors significantly fell short of needs for post-retirement life, official data showed Wednesday.The average monthly payout by private pension savings stood at 260,000 won ($231) last year, down 20,000 won from a year earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Including an average monthly payout by the National Pension Service, an investor received a total of 600,000 won in pension last year.The payout is compared wit

April 26, 2017

Consumer sentiment for under-40 still frosty

Consumer sentiment had generally improved in April, but it worsened for those under 40, a detailed index from the central bank indicated Wednesday. The Bank of Korea said overall the consumer sentiment index for the month rose to 101.2 from 96.7 in the previous month. A reading above 100 means there are more optimists than pessimists. However, a separate index for the under-40 age group measuring their sentiment on current economic conditions fell 1 percentage point from 94 in March. This contra

April 26, 2017

[Monitor] More companies have their credit ratings upgraded

The number of companies that had their credit ratings upgraded increased by 76.9 percent last year compared to the previous year. Those that had their credit ratings downgraded, meanwhile, dropped by 42.8 percent, the Financial Supervisory Service said Tuesday.But there were still three times as many companies with “negative” outlooks for their credit ratings than with “positive” outlooks.

April 25, 2017