[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

Annual AIIB meeting to be held in Jeju on June 16-18

The second annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank  will be held on South Korea's southern island of Jeju in June, the finance ministry said Tuesday.The meeting of the board of governors will held on June 16-18 with the theme "sustainable infrastructure" and more than 10 seminars and discussion sessions, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.   Detailed programs include one-on-one business meetings for networking by people in the infrastruc

April 25, 2017

Korea's terms of trade worsen in March

South Korea's terms of trade deteriorated slightly in March from a year earlier as a rise in export prices was offset by a hike in import prices, central bank data showed Tuesday.The terms of trade index for products came to 99.57 last month, down 4.5 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.In Marc

April 25, 2017

[Photo News] Gold closed at W46,220 per gram Monday

April 24, 2017

Korea's consumer confidence still among OECD's worst

Despite its recovery in the first quarter, South Korea’s Consumer Confidence Index ranked near the bottom among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to OECD data Monday. The Consumer Confidence Index is an indicator designed to measure consumers’ perception of their economic situation. A reading below 100 indicates that pessimistic consumers outnumber optimists.In March, Korea’s index reached 99.06, increasing for the sec

April 24, 2017

Hwang reaffirms support for firms tapping into overseas markets

Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Monday reaffirmed the government's support for local firms seeking to advance into overseas infrastructure markets, stressing their role in creating jobs and revitalizing the economy.During a meeting with business leaders, Hwang reiterated that the government would strive harder to cater to the specific needs of each firm by providing business-related information and financial support, and enhancing cooperation with foreign governments. "

April 24, 2017

[Monitor] Employment inducement from exports hits five-year high

The number of indirect and direct employment induced from South Korean companies‘ exports reached 4.08 million as of last year, a report by the Institute for International Trade at Korea International Trade Association showed Monday.The number of new employment posts induced from every $1 million worth of exports reached 8.23, the highest in five years.

April 24, 2017

Koreans face tougher economic situation amid rising unemployment, inflation

South Koreans are suffering from intensified economic difficulties in recent months due mainly to rising consumer prices and the higher jobless rate, government data showed Monday.The country's so-called misery index, measured by the unemployment rate plus the consumer inflation rate, was 6.4 in the first three months of the year, with the former standing at 4.3 and the latter at 2.1, according to the data by Statistics Korea. It rose sharply from the previous quarter's 4.7, and 3.4 for the July

April 24, 2017

US import restrictions on rise with new tools for tariffs

The number of US import restrictions so far this year has already surpassed half of last year's total, a local trade body said Monday, including one against South Korean products.According to the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), the US has launched an investigation into 24 separate cases on suspicions of anti-dumping and countervailing duties in the January-April period. This is already more than half of the 53 actions taken for the whole of 2016.South Korean carbon and alloy steel

April 24, 2017

Korea’s direct investment shoots up in US, slows in China

South Korea’s direct investment in the US shot up in 2016 but that in China increased at a slower pace during the same period, industry data showed Monday.According to data by the Export-Import Bank of Korea, the nation’s total overseas direct investment hit a record high of $35.2 billion in 2016, continuing to grow from $23.1 billion in 2007. The growth of FDI in an overseas market means Korean companies either established business operations in the overseas market or acquired contr

April 24, 2017

[Election 2017] How will presidential candidates create jobs?

The following is the second in a series of articles breaking down the presidential candidates’ major economic pledges in a simulated question-and-answer format by gathering their answers from their official websites, media interviews, public speeches, books and more. The second installment delves into their proposals on job creation. -- Ed.Job creation is a top priority in presidential candidates’ campaign pledges, as the South Korean economy faces a series of problems in terms of jo

April 24, 2017

SMEs concerned by populist labor pledges

Many small and medium-sized enterprises in the country worry their business will be stifled by populist labor pledges presidential candidates have competitively put forward ahead of the May 9 election.Both of the two leading candidates -- Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea and Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party -- have promised to drastically reduce working hours and raise minimum wages if elected to the five-year presidency. They unveiled plans last week to shorten working hour

April 24, 2017

Income of farming, fishing households grows in 2016

The average annual income of South Korea's farming and fishing households gained slightly in 2016 from a year earlier, a government report showed Monday.The income of farming households reached an average of 37.2 million won ($32,940) last year, nearly unchanged from the previous year, according to the report by Statistics Korea. The average income of households engaged in fishing or fish farming climbed 7.2 percent on-year to 47.1 million won.On average, each farming household spent 31.05 milli

April 24, 2017

Korea's finance minister vows efforts for economic recovery

South Korea's finance minister pledged on Saturday (local time) to step up policy efforts to help Asia's fourth-largest economy gather upward momentum in the midst of a global recovery.In a meeting with Moody's officials, Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said the South Korean government will focus its fiscal policies on boosting consumption and investment and make constant efforts to deal with external and internal risks such as household debts, rising trade protectionism and geopolitical issues. He a

April 23, 2017

World economy enters upside cycle, gives chance to Korea: think tank

A local think tank said Sunday the world economy is in a clear upside mode led by recovering advanced economies, giving an opportunity to export-dependent South Korea.The Hyundai Research Institute (HRI) in Seoul revised up its 2017 growth forecast for the world economy to 3.5 percent from 3.4 percent. The HRI said in a report the United States has entered the "Goldilocks economy" of sustained growth and low inflation as the world's largest economy pulls off moderate growth on the back

April 23, 2017

Jobless college graduates surpass 500,000 in Q1

The number of unemployed people with a bachelor's degree in South Korea surpassed 500,000 in the first quarter for the first time amid the tightened job market for young adults, government data showed Sunday.Jobless people reached 1.17 million in the January-March period, up 1.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.The number of unemployed college graduates rose 9.2 percent on-year to 543,000 over the three-month period. It is first time that their quar

April 23, 2017