Finance ministry to make preparations for early spending of 2020 budget

The Ministry of Economy and Finance will make preparations to swiftly spend next year's budget to prop up a slowing economy and support the welfare sector, a senior official said Thursday. Vice Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol told a meeting on fiscal spending that the government plans to begin implementing next year's budget from Jan. 1 next year, when the nation's fiscal year starts. Earlier this week, the National Assembly passed next year's state budget of 512.3 trillion won ($431.5 billion),

Dec. 12, 2019

More than 40% of newlyweds had no children in 2018

More than 40 percent of newlywed couples had no children last year, reflecting the country's chronically low birthrate and late marriage trend, data showed Thursday.According to the data compiled by Statistics Korea, 1.32 million couples got married in the five years up to November 2018, down 4.2 percent from a year ago, with 79.6 percent consisting of first-time brides and grooms.Of that total, 40.2 percent of newlywed couples had no kids last year, up 2.6 percentage points from the previous ye

Dec. 12, 2019

BOK sees uncertainties easing

South Korea is still faced with continuing uncertainties, but the levels may have somewhat eased, a senior official at the Bank of Korea said Thursday."As the US Federal Reserve chairman said in a press conference, uncertainties have not disappeared. I understand he noted there always exist uncertainties and that he will carefully monitor them," BOK Dep. Gov. Yoon Myun-shik told reporters, hours after the US Fed unanimously voted to keep its policy rate frozen at a range of 1.50 percen

Dec. 12, 2019

S. Korea’s employment rate hits all-time high in Nov.

South Korea saw its major job indexes improve in November, with the employment rate hitting an all-time high and the number of newly created jobs remaining steady, government data showed Wednesday.The downtrend in employment continued, however, for those in their 40s, reflecting the sluggish market situation in the retail and manufacturing sectors.The number of newly added jobs last month stood at 27.5 million, up 331,000 from a year earlier, keeping the on-year increase above the 300,000 mark f

Dec. 11, 2019

Korea's exports up 7.7% in first 10 days of December

South Korea's exports rose 7.7 percent in the first 10 days of December, thanks to rising demand for wireless equipment and passenger cars, customs data showed Wednesday. The country's exports stood at $12.9 billion in the December 1-10 period, up $920 million from the same period last year, according to the Korea Customs Service.By product, exports of wireless equipment and passenger cars gained 18 percent and 10.9 percent, respectively. However, outbound shipments of semiconductors, a key expo

Dec. 11, 2019

Jobless rate falls to 3.1% in November, 331,000 jobs created

South Korea's jobless rate fell to 3.1 percent in November, and job additions came to over 330,000, data showed Wednesday.The unemployment rate decreased 0.1 percentage point on-year, and the number of employed people reached 27.5 million in November, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.The unemployment rate for young adults -- those aged between 15 and 29 -- also fell to 7 percent last month from 7.9 percent tallied a year earlier.It marked the fourth straight month that the numb

Dec. 11, 2019

[News Focus] Korea 7th-highest in temporary-job portion among 42 countries

SEJONG -- In South Korea, the government does not include people with nonregular jobs -- like temporary or contract employees -- when it counts the official number of jobless. As a result, the nation’s official unemployment rate stayed at 3 percent as of October (the latest figure).The figure is far from the people’s sentiment toward the hiring market, in which the “extended (or sentiment–reflected)” unemployment rates, compiled by Statistics Korea, have remained ab

Dec. 10, 2019

Average apartment price soars 40% under Moon administration

The average market price of Seoul apartments has soared 40 percent in the past 2 1/2 years, notwithstanding the incumbent Moon Jae-in administration’s series of price-curbing measures, data showed Tuesday.According to a survey conducted by housing information provider Real Estate 114 on 241,621 apartments, the average sale price of Seoul apartments stood at 823.76 million won ($690,263) as of last week, up 40.8 percent from 585.24 million in the first half of 2017.It was in May that year t

Dec. 10, 2019

Finance minister urges lawmakers to pass 2020 budget bill

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki called for lawmakers to approve next year's budget bill on Tuesday, when the parliamentary session ends. South Korea is seeking a total of 513.5 trillion won ($430.2 billion) in budget spending for next year, a 9.3 percent hike from 2019. The National Assembly already missed the Dec. 2 deadline to pass the budget bill due to political battles. This year marked the fifth straight year the National Assembly has missed the legal deadline, as the partisan standoff over k

Dec. 10, 2019

S. Korea most affected by US-China trade spat: report

South Korea may have been hit the hardest among major economies by the protracted trade dispute between the United States and China due to its high dependence on exports to the countries, a report said Tuesday.The US and China are the world's largest importers of South Korean products with shipments to China accounting for more than one-quarter of South Korea's overall exports last year, according to the report from the Woori Finance Research Institute.In 2018, shipments to China accounted for 2

Dec. 10, 2019

S. Korea’s workforce to see steepest decline among key economies: WTO

South Korea’s working-age population is expected to shrink the fastest among key economies over the next two decades, a report released by the World Trade Organization said Monday, with risks tied to the nation’s low birthrate and aging society looming over its economy. According to the World Trade Report 2019, Korea is unlikely to see an increase in its overall population by 2040, but its workforce is expected to shrink by 17 percent in the same period. This marks the steepest decli

Dec. 9, 2019

[Monitor] Half of Korean firms plan to downsize in 2020

The majority of South Korean firms foresee the current economy entering a long-term slump with half of them planning to downsize next year, a survey by the Korea Enterprises Federation led by Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik, who is also CJ Group chairman, showed over the weekend.In the survey, 64.6 percent said the current economy was heading for a long-term recession. Nearly half, or 47.4 percent, said that they plan to downsize their businesses next year, followed by 34.1 percent who will maintain th

Dec. 9, 2019

S. Korea to tighten monitoring on outflow of investment by foreigners

Addressing the latest drop in investment by foreigners here, South Korea’s government reassured the market on Monday, saying it would enhance monitoring and put a contingency plan into action in the event of further volatility.“The recent outflow of foreign investments is mostly attributable to the expansion of external uncertainties and the adjustment of the Morgan Stanley Capital International index,” said Kim Yong-beom, first vice minister of finance.The Ministry of Economy

Dec. 9, 2019

41-year-olds have highest average labor income

Workers in South Korea hit the highest average annual earnings at the age of 41 in 2016, data showed Monday, with the labor income of the elderly also showing a steady rise. People aged 41 earned the highest average annual labor income of 32.09 million won ($26,977) in 2016, according to the data released by Statistics Korea. The total labor income stood at 842.1 trillion won in 2016, up 4.5 percent from a year ago.  The labor income for people aged above 65 rose 0.8 percent on-year to 21.7

Dec. 9, 2019

S. Korea to up national information budget to W5.1tr in 2019

South Korea's budget for national information will rise to over 5.1 trillion won ($4.3 billion) in 2019 to promote the building of a hyperconnected society, the government said Monday.The budget to be spent for 55 state central administrative agencies represents an 11.5 percent increase from 4.6 trillion won earmarked for this year, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. A hyperconnected society is a key element of the fourth industrial revolution where everything, including people, is li

Dec. 9, 2019

Some 30% of working moms were irregular workers: data

About one-third of South Korean working mothers with underage children were irregular workers paid lower wages, data showed Friday, underscoring the reality that taking time off to raise children is harming many women's career prospects.A total of 641,000 female contract workers had kids under 18 as of April this year, or about 28 percent of the 2.3 million working mothers aged from 15 to 54 here, according to the latest data compiled by Statistics Korea. The portion was higher than the 25.1-per

Dec. 6, 2019

Finance minister calls for passage of budget bill

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki urged officials on Thursday to make efforts to help the National Assembly approve next year's budget bill by next Tuesday, when the parliamentary session ends. South Korea is seeking a total of 513.5 trillion won ($431 billion) in budget spending for next year, a 9.3-percent hike from 2019. The National Assembly missed a Monday deadline to pass the budget bill due to political battles. This year marked the fifth straight year the National Assembly has missed the lega

Dec. 5, 2019

S. Korea’s current account surplus hits 12-month high in Oct.

South Korea’s current account surplus continued to grow in October from the previous month to reach a 12-month high as the service account deficit narrowed and primary income account surplus expanded, data showed Thursday.The surplus, however, was mostly attributed to the decline in raw material imports which reflected dampened domestic demand, while the actual growth pace of the economy remained sluggish. At $7.83 billion, the current account surplus was up slightly from $7.76 billion in

Dec. 5, 2019

S. Korea adds 260,000 jobs in 2018

South Korean companies added 260,000 jobs in 2018 from a year earlier, government data showed Thursday, amid concerted efforts to hire more workers.The job gains were compared with 2017, when South Korean firms added a total of 310,000 jobs from the previous year, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.By sector, wholesale and retail businesses added 70,000 jobs and health and social welfare services added 40,000 jobs in 2018 from a year earlier. In contrast, manufacturing shed 60,00

Dec. 5, 2019

S. Korea's current account surplus reaches 12-month high in Oct.

South Korea's current account surplus grew slightly from a month earlier to reach a 12-month high in October as its service account deficit narrowed while its primary income account surplus expanded, central bank data showed Thursday.The country's current account surplus came to $7.83 billion, up from a revised surplus of $7.76 billion the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.The reading marks the highest since October 2018 when the country's current account surpl

Dec. 5, 2019