[ASEAN-Korea summit] Rising Southeast Asia, region of strategic priority to OECD

The 2019 ASEAN-Korea Commemorative Summit and the First Mekong-Korea Summit are just around the corner. Association of Southeast Asian Nations ambassadors in Paris have expressed to me their expectations of the summit on various diplomatic occasions, which reminds me of the importance of Southeast Asia and Korea’s New Southern Policy. The rapidly-rising ASEAN bloc accounts for a population of 650 million people, with a total gross domestic product of about $3 trillion. According to the Org

Nov. 20, 2019

Tax office launches probes into tax evasion

South Korea's tax agency said Wednesday that it has launched probes into dozens of companies and more than 100 individuals over suspected tax evasion in the latest crackdown on tax dodgers.The National Tax Service said the crackdown targets 46 companies and 14 individuals for alleged offshore tax evasion.The tax agency also said it is looking into 57 people for purchasing overseas properties with money from questionable sources and probing 54 wealthy people who live lives of luxury in foreign co

Nov. 20, 2019

Weak growth, trade tensions to weigh down on Korean economy in 2020: Moody’s

South Korea’s economy and its key businesses will continue to face challenges next year due to the weak global economic growth pace and persisting trade tensions, global credit ratings agency Moody’s said Tuesday.“Our outlook (for Korea in 2020) is negative,” Chris Park, associate managing director of corporate finance at the agency, said in a press briefing.“Many export-dependent companies here had their profitability decrease in 2019 but continued to maintain or e

Nov. 19, 2019

S. Korea would get economic boost from RCEP: report

South Korea's economic growth would get a boost from the implementation of a mega trade deal involving Asia-Pacific countries, a report said Tuesday.  Association of Southeast Asian Nations members and its dialogue partners -- South Korea, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand -- effectively reached the agreement, known as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership,, at a RCEP summit in Bangkok early this month.   But India, Asia's third-largest economy, did not join the de

Nov. 19, 2019

Apartments account for 59 % of all homes in S. Korea

The number of apartments owned by households in South Korea came to 9.03 million in 2018, accounting for 59 percent of all homes across the country, government data showed Tuesday.  The figures represent a 3.9 percentage-point hike from 8.7 million apartments owned by households in South Korea in 2017, Statistics Korea said.  The latest data is a reminder that apartments have long been the most-favored housing choice for many South Koreans.  In this densely populated country,

Nov. 19, 2019

Seoul to invest 4.8tr won for Incheon airport expansion

South Korea will invest 4.84 trillion won ($4.2 billion) to expand its main airport by 2024 to meet rapidly rising travel demand, the transport ministry said Tuesday.Incheon International Airport Corp, the operator of Incheon International Airport, will make the investment in stages over the next five years to build a fourth runway and expand the second passenger terminal and other facilities, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport."In recent years, an increased num

Nov. 19, 2019

S. Korea’s policy rate is high, considering inflation: OECD

South Korea’s actual key interest rate, in relative term to its inflation, is one of the highest among peer economies, data showed Monday, raising speculations that the country may carry out additional rate cuts.According to data compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and cited by experts here, Asia’s fourth-largest economy had the third highest “actual” base rate in October, next to Turkey and Mexico.The official policy rate here currently

Nov. 18, 2019

S. Korea to mull extending presale prices of privately built flats

South Korea said Monday it will consider extending a scheme to cap the presale prices of privately built apartments in the case of instability in real estate markets.Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom made comments in a meeting with officials at a building in western Seoul. The comments came more than a week after the government announced a plan to introduce a "presale price cap system" for new apartments built by private builders to help stabilize escalating home prices.The system is

Nov. 18, 2019

[News Focus] People question policy on Seoul apartments

SEJONG -- An online commenter, who identified himself as a salaried worker in charge of a household, wrote earlier this month that he bought an apartment in Seoul during the latter part of the Park Geun-hye administration (2013-2017).The price of the apartment has climbed 300 million won ($257,000) during President Moon Jae-in’s term, which began in May 2017, according to the commenter’s post.“But I don’t feel so happy when I think about (negative) effects of this kind of

Nov. 17, 2019

S. Korea mulling separate FTAs with more ASEAN member states

South Korea is exploring the possibility of forging individual free trade deals with more ASEAN member states, a senior trade official has said, in a move to further boost growing economic ties with the region.South Korea has a free trade agreement with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, but Seoul has been pushing for separate free trade deals with individual members of the Southeast Asian bloc. "We are reviewing the possibility of free trade agreements" with some of

Nov. 17, 2019

Slowing exports weigh on S. Korea's economic growth: ministry

South Korea's weak investment and slowing exports have undermined its economic growth, the finance ministry said Friday."Overall industrial output and consumption are on the rise, but a sluggish trend persists in exports and construction investment, weighing on economic growth," the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in its monthly economic assessment report. The report, called the "Green Book," is based on the latest economic indicators of such key factors as output, expor

Nov. 15, 2019

Korea’s top IP office to support materials sector via big data

The Korean Intellectual Property Office said Thursday it plans to help boost competitiveness of the local materials, parts and equipment sectors and reduce their reliance on foreign technologies through its system of IP big data. According to the nation’s top IP office, its plan involves four goals: cut back foreign dependency of materials, parts and equipment-related technology; innovate South Korea’s research and development system to a more IP-centered one; bolster IP competitiven

Nov. 14, 2019

OECD leading index for S. Korea edges down in Sept.

A leading economic index for South Korea inched down in September, heralding a contraction for Asia's No. 4 economy down the road, data showed Thursday.The composite leading indicator of economic activity for South Korea stood at 98.69 in September, down 0.09 point from the previous month, according to the data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.September marked the 28th consecutive month of on-month decline, the longest losing streak among members of the Paris-based

Nov. 14, 2019

Auto exports fall 10 % in Oct.

South Korea's vehicle exports fell 10 percent last month from a year earlier due to lower demand in emerging markets, data showed Thursday. South Korean carmakers shipped a total of 208,714 vehicles in October, down from 230,086 units a year ago amid a slowing global economy, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement.  "Lower demand in Asia and Latin America fully offset increased sales of Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. in North America and rising demand in

Nov. 14, 2019

Employment indexes improve, but key age groups, sectors still suffer

South Korea’s key job indexes showed visible progress in October, with the employment rate hitting a 23-year high for any October and the jobless rate at its lowest in six years, government data showed Wednesday.But despite the general uptrend, the nation’s backbone manufacturing industry continued to shed jobs. The figures for those in their 30s and 40s also continued to disappoint, stirring up concerns that the apparent improvement is mostly driven by government spending in the pub

Nov. 13, 2019

S. Korea's economy likely to grow 2.3 % in 2020: KDI

South Korea's economy is expected to grow 2.3 percent in 2020, slightly higher than this year's estimated 2 percent expansion, on the back of a slight improvement in domestic demand and exports, the state-run Korea Development Institute said Wednesday.The growth outlook for next year is line with a forecast by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.In September, the OECD said Asia's fourth-largest economy could expand 2.3 percent in 2020, slower than its previous forecast of 2

Nov. 13, 2019

S. Korea to build more smart factories to deal with demographic change

South Korea will build 30,000 smart factories and 10 smart industrial zones by 2022 as part of efforts to deal with a looming decline of the country's working-age population, the finance minister said Wednesday.Hong Nam-ki said the number of people working at smart factories and smart industrial zones could stand at 100,000, which he said would help improve productivity.A smart factory is a highly digitized and connected production facility aimed at improving productivity and safety at workplace

Nov. 13, 2019

Seoul unveils plan to invigorate reverse mortgages for elderly homeowners

South Korea announced plans to kick-start the so-called reverse annuity mortgage market Wednesday in an effort to help support elderly homeowners financially.The measure, unveiled by a pan-governmental task force on population policy, would lower the age limit for applicants for reverse annuity mortgages to 55 from the current 60 years old.The government will also push to expand the scope of eligible homes. Owners of homes with a government-set price of 900 million won ($771,000) or lower will b

Nov. 13, 2019

Korea's jobless rate hits 6-year low in October, over 400,000 jobs created

South Korea's jobless rate hit a six-year low in October, and job additions came to 419,000 from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday.  The unemployment rate fell 0.5 percentage point on-year to 3 percent in October, also marking the lowest level for any October since 2013.  The number of employed people reached 27.5 million in October, a rise of 419,000 from the same month in 2018, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.   It marked the third straight

Nov. 13, 2019

M&A value in S. Korea reaches W7.3tr in H1

The value of mergers and acquisitions by listed firms in South Korea amounted to 7.3 trillion won ($6.2 billion) in the first six months of this year, data showed Tuesday. There were 139 mergers, spinoffs and business sales in the January-June period, compared with 294 cases worth 38.7 trillion won in 2018, according to the data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service. The half-year value marked the lowest in two years due to a lack of big name mergers, the FSS said. Inter-affiliate M&

Nov. 12, 2019