S. Korea’s tax burden to grow next year amid concerns

South Korea’s tax burden per capita will stand at an estimated 7.5 million won ($6,300) next year, slightly up from this year, and is poised to grow through 2023, according to data released by the government Sunday. The data comes amid growing concerns about a heavy tax burden in relation to the government’s expansionist fiscal operations, including efforts to change the tax system. The tax burden per capita, which stood at an estimated 7.4 million won this year, will increase by nea

Sept. 15, 2019

[New Economic Non-order:2] Trump’s revival of trade protectionism pushes WTO to the brink

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles to look into the weakening of the global economic framework in light of fading liberalism and the rise of trade protectionism and nationalism. This is the second installment. -- Ed.The World Trade Organization was birthed in 1995 as an advocate of free trade, persuading global economies to lower trade barriers through yearslong rounds of negotiations. Though it has slowly been losing its clout in recent years, the WTO continued to shine as a be

Sept. 11, 2019

Jobless rate hits 6-year low in August, job additions largest in nearly 3 years

South Korea's jobless rate hit a six-year low in August, and job additions increased the most in 29 months, government data showed Wednesday.The unemployment rate fell 1 percentage point on-year to 3 percent in August from a year earlier, also marking the lowest level for any August since 2013. The number of employed people reached 27.3 million in August, a rise of 452,000 from the same month in 2018, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The number of jobs added is the largest sin

Sept. 11, 2019

New chief says FTC will crack down tech behemoths' dominant market position

The new head of South Korea's antitrust regulator on Tuesday said the agency will crack down on tech companies over their abuse of monopoly power and dominant market position.Joh Sung-wook, the chairwoman of the Fair Trade Commission, said in her inaugural speech that the move is meant to facilitate market innovation, but she did not elaborate. She said last month that the antitrust regulator has been looking into alleged unfair trade practices by two US tech giants -- Google Inc. and Apple Inc.

Sept. 10, 2019

[News Focus] Seoul apartment prices keep skyrocketing since 2017

SEJONG -- A large portion of online commenters say that the Moon Jae-in government should be held accountable for letting housing prices spiral out of control since taking office in May 2017.A variety of data showed that Seoul apartment prices climbed sharply between 2017 and 2018, compared to figures during past administrations.In 2012, apartment prices in Seoul posted the negative growth of 6.1 percent on-year, hit by the subprime mortgage fiasco in the US and the global financial crisis.Figur

Sept. 9, 2019

[New Economic Non-order: 1] In 2019, world bids farewell to liberal economic order

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles to look into the weakening of global economic frameworks in light of fading liberalism and rise of trade protectionism and nationalism. This is the first installment. -- Ed.This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Bretton Woods Agreement, which laid the foundation of the liberal economic order in the post-World War era and led to the establishment of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.But it is also likely to be remembered as the

Sept. 8, 2019

S. Korea's economy to expand 1.9% in 2019: KERI

South Korea's economy is expected to expand 1.9 percent in 2019 from a year earlier, a local research institute said Sunday, posting sluggish growth due to the protracted trade dispute between the United States and China.The figure marks a decrease of 0.3 percentage point from the previous outlook of 2.2 percent suggested in June, according to the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI).The organization attributed the lackluster growth to the prolonged feud between the world's top two economies

Sept. 8, 2019

Korean won likely to further ascend on eased trade tensions, hope of US rate cut

The South Korean won is expected to further advance against the US dollar for some time on what analysts called long-awaited but unanticipated positive developments that helped remove some uncertainties facing Asia's fourth-largest economy.The local currency closed at 1,196.90 won to the greenback on Friday, up 3.30 won from Thursday's close, extending its gains to a third consecutive session. It marked the first time since Aug. 1 that the won-dollar exchange rate breached the 1,200-won mark.Fri

Sept. 7, 2019

S. Korea eyes record budget in 2020 to boost exports

South Korea plans a record budget spending next year to help boost the country's exports, which have been lackluster for months in the face of growing trade frictions, such as that between the United States and China, the trade ministry said Friday.The budget of 1.07 trillion won ($891 million), earmarked to promote exports and diversify overseas markets, will be the first to break the 1 trillion-won mark, according to the Ministry of Trade, Investment and Energy.The country also plans to provid

Sept. 6, 2019

[News Focus] Korean firms flock to ‘Asia’s last frontier’ Myanmar

In line with President Moon Jae-in’s tour of Southeast Asia this week, South Korean business leaders and ranking officials visited Myanmar, the reclusive country bordering China -- that is opening up now. Several of them chose to visit Myanmar exclusively –- from Tuesday to Thursday -- skipping Moon’s other destinations such as Thailand and Laos. Eyeing its economic potential and geographical attractiveness, they clinched new deals and partnerships with the country called

Sept. 5, 2019

Korea's current account surplus jumps to 9-month high in July

South Korea's current account surplus grew for a third consecutive month to a nine-month high in July on an increased trade surplus and a narrowing deficit in the service sector, central bank data showed Thursday.  The country's current account surplus came to  $6.95 billion in the month, the highest since October 2018, when the country posted a $9.35 billion surplus, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.   The country's current account balance has been in the

Sept. 5, 2019

S. Korea, China ink advance pricing agreement

South Korea and China on Wednesday signed a deal that would ease tax audit burdens for several South Korean companies doing business in the world's second-largest economy, South Korea's tax agency said.The advance pricing arrangement is an ahead-of-time agreement between the tax authorities of the two countries to specify a pricing method that a South Korean company will apply to its transactions with its subsidiary in China. The arrangement can make it possible for tax officials to verify if a

Sept. 4, 2019

Public institutions to expand investments to W55tr this year

South Korea’s top fiscal policymaker said Wednesday that public institutions will expand the size of their combined investments to 55 trillion won ($45.5 billion) this year as part of the government’s continued struggle to revitalize domestic economy amid growing uncertainties.“(The government) will ensure that public institutions make investments of 55 trillion won within the year, by advancing the timeline of some incoming investment projects,” said Deputy Prime Ministe

Sept. 4, 2019

Policymakers deny deflation despite negative consumer price growth

Inflation in South Korea hit a record low of zero percent in August, with prices remaining unchanged from a year earlier, government data showed Tuesday.According to Statistics Korea, inflation in August recorded precisely minus 0.038 percent growth from a year earlier, dipping below zero for the first time since the government started to tally such data in 1966.While the reading was mostly attributed to on-year price falls for agricultural and petroleum products, fiscal and monetary policymaker

Sept. 3, 2019

Govt. job creation budget to rise to record volume next year

The government plans to increase its job creation budget by over 20 percent to a record volume of nearly 26 trillion won ($21.4 billion) next year, with unemployment benefits accounting for a record 40 percent of the total, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Tuesday.The government will spend 25.77 trillion won in 2020 on job creation, marking a rise of 21.3 percent from this year, the ministry said, citing a government budget proposal for next year that was endorsed by the Cabinet last Th

Sept. 3, 2019

Consumer price growth hits record low in August

South Korea's consumer price growth hit a record low in August, remaining flat compared with a year earlier, due mainly to declines in prices of agricultural and petroleum products, government data showed Tuesday.South Korea's consumer prices remained unchanged in August from a year earlier, staying below the 1 percent threshold for the eighth consecutive month, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The reading marked the lowest since 1965, when the statistics agency started compiling dat

Sept. 3, 2019

S. Korean economy grows revised 1% on-quarter in Q2: BOK

South Korea's economy grew at a slower-than-expected pace in the second quarter from three months earlier on sluggish exports and government spending, the central bank said Tuesday.The country's gross domestic product expanded 1 percent in the April-June period, rebounding from a 0.4 percent on-quarter contraction the previous quarter, according to preliminary data by the Bank of Korea.The latest reading marks a slight decrease from an earlier estimate of a 1.1 percent on-quarter expansion estim

Sept. 3, 2019

Korea to complete ratification of FTA with UK before Brexit

South Korea is set to complete the ratification of a free trade deal with the UK at the National Assembly before the Brexit deadline of Oct. 31, officials said Monday. Since Britain voted to leave the European Union in June 2016, the Korean government has pushed for a bilateral deal with the UK to prevent the rupture of trade relations and ensure continuity.  On Aug. 22, the two nations signed a trade agreement that would allow businesses to keep trading freely after Brexit, marking the fir

Sept. 2, 2019

Financial regulator seeks W3.1tr in 2020 budget

South Korea's financial regulator said Monday it has requested 3.1 trillion won ($2.5 billion) in budget for next year, in order to focus on providing funds for small- and medium-sized firms and underprivileged people. The budget proposal by the Financial Services Commission is part of a budget bill of 513.5 trillion won for next year, which was drafted by the finance ministry last week. The lion's share of the FSC budget proposal, or 2.1 trillion won, will be set aside for the retrieval of

Sept. 2, 2019

[News Focus] Concerns grow over prospects for economy

SEJONG -- Nearly half of South Koreans responded that their economic situation had worsened since President Moon Jae-in took office in May 2017, a poll showed.According to the survey by the Opinion Research Justice, which was released on Aug. 29, only 17 percent of the 1,000 sampled respondents said their economic situation had improved under the Moon administration, compared to the previous government.In contrast, 48.8 percent of them responded that their economic situation has worsened over th

Sept. 1, 2019