S. Korea strikes FTA with Israel

South Korea has struck a free trade deal with Israel as part of efforts to strengthen economic ties with the Middle Eastern country and cope with the growing protectionism around the globe, Seoul’s Trade Ministry said Wednesday.In Jerusalem, Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee and her counterpart, Eli Cohen, declared their bilateral free trade agreement around three years after the two held the first round of negotiations in 2016.The deal is expected to take effect in the first half of 2020, as i

Aug. 21, 2019

Top 3 memory chip makers' sales fall over 30% in H1

The world's big three memory chip makers saw their revenues decline over 30 percent in the first half of the year due to weak demand and steep price declines following a two-year boom, a report said Wednesday. The Big 3 memory suppliers -- Samsung Electronics and SK hynix of South Korea and Micron of the United States -- grappled with slumping sales in the first six months of the year compared with a year ago amid weak memory chip markets, according to the report from IC Insights. Samsung and SK

Aug. 21, 2019

Signs of global recession haunt S. Korean economy

A shadow of global recession looms over key economies as major markets have been dealing with some of their worst days in recent weeks. This is sparking concerns that chances of recession may also be growing on home turf, in South Korea. Last week, the yields on US 10-year Treasurys fell below two-year yields for the first time since 2007 – a phenomenon known as an inverted yield curve. Investors and experts alike are regarding such trend with wariness -- every recession in the last 60 yea

Aug. 18, 2019

Thavma thrives on patriotic marketing

Amid the ongoing boycott of Japanese products in the midst of the South Korea-Japan trade row, a Korean brand is gaining recognition for its “Yes. We are a Korean brand” campaign. Thavma, a luxury bag brand known for its simple designs, variety of colors, quality materials and reasonable prices, has succeeded in making itself stand out from other foreign name brands, according to industry sources. The most popular model is Christa.Thavma products are currently sold at the company&rsq

Aug. 18, 2019

Samsung Electronics accounts for 20% of S. Korea's exports in H1

Samsung Electronics Co. was responsible for 20 percent of South Korea's total exports in the first half of this year, showing its heavy influence on the national economy, its financial report showed Sunday.  The South Korean tech giant raised 75.2 trillion won ($62 billion) in sales in the first six months of this year, with 86 percent coming from abroad, its semiannual report said.  The overseas revenue accounted for 20.6 percent of total exports of Asia's fourth-largest economy that

Aug. 18, 2019

S. Korea voices willingness to talk with Japan over its 'whitelist' move

South Korea has notified Japan in advance of its plan to remove Tokyo from its list of trusted trading partners and is willing to talk with Japan further if needed, the trade minister said Saturday.South Korea decided on Monday to remove Japan from its "whitelist" of countries that receive preferential trade status amid a bilateral trade row sparked by Tokyo's July export curbs against Seoul and its subsequent removal of the South from a list of trusted buyers. "The governmen

Aug. 17, 2019

[Weekender] The life and death of Korean won

South Korean banknotes and coins begin life at a factory in Gyeongsan, just outside Daegu. They are then transported to the Bank of Korea’s vault in Seoul, heavily guarded by armed security officers, to enter the money circulation cycle. In its lifespan as a medium of exchange, the banknotes and coins travel around at varying speeds, with some -- 1,000 won bills in particular -- changing hands numerous times before exiting circulation. However, some coins spend most of their time sitt

Aug. 16, 2019

S. Korea begins process of excluding Japan from whitelist

South Korea on Wednesday started the legislative process to exclude Japan from its list of preferential trading partners, as part of the snowballing trade row between the two neighbors.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has posted an advance legislative notice to revise its whitelist of trade partners, removing Japan from the top-tier list.Feedback will be accepted until Sept. 2, after which it will be put through a regulatory screening and legal review, before taking effect. Earlier thi

Aug. 14, 2019

[Monitor] New jobs hit 18-month high in July in Korea

The number of jobs added reached the highest level in 18 months in July, attributable to a rise in employment in the health care, food and leisure-related industries, data from Statistics Korea showed Wednesday.The jobless rate was, however slightly up by 0.2 percentage point to 3.9 percent. also the highest for the same month in 19 years. A total of 27.38 million were employed in the country, up 299,000 from a year earlier.Overall, employment in the retail, wholesale and public sectors decrease

Aug. 14, 2019

[Anniversary Special] ‘Japan’s export curbs hint at changing Seoul-Tokyo trade model’

Japan’s decision to remove South Korea from its list of trusted export partners in late July brought the relations between the two neighboring countries to a new low. Tensions stemming from the bilateral trade row served as a stark reminder that old wounds run deep and both sides will always have to deal with their complicated histories marked by the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule of Korea. But according to local experts, the latest dispute is also a sign of changing trade dynamics between

Aug. 14, 2019

Seoul eyes massive spending for infrastructure to revitalize economy

Seoul eyes massive spending for infrastructure to revitalize economySouth Korea's finance minister said Wednesday the government plans to spend a whopping 16.5 trillion won ($13.5 billion) on social infrastructure projects this year, in a bid to revitalize the economy, which has been losing steam due to falling exports. Government infrastructure spending over the July-Dec. period is to include 5.1 trillion won on public housing projects and 5.2 trillion won on railroads, according to Hong Nam-ki

Aug. 14, 2019

Job additions hit 18-month high in July

The number of new jobs in South Korea rose to their highest in 18 months in July on the back of a rise in employment in the health care, food and leisure-related sectors, with the jobless rate up slightly to 3.9 percent, government data showed Wednesday.  The number of employed people in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 27.38 million, up 299,000 from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea.   It was the highest on-year leap since the 334,000 increase

Aug. 14, 2019

Jobless rate reaches 3.9% in June, 299,000 jobs created

South Korea's jobless rate reached 3.9 percent in July despite nearly 300,000 new jobs added, government data showed Wednesday. The unemployment rate increased 0.2 percentage point from the same month last year, according to the data from Statistics Korea.The unemployment rate marks the highest for the same month in 19 years.The number of employed people came to 27.38 million, up 299,000 from a year earlier. (Yonhap)

Aug. 14, 2019

[News Focus] Uncertainty mounts over Korean food fair in Japan

SEJONG -- South Korea’s annual food fairs across the globe have drawn wide attention from overseas buyers and consumers over the past few years.This year, the “K-food Fair,” which is organized by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. (also dubbed aT) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, targeted seven venues in Asia, Europe and the US.According to aT, more than 270 Korean companies are scheduled to participate in the fairs in seven locations, colle

Aug. 13, 2019

Seoul urges Central American states to quickly implement free trade deal

South Korea's trade ministry on Tuesday urged a group of five Central American countries to implement a free trade agreement with Seoul.Early this month, South Korea's parliament ratified the pact with the five countries -- Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama.Among the five, Nicaragua has completed its domestic procedures, paving the way for the FTA implementation in October, according to the trade ministry here. Four other countries are expected to implement the free trade d

Aug. 13, 2019

S. Korea to adopt price ceiling on privately built flats

South Korea will adopt a controversial scheme to cap presale prices of privately built apartments in extended efforts to stabilize real estate markets, the land ministry said Monday. The ministry said the government plans to revise related laws by early October to fully prepare for the adoption of the "presale price cap system" for apartments to be built by private builders amid signs of home prices turning higher, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The upc

Aug. 12, 2019

Seoul to strip Tokyo's trusted trade status in tit-for-tat measure

South Korea on Monday decided to remove Japan from its trusted trading partners, upping the ante in the trade haggling sparked by the neighboring country's export restrictions against Seoul.  The trade ministry said it will revamp its export list into three groups of trading partners from the current two, placing Tokyo in the newly established bracket, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Tokyo had been on Seoul's top-tier list of 29 countries subject to preferential exp

Aug. 12, 2019

Exports dip 22% in first 10 days of Aug.

South Korea's exports dropped 22.1 percent in the first 10 days of August mainly due to decreased shipments of semiconductors, one of the country's key items, customs data showed Monday.The country's exports stood at $11.5 billion in the Aug. 1-10 period, according to the Korea Customs Service.By product, exports of semiconductors and petroleum products fell 34.2 percent and 26.3 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, outbound shipments of wireless communications devices and home appliances jumped 41

Aug. 12, 2019

Real estate market tenses up ahead of upcoming price regulations

Tension built up in Seoul’s housing market on Sunday, a day ahead of a scheduled government announcement about details of a price ceiling system for apartment complexes in key bubble-prone areas.The forthcoming actions, intended to stabilize the overheated real estate market and discourage speculation, are set to play out amid uncertain economic conditions aggravated by US-China economic tensions and South Korea-Japan strife.According to major local real estate industry trackers including

Aug. 11, 2019

[Graphic News] Exports of cultural contents rise 8.4% in 2018

South Korea’s exports of cultural contents increased 8.4 percent in 2018 from the previous year to $9.55 billion, a government report showed.Last year’s growth came after annual average growth of 16 percent between 2014 and 2017, with exports of $5.27 billion in 2014, $5.66 billion in 2015, $6.08 billion in 2016 and $8.81 billion in 2017, according to the report on trends in the content industry released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Ag

Aug. 11, 2019