Trade minister to attend RCEP talks in Singapore

South Korea's trade minister will attend the ministerial meeting of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in Singapore to discuss ways to deepen economic ties with the fast-growing bloc, his office said Friday.Kim Hyun-chong will participate in the latest round of talks for RCEP -- a proposed mega trade deal involving Asian nations -- in Singapore on Saturday, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said.  RCEP is in essence a massive regional trade deal between the 10 members

Oct. 12, 2018

Economy backed by exports, domestic consumption despite growing uncertainties: finance ministry

South Korea's economy is showing decent growth on the back of robust exports and domestic consumption, although capital spending and job creation remain sluggish and external uncertainties are on the rise, a government report said Friday.A weaker job market, rate hikes in the United States and rising oil prices pose downside risks for Asia's fourth-largest economy, the finance ministry said in its monthly economic assessment report."The economy is still on a firm growth path backed by sound

Oct. 12, 2018

Korea's jobless rate rises in Sept., sluggish job creation continues

South Korea's jobless rate rose slightly in September due to a fall in employment in the retail and restaurant sectors, with poorer-than-expected job creation continuing, government data showed Friday.The unemployment rate stood at 3.6 percent last month, up 0.3 percentage point from a year earlier, marking the highest rate for September since September 2005, according to the report compiled by Statistics Korea.The number of employed people reached 27.05 million in September, up 45,000 from the

Oct. 12, 2018

Korean banks' household lending slows in Sept.

Household lending by South Korean banks grew at a slower pace in September than the previous month despite an increase in mortgages, central bank data showed Thursday.Outstanding household loans from banks came to 807.7 trillion won ($707.9 billion) as of the end of last month, up 5.1 trillion won from June, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.The on-month gain was lower than the 5.9 trillion won tallied in August.But home-backed mortgages increased by 3.6 trillion won on-month to 594.7

Oct. 11, 2018

Korea ranks 2nd in World Bank's human capital index

South Korea came in second in the World Bank Group's human capital index, which shows the productivity of the next generation of workers, the bank's report showed Thursday.Singapore ranked first with its index standing at 0.88. South Korea and Japan tied for second with 0.84. Hong Kong, Finland, Ireland and Australia came next in that order, according to the report titled "World Development Report 2019: Changing Nature of Work."The HCI measures the amount of human capital that a child

Oct. 11, 2018

Korea's current account hits $8.44b in Aug.

South Korea's current account surplus continued to remain firmly in the black in August on brisk overseas sales, central bank data showed Thursday.The country's current account surplus came to $8.44 billion in August, up from $6.03 billion in the black a year ago, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. From a month earlier, the August figure declined from a yearly high of $8.76 billion.Asia's fourth-largest economy has maintained a current account surplus for 78 straight month

Oct. 11, 2018

Korean economy underperforms growth potential

Economists have raised the alarm on the weakening growth momentum of the Korean economy, calling on the government to take steps to prevent the country from being stuck in a prolonged slowdown.Local research institutes predict that Asia’s fourth-largest economy will next year expand at a slower pace than its annual potential growth rate, which is estimated by the Bank of Korea to be around 2.8-2.9 percent. The potential growth rate refers to the maximum growth an economy could achieve thro

Oct. 10, 2018

[Monitor] Economic value of household labor reaches W360tr

The economic value of nonpaying housework reached some 360 trillion won as of 2014, according to a report from Statistics Korea. That figure, the most recent available, was 33.3 percent higher than five years earlier, when it stood at 90.1 trillion won. It was also one-fourth of the nation’s gross domestic product. If converted into a monthly wage, it would be about 590,000 won.Nonpaying housework refers to preparing meals, cleaning, taking care of children, pets and plants, purchasing goo

Oct. 10, 2018

Corporate sales, employee salary show gains while hiring stalls

The country's leading firms have increased their sales and employee salaries over recent years but hiring has stalled, an analysis showed Wednesday.Corporate appraiser CEO Score studied 307 of the top 500 companies in terms of sales and found that their annual employee salaries rose 12.5 percent on average between 2014 and 2017, from 63 million won ($55,668) to 70.9 million won. Staff sizes, by comparison, increased 1.8 percent, from 1.19 million to 1.21 million.The companies were selected on th

Oct. 10, 2018

Household debts rise in both total, individual average from year ago

Nearly four out of 10 South Koreans have an average household debt of 80 million won ($70,690), an increase of 3.3 percent from a year ago, according to figures from a credit information provider.The data, provided by National Information & Credit Evaluation Inc. to ruling party lawmaker Kim Byung-wook for parliamentary inspection, showed that 19 million people, or 37 percent of the country's population, had household debts as of the end of June this year. Their lending totaled 1,531 trillio

Oct. 10, 2018

IMF cuts growth outlook for S. Korea to 2.8 % this year

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday lowered its growth outlook for South Korea to 2.8 percent from 3 percent amid sluggish corporate investment and domestic consumption. It also slashed the country's growth projection for next year to 2.6 percent from 2.9 percent, becoming the latest global institution to be less optimistic about Asia's fourth largest economy.Last month, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development also trimmed its growth estimate for South Korea to 2.7 perce

Oct. 9, 2018

Facility investment down as manufacturers move abroad

Domestic facility investment has continued to decline in recent months, while overseas investment by the nation’s manufacturers is on a steep rise.Facility investment in South Korea contracted 1.4 percent on-month in August, marking the sixth consecutive month of downward movement, according to data released last week by Statistics Korea. It was the longest streak of decline in facility investment in Asia’s fourth-largest economy in nearly two decades. The figure fell for 10 months i

Oct. 8, 2018

Unpaid household chores valued at W361tr in 2014: data

The value of unpaid household work, such as meal preparation and child care, was estimated at 361 trillion won (US$319 billion) in 2014, state data showed Monday.The 2014 figure was up 90.1 trillion won, or 33 percent, from five years earlier, according to the data released by Statistics Korea.All household chores, including caring for family members, and volunteering, were included in the so-called household satellite account, and the calculation shows the value of unpaid services and activitie

Oct. 8, 2018

BOK chief affirms independent rate-setting decision

South Korea's central bank chief stressed its right to make monetary policy decisions without political interference a week before the rate-setting meeting."I will not freeze the interest rate even though a rate hike is necessary, or vice versa, in an apparent response to outside voices," Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said in a media meeting held on Friday.His comment follows calls by some high-ranking government officials, including Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon, for a rate increase as

Oct. 7, 2018

S. Korea, UK sign MOU for expanded trade partnership

South Korea's trade promotion agency said Sunday it has reached an initial agreement with Britain to expand the two countries' already-strong partnership. The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said its CEO, Kwon Pyung-oh, signed the memorandum of understanding with Britain's International Trade Secretary, Liam Fox, for a strategic partnership in bilateral investments, trade information exchanges, and joint overseas projects. "Britain is the world's fifth-biggest economy in terms of gr

Oct. 7, 2018

[Photo News] Post-Brexit partnership

Oct. 5, 2018

Korea's consumer price growth hits 1-year high in September

South Korea's consumer price growth continued to stay above 1 percent in September, hitting the highest level in a year, on a sharp rise in prices for agricultural goods and the service sector, government data showed Friday.The country's consumer price index climbed 1.9 percent last month from a year earlier, accelerating from the previous month's 1.4 percent on-year gain, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.The on-year rise marks the highest since September last year, when the co

Oct. 5, 2018

Real estate takes up largest proportion of Koreans' assets: report

Real estate accounted for more than half of South Korean households' total assets, with the rate of homes owned for investments far higher compared to major economies, a report showed Thursday.It is based upon an analysis of features of household assets in five nations -- South Korea, the United States, Britain, Australia and the Netherlands -- by the Mirae Asset Retirement Institute. According to the report, real estate property accounted on average for 51.3 percent of the total assets of South

Oct. 4, 2018

S. Korea ranks world 3rd in debt-to-GDP ratio growth: data

South Korea has seen one of the fastest expansion paces for its household debt against its gross domestic product this year, despite a series of policy actions focused on lending restrictions, data showed Wednesday.According to data compiled by the Bank for International Settlements, Seoul’s household debt was equal to 95.2 percent of its GDP as of end-March this year, up 2.3 percentage points from a year prior.This growth rate marked the third fastest among 43 key economies across the wor

Oct. 3, 2018

Household consumption set to take downturn

Despite a recent rebound in consumer sentiment, the country’s household consumption is set to weaken in the longer term amid deteriorating employment conditions and rising debt-service costs, experts say.Bank of Korea data showed last week consumer confidence rebounded in September after falling for eight straight months, partly on the back of robust exports and low inflationary pressure. The composite consumer sentiment index, which is based on the central bank’s survey of about 1,9

Oct. 3, 2018