Korea's exports nearly flat in June

South Korea's exports exceeded $50 billion for the four consecutive months to June, but fell slightly compared with a year earlier due to high base effect and fewer working days, government data showed Sunday.Outbound shipments reached $51.23 billion last month, slipping 0.09 percent from a year ago, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports surged 10.7 percent on-year to $44.91 billion.South Korea's trade surplus came to $6.32 billion, marking 77 stra

July 1, 2018

Unemployment benefit payouts up 20% Jan.-May amid job crisis

South Korea's employment agency said Saturday the combined amount of unemployment benefit handed out to job seekers jumped more than 20 percent in the January-May period of 2018 from a year earlier.Unemployment benefit paid to local job seekers over the first five months of this year came to 2.69 trillion won ($2.41 billion), up 473.6 billion won from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Employment Information Service.This is a record-high figure for the period since the o

June 30, 2018

[Best Brand] Making it with good brands

In this day and age, a flood of new products and technologies bombard consumers with millions of choices daily, leading to word-of-mouth marketing and social media becoming influential tools for the promotion of products. In the past, brands were mainly built on accumulated decades of business, but modern-day brands are more about unique technologies and services that leave a strong impression on potential customers.  The current market environment also underscores the foundation of a stron

June 29, 2018

[Best Brand] Vornado Korea thrives in Korean market

Vornado Korea, which has imported air circulators from the US since 2007, continues to thrive in the Korean market. The US-based company Vornado dates back to 1945 in Kansas, where two men experimented with different designs to improve airplane propellers. Through continuous research and development, the propeller designs were applied to household fans and the Vornado Air Circulator was developed.Vornado has revolutionized fans used at homes through its product’s energy efficiency and prec

June 29, 2018

[Best Brand] Coway launches innovative CIROO direct water purifier

South Korean company Coway introduced the CIROO (Coway Intensive Reserve Osmosis) direct water purifier on June 18, moving to change the concept of water purifiers.The new product aims to resolve consumers’ dilemma of choosing between functions of a filter and a direct water purification system, the company explained.Originally, reserve osmosis membrane filters have less purified water capacity per length of use due to the dense and detailed nature of the filtering function compared to hol

June 29, 2018

Trumps touts revised trade deal with S. Korea

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump took credit Thursday for turning the US free trade agreement with South Korea into a "wonderful deal" for both countries.Trump was referring to a revision the two sides made to the Korea-US trade deal in March, which calls for further opening South Korea's auto market to the United States."We've renegotiated the deal, and subject to signing -- I always say subject to signing because lots of things happen ... But we made a new deal with South

June 29, 2018

Concerns raised about unchecked fiscal spending

Warnings have been raised against the increasing reliance of President Moon Jae-in’s government on fiscal spending to carry on what critics say is a mixture of misguided policies.Economists worry that the Moon administration’s eagerness to increase fiscal expenditure as a panacea for curing economic problems, which have been partly exacerbated by its policies, will hurt the country’s long-term fiscal soundness.Since taking office in May last year, Moon has pushed for income-led

June 27, 2018

Rival parties stand apart over government's drive for 'income-led growth'

Opposition parties have ratcheted up their criticism against the government's drive for "income-driven growth" following their crushing defeat in the recent local elections, calling for an outright review on the policy.The ruling Democratic Party is defending the economic policy, which calls for a virtuous cycle of increasing household income and spending, and the need for an expansionary fiscal policy to buttress it.The South Korean economy heavily depends on conglomerates-led exports

June 27, 2018

Govt. calls off scheduled meeting, prompting suspicions over whereabouts of Moon

The government called off a scheduled meeting on deregulation at the last minute on Wednesday, prompting suspicions over the whereabouts of President Moon Jae-in who had been set to attend the meeting.The meeting was originally scheduled to be held at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae from 3 p.m."Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon suggested the meeting be pushed back,"a Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters, noting the prime minister cited a lack of adequate preparations for the meeting de

June 27, 2018

Govt. vows ‘soft-landing’ of shorter workweek amid confusion

South Korean Deputy Prime Minister Kim Dong-yeon stressed Tuesday the need for a soft landing of a policy to shrink the workweek to 52 hours from 68 hours, amid overflowing reports of confusion at workplaces on how to manage the shorter hours.The 52-hour workweek is to go into effect starting Sunday, but the government and the ruling Democratic Party agreed to introduce a six-month grace period for the new scheme last week. “The government will set up a grace period until the end of this y

June 26, 2018

Emerging trade war weighs on Korea’s exports

An emerging trade war between the US and China is weighing on Korea’s exports, which have been losing traction this year.A 25 percent US tariff on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods is set to take effect from July 6, with further duties on another $16 billion in imports from China under consideration. China has pledged to slap tariffs of the “same scale and intensity” on US imports.President Donald Trump has threatened that Beijing’s countermoves would lead the US to impo

June 25, 2018

Electronic payments in S. Korea rally in Q1

The amount of payments made electronically in South Korea continued to rally in the first quarter of this year as a growing number of people are using mobile shopping and remittance services, central bank data showed Monday.The daily average amount of electronic financial transactions came to a record 581.53 billion won ($521.6 million) in the January-March period, up 13.2 percent from a quarter earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.The quarterly figure has broken records over th

June 25, 2018

Burdened by child care, working mothers work less than fathers

Working mothers in South Korea work fewer hours than fathers on average, the latest government data showed, a phenomenon that carries deeper patriarchal significance of role imbalance at home.Employed South Korean fathers work an average of 8.6 hours more than their female counterparts per week, according to the data from Statistics Korea last week.But experts say the figures only tell half the story, as many South Korean women are being held back from making career choices freely and compromise

June 24, 2018

Korea's fiscal contribution to income distribution among lowest in OECD in 2015

South Korea's fiscal spending was found to make less contribution to narrowing income inequality compared with other members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2015, data showed Sunday.The country's relative poverty rate, referring to the percentage of people with an income below 50 percent of the median income, came to 17.7 percent in 2015, according to data from the OECD.But when disposable income after taxes and public transfers is considered, the rate was found t

June 24, 2018

Average monthly income of single-person households below spending

　One-person households are spending more than their income on average, data showed Saturday, in a sign of economic trouble for a growing number of such households.　The average monthly income of one-person households came to 1.69 million won (US$1,520) in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea.　The statistics office said one-person households spent 1.77 million won per month on average last year. It marked the first time that the average income of one-person ho

June 23, 2018

S. Korea, Russia to conduct joint studies on cross-border energy projects

South Korea and Russia will conduct a joint study to check the feasibility of cross-border energy projects involving North Korea and prepare negotiations for a trade deal to bolster bilateral economic ties, Seoul's trade ministry said Friday. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it signed eight memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with Russia's energy ministry and state utility firms to expand cooperation in energy, industry and investment between the two nations.The agreements we

June 22, 2018

S. Korea’s sovereign rating remains at AA-: Fitch

Global credit rating agency Fitch on Friday presented a stable outlook for South Korea’s economy this year, maintaining the country’s sovereign credit rating at the current “AA-” level, the company said in a press release.The decision came in a balanced evaluation of Seoul’s robust external finances and strong macroeconomic capacities, as well as its challenging factors such as its peninsular volatility, rapid population aging and slowing productivity.“Geopoli

June 22, 2018

Govt. softens eligibility rules for welfare subsidies

The underprivileged will be eligible for state a housing subsidy starting in October even if they have immediate family members who have enough income or assets to be able to support them, the welfare ministry said Friday.The Ministry of Health and Welfare will carry out of a phased softening of standing regulations that disqualify people from various government subsidies because they have parents or children who are financially capable of helping them. Such rules will be lifted for housing fund

June 22, 2018

[Newsmaker] FTC meets archnemesis -- prosecution

The prosecutors’ latest search and seizure of the Fair Trade Commission was purportedly to look into its suspected backscratching ties with top-tier business groups and to check on potential power abuse by the antitrust watchdog. But the abrupt action was also viewed as a chronic power struggle between the prosecution and the FTC -- often dubbed “prosecutors in the economic realm” -- over the latter’s expansive range of rights concerning fair trade rule violations.On the

June 21, 2018

US-China trade dispute will have limited impact on Korea: study

The escalating trade dispute between the United States and China is expected to affect South Korea's exports to the world's two largest economies, but only to a limited extent, a study showed Thursday. The US has threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on up to $50 billion of 1,102 Chinese goods in response to alleged intellectual property theft, with the initial tariffs worth $34 billion set to go into effect on July 6. China said it will impose 25 percent tariffs on 659 US goods worth $50 bil

June 21, 2018