Korean president calls for enhanced cooperation with Saudi Arabia

South Korean President Moon Jae-in called for joint efforts to boost economic cooperation between his country and Saudi Arabia Friday, stressing the need to expand their bilateral cooperation to other areas, including the health and cultural sectors.While meeting with the visiting energy minister of Saudi Arabia, Khalid A. Al-Falih, Moon also sought to promote his country's nuclear energy technology, noting the country has safely built and operated nuclear power plants for over four decades, the

May 4, 2018

Korea, Saudi Arabia discuss ways to expand energy cooperation

South Korea and Saudi Arabia discussed ways to step up cooperation in the energy sector as Seoul seeks to tender a bid for the Middle Eastern nation's nuclear power project, the industry ministry here said Friday.Paik Un-gyu, South Korean minister of trade, industry and energy, met with Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid Al Falih in Seoul to explore ways to expand collaboration for "Saudi Vision 2030."Under the economic blueprint, the Middle Eastern kingdom has been pushing to reduc

May 4, 2018

Seoul, Beijing, Tokyo oppose trade protectionism, hail inter-Korean summit

MANILA -- Finance chiefs from South Korea, China and Japan on Friday warned against growing protectionism trends and stressed the importance of promoting an open and rule-based trade framework."We stressed the importance of resisting all forms of protectionism, ensuring an open and rule-based multilateral trade and investment system, and of strengthening resilience against external shocks, and agree to further enhance communication and coordination among China, Japan and Korea," they s

May 4, 2018

[Monitor] Growth of household loans hits 5-month high

South Korea‘s personal loans increased by over 1 trillion won ($929 billion) to 99.7 trillion won in April, pushing the overall household loans to grow at the fastest speed in five months in April, data by five major commercial banks showed Thursday.The banks include KB Kookmin, Shinhan, KEB Hana, Woori and NH Nonghyup.It is the first time since November last year for personal loans to increase by over 1 trillion won, a trend attributable to the government’s tougher rules on mortgage

May 3, 2018

[Monitor] Korea's trade dependence increases for first time in 6 years

South Korea’s reliance on trade climbed in 2017 for the first time in six years, data from the Bank of Korea showed Wednesday.The share of the country‘s trade to its gross national income came to 84 percent last year, up 3.1 percentage points from the previous year. It is the first on-year increase since 2011.The share had remained in the 60 to 70 percent range before jumping to 104.5 percent in 2008 in the wake of the global financial crisis. It further increased to 113.5 percent in

May 3, 2018

Applicants for 'unemployment credits' jump in Q1

South Korea saw more jobless people seek financial assistance from the state pension fund in the first quarter of this year amid the country's worsening unemployment situation, data showed Thursday.According to the data from the National Pension Service, 129,000 unemployed people applied for the so-called unemployment credits in the January-March period, up 12 percent from the same period a year earlier.Unemployment credits are the pension operator's financial support for those who receive unemp

May 3, 2018

Hyundai Mobis to retire $600b of treasury stocks

Hyundai Mobis, the auto parts maker affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, said Wednesday that it will retire treasury stocks worth 587.5 billion won ($546 million) over the next three years as part of its plan to enhance shareholder value.In a special directorate meeting, the company said that it would retire its current 1.61 million treasury stocks, worth around 40 million won, officials said.The company currently holds 2.04 million stocks, which are to be converted into 1.61 million units after a

May 2, 2018

BOK chief to attend meeting of Southeast Asian central bank governors

South Korea's central bank chief will attend a meeting with his counterparts from countries of Southeast and Northeast Asia later this week, the Bank of Korea said Wednesday.BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol will attend the 21st meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Plus Three finance ministers and central bank governors to be held in Manila on Friday, according to the BOK.ASEAN Plus Three is a forum aimed at enhancing cooperation between ASEAN and the three East Asian countries of South Kore

May 2, 2018

S. Korea's consumer prices rise 1.6% in April

SEJONG -- South Korea's consumer prices increased more than 1 percent in April on a rise in prices of agricultural and industrial goods, government data showed Wednesday.The country's consumer price index climbed 1.6 percent last month from a year earlier, accelerating from the previous month's 1.3 percent on-year gain, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.The April figure is well below the Bank of Korea's target of 2 percent for the year, stoking speculation that the central bank'

May 2, 2018

US to levy antidumping duties on S. Korean carbon, alloy steel wire rod

WASHINGTON -- The United States will levy antidumping duties on imports of South Korean carbon and alloy steel wire rod due to their harmful effect on the domestic industry, a US trade panel said Tuesday.The US International Trade Commission said it had determined that a domestic industry was being "materially injured" by imports of carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod from South Korea, Italy, Spain, Turkey and Britain.The Commerce Department determined in March that the five countr

May 2, 2018

US formally exempts S. Korea from steel tariffs

WASHINGTON  -- The United States on Monday formally exempted South Korea from steep tariffs on steel imports, saying the move was in line with national security interests.US President Donald Trump earlier announced a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports from all countries in principle, citing the need to protect the nation from what his administration called a threat to national security."Today, President Donald J. Trump issued two proclamation

May 1, 2018

Infrastructure budget cuts raise concerns

With a thaw in inter-Korean relations raising expectations for possible infrastructure projects in the North, concerns are growing over decreasing budgets set aside to build and refurbish social overhead capital in the South.It is still too early to discuss economic cooperation with North Korea as there remain many hurdles to its denuclearization that would be rewarded with the lifting of international sanctions on the impoverished regime. If the North would eventually take steps to scrap its nu

April 30, 2018

Work hour reduction comes with both expectations, concerns by economic actors

SEJONG -- Reductions in legal work hours to go into effect from July 1 are raising expectations for better quality of life outside of the office in a country where people put in some of the longest work hours in the world, but they are also fueling worries about lost jobs and wages, economic observers said Monday.Laws were revised to set legal working hours at 52 per week, down from 68. The new regulations will be applied first at work sites with 300 employees or more.South Korea has long been k

April 30, 2018

Korea's industrial output dips 2.5% in March

South Korea's industrial output fell in March from a month earlier on a dip in production in the automaking and machinery sectors, government data showed Monday.Production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries fell 2.5 percent on-month in March, following an adjusted 0.8 percent on-month gain in the previous month, according to the data by Statistics Korea.From a year earlier, industrial output plunged 4.3 percent, following a 6.8 percent on-year fall in February.Productio

April 30, 2018

Peace mood to have limited impact on Korean market: report

Ongoing peace gestures involving North Korea could have positive impacts on South Korea's equity markets, though global woes would limit their upward momentum, a global investment bank said Friday.Marking the culmination of a series of inter-Korean reconciliation moves in recent months, the historic inter-Korean summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is now underway at the border truce village of Panmunjom.  "It seems markets are beginning

April 27, 2018

S. Korea to impose anti-dumping duties on PET film imports

SEJONG -- South Korea's finance ministry said Thursday it has decided to levy anti-dumping duties on polyethylene terephthalate film imported from Taiwan, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates for the next three years.In January, the country's trade commission recommended the government levy stiff duties on the product, citing substantial damage to the local industry.Starting April 30, duties ranging from 3.67 percent to 60.95 percent will be slapped on synthetic resin imported from the three co

April 26, 2018

Korean economy grows 1.1% on-quarter in Q1: BOK

South Korea's economy rebounded 1.1 percent in the first quarter from three months earlier thanks to increased investment and exports, central bank data showed Thursday.In the January-March period, the country's gross domestic product increased 1.1 percent from the previous quarter, turning around from a 0.2 percent drop three months earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.From a year earlier, Asia's fourth-largest economy expanded 2.8 percent over the three-month period.&q

April 26, 2018

Korea’s worsening unemployment goes against global trend

Korea’s unemployment problem has continued to worsen in recent years, with all other major economies seeing their job markets tightening in keeping with robust growth.According to data from Statistics Korea and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the country’s unemployment rate rose from 3.5 percent in 2014 to 3.7 percent in 2017, while the average jobless rate of 34 OECD members dropped from 7.4 percent to 5.8 percent over the same period.What should be noted

April 25, 2018

Korea's consumer sentiment drops to 1-yr low in April

South Korea's consumer confidence dropped for five months in a row to hit a one-year low in April due mainly to a possible US-China trade row and a strengthening local currency, a central bank poll showed Wednesday.The composite consumer sentiment index for this month stood at 107.1, down 1 point from the previous month, according to the survey by the Bank of Korea.The index has been on a steady decline since touching a seven-year high of 112 in November and has reached the lowest level since Ap

April 25, 2018