Korea exposed to fallout from US tax cuts, rate hikes

Concerns are growing among economists and businesses here over the fallout from a reversal of corporate tax rates and interest rates in Korea and the US.Last year, Korea raised the tax rate on companies with annual taxable profits of more than 200 billion won ($184.5 million) to 25 percent from 22 percent, whereas a tax overhaul passed by the US Congress last month lowered the maximum corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent.Next month is likely to see a US benchmark interest rate exceed

Feb. 12, 2018

[Monitor] Korea's trade surplus with the US drops

The United States exported record-high $48.28 billion worth of goods to South Korea in 2017, while Korea exported $71.16 billion of products to the US, data by the US Department of Commerce showed.Korea’s trade surplus consequently dropped 17 percent on-year, contrary to Washington’s current claim that the free trade pact was disadvantaging the US.The US trade deficit stood at $22.88 billion, down $4.69 billion from the $27.57 billion tallied in 2016.The commerce department attribute

Feb. 12, 2018

SK Chemical, two others fined for misleading info over humidifier sterilizer

SK Chemical Co. and two other firms were fined for providing insufficient and misleading information on its humidifier sterilizer products, the country's corporate watchdog said Monday.The Fair Trade Commission said it has decided to levy a total of 134 million won ($124,000) in fines on SK Chemical, Aekyung Industrial Co. and E-Mart Co. for manufacturing and selling humidifier sterilizer without informing consumers of possible health hazards.In December of last year, the FTC reopened its probe

Feb. 12, 2018

Korea to seek investor protection measures in FTA talks with China

South Korea's trade ministry said Monday it will seek ways to better protect investor rights from arbitrary regulations when holding talks with China to expand the scope of the two countries' free trade agreement to the service and investment sector.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it will push for the FTA talks in a way that creates new business opportunities for local companies in the tourism, culture, legal and medical industries. South Korea and China implemented the FTA focus

Feb. 12, 2018

Korea national debt per capital hits W13m: data

South Korea's per capita national debt hit 13 million won ($11,900), more than double that of 2008 when the country was reeling from the aftermath of the global financial crisis, official data showed Sunday.The National Assembly Budget Office said that as of Saturday, the national debt stood at 671.5 trillion won, up 4.6 trillion won from late last year and 2.2 times greater than the 309 trillion won tallied a decade earlier when the per capita debt stood at 6.31 million won.It said that, based

Feb. 11, 2018

BOK warns of slow pace in private consumption, despite steady growth

South Korea’s economy has entered a recovery track, steered by global economic improvement and strong exports, but its private consumption sector remains slow due to a record-high amount of household debt, the nation’s central bank said Thursday.According to the Bank of Korea‘s monetary policy report to the National Assembly, private consumption climbed by 2.3 percent from the fourth quarter of 2016 to the third quarter of last year, marking slow growth compared to the conventi

Feb. 8, 2018

Debate rages on impact of minimum wage hikes

Different views have been raised over whether a sharp increase in the minimum wage will result in a significant loss of jobs down the road.Korea’s minimum wage, which is applied across all regions and sectors, is set at 7,530 won per hour ($6.95) for 2018, up 16.4 percent from last year. It marks the first double-digit increase in more than a decade.The Minimum Wage Commission, comprising members who represent the government, employers and labor groups, last year agreed on the steep increa

Feb. 7, 2018

Seoul delays implementing tax change for foreign investors

South Korea's finance ministry said Tuesday it would delay the implementation of a revised tax scheme designed to widen the taxation base among foreign investors in the face of strong calls from related industries to scrap such a move.Under the revised tax schemes, the Seoul government was planning to collect capital gain taxes from foreign investors who own more than 5 percent stakes in locally listed companies, lowering the ownership threshold from 25 percent.But the ministry said it would rev

Feb. 6, 2018

Korea faces 40 import restrictions from US

South Korea faces far more import restrictions from the United States than any other country in a clear sign of growing American trade pressure on its ally, a trade body said Tuesday.Asia's fourth-largest economy was subject to 196 import regulations from the rest of the world as of Monday, with the US taking up the lion's share of 40 cases, according to the Korea International Trade Association.Of the total American restrictions, 30 cases were anti-dumping investigations, with countervailing du

Feb. 6, 2018

[Monitor] Korea’s current account surplus narrows

South Korea’s services account deficit widened to $3.77 billion in December last year, from a deficit of $730 million a year earlier due to a rise in overseas trips and foreign business services, preliminary data by the Bank of Korea showed Monday.Such a sharp rise in deficit in the service account has led to the country‘s current account surplus to narrow in December, marking $4.09 billion, down from a surplus of $6.96 billion a year earlier.For all of 2017, Korea’s current ac

Feb. 5, 2018

Concerns rise over signals of weakening economy

Recent economic indicators point to the weakening vitality of the Korean economy shored up largely by an increase in exports.Business sentiments remain pessimistic as manufacturing and construction sectors are suffering setbacks. Core inflation, which excludes volatile oil and food prices, has dropped to an 18-year low, reflecting sluggish domestic demand.Manufacturing output shrank 6.6 percent from a year earlier in December, following a 1.7 percent on-year decline in the previous month, accord

Feb. 5, 2018

Korea's current account surplus narrows to $4.09b for December

South Korea's current account surplus narrowed in December last year from a year earlier due mainly to a sharp rise in the deficit in the service account, central bank data showed Monday. The country's current account surplus reached $4.09 billion in December, down from a surplus of $6.96 billion a year earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.It marked the 70th consecutive month of a current account surplus, which started in March 2012. The services account deficit wide

Feb. 5, 2018

[Monitor] Median price of Seoul apartments surpasses W700m

 The median price of apartments in Seoul surpassed 700 million won ($651,000) for the first time in January. According to KB Bank, the price rose 3 percent from the previous month, reaching 705 million won. The bank has been conducting surveys on the median apartment price since December 2008. The median price is the figure in the middle of the numbers that range from lowest to highest.　

Feb. 2, 2018

S. Korea, China agree to boost tourism, economic cooperation

The top economic policymakers of South Korea and China agreed to boost bilateral tourism and economic cooperation, Seoul's finance ministry said Friday, in a sign that Beijing may stop its retaliation against South Korean companies over the stationing of a US missile system. The agreement came after talks between South Korean Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon and his Chinese counterpart, He Lifeng, chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission, earlier in the day. Kim has said

Feb. 2, 2018

Inflation weakest in 17 months, Seoul vows actions to keep prices flat

South Korea’s monthly consumer inflation came to 1 percent in January on-year, the slowest gain in 17 months, as the prices of agricultural goods such as vegetables fell, data showed Thursday.Calling such weak inflation “economic stability at target range,” the government pledged Thursday to carry out pre-emptive measures to curb consumer price fluctuations ahead of next week’s 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games and the national Lunar New Year holiday later in the mont

Feb. 1, 2018

Korea's exports jump 22.2% in Jan. on memory chips

South Korea's exports soared 22.2 percent in January from a year earlier on brisk sales of memory chips and petrochemical products, government data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments came to $49.21 billion for January, up from $40.25 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Exports rose for the 15th month in a row, posting double-digit growth for the first time in four months.Imports also jumped 20.9 percent on-year to $45.48 billion

Feb. 1, 2018

US safeguards could hurt trade talks with Korea: ex-negotiator

The United States' recent issuance of safeguard measures against washers and solar panels could hurt the prospects of amending a bilateral free trade agreement with South Korea, a former US negotiator said Wednesday.Wendy Cutler, former chief negotiator for the Korea-US free trade agreement, raised the concern as bilateral talks are under way to renegotiate the five-year-old pact.A week earlier, US President Donald Trump approved tariffs on imported large residential washing machines and solar c

Feb. 1, 2018

Korea seeks qualitative growth of inbound tourism

Korea's tourism promotion agency said Wednesday it will push forward efforts to stabilize and diversify the country's inbound tourism market this year, as part of its broader aims to achieve qualitative growth.The Korea Tourism Organization plans to unfold a two-track approach where it focuses on stabilizing inflows of visitors from such countries as China, Japan and the United States, while diversifying its portfolio by attracting people from other countries, including Vietnam and India.The tou

Jan. 31, 2018

Korea, US begin 2nd round of FTA talks

South Korea and the United States on Wednesday began their second round of talks to amend their free trade agreement, amid rising trade tensions between the two nations over Washington slapping steep tariffs on washers and solar panels.The two-day talks come a week after US President Donald Trump signed safeguard tariffs on foreign washers and solar panels, including those from South Korea, saying the measures would protect American jobs.The Seoul government is expected to raise the topic of US

Jan. 31, 2018

Samsung, LG add new logistics facilities in US over safeguard measures

Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. said Tuesday they have set up new logistics facilities in the United States in an apparent move to better cope with US safeguard measures.Samsung Electronics America has signed a deal with a real-estate firm to lease a 421,000-square-foot facility in Edgefield County, South Carolina, a Samsung official said.The new facility appears to serve as a hub for warehousing and shipping washing machines being produced in Samsung's appliance factory in Newbe

Jan. 30, 2018