Seoul, Washington to kick off FTA talks next week

South Korea and the United States are to start the first round of negotiations to amend their bilateral Free Trade Agreement on Jan. 5 in Washington, Seoul’s Trade Ministry said Wednesday.The move to revise the 5-year-old trade deal, triggered upon US President Donald Trump’s request, is expected to raise differences between the two countries regarding their stances toward the automobile and agricultural and livestock goods sectors.“During the forthcoming negotiations, we plan

Dec. 28, 2017

BOK to keep expansionary monetary policy in 2018

South Korea's central bank said Thursday that it will maintain an expansionary monetary policy next year, but it will keep close tabs on economic conditions in order to tailor its policies accordingly."The domestic economy is expected to pull off stable growth next year, but the central bank will stay expansionary on low inflationary pressure," said the Bank of Korea in a report on its annual monetary strategy for 2018. "While closely looking into growth and consumer prices, the B

Dec. 28, 2017

Korea, US to kick off trade deal renegotiation next week

WASHINGTON -- South Korea and the United States will kick off negotiations to amend their bilateral free trade agreement next week, Seoul's trade ministry said Wednesday.The first round of talks will be held in Washington on Jan. 5 following months of preparation triggered by the Donald Trump administration's request to revise the pact.US President Trump has blamed the five-year-old deal, known as KORUS, for the growing US trade deficit with South Korea. But Seoul has pointed to macroeconomic fa

Dec. 28, 2017

Economic policies to focus on improving quality of life in 2018

South Korea’s key economic policy goal for next year is to create jobs and innovate growth, under a mid- and long-term vision to improve people’s quality of life, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Wednesday.The nation’s economy is expected to grow 3 percent next year on the back of a solid global economy and a series of policy measures by the Moon Jae-in administration, while the per capita gross national income will reach the $30,000 level, according to the ministry.&l

Dec. 27, 2017

Economic policies center on boosting job creation, quality of life in 2018

South Korea will implement its economic policy next year to boost job creation and innovative growth, which will help improve quality of life, while laying the foundation to tackle the country's chronic low birthrate and maintain a decent economic expansion over the mid-to-long haul, the finance ministry said Wednesday.The economy is expected to grow at around 3 percent next year, following this year's estimated 3.1 percent expansion, on the back of the solid global economy and a series of polic

Dec. 27, 2017

Govt., steelmakers discuss ways to tackle US trade protectionism

South Korea's trade ministry and local steelmakers have discussed ways to cope with the United States' growing trade protectionism including adjusting steel exports, officials said Monday.The ministry held a meeting with trade experts and local steelmakers, including top player POSCO and its rival Hyundai Steel Co., on Thursday to discuss how to tackle Washington's move to restrict the imports of South Korean steel products.Some experts proposed the need for local companies to reduce steel expor

Dec. 26, 2017

[Monitor] S. Korea’s quarterly growth rate third-highest in G-20

South Korea’s quarterly growth rate of gross domestic product in volume grew 1.5 percent in the third quarter of the year, according to data compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.The country’s growth rate between July and September was the third-highest on-quarter increase among G-20 countries, after China and India. China’s GDP in volume grew 1.7 percent, while India saw 1.6 percent of growth in the same period.

Dec. 25, 2017

Economic recovery without wage hikes picked among top 10 trends next year

Economic recovery without a wage increase has been picked as one of top 10 global trends next year, a local think tank said Monday. In the 2018 Global 10 Trends report, the Hyundai Research Institute (HRI) said an economic recovery without wage hikes is widely expected globally as employers in advanced countries prefer hiring low-paying temporary workers to regular employees. The research institute expected the number of low-paying jobs in the food and housing industry will increase but that of

Dec. 25, 2017

Innovating service sector crucial to sustain growth

Korea needs to step up efforts to advance service industries to ensure sustainable economic growth amid mounting trade protectionism across the globe, economists here say.In terms of service sector competitiveness, the country remains near the bottom among member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.According to OECD data, labor productivity of service industries was just 45.1 percent of that of manufacturing industries in Korea in 2014, far below 87.8 percent in F

Dec. 25, 2017

Korea's economy may achieve 3% growth in 2018: poll

South Korea's economy may be able to pull off 3 percent growth in 2018, although numbers may dip slightly from this year, a poll conducted on head of local think tanks predicted Monday.The six research institute chiefs said in the survey carried out by Yonhap News Agency, said exports that have fueled growth in2017 will likely trail off with facility investment and the construction sector also holding back the economy.New jobs to be created in the new year could reach around 300,000, which is a

Dec. 25, 2017

Growth of household financial assets hits record low

　Growth of South Korean households’ financial assets reached an all-time low this year amid prolonged low interest rates, government data showed Sunday.　The average financial assets of local households stood at 97.8 million won (US$90,600) as of the end of March, up a mere 1.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea, the Financial Supervisory Service and the Bank of Korea.　It marked the lowest on-year gain since 2012, when those agencies began compiling rel

Dec. 24, 2017

Heads of major banks eye 3 pct growth for 2018: poll

The chiefs of South Korea‘s major commercial banks expect the economy to expand around 3 percent on-year in 2018 on brisk exports and a recovery in consumer spending, a poll showed Sunday.　In written interviews with Yonhap News Agency, the heads of the lenders -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, KB Hana and Nonghyup -- forecast Asia’s fourth-largest economy to continue its recovery pace in the coming year.　South Korea‘s overseas shipments are projected to remain resilient thanks to

Dec. 24, 2017

Finance minister cautiously upbeat about 2018 economic growth

South Korea's chief economic policymaker has said the South Korean economy will see solid growth in 2018, but there are still headwinds."The global economy is expected to remain strong, but at the same there are unfavorable external factors, such as trade protectionism and rate hikes," Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said in a press meeting Thursday. "We also have many things to do for job creation, and that's the top priority of next year's economic policy."Asia's fourth-larg

Dec. 22, 2017

Govt. to promote production, use of ultra-small cars

The government said Friday it will push legislation early next year to promote the production and use of supermini vehicles as a means of saving energy.Ultra-small vehicles will include those with less than 250 cc in engine capacity or 15kW in rated output, that are lighter than 600 kilograms and have a maximum speed of 80 kms per hour, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said.In comparison, vehicles with up to 1,000 cc in engine capacity are categorized as small cars under the Au

Dec. 22, 2017

Korean household owes more than W70m in debt: data

One South Korean household owes more than 70 million won ($65,000) on average to banks and other financial companies this year as people borrowed to buy homes and invest in real estate and business activities, government data showed Thursday.The average household debt was tallied at 70.22 million won as of end-March this year, up 4.5 percent from a year earlier, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea.Of the total, 71.2 percent, or 49.98 million won, was financial loans, up 5.9 percent on

Dec. 21, 2017

Korea likely to grow closer to its potential growth rate in 2018: BOK chief

South Korea's central bank chief said Thursday that Asia's fourth-largest economy is expected to pull off growth close to its potential economic growth rate based on favorable global trade conditions."Despite many difficulties, the South Korean economy achieved 3 percent growth this year," Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said at a meeting with economic experts and advisers. "For next year, the economy will expand at its potential growth rate if there are no unpredictable developmen

Dec. 21, 2017

Govt., ruling party seek measures to ensure fair transactions between big and small firms

The government and ruling Democratic Party agreed Thursday to seek a package of measures to ensure fair transactions among large and smaller companies, including bolstering negotiating power for subcontractors.During their policy consultation meeting, they stressed the need to address "imbalances in power" among local firms, citing them as the root cause of unfair business practices that have gnawed at subcontractors' competitiveness.The ruling bloc has recently been striving to better

Dec. 21, 2017

Record number of job quitters remain unemployed

A record number of South Koreans who quit their jobs more than a year ago remained unemployed in November amid a severe job crunch, government data showed Thursday.According to the data from Statistics Korea, those people accounted for 30 percent of the country's total jobless tallied at 874,000 last month.It marks the first time that the ratio has reached the 30 percent mark since the agency started to compile related data in June 1999. The figure had stayed in the 10 percent range before excee

Dec. 21, 2017

Trade figures veil weakening competitiveness

Impressive trade figures logged by Korea this year have veiled the weakening competitiveness of its major manufacturing industries, analysts here say.The country’s outbound shipments in the first 11 months of the year reached a record-high $524.8 billion, up 16.5 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Riding on the surge in exports, Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw its annual trade volume exceed $1 trillion last week. Korea&rsq

Dec. 20, 2017

Jobs, innovation, aging key parts of economic policy for 2018

South Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister Kim Dong-yeon said Wednesday the country needs to tackle unemployment, foster innovative growth and address the low birthrate and aging population, a week ahead of releasing the economic policy direction for next year.While Kim assured that Korea would achieve economic growth of 3 percent this year and maintain a robust uptrend in the wake of the improving Korea-China relationship, he said the country would face persistent economic threats from within th

Dec. 20, 2017