Korea, Britain to hold talks over post-Brexit trade deal

Trade officials of South Korea and Britain will meet this week to discuss ways to forge a new trade deal after London exits from the European Union, Seoul's trade ministry said Monday.South Korea signed a free trade agreement with the EU in 2011, but it will have to strike a fresh deal with Britain once it formally leaves the 28-nation bloc in March 2019.South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Britain's Department of International Trade formed a trade working group in December a

Dec. 11, 2017

Korea to strengthen oversight of financial groups

South Korea will strengthen oversight of local financial groups as part of its effort to better check the sector, the state regulator said Sunday.The Financial Services Commission said it will set a so-called financial group innovation body that will begin work on Monday. The special body will be made up of two teams that will be tasked with monitoring such matters as ownership structure risks, capital adequacy, internal trading bans and emergency contingency plans.The newly formed entity, which

Dec. 10, 2017

S. Korea to grow 3.1% this year on solid global economic expansion: HRI

South Korea's economy is expected to expand 3.1 percent this year on the back of solid worldwide growth, a local think tank said Sunday.The forecast marks a 0.4 percentage-point increase from estimates made two months earlier, Hyundai Research Institute said.The leading private think tank said it has marked up growth forecasts for 2018 by 0.3 percentage point to 2.8 percent."Growth is being fueled by a general economic recovery taking place all over the world," HRI said. It said expect

Dec. 10, 2017

Korea maintains second-largest coal subsidies in world: report

South Korea maintains the second-largest coal subsidies in the world, as other countries move to cut state support for such energy programs, a report by an autonomous intergovernmental organization said Sunday.The latest findings released in the 2017 World Energy Outlook by the Paris-based International Energy Agency showed Seoul spent $150 million to subsidize the coal sector in 2016.Energy-related subsidies are paid by the state to producers and consumers to bolster industries and make energy

Dec. 10, 2017

US lobby group opens FTA support site

Ahead of trade revision talks between Seoul and Washington over the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement, the US Chamber of Commerce has launched a website highlighting the benefits of the KORUS deal. 　Since the Donald Trump administration announced its intent to amend the five-year-old bilateral trade deal earlier this year, representatives of the US Chamber of Commerce have publicly voiced opposition against altering terms of the FTA, saying, “The KORUS agreement is working.” 　&ldquo

Dec. 8, 2017

Seoul to seek pre-emptive, market-centered corporate restructuring: finance minister

South Korea will engage in constant, pre-emptive, market-centered corporate restructuring going forward, breaking away from government-spearheaded responses to developments that have been the norm in the past, the country's chief economic policymaker sad Friday."The government will reshape its corporate restructuring paradigm in a way that can prod existing companies to seek innovation and strengthen their competitiveness," Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said at an economy-related mini

Dec. 8, 2017

Korean economy on recovery track thanks to exports: govt. report

The South Korean economy is maintaining its current recovery pace on the back of strong overseas sales, although there are some downside risks, such as North Korea's provocations and ongoing trade issues, a government report said Friday."The South Korean economy is keeping its recovery pace, aided by robust exports in line with the improving global economy," the finance ministry said in its monthly economy assessment report. "For the time being, its recovery pace is expected to co

Dec. 8, 2017

Korea to spend more on public homes, city renovation next year

South Korea plans to spend 23.3 trillion won ($21.3 billion) next year to provide more public residential houses and renovate existing homes and infrastructure facilities, the transport ministry said Wednesday.The figure represents 58 percent of the 40.4 trillion won allocated to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The 2018 expenditure for public homes and renovation projects jumped 10 percent from 21.2 trillion won a year earlier, the ministry said.The government said it will spe

Dec. 6, 2017

Korea collects W1.14tr in taxes from offshore tax evaders

South Korea's tax office said Wednesday that it has collected 1.14 trillion won ($1.04 billion) in taxes from suspected offshore tax evaders so far this year.The National Tax Service collected the amount in the first 10 months of the year from 187 offshore tax dodgers. The take is slightly more than the 1.1 trillion won dues collected from evaders in the same period a year earlier, it said.In 2016, the NTS collected a total of 1.3 trillion won from 228 overseas tax dodgers. Offshore tax evasion

Dec. 6, 2017

Finance minister vows to create more jobs

South Korea's chief economic policymaker vowed Wednesday to create more jobs even though the employment situation is not favorable at present.In a meeting with a group of employees of a local firm in southern Seoul, Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said the government's top priority is to generate good jobs. "This year's economic growth is expected to top 3 percent and exports remain bullish," Kim said. "But employment conditions are still facing difficulties." Some 20 trillion

Dec. 6, 2017

Economic growth to slow to 2.9% in 2018: KDI

The South Korean economy is expected to grow 2.9 percent next year, slowing down from this year's estimate of a 3.1 percent expansion, as export growth and domestic consumption recovers, while facility investment declines."Our economy's export growth will be maintained and domestic consumption should recover, but a growth of facility investment and construction will slow down," the KDI said in its latest outlook report. The KDI's latest growth estimate for next year is higher than its

Dec. 6, 2017

Economic recovery pace slows down: KDI

South Korea's export-led economic recovery is showing signs of slowing down as the growth of outbound shipments decelerates, although consumer sentiment is continuing its upward trend, a state-run think tank said Wednesday."October posted a sharp contraction in production indicators, but the improvement trend was maintained at a modest pace, given the reduced workdays caused by the long Chuseok holiday. Most production indicators posted negative growth but there was a small increase in aver

Dec. 6, 2017

Govt. to focus on boosting nat'l interest in KORUS FTA renegotiation: finance minister

South Korea's chief economic policymaker said Wednesday that the government will put its focus on expanding national interest at the upcoming free trade deal renegotiations with the United States."National interest will be the top priority in the talks (for the trade pact)," Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said in an economy-related meeting. "Our government should make utmost efforts to reflect the views of the industrial sector and fully take into consideration the whole economy.&

Dec. 6, 2017

Govt. holds meeting on luring China investment

South Korea's commerce ministry hosted a meeting of Chinese entrepreneurs and private experts in Seoul on Wednesday to help address tumbling investment from the neighboring country.The meeting, the second of its kind this year, focused on ways on how to stem plunging investment in South Korea from Chinese companies and seek investment cooperation models, the ministry said.The gathering brought together officials from Chinese companies that have built production facilities in South Korea, and pri

Dec. 6, 2017

Seoul expresses 'deep' regret over inclusion on EU tax haven blacklist

South Korea slammed the European Union's decision on Wednesday to put Asia's fourth-largest economy on a new EU blacklist of tax havens, saying that its inclusion is "not in accordance with international standards" and poses the risk of "violating taxation sovereignty."On Tuesday, the EU disclosed a blacklist of 17 countries, including Macau, the Marshall Islands and the United Arab Emirates in what it claims is a substantive step to deter worldwide tax avoidance.The EU said

Dec. 6, 2017

Long holiday, Chinese travel ban cause largest travel deficit in October: data

South Korea’s current account balance in the service sector hit a record low in October, due to the soaring number of overseas trips during the long Chuseok holiday and a drop in the number of Chinese tourists here, central bank data showed Tuesday.The services account deficit widened in October to a record $3.53 billion from the $1.79 billion deficit a year earlier, according to preliminary data released by the Bank of Korea. The previous record was $3.34 billion observed in January this

Dec. 5, 2017

Seoul to complete process for FTA talks by Dec. 18

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced Tuesday that it plans to submit a report regarding its plans to renegotiate the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement to the National Assembly on Dec. 18. 　Submitting the plans to the parliament will mark the conclusion of the necessary procedures here in order to begin trade talks with Washington. 　Under current laws, the government is required to make a report to the legislature about the target, agenda and countermeasure plans in entering a negotia

Dec. 5, 2017

Korea's per-capita GDP to top $30,000 in 2018: Goldman Sachs

South Korea's per-capita gross domestic product is expected to surpass $30,000 in 2018 on brisk exports of chips and other positives, Goldman Sachs said Tuesday."Unless there is any big change in South Korean and global export conditions, South Korea's per-capita GDP will likely break the $30,000 level next year for the first time," Goldman Sachs economist Kwon Goo-hoon said in a news conference on the country's 2018 economic outlook.South Korea would achieve the landmark for the third

Dec. 5, 2017

Smoking rate to drop this year as tobacco sales fall due to price hikes: official

South Korea's smoking rate will likely drop this year, as sales of cigarettes have fallen due to a big increase in the price of tobacco in 2015, an official source said Tuesday.Citing the need to discourage smoking, the government increased taxes on cigarettes by 2,000 won ($1.70) per pack, effective Jan. 1, 2015, raising the price to 4,500 won per pack.The smoking rate for males over 19 years old fell to 39.4 percent in 2015 from 43.1 percent a year earlier, the first drop since 1998, when the

Dec. 5, 2017

Moon vows support for smaller exporters, urges efforts to diversify

President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday pledged efforts to expand the country's exports, especially by small and medium-sized firms, in his address to mark the annual Trade Day."Trade is a mainstay of our economy. Trade is making the heart of our economy beat strongly this year," the president said.Moon commended local exporters for breaching the US$1 trillion mark in annual trade, the sixth largest in the world. He noted South Korean products' global market share is expected to reach a recor

Dec. 5, 2017