Most Popular
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Jung's paternity reveal exposes where Korea stands on extramarital babies
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Samsung entangled in legal risks amid calls for drastic reform
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Heavy snow alerts issued in greater Seoul area, Gangwon Province; over 20 cm of snow seen in Seoul
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[Herald Interview] 'Trump will use tariffs as first line of defense for American manufacturing'
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Agency says Jung Woo-sung unsure on awards attendance after lovechild revelations
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[Health and care] Getting cancer young: Why cancer isn’t just an older person’s battle
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K-pop fandoms wield growing influence over industry decisions
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Korea's auto industry braces for Trump’s massive tariffs in Mexico
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[Graphic News] International marriages on rise in Korea
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Seoul's first snowfall could hit hard, warns weather agency
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Mortgage loans by young household heads up sharply in past 4 1/2
Mortgage loans by those in their 20s and 30s have risen dramatically in the past 4 1/2 years, government data showed Tuesday, raising concerns of overdue payments.The average household whose head is in his 20s and 30s had 115 million won ($100,104) in mortgage loans last September, up 37.6 percent from 4 1/2 years earlier, according to figures by the Bank of Korea. Those in their 40s had 116 million won in mortgage loans last September, up 22.7 percent from 4 1/2 years earlier.The comparable fig
July 4, 2017
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Korea has greater income gap than 24 European countries: report
South Korea has a greater income gap at workplaces than 24 European countries, a local think tank said Tuesday. The Korea Economic Research Institute said the average salary earned by Korean workers with a career of 20-29 years in a company was 4.04 times higher than the average wage made by their junior colleagues with a career of less than one year. The result was in sharp contrast with a 1.56 times difference between the two groups in 23 European states, such as Germany, Spain, Britain and th
July 4, 2017
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Korea to boost public sector hiring of young people: panel
President Moon Jae-in's policy advisory panel said Tuesday that the government will expand hiring of young people in the public sector, the latest in a series of efforts to create jobs.Currently, public companies and other public agencies are required by law to employ a set number of unemployed youths each year. The government will raise the mandatory ratio of hiring of unemployed youths in the public sector to 5 percent, beginning next year, the State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee said.Th
July 4, 2017
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Korean financial firms expand oversea branches, suffer from
South Korean financial firms have increased the number of foreign branches over the past five years, but such operations suffer from low profitability, the financial regulator said Tuesday. The number of overseas branches by local banks, credit card and other financial firms rose to 410 in 45 countries at the end of March this year, up 11 percent from the end of 2012, the Financial Supervisory Service said in a statement. Asia accounted for 67.8 percent of all overseas branches. North and
July 4, 2017
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Korea to hold Asian energy cooperation forum this week
Korea will hold a forum this week aimed at stepping up cooperation in the energy sector among Asian countries, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.The energy cooperation forum will be held in Seoul on Thursday with around 200 experts in the industry, academia and other areas from seven Asian countries, including the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia, in attendance.Three sessions will be held during the forum mostly reviewing industries related to power generation, renewable energy sources a
July 4, 2017
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Korea's new govt to unveil its economic plan within the month
South Korea's new government will unveil a comprehensive macroeconomic road map, including plans on taxation and public finances, later this month, the country's top economic policymaker said Tuesday."Some day in mid-July, the president and other officials will hold a meeting to discuss the government's fiscal policies and strategies for the next five years," Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said at a policy meeting with ministers in Seoul. He said after such gatherings, the finance mini
July 4, 2017
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BOK to take action to cope with foreign monetary policy changes
The chief of South Korea's central bank vowed Tuesday to take "appropriate" steps amid signs that major economies could change their monetary policies going forward.Last month, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised key interest rates by 0.25 percentage point, marking up the target range for the federal funds rate to 1-1.25 percent. The move marked the second time the Fed raised rates this year after the first hike in March. The Fed also said it plans to reduce its securities holdings, a move
July 4, 2017
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Foreign banks upgrade Korea's economic outlook
Some foreign investment banks have raised their growth forecasts for South Korea's economy this year, thanks to better-than-expected exports and facility investment, a financial research institute said Tuesday.The Bank of Korea has upgraded its growth forecast for the country to 2.6 percent from 2.5 percent, citing improving exports, the Korea Center for International Finance said. The British bank Barclays also recently raised its outlook for South Korea's gross domestic product this year
July 4, 2017
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Sales of image sensors set to soar through 2021
Global sales of image sensors are expected to rise through 2021 in line with the development of virtual reality and wearable devices, industry data showed Tuesday.According to the data compiled by IC Insights, the global market for CMOS image sensors is expected to reach $11.5 billion this year, up 9 percent from $10.5 billion posted a year earlier. Image sensors refer to system chips that detect images and converts them into electronic signals. They are installed in digital cameras and smartpho
July 4, 2017
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Korea has OECD’s highest proportion of low-paid women
South Korea had the highest proportion of low-paid female employees out of its total labor force among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2015, mainly due to the gender pay gap, data showed Monday.“Low paid” was defined as those receiving wages less than two-thirds of the median wage. The proportion of such women was 37.6 percent in Korea in 2015, the highest among 15 OECD members. The figure is much higher than that of the US, whic
July 3, 2017
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Economic showdown looms ahead for Korea-US FTA
The Korea-US summit in Washington last week finished with ambiguous statements from both sides as well as President Trump expressing his intent to renegotiate the current Korea-US Free Trade Agreement. In light of the circumstances, the Moon administration is expected to prepare a FTA task force for what is looking to be an intense economic showdown between the two nations. President Moon Jae-in proposed the launch of a consultation task force to investigate, analyze and evaluate the impact of t
July 3, 2017
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Mortgage approvals by 6 retail banks hit 7-month high in June
Mortgage lending by six major retail banks grew to a seven-month high in June, as more people sought to receive mortgages before the government tightens lending regulations for home mortgages, data showed Monday. The value of home loans at the six banks, including Shinhan, Kookmin and Woori, rose by 2.7 trillion won ($2.36 billion) to 383 trillion won at the end of June. It was the fastest monthly growth since November last year, when mortgage lending by the six banks grew by 3.1 trillion w
July 3, 2017
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Rise in household debt will not affect consumption due to rising
South Korea will not undergo a sharp drop in consumption despite the ever-rising household debt, a private think tank said Monday, citing growth in property and financial asset value.Households where the head of the family was over 55 have witnessed a 94.51 percent rise in income and 78.32 percent increase in savings in 2015 compared with 2001, according to a report by the Korea Economic Research Institute. The value of their property and financial assets surged 157.35 percent and 98.3 percent,
July 3, 2017
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Pay disparity widens between senior managers, ordinary workers
Senior managers at big service sector firms earned 4.2 times more than rank-and-file workers last year, highlighting the widening wage gap in earnings that began with the 2008-09 global financial crisis, according to official data Monday. A service worker's average monthly wage rose to 1.67 million won ($1,460) last year from 1.61 million won in 2009, according to data by the Bank of Korea and the Ministry of Employment and Labor. In comparison, a senior manager's average monthly wage stoo
July 3, 2017
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5 firms added to antitrust watch list in June
The number of South Korean business groups' affiliates under tight restrictions on mutual investment and loan guarantees rose slightly in June from a month earlier, the corporate watchdog said Monday.The Fair Trade Commission said 1,268 firms were on its monthly watch list as of end-June, up five from the previous month. They are owned by the country's 31 largest business groups, including Samsung Group and Hyundai Motor Group, with assets of 10 trillion won ($8.5 billion) or more.Ten groups, li
July 3, 2017
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Korean women paid much less than men compared to counterparts
South Korean women employees are paid less than their male counterparts among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member economies, due to wage discrimination, data showed Monday.The proportion of female low-salaried workers who are paid less than two-thirds of the median wage stood at 37.6 percent in 2015, down from 37.8 percent the previous year, according to the statistics by the OECD. The figure is the highest among 16 OECD member countries that have proveided comparab
July 3, 2017
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FTA renegotiation issue remains open upon summit
South Korean President Moon Jae-in flew back to Seoul on Sunday with a reaffirmed US alliance and renewed momentum to resolve the North Korea impasse, but he left open the controversial issue of Washington’s push to renegotiate a bilateral free trade agreement. Upon their talks Friday, President Moon and his US counterpart Donald Trump each adopted different tones toward the Korea-US FTA, with Moon emphasizing their joint statement that did not include phrases regarding renegotiation and T
July 2, 2017
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S. Korea's exports jump 13.7 ercent in June
South Korea's exports extended their winning streak for the eighth month in a row by expanding 13.7 percent last month on recovering global commerce, the trade ministry said Saturday.Outbound shipments came to US$51.4 billion in June, up from $45.2 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The latest number marked the second-largest monthly volume since October 2014, when shipments reached $51.6 billion, while it posted double-digit growth for six mo
July 1, 2017
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Foreign investors trading on Korean bourse up slightly in May
The number of foreign stock investors registered in South Korea rose slightly in May, with Americans accounting for the lion's share, the country's financial watchdog said Friday. The number of overseas investors who were registered in the Financial Supervisory Service reached 43,943 as of end-March, up 646 from end-December, according to the watchdog.Among them, retail and institutional investors totaled 10,883 and 33,060, respectively, as of March, up 120 and 526 from the end of December.By co
June 30, 2017
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Think tank raises Korea's growth outlook
The South Korean economy will likely grow at a faster pace this year than initially estimated on resilient exports and corporate capital spending, a private think tank said Thursday.In its second-quarter economic report, the Korea Economic Research Institute upgraded its 2017 growth outlook for Asia's fourth-largest economy to 2.9 percent from an earlier 2.5 percent.KERI, affiliated with the nation's big business lobby Federation of Korean Industries, attributed the upward revision to increased
June 29, 2017