Punishment softened against 3 life insurers over suicide claims

South Korea's financial regulator on Wednesday eased penalties against the nation's top three life insurers over unpaid suicide insurance benefits. Kyobo Life Insurance was ordered to halt operations for one month, while Samsung Life Insurance and Hanwha Life Insurance received a warning and were both banned from making inroads into new businesses for one year, the Financial Services Commission said.Financial authorities had originally planned to order all three insurers to halt operations for u

May 18, 2017

Middle-aged group says parents' medical bills biggest financial burden

Middle-aged South Koreans who live with or support their parents financially feel the heaviest burden when bearing their medical bills, but some saw it as a duty that has to be fulfilled even if means getting loans or giving up on their own savings, a survey said Wednesday.In the poll of 1,000 people in their 40s and 50s who have experience supporting their parents, 48.1 percent answered doing so was a weight on their shoulders, according to the Life Insurance Social Contribution Committee who c

May 17, 2017

[Monitor] Export, import prices surge in April

Buoyed by rising international oil prices, South Korea’s export and import prices each surged by 0.5 percent in April compared to the previous month, the Bank of Korea said Wednesday.The provisional import price for April was 81.79 (based on the standard of 100 in 2010, in local currency terms), showing the first increase in three months. The rise in import price, which is reflected in consumer prices, was attributed to the higher international oil prices. The price of Dubai crude -- South

May 17, 2017

New industries to create 380,000 new jobs by 2025, ministry forecasts

New industries such as electric and autonomous vehicles, smart ships and robots will create some 380,000 new jobs, a report by the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy showed Wednesday.In the report released at a forum of experts, academics and businesses, the ministry said such jobs will be created by 2025 from 12 sectors it designated as new industries last year.The forum was held on the heels of President Moon Jae-in appointing himself the chief of the new presidential jobs creation comm

May 17, 2017

[News Focus] Income-led growth faces hurdles

South Korea’s per capita gross national income has remained below $30,000 for more than a decade since it surpassed the $20,000 mark for the first time in 2006.A survey conducted by a local pollster days before the May 9 presidential election showed most people here are pessimistic about the possibility of their country passing what is regarded as the threshold for joining the club of wealthy advanced states anytime soon. Of about 1,000 Korean adults polled, a mere 0.1 percent said the $30

May 17, 2017

Korea's export prices hit 8 year record high in April

South Korea's export prices hit a record eight year high in April due to strong demand for electric and electronic products as well as petrochemicals, central bank data showed Wednesday.In local currency terms, export prices rose 8.7 percent on year last month, according to preliminary data provided by the Bank of Korea. The dollar came to an average of 1,132.73 won in April, down 0.2 percent from a month earlier the latest findings showed.For exporters, the won's gain means decreased income as

May 17, 2017

[Monitor] Slump-hit shipbuilding workforce shrinks by 14.8%

Hit by the prolonged slump, South Korean shipbuilders and related businesses cut 8,670 or 14.8 percent of their workforce last year, data by industry tracker Chaebul.com showed Tuesday.The data based on 2016 business reports from 1,831 listed firms showed that their combined workforce reached 1.51 million at the end of last year, down 5,915, or 0.4 percent, from a year ago.Samsung Group slashed part of its workers as its flagship Samsung Electronics and other major subsidiaries implemented large

May 16, 2017

Koreans' overseas card spending up 65% during 'golden' holiday in May

Overseas card spending by South Koreans rose 65 percent during the "golden" holiday period in May from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday.The data compiled by KB Kookmin Card Co. showed that purchases made by its credit and debit card customers in foreign countries amounted to 25.4 billion won ($22.7 million) during the April 29-May 9 holiday period, compared with 15.4 billion won from the same period last year.South Koreans could have enjoyed up to an 11-day "golden" holida

May 16, 2017

KITA to send special economic mission to US in June

The Korea International Trade Association announced Monday that it plans to send a special economic mission to the United States in June, the first such visit to be made since US President Donald Trump took office in January. The 10-strong envoy group, which KITA Chairman Kim In-ho represents, will visit Washington DC and New York City during the five-day trip that kicks off on June 6. The group is expected to attend seminars on the Korea-US trade relationship, talks with offshore branches

May 15, 2017

[Monitor] One in five Koreans work 54 hours or more

One out of every five employees working in South Korea work 54 hours a week or longer, Statistics Korea‘s data showed Monday.While the average working hours continued to drop since the introduction of a five-day workweek in 2004, the weekly working hours have remained stagnantly long since 2010.The data comes in light of new President Moon Jae-in’s pledge to share jobs by reducing working hours.The number of employees working 54 hours or more a week reached 5.33 million last month, u

May 15, 2017

Xi stresses ties with S. Korea in meeting with Seoul delegate

Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the importance of improving South Korea-China relations during his meeting with a South Korean delegation visiting the country, the South Korean chief of the delegation said Monday.On the sidelines of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, the delegation led by Rep. Park Byeong-seug, a veteran politician with close ties to President Moon Jae-in, held a meeting with Xi on Sunday evening, Park told reporters. Moon dispatched the delegation on S

May 15, 2017

Kotra hosts Cuba Week to promote economic ties with island nation

South Korea's trade promotion agency said Monday it is hosting an event in Seoul this week to promote economic ties with Cuba. In the five-day-long 2017 Cuba Week in Korea that runs through Friday, government officials and business leaders from the two countries will discuss possible ties in the financial, energy and medical fields, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said in a statement.  Cuba has sent a 16-member delegation made up of officials and businessmen to the second annual

May 15, 2017

FTA renegotiation with US looms large for Moon administration

In his second week as Korea’s new president, Moon Jae-in faces an uphill battle in the global trade arena, as he has to mend fences with the nation’s major trading partner, the US. One of the biggest economic issues in the domestic trade industry is US President Donald Trump’s vow to renegotiate the terms of the five-year Korea-US FTA. He has referred to the deal as “horrible.”  The KORUS FTA has reported an annual average of more than $65 million in exported g

May 15, 2017

Household loans up 9.8% in April

South Korea's household loans extended by banks rose 9.8 percent in April from a year earlier due to increased mortgages, central bank data showed Monday.Outstanding household loans from lenders came to 718.6 trillion won ($637 billion) as of end-April, compared with 654.3 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. Compared with March, the amount rose by 4.6 trillion won. Mortgages climbed 3.3 trillion won on-month to 541.8 trillion won in April. In March, mo

May 15, 2017

Practical ties sought with China, Japan

President Moon Jae-in’s government is seen to be moving to decouple security and historical issues from South Korea’s economic ties with China and Japan.Moon expressed such intention during phone talks with his Chinese and Japanese counterparts a day after being sworn in last week. He asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to lift restrictions and sanctions imposed on South Korean people and businesses apparently in retaliation for Seoul’s hosting of a US anti-missile shield, calle

May 15, 2017

New govt. set to increase taxes in 2nd half

The new Moon Jae-in administration will likely revise tax codes in the second half of the year to finance its election pledges to create jobs, government officials said Monday.On the campaign trail, President Moon promised to focus more on job creation and expanding welfare for young people. In particular, he said his government will create some 800,000 public jobs during his five-year term, grant an allowance to young jobseekers and offer public residence to newlyweds at lower rent. Many estima

May 15, 2017

Korea logs 63rd consecutive trade surplus in April

South Korea posted a trade surplus for 63 straight months in April on a steady recovery in exports, customs data showed Monday.The country's trade surplus came to $13 billion last month, up from a surplus of $8.7 billion tallied a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.Asia's fourth-largest economy has enjoyed a trade surplus since February 2012. It posted $6.57 billion in trade surplus with Southeast Asian countries in April, followed by China with a surplus of $2.6

May 15, 2017

Moon expected to set up new control tower for industrial restructuring

The Moon Jae-in administration is expected to set up a new control tower for industrial restructuring as soon as its new Cabinet takes shape, inside sources said Monday.President Moon's official campaign pledges do not specify actions or directions for restructuring. For the shipbuilding and shipping industries that are in the middle of major overhauls, the pledge has been that the two industries cannot be abandoned, and that they will be rebuilt through co-existence. Hong Jong-haak, a former le

May 15, 2017

1 in 5 employees work 54 hours or longer per week

One in five South Korean employees work 54 hours or longer a week with the downtrend in weekly work hours losing steam in the 2010s, government data showed Monday.According to the data by Statistics Korea, some 5.33 million employees had a workweek of 54 hours or more in April, up 507,000 from a year earlier and accounting for 20.1 percent of the country's total workforce of 26.58 million. That translates into about 11 hours per day should they take Saturdays and Sundays off. South Korea started

May 15, 2017

Listed companies increase facility investments in Q1

Facility investments by listed companies showed signs of recovery in the first quarter this year, increasing 25.9 percent from the same period last year, a tally from the Korea Exchange on Sunday showed.Total facility investments by firms on the main and secondary bourses were logged at 1.308 trillion won ($1.158 billion) during the three months, up from 1.039 trillion won for the same months a year ago. The number of companies that increased their investments also rose from 19 last year to 30.T

May 14, 2017