South Korea's central bank said Thursday it has revised down its growth outlook for next year for Asia's fourth-largest economy to 2.8 percent from the 2.9 percent forecast three months earlier.The outlook is lower than the government's estimate that the local economy could reach the 3 percent range next year.Still, Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol said South Korea will not have difficulties in achieving 2.7 percent economic growth this year.Lee said that the central bank took into account fal

Oct. 13, 2016

South Korea's major beauty trade show kicked off Thursday to present the latest makeup and beauty trends and help local companies pave the way for tapping the global market.The eighth K-Beauty Expo opened for a three-day run at KINTEX in Goyang, north of Seoul, gathering 450 companies, overseas buyers and experts in various beauty sectors. KINTEX and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency co-host the event to promote South Korea's beauty industry, which has rapidly expanded its global prese

Industry Oct. 13, 2016

An increasing number of Chinese visitors to South Korea are shopping at downtown and suburban outlets thanks to a rise in visits by young and individual tourists, industry sources said Thursday.Chinese tourists have recently emerged as big spenders in South Korea, a great boon for South Korea's major retailers, as they are increasingly flexing their financial muscles here.Lotte Outlets, a subsidiary of the retail and food conglomerate Lotte Group, said sales of its store at Seoul Station spiked

Industry Oct. 13, 2016

Owners of the Galaxy Note 7 in South Korea on Thursday started getting a refund or swapping their phones for another smartphone, two days after Samsung Electronics Co. decided to discontinue the device over safety concerns. Consumers who have a Note 7 in their possession must visit stores where they bought the devices to get a refund or exchange. The refunds and exchanges in South Korea will be completed by the end of this year, according to local mobile carriers. Buyers of the Note 7 had receiv

Technology Oct. 13, 2016

South Korean institutional investors are struggling to chart new investment plans to cope with the seesaw share price of Samsung Electronics Co., stemming from its new smartphone fiasco, market watchers said Thursday.Samsung, the top cap and crown jewel of the South Korean stock market, said Tuesday that the tech giant had decided to suspend production of the Galaxy Note 7 and pull the plug on its flagship smartphone after failing to resolve the battery-fire problem.The surprise decision sent sh

Oct. 13, 2016

More state-run corporations are set to withdraw from the Federation of Korean Industries, as the country's largest lobby is said to have coerced its member companies into funding two non-profit foundations, allegedly linked to aides to President Park Geun-hye, industry sources said Thursday.According to the sources, state-run utility firms -- Korea Electric Power Corp. and Korea Gas Corp. -- and seven other state-run corporations have already seceded from the FKI.A total of 19 state-run firms ha

Industry Oct. 13, 2016

South Korea's central bank held its policy rate steady for October on Thursday, extending its wait-and-see mode to four straight months after sending the key rate to a record low level to strengthen growth for Asia's fourth-largest economy.In a widely expected move, the monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea voted to keep the key rate at 1.25 percent.In June, the central bank made a surprise rate cut, citing a need to support the economy.South Korea's exports backtracked 5.9 percent from a y

Oct. 13, 2016

The United States should seek a grand bargain with China that commits Beijing to use its leverage over North Korea to end its nuclear program in exchange for American concessions like the scrapping of a decision to deploy the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea, a US expert said Wednesday.Amitai Etzioni, a George Washington University professor, made the point in an article in the National Interest, stressing that the "greatest threat" to US security that the new American president will

North Korea Oct. 13, 2016

More than a third of North Korean asylum seekers settling in the South cited freedom as the key motivation for defecting, data showed Wednesday, reflecting the deteriorating civil rights conditions under the Kim Jong-un regime.Hanawon, a facility in which defectors receive three months of resettlement education after coming to the South, said 35 percent of the defectors surveyed in 2014 said they escaped their homeland to seek liberty, marking a sharp rise from 9.6 percent tallied in 2001.The po

North Korea Oct. 12, 2016

South Korea's military said Tuesday it will greatly expand the capabilities of its special forces to strike key North Korean command facilities and its leadership in the event of a crisis.In a parliamentary audit, the Army said it is striving to be ready to carry out independent special operations against the North's provocations, with a plan to secure hardware, such as the latest MH-47 series choppers, compact satellite links and advanced small arms."The Army is seeking to have a special operat

Defense Oct. 12, 2016

A group of South Korean private aid providers said Wednesday it has provided North Korea with $187,000 through the Red Cross to help it fight the latest floods in the country's northeast area.The Korea NGO Council for Cooperation with North Korea said it has sent the first batch of $100,000 to North Korea with the plan to send the remainder by next Tuesday in accordance with its agreement with the Red Cross."The money will be used to help displaced North Koreans in North Hamgyong Province as rel

North Korea Oct. 12, 2016