South Korea marked the steepest drop in export volume so far this year among the world’s top 10 exporters, data showed.Korea’s export slowdown was especially noticeable in July, due partly to the slowdown in overall world trade volume and the drop in prices of semiconductors and petroleum products. Exports to China, in particular, dropped significantly by 16.6 percent from the previous month.  The month coincides with when Japan started to impose export curbs on key materials cr

Economy Oct. 6, 2019

The Ministry of Economy and Finance has disputed a Bloomberg column that accused the Moon Jae-in administration’s inclusive growth policies as “socialist,” officials said Wednesday.Bloomberg on Monday posted a letter to the editor, written by Seoul’s First Vice Minister Kim Yong-beom in response to an earlier column titled “What’s worse than corrupt billionaires? Socialism.”The original column by Shuli Ren, an opinion columnist covering Asian markets, ap

Economy Oct. 2, 2019

South Korea saw its inflation drop for the first time in September due to weakened demand and decreased prices of agricultural and petroleum products, government data showed Tuesday.Though the latest figures rekindled concerns on long-term deflation and speculations on an imminent rate cut, policymakers argued that recent fluctuations were only temporary. Consumer prices slipped 0.4 percent in September from a year earlier, marking the first on-year decrease in inflation since the related data w

Economy Oct. 1, 2019

Korea Development Bank said Monday that it has begun the sale procedure for KDB Life Insurance, aiming to select a preferred bidder within the year and complete the sale by early next year.This marks the fourth attempt for the state-run bank to put its insurance unit on the market in a midterm restructuring move.KDB put up the public notice of sale on Monday, selecting Credit Suisse and Samil PricewaterhouseCoopers as deal supervisors and Lee & Ko as the legal adviser. Performing the du

Market Sept. 30, 2019

South Korea saw its production, consumption and investment rise last month, on the back of the launch of Samsung’s flagship smartphones and increased imports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, government data showed Monday.This marked the first time in five months that all three industrial indexes climbed simultaneously but also came amid stalled exports and mounting external uncertainties.According to monthly industrial figures compiled by Statistics Korea, the industrial productio

Economy Sept. 30, 2019

The chief of South Korea’s central bank recognized the country’s challenges in achieving its modest 2.2 percent economic growth pace target for this year, but denied the possibility of deflation.While vowing to maintain the current monetary easing policy moves, he also stressed the need to stay “data dependent,” refraining from asserting the economic outlook for the second half and next year.“As major economies further ease their monetary policies, the concerns on g

Economy Sept. 29, 2019

Responding to stricter requirements for data protection, law firm Yoon & Yang co-hosted a related seminar with regulatory insight provider MLex this week. The event, titled “Data Protection Regulations in Korea and EU,” was held Tuesday at the headquarters of Yoon & Yang, the country’s sixth-largest law firm both in size and sales.MLex is a news organization affiliated with LexisNexis, specialized in regulatory risks. It has a global network of more than 80 regulatory r

Industry Sept. 25, 2019

Despite continued policy measures to steady the overheated real estate market, the overall prices of top-tier apartments are surging, government data showed Wednesday.According to data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, South Korea’s most expensive apartment as of last month was Hannam The Hill. One of the units of this premium apartment located in Hannam-dong, central Seoul, was valued at 8.4 billion won ($7 million) in January this year.The corresponding data

Industry Sept. 25, 2019

The state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said Sunday it will be holding an extensive Korea-India business forum this week, in line with Seoul’s initiative to expand beyond its conventional trade partners.Co-hosted by the Korean Embassy in India and the Presidential Committee on New Southern Policy, the event is to focus on the “3P” values of people, peace and prosperity, officials said. Some 540 companies and 800 individuals are expected to attend the affiliated se

Industry Sept. 22, 2019

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles to look into the weakening of the global economic framework in light of the fading liberalism and rise of trade protectionism and nationalism. This is the third installment. -- Ed.The liberal world order, or at least the belief that it could be sustained, has lasted for much of the 20th century, but is likely to fade away amid the rise of nationalism and protectionism across the world.This regression to state-centered policies naturally drove a

Economy Sept. 22, 2019

South Korea’s central bank chief said Thursday that the latest US rate cut has created some policy space for easing actions amid the slowing economy.“The US Federal Reserve’s rate cut alleviates the burden for other countries in operating their own monetary policies,” Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol told reporters. On Wednesday local time, the Fed cut the base rate by a quarter percentage point to a range of between 1.75 percent and 2 percent. This was its second rate cut

Economy Sept. 19, 2019

South Korea’s fiscal chief on Wednesday announced proposals to improve the supply of key workforce amid a declining population and aging society. The government’s latest blueprint announced Wednesday focuses on recruiting teachers, soldiers and foreign workers in nonmetropolitan areas, as well as improving the employment conditions for seniors.“With its record-low birth rate and fast aging society, Korea is now facing critical demographic changes,” said Deputy Prime Minis

Economy Sept. 18, 2019

The latest drone strikes on Saudi Arabia’s crude processing facilities will have limited impact on South Korea the government has said, but it will consider releasing its oil reserves in case of supply disruption, a senior official said Tuesday.“The strikes on Saudi Arabia’s key oil facilities over the weekend have heightened the risks in the Middle East region,” said Kim Yong-beom, first vice minister of finance.“But considering the supply contracts and current (oi

Economy Sept. 17, 2019

The government’s fiscal spending has a multiplier impact, augmenting the economy by about 1.3 times over five years, central bank data showed Monday.In a recent study by the Bank of Korea, the multiplier effects of government spending on the domestic economy stood at 1.27 over five years.The given index means that every 1 trillion won ($844 million) spent by the government will generate 1.27 trillion won in gross domestic product during the period.When the figure is low, it means that expa

Economy Sept. 16, 2019

The public image of a company is often represented by the products and services it provides -- an association process that might act to the disadvantage of a company like Cesco, which specializes in pest solutions.While maintaining steady growth, Korea’s No.1 anti-pests company once grappled with its unsophisticated corporate image and unpopularity among job seekers.But in terms of business figures, Cesco has had little to fret about, having established a unique reputation as the most trus

Industry Sept. 15, 2019