Chinese products are fast expanding their presence in South Korea in a graphic indication of their ever-growing brand power in Asia's fourth-largest economy, local analysts said.China has long been a major exporter of consumer goods and tech items to South Korea, but Chinese manufacturers, armed with lower prices and improved quality, are now venturing into new South Korean markets such as home appliances and even autos.Last year, South Korean imports from China came to $86.98 billion, with Seou

Industry March 6, 2017

year on a sharp increase in marketing cost and loan loss expenses, data showed Monday.Eight standalone credit card firms here posted a total of 1.81 trillion won ($1.5 billion) in net profit, down 9.9 percent from 2015, according to the country's state financial watchdog. Credit cards sit one atop another in this file photo. (Yonhap)"Merchant fee income and card loan interest revenues rose compared with the previo year. However, provisions against soured assets and marketing expenses increased b

March 6, 2017

South Korea and Indonesia have agreed to extend a currency swap deal for another three years as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral financial cooperation, the finance ministry here said Monday.The new 11 trillion won ($9.54 billion) deal went into effect earlier in the day and expires in 2020, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. Hands holding bank notes (Yonhap)The ministry said the currency agreement is to promote bilateral trade and bolster financial cooperation between the

March 6, 2017

The United States strongly condemned North Korea's missile launches Sunday, reaffirming its commitment to defend itself and South Korea by using the "full range of capabilities at our disposal.""The United States strongly condemns the DPRK's ballistic missile launches tonight, which violate UN Security Council Resolutions explicitly prohibiting North Korea's launches using ballistic missile technology," State Department acting spokesman Mark Toner said. (Yonhap)Toner said the US calls on all cou

International March 6, 2017

South Korea's corporate watchdog said Monday that it has slapped a combined 58 million won ($50,000) in fines on three affiliates of retail giant Shinsegae Group for regulatory filing violations.Shinsegae Inc., Shinsegae Food Inc. and E-Mart Inc. were penalized for not properly reporting group owner Lee Myung-hee's shareholding to authorities, according to the Fair Trade Commission. Logo of Shinsegae (Yonhap)Lee had held less than a 1 percent stake in each of the three companies under the name o

Industry March 6, 2017

Online sales in South Korea continued an upbeat mode in January but the pace slowed down to some extent amid faltering consumer sentiment, government data showed Monday.Total online transactions reached 6.02 trillion won ($5.22 billion) in the first month of 2017, up 14.6 percent from 5.25 trillion won tallied a year earlier, according to the data by Statistics Korea. Online sales app Coupang (Yonhap)The monthly amount marked the third highest, following 6.25 trillion won set in December last ye

March 6, 2017

Loans extended to local businesses fell slightly in the fourth quarter from a quarter earlier on decreased operating expenses, central bank data showed Monday.Outstanding corporate loans came to 985.5 trillion won ($853 billion) in the October-December period, down 0.1 percent from a quarter earlier, according to data from the Bank of Korea. Various loans provided by a bank in Korea (Yonhap)Still, year-on-year, the fourth quarter figure marked a 4.5 percent gain.By purpose, loans extended for co

March 6, 2017

The South Korean government said Monday that it will monitor the local financial market and the economy around the clock in order to reduce any possible fallout from North Korea's latest missile launch.The unidentified projectiles were launched from an area near the North's Dongchang-ri long-range missile site at 7:36 a.m. and flew about 1,000 kilometers before splashing into the East Sea, according to the military. North Korea's latest missile launch (Yonhap)Economy and finance-related governme

March 6, 2017

Stocks of major retailers and their affiliates with business ties to China continued to plunge Monday, as Beijing has intensified its measures against South Korea in what appears to be retaliation for the deployment of an advanced US anti-missile battery. Lotte Shopping Co., a key unit of retail giant Lotte Group, finished down 0.47 percent to 211,000 won ($182) on the main KOSPI index, extending its losing streak for a fifth consecutive session. It has plummeted 9.7 percent since Feb. 27.  Lott

March 6, 2017

SK Innovation Co., the country's top oil refiner, said Monday that its board of directors has approved a proposal to double the company's electric vehicle battery production capacity, in order to meet growing demand.The proposal calls for the construction of two EV battery production lines, which will churn out EV cells with a combined 2 GWh, larger than its current 1.9 GWh capacity.  SK Innovation's electric vehicle battery plant in Seosan, South Korea (Yonhap file photo)The construction of the

Technology March 6, 2017

The private sector created the least jobs in seven years last year amid businesses shying away from recruiting employees due to a protracted slumping economy, government data showed Monday.The number of employees rose 242,000 in the private sector last year from the previous year, Statistics Korea data said. Job opportunities in large corporates such as Samsung, Hyundai and LG (Yonhap)The figure is the smallest since 2009 when the comparable number was minus 264,000.Private sector employees surg

March 6, 2017

More than 80 middle and high schools have applied to use controversial state-authored history textbooks as supplementary materials in the new academic year, the education ministry said Monday.The textbooks will be distributed to 33 middle schools, 49 high schools and one specialized school this month to be used as supplementary or reference material in and outside of the classroom, according to the ministry. The government also plans to send the texts to 28 state schools and 22 Korean schools ov

Social Affairs March 6, 2017

A former ranking Malaysian diplomat has asserted that his country should shut down its embassy in Pyongyang as a countermeasure against North Korea's alleged assassination of Kim Jong-nam, a half brother of the North's leader Kim Jong-un, a US broadcaster reported Monday.The Pyongyang-based Malaysian mission which is virtually of no use should be surely closed as a strong message to the North that the acts it is now conducting can never be accepted, Dennis Ignatius was quoted as saying in a phon

International March 6, 2017

Nearly eight out of every 10 South Korean businesses in Japan expect their annual sales to increase this year, a survey showed Monday, signaling a possible turnaround from five consecutive years of drop in the country's overall exports to Japan.In the survey conducted by the Korea International Trade Association, 76 percent of 80 South Korean firms operating in Japan said they expect their sales to rise this year from a year earlier. Containers waiting for shipment at a South Korean seaport. (Yo

Industry March 6, 2017

South Korea hastened coordination with the United States and Japan on Monday after the North fired four missiles toward the East Sea. Kim Kwan-jin, chief of South Korea's National Security Office, held a phone conversation with H.R. McMaster, Washington's national security adviser, to discuss a joint response to the North's latest provocation. (Yonhap)The top presidential security advisers agreed to enhance cooperation between the two allies to toughen sanctions and pressure on North Korea, Seou

Foreign Affairs March 6, 2017