The Korea Herald

[Herald Interview] ‘Korea should no longer expect trickle-down effect’

South Korea should no longer expect a “trickle-down” of benefits from conglomerates and the rich to small companies and low-income earners, a local economics professor said, urging the government to seek a paradigm shift in its growth strategy. Korea has been considered a model country of “condensed” economic success from the ashes of the Korean War within a half century, heavily leaning on the spillover effect from the growth of conglomerates. “Big-businesses-friendly economic policies with an

Oct. 5, 2014

[Herald Interview] ‘Korea should no longer expect trickle-down effect’

Seoul shares to remain bearish on earnings, currency woes

The South Korean stock market is likely to continue its downward march this week as investors remain cautious over the volatile currency, downbeat corporate earnings, and foreign investors’ massive sell-offs, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost some 2.5 percent to close at 1,976.16 last Thursday over the previous week, the lowest since June 23 when it closed at 1,974.92 points, as foreign investors dumped market heavyweights amid increased currency risks a

Oct. 5, 2014

2nd Lotte World readies for partial opening in October

South Korean retail giant Lotte Group is getting ready to open three completed commercial retail buildings on the lower part of the second Lotte World complex under construction in Songpa district, southern Seoul, within this month.Preparation efforts were boosted after Seoul City last Thursday approved the partial opening of the complex, ending months of controversy over its safety and other concerns. A department store, shopping malls and other entertainment facilities fill the lower areas alo

Industry Oct. 5, 2014

2nd Lotte World readies for partial opening in October

Korean economy to grow 3.6 percent in 2015

The South Korean economy is expected to expand 3.6 percent in 2015 from this year amid sluggish private consumption and low inflation, a private think tank forecast Sunday. The Hyundai Research Institute predicted Asia’s fourth-largest economy will likely grow 3.5 percent in the first half of next year and gain 3.6 percent in the second half.The think tank’s 2015 outlook is the same as its forecast of 3.6 percent for this year.HRI’s growth forecast for next year, however, is lower than a 4 perce

Oct. 5, 2014

New FDI to Korea soars 38 percent this year

New foreign direct investment pledged to South Korea jumped 38 percent on-year in the first nine months of this year despite slowing economic growth at home and abroad, the government said Sunday.In the January-September period, the amount of new FDI pledges to South Korea came to $14.82 billion, up 37.9 percent from a year earlier and the highest-ever figure for the nine-month period, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The amount of new FDI that arrived here during the per

Oct. 5, 2014

Household loans to top W1 quadrillion mark this year

South Korea’s household loans extended by financial institutions are expected to surpass the 1 quadrillion won ($942.6 billion) mark this year, data showed Sunday.Outstanding household loans by financial institutions, including commercial lenders, insurers and financial agencies stood at 982.5 trillion won as of the end of the second quarter, according to data from the Bank of Korea. As of end-August, household loans reached 993 trillion won. If the trend keeps up, the country’s household loans

Oct. 5, 2014

Buying from foreign sites continues to rise

Whenever Kim Mi-sun, 36, who works at a local credit card company, wants to shop, she makes a beeline for foreign websites before she visits the offline stores. “I purchase almost all commodities, from beauty products to shoes, appliances and even blankets, through these online brand shops,” Kim said. She is a so-called “jikgu” customer, a Korean term coined from two words meaning “direct purchases.” These shoppers tend to shop directly from the websites operated by the brands they are looking f

Industry Oct. 1, 2014

Buying from foreign sites continues to rise

High-end suit brand offers smart solutions

Cheil Industries, an affiliate of Samsung Group, unveiled on Tuesday the updated version of Rogatis, its high-end men’s suit line, adopting smart solutions for the first time in the local fashion industry. “Rogatis, whose target customers are businessmen aged between 35 and 44, has been renewed in a bid to pioneer a ‘smart suit’ category in the fashion industry,” the firm’s vice president Choi Hoon, who supervised the project, said during a launch event at the Hilton hotel in Seoul. Inside a Rog

Industry Sept. 30, 2014

Car sharing gains ground

Car sharing, a form of short-term vehicle rental on an hourly or minute basis, is gaining popularity in major Korean cities as more individuals are recognizing it as a sustainable means of urban transportation.Further adding to the momentum, the Seoul Metropolitan Government in February launched a pilot car sharing service, dubbed Nanum Car (meaning “sharing” in Korean), to reduce the number of cars on the road as well as ease households’ financial burdens linked to car ownership.“Membership for

Industry Sept. 29, 2014

S-Oil cheers for Saudi Arabia in Asian Games

S-Oil, a leading refinery in Korea, joined the cheering squad rooting for the Saudi Arabian soccer team during the 2014 Asian Games. On Friday, the firm’s executives and employees waved Saudi Arabia’s national flag and shouted the names of each player during a soccer match between Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan in the final 16 at the Incheon Asian Games, held at the Goyang Sports Complex.Saudi Arabia defeated Uzbekistan 3-2 to advance to the final 8. S-Oil executives and employees, together with Sa

Industry Sept. 28, 2014

S-Oil cheers for Saudi Arabia in Asian Games

Builders fined for colluding to fix prices

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog said Sunday that it has fined three major local builders a combined 25 billion won ($23.9 million) for colluding to fix bidding prices in a public project to build tidal outlets. Samsung C&T, GS Engineering and Construction and Hyundai Engineering and Construction fixed their bidding prices for the project initiated in July 2009 by the state-run Korea Water Resources Corp., according to the Fair Trade Commission. The 221.7 billion won project is for building tida

Industry Sept. 28, 2014

Complaints of high pay of banking CEOs rising

Despite lower profits than their overseas peers, South Korea’s leading banking groups are paying their CEOs a much better salary, data showed Sunday. The average annual pay last year for the country’s top three banking groups reached an estimated 2.7 billion won ($2.6 million), according to data compiled from multiple financial institutions at home and abroad. By comparison, three top Japanese banking groups paid their CEOs an average 1.25 billion won, based on a won-yen exchange rate at the end

Industry Sept. 28, 2014

SK Telecom to take over U.S. shopping app

SK Telecom, the nation’s No. 1 mobile carrier, will take over U.S.-based shopping app Shopkick for $200 million, the company said Sunday.Industry watchers said the acquisition deal is likely to help SK Telecom to make inroads into the U.S. market. In an effort to expand its business overseas, SK Telecom announced last year that it would spend between $500 million and $1 billion through its Internet Services arm SK Planet on investing in or buying U.S. companies over three to five years. Shopkick

Industry Sept. 28, 2014

Investments in tax havens reach $23 billion over 7 years

South Korean companies and individuals invested nearly $23 billion in 50 tax havens over the past seven years, data showed Sunday.According to the data by the National Tax Service and the Export-Import Bank of Korea, South Korean individuals and companies invested $22.77 billion in the tax havens from 2007 through 2013. The amount represents about 12 percent of overall overseas investments ― worth 197.88 trillion won ($189.4 billion) ― made by South Korea during the period. Of the tax haven inve

Industry Sept. 28, 2014

KITA gives leg up to vendors eyeing Canada

Korean manufacturers present products to Canadian retailers at an export consultation session hosted by the Korea International Trade Association, in Toronto on Thursday. (KITA)Local small and mid-sized enterprises are busy trying to enter Canada, the nation’s eight-largest export market, which just became more attractive following the latest signing of a free trade pact with South Korea. Once the deal goes into effect, tariffs on almost all products traded between the two countries will be elim

Industry Sept. 25, 2014

KITA gives leg up to vendors eyeing Canada

Articles by Seo Jee-yeon