SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — Trading activity on South Korea’s main stock market has climbed to its highest level in more than four years, propelled by a powerful rebound in semiconductor shares and renewed retail and foreign investor interest. Average daily turnover on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index stood at 16.6 trillion won ($11.5 [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — Next week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit will turn the quiet, temple-dotted city of Gyeongju into a theater of global power politics. South Korea, long wedged between the gravitational pulls of Washington and Beijing, suddenly finds itself not as an observer, but as host—and potential broker—of an uneasy regional order. For [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean high school graduates who fail to secure employment within three months of finishing school face dramatically lower chances of landing stable, well-paying jobs, according to new research released Thursday. The study, conducted by the Korea Educational Development Institute (KEDI), analyzed 792 high school graduates who did not pursue [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Korea Bizwire) — As negotiations over tariff reductions and investment pledges continue between Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo, The Wall Street Journal has cast doubt on the scale and practicality of the enormous investment commitments reportedly sought by the Trump administration. In an editorial published Tuesday, the paper warned that the administration’s demand — [...]
WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s top economic policymakers gathered in Washington this week, pressing to finalize a landmark trade agreement that could redefine the industrial and strategic alignment between Seoul and Washington. Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick met Thursday for what officials described as an “in-depth” two-hour discussion [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s top policy aide to President Lee Jae Myung said Wednesday that the government is considering a comprehensive overhaul of real estate taxation — including possible hikes in property holding taxes — as it moves to rein in surging home prices in Seoul and surrounding regions. Kim Yong-beom, the [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s central bank and financial regulator have received below-average marks for their response to the climate crisis, ranking in the lower tier among ASEAN+3 economies, according to a new international assessment. The report by Positive Money, a U.K.-based think tank, evaluated 13 countries in the ASEAN+3 group — comprising [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — Once a symbol of comfort and affordability, fried chicken has become an expensive indulgence for many South Koreans, as soaring prices trigger public frustration and social media backlash over what consumers are calling “chickenflation.” “I tremble when paying for chicken these days,” said Lee, a 27-year-old college student in Seoul. [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — As soaring bakery prices push past 10,000 won for just a few items at franchise shops, Koreans are increasingly turning to low-cost private label (PB) bread sold at convenience stores and large retailers. The shift has fueled what industry insiders are calling a “budget bakery boom,” with PB bread [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — Food prices in South Korea have risen more than 20 percent over the past five years, far outpacing overall inflation and placing a growing strain on household budgets. According to data released Wednesday by the National Data Office, the consumer price index for “food and non-alcoholic beverages” in September [...]