SEOUL, Oct. 4 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s current account surplus hit the lowest in four months in August due to slowing exports and increased imports, central bank data showed Tuesday. The current account surplus reached US$5.51 billion in August, compared with $8.67 billion in July, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – A growing number of South Korean households face the risk of defaulting on their debts, a potential “time bomb” for Asia’s fourth-largest economy, a lawmaker said Tuesday. The number of “marginal” households came to 1.34 million as of March last year, a sharp increase from 1.12 million three years [...]
SEJONG, Sept. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea will pour more than 65 trillion won (US$58.1 billion) into the local economy next year to revitalize the economy, which has been plagued by faltering exports and rising uncertainties in the global market, the trade ministry said Friday. Out of the 400.7 trillion won budget for 2017, [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s economy grew at a faster-than-expected pace in the second quarter from three months earlier on increased local demand and exports, central bank data showed Friday. In the April-June period, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 0.8 percent from the previous quarter, accelerating from a 0.5 percent [...]
SEJONG, Aug. 30 (Korea Bizwire) – The South Korean government aims for a 3.7 percent increase in its spending next year to push the annual budget above the 400 trillion won (US$358 billion) mark for the first time, with steep rises planned for youth job creation, expansion of custom-made welfare benefits and stabilization of public [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Korea Bizwire) – The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio are approaching their end, and South Korea has so far progressed with rather unsatisfactory results – currently ranked eleventh with seven gold medals – compared to the past two summer Olympics in London (fifth place with 13 gold medals) and Beijing (seventh place [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s job market recovery stalled in the first quarter of this year amid weak economic growth despite improvements in other members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), data showed Tuesday. South Korea’s employment rate for people aged 15-65 stood at 65.9 percent for the January-March [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – The American dollar has regained some strength in the second quarter, and according to industry analysts, companies producing chemicals and raw materials for the pharmaceutical industry were among those who reaped the most benefits from the dollar’s appreciation. Korea is a heavily export-reliant country with over 50 percent of [...]
SEJONG, Aug. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s exports fell by more than 10 percent in July, with the rate of decline returning to double digits after single digits in May and June, the trade ministry said Monday. Outbound shipments came to US$41 billion last month, down 10.2 percent from the same month last year, [...]
SEOUL, July 27 (Korea Bizwire) – The Small and Medium Business Administration (SMBA) of South Korea announced on July 26 that last year’s angel investment – funds provided for start-up businesses – increased by 67.7 percent, exceeding 100 billion won ($88 million) for the first time since 2003. Considering the tax exemption limit law, investment profits [...]