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Dec 14, 2018 Economy

Govt. to create 55,000 healthcare services jobs by 2022

South Korea's government aims to create 55,000 new jobs in the healthcare services sector by 2022 and the plan includes the hiring of 9,300 nurses to help upgrade quality of medical services, officials said Friday.The Presidential Committee on Job Creation finalized the new policy goal, saying demand for healthcare workers will steadily rise due to population aging and greater public attention to health. (Yonhap)The committee said the healthcare industry has a great deal of job creation potentia

Woori Bank to set up fund for innovative firms

Woori Bank said Thursday it will set up a fund of 300 billion won ($266.5 million) to help channel more money to innovative firms. The bank will launch the fund next year and it will be expanded to 3 trillion won over the next three years, Woori Bank said. (Yonhap)Woori Bank said it will invest 150 billion won into the fund and the bank's affiliates will invest the remaining 150 billion won into the fund. So far this year, Woori Bank, South Korea's third-largest commercial lender, has invested

Dec 13, 2018
Economy
Korea to build 30,000 smart factories by 2022

The South Korean government said Thursday it will greatly expand the number of smart factories and industrial complexes that adopt advanced technologies by 2022 to upgrade the nation's manufacturing industry. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups jointly announced support measures for the local manufacturing industry, which has lost growth momentum amid toughening global competition with emerging rivals. (Yonhap)The government said it will create 30,00

Dec 13, 2018
Economy
[Monitor] Fewer South Korean companies make it into ‘1 trillion won club’

While the number of South Korean companies with at least 1 trillion won in annual revenue has increased 2.5-fold in the 20 years since the financial crisis, the number has decreased in recent years, a report by local market research firm Korea CXO Institute showed.Based on annual performance figures, 187 firms were part of the so-called “1 trillion won club” in 2017, down from 192 in 2012.With the combined revenue of the nation’s top conglomerates also declining, the report said, these figures h

Dec 14, 2018
Economy
Corporate sales slow, profit margin grows in Q3

South Korean companies saw their profitability continue its solid growth in the third quarter of this year, but their sales gains slowed slightly, central bank data showed Thursday.The ratio of operating profit to sales of non-financial firms in the country reached 7.6 percent in the July-September period, up from 7.4 percent tallied a year ago, according to the data by the Bank of Korea.At the same time, the pretax net profit margin of South Korean companies rose on-year to 7.2 percent from 6.4

Dec 13, 2018
Economy
Listed firm sales, operational profits fall in 2018: think tank

Nearly half of the country's listed firms reported declines in their sales in the three quarters this year ending September, an analysis by a think tank indicated Thursday.The Korea Economic Research Institute looked into the performances of 578 listed companies during the nine months and found sales at 268 of them, or 46.4 percent, fell compared with the same period last year. The figure is higher than the 32.5 percent in 2017. (Yonhap)More firms fared worse in operational profits, with 344 com

Dec 13, 2018
Economy
[Monitor] More and more married couples having no children

Nearly 38 percent of couples who have been married for five years or less had no children as of November last year, according to government data.Among 11.03 million married couples, 37.5 percent were childless, up 1.2 percentage points from the previous year, Statistics Korea said.Among dual-income couples, 43.3 percent had no children, while the figure was 32 percent for single-income couples.Of couples where the wives were economically active, 43.7 percent had no children, while the figure was

Dec 13, 2018
Economy
[New Focus] Korea’s 3rd phase of new towns: Remedy or repetition?

SEJONG -- The average unit price of an old apartment complex built 31 years ago in Seocho-gu, Seoul, jumped to 1.64 billion won ($1.46 million) in November 2018 from 1.13 billion won in November 2016.The price increased 45 percent in only two years. Other apartment complexes in the district in southern Seoul and neighboring wards also saw their prices surge in the period.Although there have been signs of prices declining after reportedly peaking last summer, many households still appear skeptica

Dec 13, 2018
Economy
Mortgage loans increase at fastest pace in 2 yrs in Nov.

Home-backed loans from South Korean banks increased at the fastest pace in two years in November despite the government's anti-speculation measures, central bank data showed Wednesday.The total value of outstanding mortgages extended by banks came to 603 trillion won ($535 billion) as of the end of last month, up 4.8 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. (Yonhap)The gain marked the largest on-month growth since November 2016, when mortgage lending rose

Dec 12, 2018
Economy
Average daily no. of births in Seoul falls below 200 for 1st time

The number of infants born in Seoul came to an average of 179 per day last year, dipping below the threshold of 200 for the first time as more people are delaying or shunning marriage, data released Wednesday by the Seoul metropolitan government showed.According to the Seoul Statistics Annuals, the number of babies born per day in the South Korean capital reached the lowest level since the government began compiling data in 1961, compared with 257 in 2012, 230 in 2013 and 206 in 2016. (Yonhap)A

Dec 12, 2018
Economy
Fee cut to cost credit card firms about W700b per year in lost revenue

The government's plans to cut credit card commission fees will cost credit card firms about 700 billion won ($619.8 million) per year in lost revenue, a government report showed Wednesday. Financial authorities unveiled two plans this year to reduce credit card commission fees for small merchants in a move to support self-employed business owners at a time when the nation's economy is showing signs of sluggish growth amid weaker consumption.(Yonhap)Under the plans, credit card processing fees fo

Dec 12, 2018
Economy
Nonbank loans rise for SMEs, shrink for conglomerates: dataconglomerates

Small businesses increasingly rely on loans, big players refrain from investment

Dec 12, 2018
Economy
[Monitor] Real estate boom lifts No. of active businesses

The number of active enterprises expanded by the largest figure in 10 years last year, mainly bolstered by the real estate boom, data from Statistics Korea showed.Meanwhile, the enterprise death rate -- the number of enterprises that close their doors permanently in proportion to the population of active enterprises -- was highest among restaurants and lodging businesses.A total of 913,000 new businesses were created last year, an increase of 4.2 percent from 2016. The enterprise birth rate drop

Dec 12, 2018
Economy
Kuwait’s new airport terminal operated by IIAC opens

Incheon International Airport Corp. said Tuesday that the new terminal at Kuwait International Airport managed by the South Korean operator has officially opened. Kuwait International Airport is wholly owned by the Kuwaiti government, handling some 12 million travelers last year. IIAC President Chung Il-young (back, center) and officials pose during the grand opening ceremony for the Terminal 4 of Kuwait International Airport on Sunday. (IIAC)IIAC was chosen as the operator for the new Terminal

Dec 12, 2018
Economy
Finance minister calls for investment and job creation

South Korea's new finance minister on Tuesday urged companies to make investments and take the lead in creating jobs as the country makes every effort to bolster economic growth.In October, the Bank of Korea trimmed its economic growth outlook to 2.7 percent for 2018 from its earlier projection of 2.9 percent. It is lower than the finance ministry's 2.9 percent outlook and the International Monetary Fund's 2.8 percent prediction. (Yonhap)The South Korean economy grew 3.1 percent in 2017 and 2.9

Dec 11, 2018
Economy

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