[Photo News] Return to work

Flight attendants are seen at Incheon Airport Terminal 2 on Thursday, as the gradual increase in the number of international flights has prompted airline employees to return to work. According to the aviation industry, Korean Air employees’ leave of absence rate this month recorded less than 20 percent. Flight attendants all over the airport industry have been on extended leave due to a pandemic-induced hiatus, but employees have been sequentially coming back since the beginning of this ye

July 21, 2022

S. Korea to introduce new hydrogen rating scheme in 2024

South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Wednesday it is implementing a new clean hydrogen certification system from 2024 that evaluates corporate carbon footprints based on the amount of carbon emissions, not the type of production process. The new scheme will determine whether hydrogen can be classified as “low carbon” by analyzing the amount of carbon generated during its production -- the lower the emissions, the greater the incentives for companies. Th

July 20, 2022

Boys go for delivery food, girls go for coffee: report

Among Korean teenagers, female students made purchases mostly at coffee shops while male students spent their money on food delivery and late-night snack shops the most, data showed Tuesday. According to KB Kookmin‘s card analysis of debit card sales, 14 percent of male middle and high school students holding KB debit cards, paid for food delivery and late-night snacks, while 11 percent spent their allowances at hamburger restaurants and coffee shops. The analysis further showed that 19

July 19, 2022

In face of steep inflation, Koreans ponder samgyetang

For Oh Ju-ha, a housewife in her 50s, having samgyetang, or ginseng chicken soup, has for many years been a way to endure the highest temperatures of summer. But she is having second thoughts this year. “I’m thinking about making kongguksu (soy milk noodle soup) for this chobok, instead. It’s also high in protein, and not as ridiculously expensive as samgyetang,” she said. Chobok is traditionally the beginning of the most sweltering days of the year in Korea. Oh is one

July 14, 2022

‘Ride the global tide through innovation procurement’

Amid a constant influx of new technologies that has changed the way we live, work and communicate, COVID-19 has drastically accelerated digital transformation. The expedited digitalization has prompted to expand the industrial scope of future markets where national borders and the boundaries between the online and offline world are becoming ever more blurred. Thus, at present, major economies across the globe fiercely compete with one another to get ahead in future promising industries. Agains

June 25, 2021

Philippine investment agency eyes South Korean EV parts, semiconductor firms

The Philippine Board of Investments, the lead industry and investment promotion agency in the country, said it is eyeing South Korean electric vehicle parts and semiconductor firms to further grow their businesses and make it happen in the Philippines. Trade Undersecretary and BOI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo made this statement during an online briefing with South Korean companies in April on the recently-enacted Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act and the Strategic In

May 19, 2021

[Monitor] South Korea’s conglomerates continue to dominate trade

A handful of large companies in South Korea continued to dominate the country’s exports and imports, according to data released by the Korea Customs Service and Statistics Korea.As per the export data, 805 large companies -- just 0.8 percent of total exporting firms -- accounted for 66.6 percent in 2018, an on-year increase of 0.3 percentage point.The value of imports by 1,092 large businesses increased by 0.2 percentage point to reach $323 billion, having a 61 percent share of all imports

Dec. 30, 2019

Seoul, Beijing, Tokyo agree to accelerate trilateral FTA talks

Top trade officials from South Korea, China and Japan agreed Sunday to accelerate their trilateral free trade talks and ramp up efforts to conclude a mega Asia-Pacific trade deal, Seoul's trade ministry said.South Korea's Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Sung Yun-mo met China's Commerce Minister Zhong Shan and Japan's Economy and Trade Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama for talks in Beijing on how to accelerate regional free trade negotiations, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.T

Dec. 22, 2019

Korea’s agricultural exports to China rebound amid THAAD row thaw

South Korea’s exports of agricultural products to China showed signs of rebounding last month, following the announcement that South Korea and China had decided to begin normalizing bilateral relations in October.　　According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade on Thursday, exports of agricultural and livestock products to China -- excluding marine products -- reached roughly $165 million in November. The figure marks a 4.1 percent increase compared to the same month last year.　In addition t

Dec. 7, 2017

More than 40% of China's service sector remains closed: report

More than 40 percent of China's service sector has remained closed despite a bilateral free trade agreement with South Korea, a report said Thursday, suggesting the Seoul government should do more to open the neighboring market in upcoming trade talks with Beijing.The Korea-China FTA took effect in December 2015 after years of negotiations, with tariffs on about 90 percent of goods to be eventually removed over the next two decades. South Korean Trade Minister Yoon Sang-jick (R) and his Chinese

Dec. 7, 2017

Korea to step up economic cooperation with Russia

South Korea will step up economic cooperation with Russia and northern states in various areas, including energy, shipbuilding, fishery and transportation, to foster future growth drivers and stabilize regional security, a presidential committee said Thursday. The Presidential Committee on Northern Economic Cooperation unveiled its plan in its inaugural meeting hosted by chairman Song Young-gil, attended by ministers of finance, foreign affairs, unification, trade and other related organizations

Dec. 7, 2017

Korea pushes against US import restrictions on solar cells

WASHINGTON -- South Korea pushed Wednesday to stop the United States from restricting imports of its solar cells, saying such a move would only harm US interests.A government delegation, including officials from the foreign and commerce industries, made the case at a public hearing at the office of the US trade representative, the foreign ministry said in a statement."An increase in solar cell prices caused by import restriction measures would bring enormous costs to the US public interest," it

Dec. 7, 2017

Economic growth, distribution top priorities for next gov't: survey

South Korean economists and ordinary citizens alike want the next administration to make economic growth and income distribution its top priorities, a survey said Sunday.The same survey found that many of the respondents view the country's political and parliamentary capacities as below par. (Yonhap)The Korea international Trade Association polled 1,000 people, including 321 economic experts, from March 21-27 on what they wanted the next government to focus on for short- and midterm policies. Re

April 9, 2017

Korea, China, Japan to hold new round of free trade talks

South Korea, China and Japan will hold a new round of talks on a three-way free trade agreement in Tokyo next week, South Korea's trade ministry said Sunday.South Korea's top negotiator Lee Sang-jin is set to meet with his Chinese and Japanese counterparts from Monday through Thursday, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.(Yonhap)The 12th round of talks come amid growing US protectionism and Chinese economic retaliations against South Korea over the ongoing deployment of an ad

April 9, 2017

Ratio of Korea's household debt to GDP is higher than OECD average

The ratio of South Korea's household debt to the country's gross domestic product is much higher than the average for the group of 35 mostly rich nations, central bank data showed Thursday.The proportion of South Korea's household debt to the GDP stood at 91 percent at the end of 2015, compared with the average of 70.4 percent for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Bank of Korea said in a report to the parliament.(Yonhap)South Korea's household debt has been on the ri

April 6, 2017

Korea economy shows signs of recovery buoyed by exports, consumer sentiment

South Korea's economy is showing clear signs of picking up pace helped by surging exports, improved consumer sentiment and a rise in stock prices, although some lingering uncertainties could limit a full-fledged recovery, at least for the time being, observers said Thursday.It will take several months for rising exports to lift domestic consumption, a major obstacle to the full-scale economic recovery of Asia's fourth-largest economy, experts said as they predicted some lag time before results s

April 6, 2017

Korean economy on modest recovery thanks to investment, exports

The South Korean economy has been seeing a modest recovery in recent months on the back of improvement in investment and exports, a state-run think tank said Thursday."The Korean economy continued to grow at a moderate pace on improving investment and exports," the Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in its monthly evaluation of the country's economic conditions. "Both construction and facilities investment continued to grow fast, while exports trended up on the recovery of the global economy

April 6, 2017

Report suggests ending tax exemptions, higher corporate tax to fix income inequality

Limiting tax exemptions on earned income would be effective in increasing the country's revenue, but when it comes to raising tax rates, applying the hike on businesses would have better results than applying it on people's earnings, a report said Thursday.Authored by professors Park Ki-baeg and Jun Byung-wook of the University of Seoul, the report measured the effects of different options in taxation revisions aimed at narrowing income inequality.(Yonhap)The report was requested by the National

April 6, 2017

Korea spends 31.7% of 2017 budget in Q1

The South Korean government spent nearly 90 trillion won ($79.8 billion) of its state budget in the first three months of the year as part of its efforts to frontload spending to prop up the economy, the finance ministry said Thursday.Budget spending by the government and public institutions for the January-March period stood at 89.3 trillion won, up 1.8 trillion won from the earlier target of 87.4 trillion won, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. (Yonhap)It accounted for 31.7 per

April 6, 2017

Korea Inc. gropes for new business-politics ties

Calls are rising for business and political circles in Korea to forge a new constructive relationship replacing old collusive ties and work together to draw up a blueprint for the future of the national economy that has seen its growth potential continuously weakening.Political parties have competitively put forward measures aimed at tightening restraints on big businesses, many of which have been embroiled in the massive corruption scandal that led to the impeachment and arrest of President Par

April 5, 2017