[Monitor] Korea‘s unemployment benefits ranks low

A recent report by the Korea Labor Institute showed that South Korea ranks among the lowest in terms of the period during which jobless workers get unemployment benefits.Among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development members, jobless South Korean workers could receive unemployment benefits for a maximum seven months in 2010, the fifth shortest among 29 OECD members.Korea offers unemployment allowances for three to eight months for eligible workers depending on their age and term

March 23, 2017

Korea's economic recovery still slow despite global market picking up pace

South Korea has not gained the momentum needed for early recovery despite the global economy showing signs of picking up pace, the head of a local business group said Thursday."The pace of domestic economic recovery is still slow, although things have picked up for the global market," Park Yong-man, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry, told a meeting with leaders of the country's four major political parties at the National Assembly in Seoul. (Yonhap)South Korea appears to be su

March 23, 2017

Korea spends W51tr through Feb. to help economy

South Korea spent some 51 trillion won ($45.5 billion) of the state budget in the first two months of the year to prop up the economy, the finance ministry said Thursday.The budget spending by the government and public institutions for the January-February period is 5.3 trillion won higher than its planned outlay of 45.7 trillion won during the cited period, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. (Yonhap)The South Korean government has focused on ushering in an economic recovery thro

March 23, 2017

Korea needs sweeping economic reforms

South Korea should carry out a sweeping reform of its economy to tide over a series of crises facing Asia's fourth-largest economy, a leading economist said Thursday.Kim Joon-kyung, president of the state-run Korea Development Institute, claimed South Korea is facing such challenges as falling growth potential, still high levels of regulation, plunging corporate earnings, a gaping income gap and a lack of preparedness for the so-called fourth industrial revolution.This file photo shows Kim Joon-

March 23, 2017

More Koreans get married late -- or not at all

South Korea’s latest marriage and divorce figures showed a continuing trend of late marriages or avoidance of wedlock, according to data from Statistics Korea Wednesday. The number of marriages hit its lowest mark since 1977.South Korea saw fewer marriages and fewer divorces in 2016 from the previous year. In 2016, there were 281,600 marriages, down 7 percent, or 21,200, from 2015 due to a decline in population of those in their 20s and 30s, unstable job conditions, high rent and a wide-spreadin

March 22, 2017

Korea ramps up efforts to boost youth employment

The South Korean government announced Wednesday its latest unemployment support measures for youth in an attempt to help the frustrated young unemployed. The new measures aim to relieve the financial burden for young job seekers, change unfair employment practices and encourage those who start their own businesses, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said. Young job seekers search through booths at a job fair for youth in Seoul (Yonhap)The measures include eased conditions for mandatory militar

March 22, 2017

Corporate reform required not to dampen entrepreneurship

Korea’s large conglomerates, many of which have been embroiled in a massive corruption scandal that has led to the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye, are now worried about a flood of anti-business pledges by political leaders vying to win the upcoming presidential election.Early this year, Moon Jae-in, a former head of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea who has been leading other potential presidential candidates by a large margin in recent polls, unveiled a range of reform measu

March 22, 2017

[Monitor] Seoul among top 10 most expensive cities

The Cost of Living Index, or general index, shows the difference in living costs between cities. The cost of living in the base city, set as New York, is expressed as 100. The index comprises prices of products and services across some 160 categories such as food, clothing, housing, transportation and tuition.Seoul’s prices surged at the highest rate among all cities in the world, the latest report by the Economist Intelligence Unit showed Wednesday. It jumped from being ranked 36th most expensi

March 22, 2017

Korea conducts legal review for potential WTO complaint over US anti-dumping duties

South Korea is considering whether to file an official complaint with the World Trade Organization over the United States' practice of levying anti-dumping duties on South Korean steel and chemical products, government sources said Wednesday."A legal review involving WTO experts is under way at the level of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to see if it's possible to lodge a complaint," an official told Yonhap News Agency. (Yonhap)The complaint, if lodged, will take issue with the US' "

March 22, 2017

Korea's terms of trade worsens in February

South Korea's terms of trade deteriorated slightly in February from a year earlier as a rise in export prices was offset by a hike in import prices, central bank data showed Wednesday.The terms of trade index for products came to 100.48 last month, down 2.9 percent from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. (Yonhap)The index measures the amount of imports a country can purchase for each unit of exports, showing how the country's exports are doing in comparison to

March 22, 2017

US protectionism key issue at G20 meeting

South Korea's central bank chief said Wednesday that concerns over US protectionism were a key issue at the recent meetings of finance ministers and central bank governors from the world's major economies.Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol made the comments to reporters earlier in the day, just one day after he returned home from the northwestern Swiss city of Basel where he attended a regular meeting of the Bank for International Settlements. (Yonhap)Last week, Lee also attended the G20 Finance

March 22, 2017

Young household heads spend more on food, housing

South Korean household heads in their 20s and 30s spent more on food and housing in 2016 than six years ago as their wages remained stagnant amid soaring home prices, data showed Wednesday.According to the data by Statistics Korea, those household heads forked out nearly 23.8 percent of their monthly expenditures worth 2.58 million won to pay for food and housing last year. The figure was up 1.2 percentage points from 2008, when the global financial crisis broke out. (Yonhap)Comparable figures w

March 22, 2017

Korea's unemployment benefits period ranks low among OECD nations

South Korea ranks low among the member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in terms of the period during which jobless workers get unemployment benefits, a report said Wednesday.The relatively shorter period for unemployment allowances is a testament to the low level of the country's social safety net and feared to ultimately have a negative impact on the national economy amid the ongoing fallout from a large-scale corporate restructuring drive. An employment and

March 22, 2017

Economically inactive youth, soaring prices dog Korea

The number of South Korean youths choosing to stay out of the job market is surging, reflecting a worsening job market and labor force quality, data showed Tuesday.Statistics Korea said the number of economically inactive young people, who are neither employed nor unemployed but are taking some time off for various reasons, hit a 4-year high in February.Those aged 15-29 who did not seek employment rose to 362,000 last month, gaining 11,600 from the previous month, according to data. It is the hi

March 21, 2017

[MONITOR] Lee Kun-hee jumps to 68th richest in Forbes list

The latest update on the world‘s billionaires by Forbes showed that Bill Gates remained the richest for a fourth year in a row. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos had the best year, adding $27.6 billion to his fortune. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg moved up to No. 5, his highest yet. There were 195 newcomers, with China introducing the most new 10-figure fortunes at 76. There are also 15 new self-made billionaire women, all but one of whom is from the Asia-Pacific region. From Korea, Samsung Electronics Cha

March 21, 2017

‘Korea could suffer $20b loss from sour ties with China’

South Korea could suffer $20 billion in economic losses if its already-soured relations with China exacerbates, an industry report said Tuesday.Korea is already suffering from China’s apparent economic retaliation measures, such as banning Chinese travelers from visiting Korea and applying stricter customs procedures on Korean goods, as China has been asserting that the deployment of a US anti-missile system on the Korean Peninsula poses a threat to its territory.A duty free shop specializing in

March 21, 2017

Hwang calls for all-out efforts to manage risks from US interest rate hike

South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Tuesday called for all-out efforts to manage economic risks stemming from the US Federal Reserve's recent decision to raise key interest rates.During a Cabinet meeting, Hwang pointed out growing concerns that the interest rate hike could further weigh down Asia's fourth-largest economy suffering from flaccid domestic consumption and relatively high unemployment.  Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn speaks during a C

March 21, 2017

Exports jump 14.8% in first 20 days of March

South Korea's exports jumped 14.8 percent in the first 20 days of March from a year earlier, continuing their upbeat mode for five straight months, customs data showed Tuesday.The total outbound shipments reached $27.3 billion during the cited period, up from $23.8 billion tallied over the same period last year, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service.The increase was led by a 42.5 percent on-year gain in exports of semiconductors and a 62.2 percent surge in petroleum product

March 21, 2017

[MONITOR] Franchise stores close down at record pace

The number of closed down franchise stores nationwide in 2015 reached 13,241, 19.7 percent more from the previous year, data by the Fair Trade Commission showed.This means an average of 36 stores closed down per day.The number of newly opened franchise branches, meanwhile, reached 22,536, down 9.2 percent from 2014.The aggravating franchise business is attributed to declining consumer sentiment and excessive competition.Experts also warned against retirees jumping into franchise businesses witho

March 20, 2017