As part of his first duties in office, the newly appointed Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Paik Un-gyu sent a letter to his US counterpart agreeing to hold a joint committee on the two countries’ free trade agreement, but with a different timeline, venue and agenda, the ministry said Tuesday. 　Making no mention of trade revision deliberations, the Seoul government suggested instead that the committee be used to discuss how to objectively analyze and assess the effects of the KORUS F

Economy July 25, 2017

More than half of Korea’s part-time employees are concerned about potential job cuts due to the government’s minimum wage hike starting next year, according to a survey conducted by Albamon, a portal site operated by Job Korea, on Monday. 　The survey of 3,955 part-time workers and 656 employers showed that 72.9 percent of participating part-time workers expressed concerns about the upcoming minimum wage increase, while 90.5 percent of employers said they were concerned. 　Earlier this

Economy July 24, 2017

Hyundai Construction Equipment, which separated from Hyundai Heavy Industries in April, announced Monday it expects to collect some 500 billion won ($449 million) by the end of 2021 for its deal with UK-based Netherlands industrial goods company CNHi to provide 2,200 mini excavators. 　In an effort to expand its global reach, Hyundai Construction says it is looking to increase its annual sales volume in advanced markets such as North America and the Oceania region by 40 percent and 45 percent, re

Industry July 24, 2017

The Fair Trade Commission said Friday that the government is currently investigating the legal standings of Harim Group CEO Kim Hong-kuk handing off 100 percent of stakes in Orpum, an unlisted chicken subsidiary, to his 25-year-old son Kim Jun-young in 2012.  　As part of the government’s latest pledge to crack down on illegal and unfair business practices, the FTC has selected local poultry giant Harim Group, Korea’s leading livestock and animal feed group, as the first conglomerate to probe in

Industry July 21, 2017

South Korean Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Kim Yung-rok said Thursday he would not concede to any demand for an increase in rice imports from the US when talks begin regarding modifications to the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement. 　The agriculture minister said the farming industry had been struggling since the FTA came into effect five years ago, as Korea’s rice prices continue to plunge, with farmers blaming an increase in rice imports. 　“It is not a simple task, but

Economy July 20, 2017

The US government this week released a 17-page summary of its proposal to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement that included a ban on currency manipulation, which is also expected to impact looming talks on amending the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement. 　The Office of the United States Trade Representative on Monday issued the NAFTA amendment summary looking to reduce the US trade deficit by improving accessibility of its exports to Mexico and Canada. In particular, the USTR office a

Economy July 20, 2017

The Fair Trade Commission announced on Tuesday that it will be establishing new measures to eradicate unfair practices in the franchise restaurant sector in an effort to protect smaller businesses. 　Head of Korea‘s antitrust watchdog Kim Sang-jo announced that the FTC will create a healthy franchise market by enforcing fair affiliate transactions. The FTC will revise its policies in order to expand the disclosure of information, such as the list of essential items that a franchisee must purchase

Industry July 18, 2017

One in five workers said that they will not be able to take time off work this summer, citing a sluggish economy and excessive workload as the main reasons, according to a survey by workers education company Hunet on Tuesday.  　Hunet’s survey of 934 employees found that 21.6 percent of the respondents said they are not planning on taking summer vacations this year. The results are slightly lower compared to last year, where 25.5 percent had said they could not take a vacation. 　In thi

Economy July 18, 2017

Korea’s export price index of semiconductors hit 48.79 last month, reaching the highest in more than two years, according to the Bank of Korea on Monday. 　Last month’s price index of semiconductors was a 14.2 percent increase compared to December last year and marked the highest since December 2014 when it stood at 49.05. According to the BOK, the price hike is attributed to global rising demand for Korean chips.　Exports of flash memory chips, widely used in smartphones, increased by

Economy July 17, 2017

　It takes the average Korean worker more than 100 minutes to commute to and from work every day, according to data from Job Korea, an internet employment site, on Monday. For Seoul residents, the average daily commute was 2 hours and 15 minutes.　Job Korea surveyed 820 men and women and found that the average worker spent 101.1 minutes commuting to and from work. Those surveyed said their commute to work takes roughly 48.1 minutes, while heading home from work takes 53 minutes.　The survey also sh

Economy July 17, 2017

A nominee for the nation’s financial watchdog on Sunday addressed the need to ease ownership regulations on non-financial entities in the banking sector to promote additional launches of internet-only banks.　Choi Jong-ku, the nominee for chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said a pending bill on easing up Korea‘s existing banking laws to accommodate non-financial industries owning bank stakes, should be decided considering the nature of internet-only banks designed to cove

Market July 16, 2017

The nation‘s largest steelmaker shows signs of financial recovery this year amid years of heavy corporate restructuring as securities companies expect Posco’s operating profit this year to reach its highest in six years.　The company‘s net profit for the first quarter hit 976.9 billion won ($865 million) compared 338.4 billion won a year earlier. Posco’s operating profit also jumped to 1.4 trillion won from 659.8 billion won last year through its own internal efforts to generate revenue.  　The st

Industry July 16, 2017

The South Korean government on Thursday reacted cautiously to the US’ formal request to hold a joint meeting to revise the Korea-US free trade agreement within the next month, saying the timeline may not be realistically possible and that searching for the real cause of the US’ trade deficit was a priority. 　The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy also said that it would call on its US counterpart to first review the root causes of the trade imbalance between the two countries. Th

Economy July 13, 2017

The number of newly employed workers in June saw the smallest increase in five months, according to data released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday. 　Last month, the number of employed people hit 26.86 million. While the figure marks a 301,000 increase compared to a year earlier, it also represents the lowest monthly increase since January’s 243,000.　The country’s unemployment rate for June was 3.8 percent, an increase of 0.2 percentage point from the same month last year. 　The s

Economy July 12, 2017

With Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power’s pending decision to suspend the construction of Shin-Kori No. 5 and 6 nuclear power plants in Ulsan, the plant’s parent company Korea Electric Power Corp. is reviewing whether it could be held legally liable to its shareholders.  　After taking office in May, President Moon Jae-in decided to temporarily suspend the construction of the Shin-Kori plants as part of his administration’s nuclear-free energy policy to reduce the country&rsqu

Economy July 11, 2017