President Lee Myung-bak said Thursday he is confident South Korea can cope well with a looming global economic crisis stemming from the eurozone financial turmoil, as the country has made enough preparations to ward off such a situation."The government won't let its guard down even a bit while closely monitoring developments in the world economic situation," Lee said in a speech during a ceremony

South Korea's household debt compared to its gross domestic product (GDP) stood much higher than the average for other developed market economies with high income, a local report showed Thursday.The report by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) showed the household debt-to-GDP ratio for the country hitting 81 percent in 2010, which is higher than 73 percent for the whole of the Organ

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday on persistent eurozone woes and overnight losses on Wall Street, analysts said.The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dipped 0.10 percent, or 1.78 points, to 1,857.54 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market bellwether Samsung Electronics was down 0.39 percent, with top automaker Hyundai Motor also losing 0.84 percent.The local currency was trading

South Korea on Thursday started construction of an international sea port on the massive plot of reclaimed land on the southwest coast that could help fuel regional growth, the government said.Once completed in 2030, the new Saemangeum port located 280 kilometers south of Seoul, will be able to handle 17.29 million tons of freight per year and have pier facilities to berth 18 ships simultaneously,

The nation’s automobile sector has refuted claims by some European car industry leaders that Korean carmakers are enjoying huge benefits under the Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement.On the contrary, a greater beneficiary of the bilateral FTA ― which took effect on July 1, 2011 ― is the European counterpart, the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association said Wednesday.KAMA clarified that the trade pact offers little benefit in terms of tariff elimination to the automobile sector, highlighting the man

Ssangyong Motor’s labor and management have reached an agreement on offering several benefits to unpaid workers in their leaves of absence, the company said Tuesday.As key support for the employees on unpaid leave, the automaker will provide them with school expenses for their children, according to Ssangyong.The company will also offer 150 shares, issued by the company, per unpaid worker.In addition, the unpaid employees will be given some gifts during the nation’s traditional holidays such as

Samsung Group said Wednesday that it will hire up to 35 percent of its new recruits from regional universities from the second half of this year.The country’s largest conglomerate also said it will introduce a 5 percent quota for applicants from low-income and underprivileged families at the same time.“The group plans on expanding the portion of new hires from universities located outside of Seoul to 35 percent from the current 25-27 percent range during the regular recruiting session in the sec

Korea’s jobless rate decelerated in May mainly due to more positions created in the service sector, a government report showed Wednesday.The jobless rate stood at 3.1 percent last month, down slightly from 3.2 percent a year earlier, according to the report by Statistics Korea. Last month’s tally also represents a drop from the 3.5 percent reached in April.Job creation accelerated with a total of 472,000 positions added to payrolls in May, compared with 355,000 a year earlier. The number is also

South Korean stocks gained 0.25 percent Wednesday on expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve may announce new stimulus measures to bolster growth, analysts said.The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index moved up 4.58 points to 1,859.32. Trading volume was moderate at 5.38 million shares worth 3.73 trillion won ($3.19 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 423 to 381.“Forecasts that the U.S. will push forward additional quantitative easing to s

A total of eight governmental organization chiefs were given dismissal or warning notices for their poor performances last year, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday. The ministry asked relevant ministries to dismiss two officials ― the heads of both the Korea Livestock Products HACCP Accreditation Service and the Korea Institute of Maritime and Fisheries Technology. The two were given an E grade, the lowest grade possible, by the Finance Ministry in the 2011 Public Institutions Management Per