Kim Jong-hoonTomorrow, the free trade agreement between the Republic of Korea and the European Union will finally enter into force. With the publication of the agreement in the official gazettes of the two sides the day before yesterday, all the required procedures have been completed and we are now about to embark upon the smooth implementation of the agreement.As is often said, well begun is hal

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde poses before giving a television interview, Tuesday June 28, 2011 in Paris, after she has been chosen to lead the International Monetary Fund. She will become the first female managing director of the global lending organization.(AP-Yonhap News)WASHINGTON (AP) _ French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde was chosen Tuesday to lead the International Monetary

South Korea steps closer to completing FTA networkThe Korea-EU Free Trade Agreement is set to take effect on Friday, opening new doors for the country’s economy.The negotiations over the pact, which began in May 2007, came to a close in October 2009 when the agreement was penciled in, and in October 2010 the agreement was formally signed by the leaders of Korea and the EU.The EU approved the deal,

The most valuable economic resources are human resources, and Korea needs to improve its use of its most precious assets. A survey released last week reported that the average worker in Korea retires in his or her mid-50s. This is much earlier than their Western European OECD counterparts, who usually retire at 65 or older, and for whom even early retirement is usually 60 or older.The survey resul

LG Electronics, the world’s leading household appliance maker, is poised to push up the quality of appliances by several notches with the introduction of savvier smart appliances.“Smart appliance” has become one of the industry’s new buzzwords, quickly picking up on the growing demand from consumers to live smarter and more economically at not just the office, but at home.LG Electronics, as the in

POSCO began construction on its third FINEX steel mill at its steelworks in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province on Tuesday.The new FINEX plant, which will have an annual production capacity of 2 million metric tons, is scheduled for completion in 2013.The company said the construction budget for the new FINEX plant is 1.3 trillion won ($1.2 billion), equal to that used in building the second FINEX p

Korea’s current account surplus rose to the highest level in seven months in May on solid exports and decreased dividend payments to foreign investors, the central bank said Tuesday.The current account surplus reached $2.26 billion in May, up from a revised $1.28 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade.The May su