The country will draw up mid- and long-term measures to cope with expected deterioration in the financial health of the country's key national insurance schemes and major national pension funds as they are expected to run into the red in the coming years due to the rapidly aging of the country's population, the finance ministry said Tuesday.The National Health Insurance Service, which logged a net profit of 3.1 trillion won ($2.7 billion) in 2016, will likely swing to a deficit in 2018 and its r

The South Korea's modest economic recovery bolstered by the uptick in construction and facility investment is losing steam in the face of a slowdown in private consumption, a state-run think tank said Tuesday."The Korean economy exhibited improved investments, but private consumption weakened slightly, implying only modest growth," the Korea Development Institute said in its monthly evaluation of the country's economic conditions. "Construction investment continued the rapid growth and facilitie

South Korea's chief economic policymaker on Monday held a meeting with local experts to discuss ways to deal with China's measures taken on some South Korean firms, in an apparent retaliation for Seoul's plan to deploy a US-led missile system.At the round-table meeting in Seoul, Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho and 11 professors and researchers including Hyun Jung-taik, president of the state-run Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, reviewed the current pending trade and economic issues

China stood at the bottom in terms of market openness, a global report showed Monday, spawning concerns over its protectionist stance amid heightening tension with South Korea over the deployment of a US missile defense system. China ranked 126th out of a total of 136 countries in terms of market accessibility, according to the latest Global Enabling Trade Report, a biennial finding published in November by the World Economic Forum. Image representing the Chinese economy (123RF)It stood 61st in

South Korea is facing the possibility of renegotiating a bilateral free trade deal with the US while coping with increasing economic pressure from China over its planned hosting of an advanced American missile defense system.Washington on Thursday called China’s retaliation against South Korea “unreasonable and inappropriate” in its first official denunciation of Beijing’s moves to make Seoul pay the economic price for taking a step that it views as undermining its security interest beyond deter

The private sector created the least jobs in seven years last year amid businesses shying away from recruiting employees due to a protracted slumping economy, government data showed Monday.The number of employees rose 242,000 in the private sector last year from the previous year, Statistics Korea data said. Job opportunities in large corporates such as Samsung, Hyundai and LG (Yonhap)The figure is the smallest since 2009 when the comparable number was minus 264,000.Private sector employees surg

The US Federal Reserve’s clear signal for a rate hike this month is posing downward risks to the Korean economy amid the nation’s all-time-high household debt and worries over a potential foreign capital exit on a narrowed interest rate gap between Korea and the US.The Fed Chair Janet Yellen cemented her view on Friday that the Fed will raise interest rates at its meeting on March 14-15 if US employment and inflation data meet the Fed’s earlier expectations, according to news reports.She also sa

South Korea is unlikely to reach its long-held target of $30,000 in gross national income per capita this year, as its economy is losing steam at a faster pace, local experts said Sunday.The GNI per capita refers to the total domestic and foreign output by residents of a country, reflecting the income level of the economy.South Korea's GNI per capita was $27,340 in 2015, ranking 46th in the world, with 43 countries over the $30,000 level, regarded as "advanced economies."For last year, South Kor

China’s reported ban on travel agencies on selling tour programs to South Korea is expected to take a toll on South Korean tourism and retailers here who rely on Chinese tourists. The China National Tourism Administration reportedly called in two dozen travel agencies in Beijing and instructed them to stop selling South Korean tour programs including group packages and services for individual tourists, according to news reports Thursday and Friday. Some sources said the ban was spreading to othe

South Korea's finance minister said Friday that he will put more efforts into intense corporate restructuring in all industries in a bid to revive the country's growth potential."It is important for companies to preemptively reorganize and restructure to prevent possible risks," Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said in a ministerial meeting in Seoul. "The government will push forward with corporate reorganization both in the manufacturing and service industries." (Yonhap)He said the government will he

South Korean stocks dropped by more than 1 percent Friday as investor sentiment was dampened by the growing spat between China and South Korea over the deployment of a US missile defense system. The Korean won fell sharply against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 23.90 points, or 1.14 percent, to close at 2,078.75. Trade volume was moderate at 408 million shares worth 4.97 trillion won ($4.3 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 633 to 184. (Yonhap)The loca

South Korea's central bank said Friday that it has selected a dozen operators for its pilot project that could potentially transform the country into what it calls a coinless society.Under the project set to begin in April, consumers can deposit small change left from purchases of goods into their prepaid or mobile cards at convenience stores, discount stores and department stores, according to the Bank of Korea. (Yonhap)The BOK said 12 participants in the pilot project include CU, a major South

South Korea's trade minister will meet with his US counterpart next week to discuss pending issues between the two countries, the ministry here said Friday.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan will visit Washington on March 5-8 and have talks with new US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and other officials. South Korea's Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan (Yonhap)Ross was confirmed by the Senate on Monday and took the helm of the Department of Commerce the fo

South Korea should reduce its reliance on the US economy and push to galvanize domestic demand as the world's No. 1 economy is expected to continue its slow growth down the road, a state think tank said Friday.In a report on the future of the US economy, the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy forecast its annualized average growth rate to hover below 2 percent until 2060 due mainly to its population aging and the slowing pace of technological innovation."Since the early 2000s, Ame

Prosecutors questioned former Finance Minister Choi Kyoung-hwan Friday over suspicions of influence-peddling to get one of his former interns a job at a public corporation. The four-term lawmaker of the ruling Liberty Korea Party appeared at the Anyang branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office in the morning. Rep. Choi Kyoung-hwan of the ruling Liberty Korea Party touches a computer at the National Assembly in Seoul on Feb. 10, 2017. (Yonhap)Choi is suspected of pressuring the chief of th