GS Caltex is bolstering its safety management in its facilities to fulfill its commitment to creating safe environment at workplaces, company officials said Tuesday.The nation’s second-largest oil refiner has pushed for a safety-first management since its vice chairman Huh Jin-soo pledged to strive to check every small process to ensure employee safety last year.GS Caltex’s Safety Training Center in Yeosu (GS Caltex)Under the management, new employees have a mandatory 60-hour safety training cou

Japanese exports to key market China fell back in March after a brief holiday-linked boost, official data showed Wednesday, as a stronger yen clouds the country's trade picture.The figures also showed Japan's trade surplus hit 755 billion yen, ($6.9 billion), more than tripling from a year ago and its highest level in five-and-a-half years, largely thanks to a fall in oil prices.The drop in Japan's shipments to China, down 7.1 percent from the same month last year, came after a rise in February,

Korea and China held their high-level economic talks Wednesday as they seek to capitalize on their free trade agreement (FTA) that took effect last year, a key framework to boost bilateral economic cooperation.Second Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Gao Yan led the joint economic committee session to discuss the implementation of the bilateral open trade pact and recent trends in the global economy and the economies of the two countries. Second Vice Foreign Mi

Four Korean companies including Hyundai Motor Group will receive an award for contributing to boosting bilateral economic ties with China, trade and economic associations from the two countries said Wednesday.The companies, also including SK Networks, LG Display and LS Group, were picked for the grand award granted jointly by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and three other trade organizations.They were chosen based on a comprehensive evaluation of their contributions t

President Park Geun-hye and her economic aides have suggested the ruling party’s crushing defeat in last week’s general election will not weaken their efforts to accelerate structural reforms, deregulation and industrial renovation.They say that completing such tasks are crucial to create more jobs for young people and boost the country’s growth potential over the long term.At a meeting with her senior secretaries Monday, Park said she would humbly respect voters’ will reflected in the election

Korea’s producer prices fell to the lowest level in six years due mainly to cuts in energy prices, central bank data showed Wednesday.The producer price index, which shows inflation pressures before they reach consumers, came in at 98.42 last month, the lowest March reading since 2010, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. From a month earlier, it represented a decline of 0.1 percent. From the same month last year, it was down 3.3 percent. The central bank said the decline was la

The Bank of Korea on Tuesday kept the key interest rate unchanged at an all-time low for a 10th consecutive month, while presenting a slower growth of 2.8 percent for the domestic economy this year. BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol and six other members of the monetary policy board decided to freeze the seven-day repurchase rate at 1.5 percent, unchanged since June last year, until next review. BOK Governor Lee Ju-yeol (Yonhap)The central bank also slashed its forecast for gross domestic product growth in 2

South Korea's central bank cut its growth outlook for the economy on Tuesday, mainly blaming a slowdown in the global economy and trade.In its quarterly revision to the growth outlook, the Bank of Korea said Asia's fourth-largest economy is expected to expand 2.8 percent this year, compared with a 3 percent growth forecast three months earlier.The BOK joined a series of organizations that cut their own growth estimates for the local economy, including the International Monetary Fund, which has s

The Korean government said Tuesday that it has reviewed whether to add another industrial sector for restructuring as part of efforts to drive out heavily indebted companies in ailing sectors that might drag down the Korean economy.The Financial Services Commission said, however, it has yet to find any specific industry in need of further restructuring. FSC chairman Yim Jong-yong (Yonhap)“As of now, there is no industry that needs further discussion for restructuring, besides the five sectors,”

South Korea may choose additional industries for restructuring next week as part of efforts to weed out troubled companies that could put a damper on Asia's fourth-largest economy down the road, government and industry sources said Tuesday.In line with its sweeping restructuring drive to keep financially troubled companies from becoming a drag on the economy, the government has already singled out five industries -- shipbuilding, shipping, construction, steelmaking and petrochemicals.In particul

The oil market late Monday recouped heavy losses spurred by the failure of major crude producers to agree curbs on output that could have firmed up the market.Analysts said a strike that knocked out more than 60 percent of Kuwait's production helped support the market.Crude prices fell nearly seven percent early in the day after producers came away from talks in the Qatari capital of Doha on Sunday empty-handed.But by the end of trade, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in May had

President Park Geun-hye warned Monday that a global slowdown and further provocations from North Korea could undermine signs of economic improvement.Speaking to her aides for the first time since the parliamentary election last week, Park said that South Korea is still facing economic difficulties even though there has been signals that the economy was improving.In the wake of her ruling party's defeat in the election, Park said that she would work closely with lawmakers to push through structur

Household loans extended by local banks rose at a fast clip in March due to a large increase in mortgage loans, central bank data showed Monday.Outstanding household loans extended by lenders here came to 649 trillion won ($564.2 billion) as of end-March, up 4.9 trillion won from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.The on-month gain marked a significant acceleration from the 2.9 trillion won increase the previous month or a 2.1 trillion won rise in January."Home-back

Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said last week it would be possible to reach the government-set growth target of 3.1 percent this year.“The Korean economy will be able to post 3 percent level growth this year,” said Yoo, trumpeting the government’s efforts to boost investment, exports and structural reforms.But his forecast seems alienated from predictions by most economic institutes at home and abroad, which have revised down their growth outlook for Asia’s fourth-largest economy struggling with dec

Korea spent a record amount of money on coal-fired power generation last year, a nearly three-fold increase over a decade, indicating that the country's dependence on the fossil fuel still runs high, industry data showed on Monday.According to the data compiled by the Korea Power Exchange, the country paid a total of 41.6 trillion won ($36.2 billion) to private power generators last year, down 6.2 percent from the previous year's 44.4 trillion won, on the back of falling oil prices and the incre