Korea suffered a 15.7 percent fall in exports to China in the first quarter this year, data showed Sunday, deepening its overall trade woes.It marks the biggest drop in seven years in Korea's outbound shipments to China, its single biggest market. China accounts for about 25 percent of Korea's total exports.Exports to China stood at $28.5 billion in the year's first three months, down 15.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the Korea International Trade Association (KITA).By item, exports

Sales by Korea's 10 largest conglomerates fell at a sharper rate than the corporate average last year, the latest industry figures showed Sunday.The Korea Exchange and online financial information provider FnGuide said sales at 68 of the top 10 groups' listed affiliates, which closed their accounting books in December, stood at 1,010.7 trillion won ($880.4 billion) in terms of consolidated financial statements last year, marking an on-year reduction of 3.31 percent. Consumers at Lotte Department

Two South Korean private think tanks have revised down their growth outlooks for Korea, citing a continued slump in exports and weak domestic demand.LG Economic Research Institute said in a report Thursday that Asia’s fourth-largest economy will grow 2.4 percent this year, down from the previous projection of 2.5 percent. It is the most skeptical view among economic institutes in Korea in terms of growth projections.  (123RF)The think tank attributed the grimmer outlook to a still sluggish globa

South Korea attained its third-largest trade surplus in March and extended the surplus streak to 50 months, as imports again fell at a faster pace than exports, customs data showed Friday.The country's trade surplus came to $9.86 billion last month, up from a surplus of $7.07 in the previous month, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.The March figure marked the 50th consecutive month of a trade surplus, with an 18.6-percent on-year jump from $8.34 billion a year earlier.It is al

South Korea's jobless rate dropped to 4.3 percent in March from the previous month's 4.9 percent, with the number of newly employed people rebounding to over 300,000 last month, a government report showed Friday.The unemployment rate for young adults also edged down to 11.8 percent last month from an all-time high of 12.5 percent in February, but the figure is the highest youth unemployment rate on record for March, the report compiled by Statistics Korea said, raising concern that the sluggish

At a Cabinet meeting a day before Wednesday’s general election, President Park Geun-hye urged voters to cast their ballots to form a “new National Assembly devoted to securing people’s livelihoods and revitalizing the economy.”Park deplored what she described as losses caused by the blocking or delay of the passage of reform bills in the outgoing parliament.The answer from the electorate, who deprived her conservative ruling Saenuri Party of its majority in the 300-member legislature, apparently

Korea's home sales plunged 30.4 percent last month from a year earlier amid some signs of a slowdown in the local property market, government data showed Thursday.The number of home transactions reached 77,853 in March compared with a record 111,869 tallied a year ago, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Apartment complex in Seoul (Yonhap)It also marked a 9.9 percent drop from a five-year average of 86,000, while it jumped 31.4 percent from the previ

Trade volume between North Korea and China posted double-digit growth in the first quarter of 2016 from a year earlier despite the United Nations' punitive economic sanctions imposed on the reclusive country, official data showed Wednesday.(Yonhap)The size of bilateral trade stood at 7.79 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) in the January-March period, up 12.7 percent from the same period last year, Huang Songping, spokesman of China's General Administration of Customs, said during a press briefing on t

South Korea's exports of information communication technology (ICT) products fell for the seventh consecutive month in March as weak global demand and a Chinese slowdown weighed heavily on the country's key industries, government data showed Wednesday.Outbound shipments of ICT products reached $13.97 billion last month, down 5 percent from $14.7 billion tallied a year before, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. (Yonhap)ICT exports extended their losing s

South Korea's exports of industrial parts and materials fell for the fourth straight quarter in the first quarter of this year amid weak global demand and low oil prices, the trade ministry said Wednesday.Outbound shipments of industrial parts and materials fell 10.7 percent on-year to $59.4 billion in the January-March period, accounting for 51.2 percent of the country's overall exports, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The first-quarter figure marked the fourth consecuti

 South Korea's finance minister said Wednesday the country's economy is expected to grow 3 percent on-year in 2016, adding it boasts enough capabilities to cope with short-term uncertainties."South Korea is able to post 3 percent level growth as the government is rolling out measures to vitalize investment and exports, as well as structural innovations," Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said. The South Korean government currently aims to post an on-year growth of 3.1 percent.The International Monetary

South Korea’s export prices slipped from a month earlier in March due to a strengthening local currency against the U.S. dollar, central bank data showed Tuesday.The export price index stood at 80.72 last month, down 1.5 percent from a revised 81.96 in the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.From a year earlier, the March reading marked a 4.5 percent decline. It was also a turnaround from an on-month gain in February. The central bank attributed the decline to a

Major South Korean firms are facing a sales drop and the subsequent growth slowdown, while their foreign rivals are continuously expanding their presence, a report showed Tuesday.According to the Korea Economic Research Institute, 14 South Korean firms that were included in the world's top 1,000 companies in terms of market capitalization as of end-March saw their sales grow 1.12 percent in 2015, sharply decelerating from a 6.18 percent gain in 2014, an 8.48 percent rise in 2013 and a 5.75 perce

South Korean shares are expected to remain in a tight range next week as investors take to the sidelines ahead of corporate earnings seasons at home and abroad, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 1,972.05 points on Friday, down 0.08 percent from a week ago. KOSPI (Bloomberg)The country's stock market started higher this week as investor sentiment was boosted by gains in Wall Street, but caved in to institutional sell-offs, which was in part o