The Korea Herald

Korea's industrial output falls 2% on weak exports

Mar 2, 2016

Korea's industrial output fell for three months in a row in January due to a slump in the electronics and automaking sectors amid faltering outbound shipments, a government report showed Wednesday.Production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries dropped 1.9 percent last month from a year earlier, contracting for the third consecutive month, according to the report by Statistics Korea. Compared with a month earlier, industrial output also retreated 1.8 percent.Production in
Wage gap by corporate size widens in 2015

Mar 1, 2016

The wage gap between small and medium enterprises and conglomerates in Korea expanded on-year in 2015, data showed Tuesday, reflecting the growing imbalance in compensation among salaried workers.According to the data compiled by the Ministry of Employment and Labor and Statistics Korea, employees at smaller companies only made 62 percent of the wages of their counterparts at big business groups, marking the lowest level since the data was first compiled in 2008.Workers at companies with more th
Korea's exports decline for 14th straight month

Mar 1, 2016

Pinched by weak overseas demand and low oil prices, South Korea’s exports plummeted 12.2 percent in February compared to the same month a year before, continuing the double-digit fall trend for the third straight month. The country’s overall outbound shipments tumbled to $36.4 billion last month from $41.5 billion in the same month last year, according to a monthly trade report by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Tuesday.The February figure showed a slight improvement from January’s 18.
Chinese tourists spending more in Seoul thanks to instant tax refunds

Mar 1, 2016

Chinese tourists in South Korea spent more in the country following the introduction of an on-the-spot tax refund system, local data showed Tuesday.Since February, South Korean department stores offered instant tax refunds to foreign tourists who buy products at local duty-free shops, in line with its efforts to revitalize the tourism industry hurt by the economic slump. Local tourism was also affected by the outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome last year.Lotte Department Store said
[Graphic News] Debts dominate spending of households in deficit

Feb 29, 2016

Debt-to-income ratio of deficit households, whose spending is higher than their disposable income, reached 42 percent 2014, according to a report released by the LG Economic Research Institute on Monday. The proportion of income spent on debt repayments is far higher than the overall figure for all households of 28.3 percent.The ratio for households in deficit has risen steeply since it exceeded 30 percent for the first time in 2009, peaking in 2013, when their DTI ratio hit 42.7 percent. “Consi
Korean businesses hasten entry into Iranian market

Feb 29, 2016

Korean administrators rushed to Iran over the weekend to resume the Korea-Iran Joint Economic Committee meeting after a decade, with the business delegation hoping to reap economic benefits from the end of U.S. sanctions against Iran. On Monday, the Korean delegation -- led by Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan and accompanied by the leaders of 95 companies and organizations – held two meetings with high-profile Iranian officials and businessmen. Abdolreza Zorofchian (center), chairman of Iranian ste
Korean manufacturing sentiment remains low for March

Feb 29, 2016

Korean manufacturers' business sentiments continued to remain bleak for the upcoming month while their actual business conditions in February turned out to be worse than anticipated, a poll showed Monday.The business survey index (BSI) for manufacturing companies came to 66 for March, unchanged from the previous month when the index dipped to a seven-month low, according to the survey by the Bank of Korea (BOK).However, the performance BSI for manufacturers, showing actual performance of manufac
College graduates outside labor force double over 15 years

Feb 29, 2016

The number of college graduates outside the labor force has more than doubled over the past 15 years due to a rise in those who gave up looking for jobs amid a prolonged economic slump, government data showed Monday.Korean college graduates who are neither employed nor unemployed reached 3.35 million in 2015, compared with 1.59 million in 2000, according to the data by Statistic Korea. Job fair in Seoul (Yonhap)From a year earlier, the number rose 4.7 percent."Companies recruit fewer workers due
Korea reaffirms strong economic ties with China

Feb 28, 2016

(Yonhap)Before the opening of the financial ministers meeting of the Group of 20 nations in Shanghai on Friday, bilateral relations between Seoul and Beijing seemed to be touch-and-go due to geopolitical risks sparked by North Korea's nuclear test and rocket launch.South Korea and the United States started discussions on the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system following North Korea's provocations. China slammed the plan, insisting that the missile system would ta
Gaeseong shutdown leads to W815b in losses for firms

Feb 28, 2016

Stripped of production base, companies call for special law for government compensation
Foreigner-only casino to be built on Yeongjongdo Island by 2020

Feb 26, 2016

A consortium proposing the development of a casino-driven integrated resort on Yeongjongdo Island in Incheon has won the business license to do so, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Friday. The island is where Incheon International Airport is located. Inspire Integrated Resort, a special purpose company, jointly set up by U.S.-based casino operator Mohegan Sun, Incheon Airport and KCC, a leading Korean construction materials maker, won the heated bid, the ministry added. The compa
[Graphic News] About 3 percent of salaried workers are high-wage earners: report

Feb 25, 2016

About three out of 100 wage earners in Korea receive an annual salary of more than 100 million won (about $80,000), according to a report by Rep. Lee No-geun of the ruling Saenuri Party on Thursday.The report, which was based on tax authorities’ year-end tax adjustment, showed that high-wage earners number at 526,689 out of the total 16.68 million salaried people here. By region, Ulsan, the nation’s southeastern industrial city, topped the proportion of high-wage earners at 8.5 percent. There we
Shinsegae unveils revamped Gangnam department store

Feb 25, 2016

The revamped Shinsegae department store in Gangnam will officially open on Friday. The store’s concept is heavily inspired by the high-end department store chains Le Bon Marche in France and Saks Fifth Avenue in the U.S. The Shinsegae Group, which is Korea’s second-largest retailer, has added six new floors to the annex building of its store in the affluent area of southern Seoul. This makes the 86,500 square-meter store the largest department store in Seoul. It also now houses 1,000 brands, up
Major trade body vows full support for exports

Feb 25, 2016

The head of a major trade association in Korea said Thursday that his organization will make a concerted effort to help the country's trade volume rebound to the $1 trillion level by expanding its support for sagging exports. Korea's trade had surpassed $1 trillion for four straight years until 2014, but last year it tumbled below the mark as exports dwindled due to the global economic slowdown.In January, the country's exports nosedived 18.8 percent from a year earlier on sluggish overseas dema
Korea to extend 550 bln won loans to Kaesong firms

Feb 25, 2016

The Korean government said Thursday that it will extend special low-interest loans worth 550 billion won ($445 million) to firms based in a jointly run industrial park in a North Korean border town that have suffered losses due to the abrupt shutdown.Earlier this month North Korea expelled South Korean workers from the Kaesong Industrial Complex and froze the assets of companies operating there a day after the South suspended operations in retaliation for Pyongyang's rocket launch. Kaesong Indus