The government said Tuesday that it would fully support corporate investment and hiring plans in order to keep the nation’s economic growth momentum for this year.　“The government will make every possible effort to support companies’ active hiring and investment, such as eliminating the regulatory factors that hinder job creation,” Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said.　The chief economic policymaker revealed the plan during a rare meeting between a group of government minist

South Korea’s exports plummeted 18.5 percent in January from a year ago, recording the largest year-on-year fall since August 2009 when the country was reeling from the global financial crisis. (Yonhap)Exports from Korea had been on a downward path for 13 months straight, along with a continuous drop in oil prices and slowing demand from emerging countries, sparking red alert in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, which heavily relies on exports for growth.Overall outbound shipments reached $36.7 bil

A traditional market in Busan is crowded with shoppers Sunday ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.    (Yonhap)

The Incheon Free Economic Zone pledged to enhance its competitiveness by strengthening its foothold as an international business-friendly zone for service, tourism and bio industry, aiming to attract $930 million worth foreign direct investment this year. Foreign investment registered for the IFEZ, South Korea’s first free economic zone, stood at $1.206 billion in 2015, accounting for 9 percent of the country’s outstanding FDI, according to the IFEZ Authority. The IFEZ set a goal to attract a to

Debt-to-GDP ratio expected to surpass 40% this year　

South Korea’s industrial output rose for the first time in three months in December, bolstered by solid growth in the chemical and refinery sectors, a government report showed Friday.Statistics Korea said production in mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries gained 1.3 percent last month from a month earlier. The increase marks a rebound after two straight months of decline. Tanker trucks are lined up at a parking lot near Seoul. (Yonhap)Compared with a year earlier, however, indus

South Korean manufacturers’ business sentiment sank to its lowest level in seven months in February, a poll showed Friday.The business survey index for manufacturing companies came to 66 for February, down from 68 for January and the lowest since June, according to the Bank of Korea. An employee works on a car part at a factory in Korea. (Yonhap)A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. The monthly survey covers about 2,800 firms. The BSI for nonmanufacturing companies fell 1 poi

South Korea’s government said Thursday that it had set tougher safety guidelines for budget airlines after a series of recent mishaps raised alarm bells about the rapidly growing transportation sector.The measures, which include stiff penalties for noncompliance, are designed to fundamentally overhaul the way low cost carriers run their operations, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said.  (123rf)Under the plan, each carrier will be required to have six sets of pilots for each of

Consumer confidence has slipped in January to a six-month low as households fretted about the economic outlook on the back of China’s slowdown and stock market tumble.The composite consumer sentiment index for January came to 100, compared with 102 the previous month, according to the data released by the Bank of Korea on Wednesday.(Yonhap)“Consumers view on their financial situation got worsened as recent oil price drop and China’s sluggish economy weighed on their outlook for the country’s eco

The number of people changing residences edged up 0.3 percent in December from a year earlier, the state statistics agency said Wednesday,People changing their official residence came to some 700,000 in December, up 0.3 percent or 2,000, from the same month a year earlier, according to data provided by Statistics Korea.The population mobility rate -- the number of those changing their residence for every 100 people -- remained unchanged at 1.37 percent last month, the data showed.A net 12,842 pe

South Korea's housing market continued its upside mode in the fourth quarter of last year on the back of a government-led stimulus and low borrowing costs, a report showed Wednesday.Home prices in the country rose an average of 4.4 percent on-year in the October-December period, up from a 4.1 percent on-year gain in the previous quarter, according to a report compiled by the state-run Korea Development Institute (KDI).Seasonally adjusted home prices edged up 0.9 percent from three months earlier

 Bank lending rates on new household loans rose slightly from a month earlier in December apparently due to a U.S. rate hike, central bank data showed Wednesday.The average rate for new household loans gained 0.07 percentage points from the previous month to 3.23 percent last month, according to data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).December marked the second straight month the average rate on new household loans gained from a month earlier.The average rate on new home-backed loans added 0.08 percen

South Korea's entrepreneurial spirit has weakened sharply compared with the 1970s as economic bills are often left in limbo and the establishment of large enterprises have become a lot tougher than in the past, a report showed Wednesday. The entrepreneurial spirit index fell from 150.9 in 1976 to 66.6 in 2013, slightly higher than 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis, according to the report by the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI). The KERI, a think tank affiliated with the Fe

South Korean consumers’ sentiment slipped in January, with more people expecting their income and overall economic conditions to further decline, central bank data showed Wednesday.The Composite Consumer Sentiment Index came in at 100 for January, falling from the revised 102 for December, according to the data.The reading was on par with July last year when the economy fell into the doldrums in the aftermath of a nationwide outbreak of MERS. A reading below 100 indicates that pessimists outnumb

The issuance of asset-backed securities (ABS) in South Korea nearly doubled in 2015 from a year earlier on the back of sharp growth in sales of government-led mortgage funds, the financial watchdog said Wednesday. A combined 83 trillion won ($68.1 billion) worth of ABS were issued last year, up 99.8 percent from the previous year's 41.5 trillion won according to the Financial Supervisory Service.ABSs are derived from underlying assets such as auto loans, home loans, credit card receivables and s