South Korea's beef imports surged to a new record high in 2015 mainly due to a spike in local meat prices, government data showed Wednesday.Asia's fourth-largest economy imported more than US$1.81 billion worth of beef last year, smashing the previous record of $1.67 billion in 2014, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service. It was also the highest tally since the agency started keeping such data in 1995."Demand for imports rose as local beef prices led by meat from premium hanwoo cows

South Korea injected a record amount of 50,000 won banknotes into circulation last year, the central bank said Wednesday, despite a low return rate of the highest denomination bills that has continuously raised concerns over the possible growth of the underground economy.In 2015, the Bank of Korea issued some 20.5 trillion won worth of 50,000-won notes, up 34.8 percent from the previous year and breaching the 20-trillion-won mark for the first time since it introduced the 50,000-won bill in 2009

Two international airports in South Korea are set to review operational licenses for duty-free shops, but the upcoming bids are unlikely to become competitive due to sluggish profitability, industry sources said Wednesday. Gimpo International Airport in western Seoul is expected to open a bid for tax-free shops later this month as the current operating rights expire in May after five years of operation. Currently, Hotel Lotte Co. and Hotel Shilla Co. have duty-free shops at the airport.Gimhae In

South Korea's economic growth will likely undershoot the government target this year due to sluggish exports and domestic consumption, a private think tank said Tuesday.In its latest economic report, the LG Economic Research Institute said domestic and external conditions are unlikely to turn for the better this year although there are high expectations of a growth of at least 3 percent.The government has forecast that the economy will likely grow3.1 percent on-year in 2016 thanks to improving e

One in six South Korean consumers have used mobile devices when shopping at least once over the past six months, a poll by the central bank showed Tuesday.According to the survey of 2,500 people aged 19 or older, 15.8 percent said they have used a mobile payment tool to pay for either online or offline purchases. The poll was conducted by the Bank of Korea for about a month from Aug. 28, 2015. Some 58.6 percent responded that they first used the mobile payment platform that year, indicating that

China's economy grew 6.9 percent last year, official data showed Tuesday, marking the weakest annual growth in 25 years. The world's second-largest economy expanded 6.8 percent in the fourth-quarter of last year, down from 6.9 percent from the previous quarter. The quarterly figure also marked the slowest expansion of the Chinese economy since the 2008 global financial crisis. Softening trade and manufacturing have fueled concerns about the Chinese economy, which has been struggling with stock m

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won plans to attend an economic forum that opens in Switzerland later this week, the group said Tuesday, marking his first official overseas trip after a scandal surrounding his extramarital relationship.Chey will participate in the World Economic Forum, scheduled to kick off Wednesday for a four-day run in the Swiss ski resort town of Davos, where thousands of state officials and business heads around the world will gather to discuss key global agenda.SK Group said th

South Korea will start another round of nationwide discount events later this month in a bid to boost domestic consumption around the Lunar New Year's holiday, the finance ministry said Tuesday.The so-called Korea Grand Sale will begin on Jan. 25 and run through Feb. 7 across the nation before the holiday, with the participation of 300 local traditional markets, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.For foreign tourists, the event will take place from Feb. 1 in duty-free shops and ot

Producer prices in South Korea dipped to a new six-year low in December due largely to a drop in prices of industrial goods, central bank data showed Tuesday.The producer price index came to 99.06 last month, down from a revised 99.25 the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.Producer prices serve as a barometer of future consumer inflation.The December figure marked a 0.2 percent on-month drop, slowing from a 0.4 percent cut in the previous month.However, December

Day trading of shares in Korea doubled in 2015 from a year earlier as overall stock transactions rose and mobile gadgets boosted convenience for investors, the bourse operator said Monday.The Korea Exchange said day trading came to 119.4 billion shares worth 658 trillion won in 2015 on the benchmark KOSPI and the tech-laden KOSDAQ markets.Last year's trading volume was up 100 percent from 59.7 billion shares in 2014, with the turnover rising 98.7 percent from 331 trillion won, according to the K