South Korea will face some tough challenges in 2016 as it moves to prop up growth that has been hit hard by the sluggish global economy, the top economic policymaker has said.In a meeting with reporters late Thursday, Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan predicted that overall conditions in 2016 may not improve much from this year. He cited potential fallouts from the planned U.S. interest rate hikes that can raise financial sector volatility and other persistent uncertainties."Everyone must be on g

South Korea's free trade deal with the European Union will go into full effect this weekend, four years after it was "provisionally" implemented, the government said Friday.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said that starting Sunday, all provisions of the South Korea-EU free trade agreement will be implemented fully.The FTA effectively went into effect on July 1, 2011, under an arrangement to prevent administrative delays from holding back tariff cuts and free movement of goods. South K

South Korea's central bank chief urged all economic players Friday to keep close tabs on their debt levels as global economic uncertainty has escalated ahead of an imminent U.S. rate hike.The call by Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol came amid growing concerns over South Korea's soaring household debt, which is feared to hamper consumer spending and drag down Asia's fourth-largest economy."If one economy employs excessive leverage, it will force economic players to shoulder a heavy financial burden

Most South Koreans don’t have enough funds saved for their postretirement life, especially married couples with children, a report showed Friday.According to the report released by the KB Financial Group Research Center, which surveyed 2,906 Koreans aged 25-59 nationwide on their household finances, Koreans need an average monthly income of 2.26 million won ($1,920) for postretirement expenses. However, based on the surveyed individuals’ savings, public and private pension plans and other financ

South Korea's export prices continued to slip at a fast rate in November largely due to a sharp cut in raw material prices, the central bank said Friday.Export prices, in local currency terms, dropped 8.6 percent on-year last month, quickening from a 6.2 percent cut in the previous month, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea."Export prices in November dropped 1 percent from the previous month due to a cut in prices of home appliances, coal and petroleum products," the central ban

South Korea's central bank kept its benchmark interest rate steady Thursday for the sixth month in a row, extending its wait-and-see mode ahead of a looming U.S. rate hike.In a widely expected decision, the Bank of Korea froze its base rate at 1.5 percent after sending it to a record-low level through four rate cuts in less than a year since August 2014.The decision comes amid growing concerns over a possible U.S. rate hike, the first of its kind in nearly a decade, which could prompt a mass out

Foreigners spent far less with their credit cards during their stay in South Korea in the third quarter of this year in the aftermath of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak that led to a drop in the number of foreign visitors, data showed Wednesday.  Credit card purchases by non-South Korean nationals plunged 38.7 percent to US$2 billion in the July-September period from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Credit Finance Association.  The third-quarter figure marked t

A free trade agreement between South Korea and China will come into force on Dec. 20, officials said Wednesday, about six months after the two nations formally signed the deal aimed at slashing tariffs and other trade barriers.   The South Korean Ambassador to China, Kim Jang-soo, and Chinese assistant commerce minister, Wang Shouwen, exchanged a diplomatic document that set the date for inaugurating the accord earlier in the day.   After about three years of negotiations, South Korea and China

South Korea and New Zealand agreed Wednesday to put their free trade agreement into effect on Dec. 20, the Foreign Ministry said.  The two sides exchanged a related diplomatic document in a ceremony in Wellington the same day, it said.  They struck the deal on the FTA in November last year and signed it formally four months later.  The FTA eliminates import tariffs on over 90 percent of goods traded between the two countries. Two-way trade reached $3.26 billion in 2014.  It is also expected to p

South Korea's home transactions rose 7.4 percent in November from a year earlier amid a recovering trend in the local real estate market, the government said Wednesday.  The number of housing purchase transactions reached 97,813 last month, compared with 91,050 tallied the previous year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.  The November figure, however, fell 8 percent from 106,274 a month earlier.  For the first 11 months of the year, home transactions came in at 1.1

South Korea's leading state-run think tank downgraded the country's growth forecast for 2015 on Wednesday as weak exports continue to weigh down the economy despite a recovery in domestic consumption.  The Korea Development Institute forecast that Asia's fourth-largest economy will expand 2.6 percent this year from a year earlier, down from the 3 percent growth it predicted in May.  The KDI's growth estimate is lower than the government's official target of 3.1 percent announced in September and