The aging population and subsequent cut in the labor force could bring down South Korea's growth rate to the 1-percent level in 20 years, an expert said Friday. According to government data, Koreans aged 65 or older accounted for 12.2 percent of the total population of some 50 million in 2014, with the ratio to shoot up to over 30 percent by 2040. "Starting next year, the number of the economically active population aged 15-64 is forecast to begin diminishing, and it will continue to go on the d

Standard Chartered Korea on Friday unveiled a voluntary retirement scheme for its employees, apparently as part of a global restructuring program by its London-based holding company, Standard Chartered PLC.The bank said it planned to receive applications for voluntary retirement for five days starting Monday. It did not specify the number of its employees eligible for the early retirement plan, only saying anyone who is aged over 40 years old and has worked at the bank for more than 10 years wil

South Korea's household spending dropped to an all-time low in the third quarter due mainly to lingering effects of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak amid slowing growth in income, a government report showed Friday.In the July-September period, the average consumption propensity, or the ratio of total consumption spending to disposable income, came to 71.5 percent, down 0.9 percentage point from the same period last year, according to the report from Statistics Korea.The Q3 tally is

The head of South Korea's central bank said Friday that the country's economy remains little affected by the recent terror attacks in Europe, but that it may not be completely safe from external uncertainties stemming from a U.S. rate hike and China's economic slowdown.In a Seoul meeting with heads of local commercial banks, Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said the effect of last week's terror attacks in Paris has been limited, noting the global financial market has "quickly regained stability."H

South Korea will focus on building new growth strategies in drawing up its economy management plan for next year that could help the country tide over the fast-changing economic environment at home and abroad, the top economic policymaker said Friday.In a meeting with heads of major economic research institutes in Seoul, Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan voiced concerns that the country needs to stay vigilant amid mounting uncertainty which has intensified, especially in the wake of the recent at

The number of international marriages of a Korean and foreign spouse is on a steady decrease, along with falling divorce and childbirth rates among multicultural families, the state-run statistics agency said Thursday.　According to a multicultural family report compiled by Statistics Korea, the number of international marriages stood at 24,387 in 2014, the lowest since 2003. It fell 9.5 percent from a year earlier, showing a steady annual decline since 2008. 　The steady decline has been attribut

South Korea's major retailers are set to kick off another massive sales event on Friday to attract customers with aggressive discounts on various items for nearly a month through the year-end holiday season. The Federation of Distribution Industry said 72 companies, both in stores and online, will offer huge discounts on their stockpiles across the board during the 26-day sales event called "K-Sale Day."K-Sale Day begins one week before "Black Friday", the biggest sales event in the United State

From news reportsThe government announced a plan Thursday to build a new highway linking Seoul and the country’s administrative capital Sejong by 2025.After a meeting of economic-related ministries, officials said the government will invest 6.7 trillion won ($5.75 billion) for the project, including 5.3 trillion won from the private sector.Transport Ministry officials said the government made the decision to reduce traffic congestion on the current main highways of the Gyeongbu and Jungbu expres

South Korea's state-run National Pension Service’s total asset reached $429.8 billion last year, ranking third among state pension operators in the world, a report showed Thursday.Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund topped the list with $1.14 trillion in assets, followed by Norway's Government Pension Fund with $884 billion, according to the report by the Nation Pension Research Institute, which cited a survey on top 300 pension funds conducted by Towers Watson, a global marketing service

South Korean banks will likely impose tougher rules for screening mortgages in non-capital areas starting next year, joining government-led efforts to rein in the country's runaway household debt, industry sources said Thursday.The financial authorities have asked local banks to use the debt-to-income ratio when they screen mortgage requests from borrowers in provincial regions, according to the sources.The DTI ratio is a set of household loan controlling measures, along with the loan-to-value r

President Park Geun-hye attended a session with dozens of Asia-Pacific leaders on how to build inclusive growth on Thursday, the second and last day of their annual summit in the Philippines.The leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit are expected to exchange opinions on specific measures to achieve inclusive growth amid a global economic slowdown, according to Cheong Wa Dae, South Korea's presidential office.Park also plans to highlight that the revitalization of the service ind

Idle money in South Korea soared to a new all-time high, data showed Thursday, as investors continued to dither amid low interest rates and growing uncertainties ahead of a potential U.S. rate hike.Short-term floating money reached a record 921.8 trillion won ($790.2 billion) as of end-September, up 21 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea and the Korea Financial Investment Association.Such money has been on the increase in recent years, rising 7 percen

South Korea's Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan on Thursday called for an early implementation of government-supported labor reform measures that he has said will help create new jobs especially for the country's youth.The minister, however, opposed providing direct cash benefits to young, unemployed people, a move currently considered by a few local governments, including the Seoul city government, and called it a populist idea."To provide quality jobs to the young, we need an early implementati

A majority of large companies in South Korea said that they are paying an increasing amount of corporate taxes and the tax burden will likely mount down the road, a survey showed Thursday.According to the survey by the Federation of Korean Industries on how businesses feel about the tax burden, 59.9 percent answered that their actual tax payment has been increasing since 2011. The survey was conducted on the top 1,000 companies in sales, of which 157 businesses responded. Of those surveyed, 77.7

Producer prices in South Korea continued to shrink at a fast rate last month, slipping to the lowest level in nearly six years, preliminary data from the central bank showed Thursday.The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, came to 99.75 in October, according to the Bank of Korea.A BOK official said it marked the first time the index has dropped below the benchmark 100 in 66 months since April 2010 when the index came to 98.97."This means overall producer prices have d