South Korea will resume exporting pears to Australia that were halted after the outbreak of fire blight in the country, the government said Sunday.According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the ban on locally grown pears that has been in place since June will be lifted Monday. Joint inspections carried out by South Korean and Australian officials confirmed that Seoul is keeping the highly contagious disease under control, and that it has not spread across the country, it a

Investors increasingly withdrew their money out of short-term financial instruments, such as money market funds, throughout last month on worries over lackluster corporate earnings, data showed Sunday. Money market funds are short-term debt securities, such as Treasury bills and commercial papers. They are widely considered as safe as bank deposits yet provide a higher return.MMFs have enjoyed popularity after the key interest rate was cut to a record low of 1.5 percent, with their net asset val

South Korea will convene joint economic committees with the Czech Republic and Bulgaria respectively next week to discuss ways to bolster bilateral trade and investment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday.  In the committee meetings set for Monday in Prague and for Tuesday in Sofia, Lee Tae-ho, deputy minister for economic affairs, will discuss ways to boost economic cooperation with the European countries, the ministry said in a statement.  The Czech side will be represented by Vladimi

South Korea's exports to Australia have grown sharply since a bilateral free trade agreement went into effect last December, trade data showed Friday.  According to the data provided by the Federation of Korean Industries, South Korea's exports to Australia rose 15.6 percent on-year during the January-August period.   During the cited period, the country's total exports, however, declined 6.3 percent. The business lobby did not provide detailed trade figures.  With the increased exports, the pro

South Korea's consumer prices grew less than 1 percent for the 10th month in a row in September, a government report showed Friday, as Asia's fourth-largest economy grapples with deflation concerns.  The country's consumer price index inched up 0.6 percent last month from a year earlier, the report by Statistics Korea showed.   The latest number, however, fell 0.2 percent from the previous month, the first time it has dropped into minus territory this year.  "Low international oil prices, along

South Korea's current account surplus shrank from a month earlier in August mainly on a fall in exports that led to a cut in the surplus in the goods balance, data showed Friday.  The current account surplus came to $8.46 billion in August, compared with a revised $9.3 billion surplus in the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.  The on-month drop was largely attributed to a greater drop in the balance of goods, which slumped to $8.97 billion from $10.05 billi

The delinquency rate for loans extended by South Korean banks rose in August from a month earlier due to a rise in soured loans extended to companies and households, the financial watchdog said Friday.  The average delinquency rate of bank loans stood at 0.76 percent at the end of August, up 0.07 percentage point from a month earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.  From a year earlier, the figure dropped 0.2 percentage point from 0.96 percent, it added.  Loans with both the pri

More than 26,000 retailers across the country started massive promotional sales events on Thursday, wooing foreign tourists and locals to buy goods at cheap prices, which the government hopes will help stimulate sagging domestic demand.Under the title, Korea Black Friday, home appliance makers such as Samsung Electronics Co. will also hold various sales events for two weeks.The super sales event is expected to involve some 27,000 stores and markets across the country, making it the very first an

South Korea's exports dropped for the ninth straight month in September, but its trade surplus hit the second-highest level in the country's history as imports slipped at a faster rate, the government said Thursday.Outbound shipments came to $43.50 billion last month, down 8.3 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Imports plunged 21.8 percent on-year to $34.56 billion.The country's trade surplus climbed to $8.94 billion from $3.26 billion

South Korea's industrial output inched up in August from the previous month on greater overseas demand for mobile phones and semiconductors, a government report showed Thursday.According to the report by Statistics Korea, production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries gained 0.4 percent on-month in August, a turnaround from a 0.3 percent on-month fall in July.Compared with a year earlier, industrial production inched up 0.3 percent."South Korea's overall exports plunged

A group of 119 minority shareholders filed a class action suit against Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. on Wednesday, demanding 4.1 billion won (US$3.47 million) in compensation for losses from an investment made based on the company’s doctored financial statement.The plaintiff filed the suit with the Seoul Central District Court, claiming the shipbuilder exaggerated profits in the 2014 financial statement by lowering production costs and hiding losses. They also held Deloitte Anjin

Korea will likely be ranked 11th among 13 major emerging economies in terms of economic growth this year, according to projections by research institutes at home and aboard.Citing analysis from investment banks, some local economists on Wednesday forecast that Korea’s 2015 gross domestic product growth will likely stay below 2.5 percent. This could the lowest after Brazil and Russia, both of which are projected to post a negative growth.India is estimated to see on-year growth of 7.4 percent, fo

South Korean financial firms are the most vulnerable to an economic slowdown in China, with their exposure to the world's second-largest economy being the highest in the world, market data showed Wednesday.Local banks and non-bank institutions' outstanding loans to China reached $24.5 billion as of end-March, accounting for 17.5 percent of their total overseas lending of $140 billion, according to the data.South Korean financial firms' exposure is in stark comparison with those of other countrie

South Korea can penalize German automaker Volkswagen AG for cheating on its vehicle emissions under a free trade deal with the European Union, the government said Tuesday.According to the environment ministry, the free trade agreement reached between the EU and Asia's fourth-largest economy and South Korea's local law have provisions allowing authorities here to deal with emissions-related cheating by car manufacturers. "The FTA permits Seoul to randomly check if a carmaker adhered to technical