The South Korean economy is at a crossroads as the current quarter is likely to determine whether it makes a full-fledged recovery or remains mired in a protracted slump, local observers said Monday.Should ongoing efforts to overhaul the pension program for government employees and the labor market make headway, there is a good chance that things will turn around for Asia's fourth-largest economy.However, the economy could lose momentum and suffer difficulties in making a recovery if the country

The contribution of exports to South Korea's economic growth fell to a five-year low in 2014 as outbound shipments were hurt by a slower than expected global recovery, central bank data showed Thursday.According to data by the Bank of Korea, of South Korea's 3.3 percent economic growth last year, 1.5 percentage points resulted from overseas shipments of goods and services.This translates into a contribution rate of 45.5 percent, the lowest since 2009 when numbers reached minus 28.6 percent as th

South Korea's toy imports have increased at an annual average rate of 20.4 percent over the past five years, government data showed Wednesday.The increase pushed up imports volume to $637 million last year, from $303 million tallied five years earlier, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service.Local demand for "recreational toys," such as musical instruments for kids, puzzles and toys that require assembly, surged 19.7 percent over the cited period, with the import of dolls and figurine

Prime Minister Lee Wan-koo said Wednesday he will conduct a thorough check on government spending to ensure that taxpayer money is not wasted.Lee said the government should monitor whether its spending is wasteful or redundant instead of focusing on setting the budget."It's our duty to our citizens," he said at a policy meeting in Seoul.Lee added that the government would be able to save about 3 trillion won ($2.7 billion) if local governments joined in the effort. (Yonhap)

South Korea's trade surplus reached a new monthly high in March despite a fall in exports as imports shrank at a faster rate, the government said Wednesday.The country's overall exports came to US$46.99 billion last month, down 4.2 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Imports plunged 15.3 percent on-year to $38.6 billion.The country posted a trade surplus of $8.39 billion. March marked the 38th consecutive month of surplus.The drop in exp

South Korea's consumer prices gained at the slowest pace in nearly 16 years in March, a government report showed Wednesday, signaling that the economy remains gripped by flaccid private consumption.The consumer price index inched up 0.4 percent in March from a year earlier, compared with a 0.5 percent on-year gain in February, according to the report by Statistics Korea. It is the fourth month in a row that consumer inflation has grown below the 1 percent mark, well below the government's 2 perc

South Korea is weighing when and how to participate in a U.S.-led multilateral free trade agreement, known as the Trans Pacific Partnership, though its final decision has yet to be made, a senior trade official said Tuesday.The move comes as the ongoing negotiations for the TPP are approaching an apparent end, according to Deputy Trade Minister Woo Tae-hee."The government plans to hold a fresh round of bilateral talks with other participating countries if necessary as the recent dialogue between

Stringent monitoring of prices for imported flowers, farm and fishery products contributed to 81.1 billion won ($73.2 million) in more taxes being collected in 2014, the Korea Customs Service said Tuesday.The agency said measures to carefully cross-check actual prices of products sold abroad with claims made by importers who bring these goods into the country, resulted in more duties being collected.The prices checked were for flowers, pickled radishes, dried pollack, eel, small octopuses, spoon

Recent policy efforts by South Korea's central bank were based on an assessment that inflation will undershoot its target, the bank's chief said Monday, bolstering views it will trim its growth and inflation outlook next month.In a surprise move on March 12, the Bank of Korea cut the benchmarket interest rate to an all-time low of 1.75 percent and raised the ceiling on loans extended to smaller firms through commercial lenders to 20 trillion won ($18 billion) from 15 trillion won last week in ef

The head of a major business lobby group in South Korea called on the government Monday to reduce its intervention in the market, saying the government should focus its regulatory reform only on areas that "the market cannot resolve by itself."Kim In-ho, chairman of the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), added that salaries should be left to the market as well, emphasizing that the issue has been approached from the "social and political" perspective, not from an economic one. "The co

Exports to key emerging economies that trade with South Korea declined sharply in the first two months of the year, official data showed Monday, as many are cautious about an expected U.S. interest rate hike. According to data by the Korea Customs Service and Statistics Korea, the country's exports to 19 emerging markets in January and February stood at US$36.69 billion, down 6.2 percent on-year from $39.09 billion tallied for the same two-month period in 2014.Emerging markets include large trad

Sales at discount outlets and major department stores grew from a year earlier in February, ending their five-month streak of on-year drop, the government said Sunday.  The combined sales of the country's three major discount outlet chains spiked 24.5 percent on-year in February, according to figures released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The increase marked a sharp turnaround from an 18.3 percent on-year drop in the previous month.  The ministry said the turnaround could largely

South Korea's gross domestic product in the agricultural sector ranked 22nd in the world in 2012, down four notches from 2009, data showed Sunday, apparently weakened by free trade agreements.  According to the data compiled by the Korea Rural Economic Institute, the country's GDP in the agricultural and fishery sector came to $27.3 billion in 2012, compared with $21.1 billion three years earlier.  The decline in the rankings is attributable to South Korea's efforts to sign FTAs with more countr