The government will aggressively support both inbound and outbound investments by local companies to help vitalize the economy, which has not regained its growth momentum, South Korea's finance minister said Thursday.In a meeting of economy-related ministers in Seoul, Choi Kyung-hwan stressed that the recent visit by President Park Geun-hye to four Middle Eastern countries will open new opportunities in the construction, industrial plants, energy, health care, information technology and food sec

The controversial issue of land use fees in a joint inter-Korean factory park in North Korea is expected to add fuel to the already-growing tension between the Koreas over the project, officials said Wednesday.In November, the North's Central Special Development Guidance Bureau in charge of the industrial complex notified its South Korean counterpart of its intention to start talks on the rent issue, according to the officials.When the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North's border town of the

South Korea's trade minister hinted at Seoul's imminent participation in a U.S.-led regional free trade agreement Wednesday, saying the country cannot afford to be left out of what would be a great global value chain.While meeting with reporters, Yoon Sang-jick, the minister of trade, industry and energy, said the government has not yet made a final decision on joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)."We are closely monitoring the progress in TPP negotiations," Yoon said. "However, we must c

South Korea's steel and iron imports from China declined on-year in February for the first time in 16 months, industry data showed Wednesday, easing some of the local steelmakers' concerns that the low-priced products would hurt profit.  Total imports of iron and steel products from the world's No. 2 economy dropped 12.3 percent on-year to 905,000 tons last month, according to data from the Korea Iron & Steel Association (KOSA). The latest data marks the first downward change in more than a year

Household loan growth at South Korean banks more than doubled in February from a month earlier on robust property transactions and solid demand for loans amid low interest rates, central bank data showed Wednesday.Household loans, which include mortgage lending, extended by local lenders reached 566 trillion won ($503 billion) in February, gaining 3.7 trillion won from the previous month, more than twofold of January's 1.4 trillion won gain, according to the preliminary data by the Bank of Korea

The South Korean government on Wednesday set up a new help center for local businesses, especially small and medium-sized companies, seeking to explore the Chinese market using the country's bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with the neighboring country.The so-called China Desk was set up at the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) in Seoul. It consists of experts from five related agencies, including KITA, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency and the Korea Intellectual Propert

South Korea plans to strengthen financial support for local builders so they can better win overseas construction contracts in the face of stiff challenges, the government said Wednesday.The plan outlined by Vice Finance Minister Joo Hyung-hwan at a meeting in Seoul calls for the introduction of an "on-lending"arrangement by the government, which can get more private financial institutions to help fund builders' overseas projects, with the support of the state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea (Ko

The South Korean government allocated fewer funds to purchase oil products, missing out on the opportunity to stock up on emergency energy reserves at the lowest costs in decades, records showed Wednesday.According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the government plans to purchase 219,000 barrels of petroleum products, mostly gasoline, this year as part of its emergency reserve.The amount will mark a 40.8 percent plunge from 370,000 barrels purchased in 2014."A large portion of the

Families whose main breadwinner was in his or her 50s were found to have slashed their spending last year despite having the largest average income among all age groups, a government report showed Tuesday, reflecting growing concerns about retirement and the future economy.The average consumption propensity of such households stood at 69.7 percent, the lowest of any demographic group, according to Statistics Korea. The propensity average is the ratio of total consumption spending to disposable i

The nominee for South Korea's top financial regulator urged local financial firms on Tuesday to take stricter reform measures for what he described as a "second take-off" and vowed heightened risk management on ballooning household debt."The financial industry is facing rapid environment changes, such as a low interest rate trend, an aging society and finance-IT convergence, but it has failed to find a new growth engine and lacks dynamics and innovation," Yim Jong-yong, the Financial Services Co

Sales at South Korean department stores and discount outlets rose sharply in February after contracting for five straight months, helped by demand caused by the Lunar New Year holiday, the government said Tuesday.According to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance's Green Book, sales at local discount store chains surged 30.5 percent on-year last month, with numbers for department stores rising 7.1 percent.The positive turnaround follows on-year monthly contractions since September.The ministry sa

Oil prices finished mixed Monday in a market held back by a strong dollar and persistent concerns about the global oversupply of crude.US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in April climbed 39 cents to finish at $50.00 a barrel on the New York Stock Exchange.In London, Brent North Sea crude for April, the key global futures contract, shed $1.20 to settle at $58.53 a barrel."It may be a new week but the crude complex is weighing up the same issues -- immediately rising productio

Implementing a bilateral trade deal with the United States as well as a number of key regional players makes South Korea a "natural candidate" to join ongoing discussions for the Washington-led Pacific Rim trading bloc, but it needs to make a stronger commitment in wider areas, a senior American official said Monday. Wendy Cutler, acting deputy of the U.S. Trade Representative, said the 2012 free trade agreement (FTA) between Seoul and Washington boosted bilateral economic ties by lifting tariff