South Korea's exports continued their upbeat mode in the first 20 days of February, underscoring a recovery in the country's outbound shipments, the latest customs data showed Tuesday.Exports amounted to $27.7 billion from Feb. 1-20, up 26.2 percent from the same period last year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. (Yonhap)The increase was led by a 51.5-percent on-year gain in exports of semiconductors and a 64.5-percent surge in petroleum products.Imports jumped 26 percent to

South Korea needs to take more proactive and comprehensive measures to reduce risks from US President Donald Trump’s push to make major trading partners with the world’s largest economy pay the price for their alleged currency manipulation, experts here say.The immediate task for the country is to avoid being included in a list of currency manipulators when the US Treasury Department releases a biannual report on foreign governments’ currency policies in April. (Openas)Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho

South Korea’s producer prices rose sharply to a two-year high in January due mainly to hikes in agricultural products prices, central bank data showed Monday.The producer price index came to 102.17 last month, up 3.7 percent from 98.48 a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. Producer prices serve as an indicator of future consumer inflation. (Yonhap)The January reading marks the highest in 25 months, while the on-year gain also marks the steepest since December 2011

Oil-related tax revenue in South Korea reached a record high last year as low oil prices fueled demand for petroleum goods, government data showed Monday.The country's oil tax revenue totaled a record 23.7 trillion won ($20.6 billion) in 2016, up 8.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data. (Yonhap)The figure has been on the rise since 2014 when global oil prices started to fall. It rose to 20.8 trillion won in 2014 and 21.8 trillion won in 2015 from 20.4 trillion won in 2013.The upti

Some 800,000 small businesses open shop annually, but about half of them go bankrupt within two years, statistics showed Monday.A report released by Statistics Korea said that among businesses that started in 2013, 62.4 percent were still in operation a year later. The rate fell to 47.5 percent two years later, and further dipped to 38.8 percent after three years.  (Yonhap)The third-year tally placed South Korea 25th among the 26 member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Dev

More than half of exporters in South Korea are against a proposed revision to the commercial law aimed at limiting the power of large shareholders in their respective firms that often comes at the expense of smaller shareholders, a survey showed Monday.In a recent survey conducted by the Korea International Trade Association, 50.5 percent of heads of 791 local export companies said they were against the revision currently sought by opposition parties. Rep. Jeong Kap-yoon (third from R, independe

The underground economy accounted for 8 percent of South Korea's gross domestic product in 2015 amid the government's efforts to reduce the black market, a state-run think tank said Friday.The Korea Institute of Public Finance said in its latest report that the shadow economy was estimated at 124.7 trillion won ($108.8 billion) as of 2015, taking up 8 percent of the country's GDP worth 1,558.6 trillion won. (Yonhap)The rate against the GDP has been on a slight decline since 2013 when it hit 8.7

South Korean exports of chips and other key products are forecast to expand at a double-digit rate in February on increased prices and a recovery in overseas demand, sources said Friday.The sanguine outlook, which local trade associations offered at a meeting hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, comes as the country's overseas shipments have been on the mend in recent months after a prolonged slump. (Yonhap)Overseas shipments of most flagship products are likely to increase in F

Residents of Seoul moved out of the capital city last year in the largest number in 19 years, national statistics showed Thursday, apparently driven out by costly housing and lack of jobs.The yearly tally released by Statistics Korea showed 140,000 people moved out of Seoul, the highest number since 178,000 in 1997. By comparison, the southeastern port city of Busan, the country's second-largest city, lost 21,000 people while Daejeon, another major city in the central part of the country, lost 1

South Korea’s economic freedom rose to rank 23rd in the world this year, but its structural economic reform has not seen much progress due to continuing political instability and uncertainty, a US report said Thursday.According to the 2017 Index of Economic Freedom report by the Heritage Foundation, South Korea’s ranking went up four notches from last year, while North Korea still remained at the bottom of 180 countries.(123rf)South Korea was among the second-tier “mostly free” nations after the

The government decided Thursday to build a fisheries exports processing complex in the country's southwest to increase exports and to aim for a larger number of overseas markets.Key points of the plan, endorsed at an economy-related ministerial meeting, include establishing a sustainable production base, promoting value-added fisheries exports and supporting seafood companies and their exports, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said.   (Yonhap)The near-term goal is to increase exports to $3 b

South Korea's finance minister said Thursday that the government will announce a set of stimulus policies later this month to boost domestic demand in a bid to prop up Asia's fourth-largest economy."The government will strengthen policy efforts to revive domestic demand and improve the people's livelihoods," Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said in an economy-related ministers' meeting in Seoul. "This month, we will come up with packages to revive consumer confidence and boost household income."South

South Korea is pushing to overhaul a system for sharing national pensions on divorce in line with a recent ruling by the Constitutional Court, officials said Thursday.According to the National Assembly and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Rep. Jung Choun-sook and other lawmakers have tabled a revision bill to the National Pension Act that calls for not splitting the pension with an ex-spouse for the period when the couple doesn't live together due to separation or other reasons. (Yonhap)Curre

South Koreans spent an average $429 per person in 2015 to purchase medicines and medical supplies, slightly down from the previous year's $446, data showed on Thursday.According to the data compiled by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, South Koreans' average spending on medicine in 2015 was the 15th highest among the 29 member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (Yonhap)The health ministry compiles the data in dollar conversion for comparison with other OECD m

After five years of implementation, it is a good time for the United States and South Korea to review their bilateral free trade agreement and improve it through renegotiation, a top adviser to US President Donald Trump said.Heritage Foundation founder Edwin Feulner, who served as a senior adviser to Trump's transition team, made the remark in an exclusive interview with Yonhap News Agency and Yonhap News Television, corroborating concern that renegotiation of the trade deal is inevitable. Edwin