The default rate of corporate bills in South Korea worsened to the highest level in 13 years last year due mainly to cash-squeezed conglomerates and sluggish economic conditions for local companies.The average annual corporate bill default rate reached 0.19 percent last year, hitting the highest level since 0.38 percent in 2001, according to the data by the Bank of Korea and the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute.The figure had soared to 0.52 percent in 1997 from 0.17 perce

South Korea will invest over US$400 million this year to help develop new and indigenous products and technologies that will help boost the country's economy and exports, the government said Tuesday.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said the government seeks to develop 13 new industrial growth engines that include smart wearable devices, self-driving vehicles and a high-speed unmanned aerial vehicle that can take off and land vertically.For their development, the government will invest

A majority of South Korea's large corporations plan to increase hirings this year while nearly half of them also plan to expand capital investment, a survey showed Tuesday.Some 77 percent of the respondents said they plan to increase employment this year, slightly falling from 78.4 percent a year earlier, according to the survey, carried out by the Hyundai Research Institute, of the country's 100 biggest firms in 10 industries in terms of sales.While the figure dipped, the percentage of companie

More than half of Japanese companies operating in South Korea plan to expand their business in the near future on expectations of more demand, a survey showed Tuesday.According to the survey of 231 Japanese companies doing business in Korea, 52.8 percent said that they plan to expand their businesses here "within one or two years." The survey conducted by the Japan External Trade Organization, however, showed that the ratio was 7.6 percentage points down from the same poll conducted a year earli

New foreign direct investment pledged to South Korea surged over 30 percent from a year earlier to a record high in 2014, with the amount that has arrived also climbing to a new high, the government said Monday.The new FDI committed to the country came to $19 billion last year, up 30.6 percent from 2013, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The 2014 figure also marked a 16.6 percent spike from the previous record of $16.29 billion in 2012.“Posting a record amount of FDI despi

Sales by VIP customers were a rare source of growth last year for South Korean department stores that are losing shoppers to mobile and overseas channels, data showed Monday.Sales generated by customers who spend more than 20 million won (US$18,025) a year jumped 21 percent on-year in the January-November period, according to the data from Galleria, a high-end Gangnam department store that sells mostly luxury brands.Lotte Department Store, the flagship of retail giant Lotte, also saw sales by it

The number of new employment in South Korea is estimated to have reached a 12-year high in 2014 but mostly on an increase in part-time and irregular jobs for the senior population, the statistics office said Monday.According to Statistics Korea, the number of new hires reached a monthly average of 543,000 in the first 11 months of 2014. Once December figures are factored in, the average may fall but still remain above 530,000.The estimated number marks a 21 percent rise from 438,000 in 2013. It

Foreign investors bought nearly a net 6 trillion won worth of South Korean stocks last year, with Samsung Electronics Co. being their top pick, data showed on Monday.Overseas investors purchased local stocks worth a net 5.87 trillion won (US$5.31 billion) on the Seoul bourse last year, according to the data from the Korea Exchange (KRX). Foreign investors heavily bought electronics, financial and utility stocks, while offloading petrochemicals, logistics firms and Internet service providers.Sams

Credit card spending in South Korea is expected to top 700 trillion won (US$634 billion) this year, but credit issuers' profitability may not improve largely due to a fall in spending by individual cardholders, data showed on Sunday.Credit card spending in the country last year was estimated at 690 trillion won, and the comparable figure for this year is 701 trillion won, according to the data compiled by KB Financial Group, the country's top banking group.In 2013, credit card spending reached 6