SEOUL (Yonhap) -- South Korea's economy is expected to grow 3.8 percent in 2015 on the back of the government's efforts to boost it through fiscal stimulus and monetary policy easing, a report by a leading international economic organization showed Tuesday.The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said in its Economic Outlook report that South Korea's gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic performance, will move up from the 3.5 percent growth foreca

South Korea ranked No. 2 in development of its information and communications technologies (ICT), a U.N. agency said Tuesday, giving up its first place to Denmark.The International Telecommunications Union said Asia’s fourth-largest economy ranked second among 166 countries surveyed. It marked the first time for South Korea to miss the top spot since 2010.Sweden came in at third, followed by Iceland, Britain, Norway, the Netherlands and Finland. Hong Kong and Luxembourg also made the top 10 list

South Korea's economy is expected to grow 3.7 percent in 2015 with its exports rising at a slightly faster rate to reach a record high, a state-run think tank said Tuesday.   In its report, the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET) said local economic conditions were continuing to improve, though the rate of economic recovery slowed from the start of the year.  "In 2015, the local economy is expected to post an annual growth of around 3.7 percent, slightly higher than that of

The number of people who were forced to change jobs after being laid off or for other unwanted reasons jumped in 2013, reflecting tough economic conditions, data showed Monday.According to the data from Statistics Korea, the Financial Supervisory Service and the Bank of Korea, some 718,000 people had to change jobs last year, up from the previous year’s 619,000.Of the 2.63 million workers who switched to another workplace in 2013, 27 percent made the change involuntarily, the data indicated.Anal

One-third of South Korea's fisheries imports up to September this year were from China, a study said Sunday, an already sizeable figure that is expected to further increase when a bilateral trade deal takes effect.The tally by the Korea Maritime Institute (KMI) showed South Korea imported some 959,000 tons of fisheries products in the January-September period, of which 31.6 percent came from China. In terms of value, imports from China amounted to US$3.11 billion.This marks a 19.3 percent increa

The city of Seoul earned nearly 300 billion won (US$269.5 million) last year from foreign patients seeking medical services in the metropolis, marking a more than seven-fold increase from four years earlier, according to the city government on Sunday.Hospitals and medical clinics based in Seoul made 289.9 billion won in 2013 from patients from abroad, city records showed. The amount accounted for 74 percent of the 393.4 billion won earned from foreign patients across the country.Last year's medi

South Korea's economy is steadily improving from a slump thanks to government-led stimulus efforts, but the recovery momentum still remains weak, the finance minister said Friday."Our economy is steadily improving out of the second-quarter slump, driven by expansionary macroeconomic policies and property-boosting plans," Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan said at a meeting with heads of major economic research institutes in Seoul."In the third quarter, government spending and investment in constru

Global rating agency Moody’s Investors Service said Thursday that it has retained its sovereign credit rating on South Korea at “Aa3.”“Korea has a strong external position, supported by its competitive export industries and large holdings of official foreign exchange reserves that reduce the economy’s vulnerability to external shocks,” Moody’s said in a release. “The rating reflects the country’s very high economic strength ... but moderate susceptibility to event risk from North Korea military

South Korean stocks lost ground Thursday as conflicting economic signals caused institutions and retail investors to offload holdings. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. Starting the day on the negative side, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gave up more ground to end at 1,958.04, down 0.45 percent, or 8.83 points from Wednesday’s close. Trading volume was moderate at 333.78 million shares worth 4.73 trillion won ($4.25 billion), with decliners outpacing advancers 52

South Korea is unlikely to reach its 2014 growth objective as domestic demand remains weak and there are few signs that the growth rate will pick up sharply during the rest of the year, experts said Thursday.In July, the government revised down its growth estimate for 2014 to 3.7 percent from the 4.1 percent that it projected in December last year, citing the latest worsening economic and market situations. The downgraded projection is still above what major think tanks at home and abroad foreca

Ongoing expansionary measures taken by many countries to help boost their economies are stop-gap measures for economic rebalancing, the chief of South Korea's central bank said Thursday, stressing that structural reforms are key to preventing future crises and inducing sustainable growth."The recent expansionary macroeconomic policies undertaken in response to the sluggish economic growth are, as I see it, temporary measures, and not ultimate solutions to rebalancing. They serve to mature condit