The amount of outstanding state bonds issued by South Korea has exceeded 450 trillion won ($418.2 billion) as the government is raising money to make up for tax revenue shortfalls caused by the prolonged economic slump, data showed Thursday.According to the data provided by the finance ministry, the outstanding state bonds, including Treasurys and currency stabilization bonds, stood at 457.3 trillion won as of August. This marked the first time that the amount has topped the 450 trillion won mar

South Korea welcomed the nomination of Janet Yellen to be Federal Reserve chairman and said that she will need to weigh the effects on other nations of reducing U.S. monetary stimulus.“She has rich experience and an impressive resume as a policy maker,” Choi Hee-nam, director general of the Finance Ministry’s international finance bureau, said by phone from Sejong on Wednesday. “I expect her to consider well the ripple effects on other countries” from policy decisions such as altering the Fed’s

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The pilots of Asiana Flight 214 that crashed in San Francisco in July, as well as the airline, are raising the possibility that a key device that controls the Boeing 777’s speed may have malfunctioned, an aviation expert familiar with the investigation into the crash said Tuesday.National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman said early in the crash investigation that her experts had found no mechanical problems with the plane, but were investigating further. One

A majority of South Korea’s major industries are predicted to see their business conditions improve in the fourth quarter compared with the previous quarter, a report said Wednesday. According to the report by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and nine industrial bodies, the Information Technology industry is expected to fare the best among nine local industries in the fourth quarter, thanks to the launch of new IT devices and a rise in memory chip prices. The IT industry enjoyed stella

South Korea's money supply grew at the slowest annual pace in more than two years in August on eased growth of bank lending, the central bank said Wednesday.South Korea's M2, a narrow measure of the money supply, rose3.9 percent to 1,888.7 trillion won ($1.76 trillion) in August from a year earlier, slowing from a 4.6 percent on-year gain in July, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).It marked the slowest growth since a 3.2 percent on-year advance in July 2011.On a seasonally adjusted basis, the

Household loans by South Korean banks grew at a slower pace in September than in the previous month due to slowed growth of mortgage lending and an absence of a one-off factor, the central bank said Wednesday.Outstanding household loans extended by local banks, including home-backed and credit loans, reached 472 trillion won ($439.8 billion) as of end-September, up 153.9 billion won from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).The growth of such lending slowed from a 1.9 trillio

Most economic forecasters at home and abroad Wednesday said they expect the South Korean economy to grow an average of 3.5 percent next year, which is lower than the government estimate of 3.9 percent, citing volatile economic conditions, including the Fed's plan to pull back from bond purchases. Of 36 economic forecasters, 29, or 80.6 percent, predicted the country's economy growth rate will fall below 3.9 percent next year. Only seven forecast it will rise above the government projection, or r

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday trimmed its growth estimate for the South Korean economy next year to 3.7 percent, saying "global growth is in low gear and downside risks persist."   In the previous outlook half a year ago, the IMF predicted South Korea would expand at a pace of 3.9 percent in 2014. The IMF kept its growth forecast for the nation this year at 2.8 percent.    Consumer prices are expected to rise 2.6 percent in 2013, with unemployment rates standing at 3.2 percent

Government liabilities, including the debt that will highly likely arise in the future, exceeded 900 trillion won ($840.3 billion) last year, data showed Tuesday.According to the data recently submitted by the finance ministry to Rep. Kim Tae-ho of the ruling Saenuri Party, government liabilities stood at 902.1 trillion won as of end-2012. The number is higher than the 773.5 trillion won tallied a year earlier. The 2012 figure represents 70.9 percent of the country's gross domestic product.The l

South Korea's economy is showing signs of recovering from its prolonged slump, the country's top economic policymaker said Tuesday, citing the latest major indicators pointing to the overall improvement. "Given major economic indicators, our economy is recently showing signs of recovering," Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok said at a meeting with other government officials. He cited a 1.8 percent growth in industrial output in August and the upward trend in home prices in Seoul and its surrounding a

Nearly half of all individual districts in the country’s eight free economic zones may be undesignated even before they ever take off, partly due to their failure to attract investors, a lawmaker said Monday, citing related data.According to Rep. Oh Young-sik of the main opposition Democratic Party, 46, or 46.9 percent, of 98 districts in eight FEZs still lack any development plan.Only 19 of the total have been fully developed with the remaining 33 still in the development phase, Oh said, citing

Korea and the United States will hold a special committee next month to discuss whether or not to label Gaeseong-manufactured products as Korean-made, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.MOTIE Minister Yoon Sang-jick and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman met in Bali, Indonesia, on Saturday to attend the second joint committee of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.After reviewing the progress since last year’s initial meeting in May, the two counterparts agreed to hold