South Korea’s Finance Ministry said Friday it regrets Japan’s decision to suspend bilateral talks on a currency swap deal, amid rising diplomatic tensions.“We regret that the talks on the Korea-Japan currency swap deal was suspended due to political and diplomatic issues,” the ministry said in a statement.  “It is desirable that the two countries continue bilateral economic and financial cooperation regardless of political and diplomatic relations.”Tokyo said earlier in the day that it has withd

The government will work to develop what it called tailor-made tour programs that will meet the various tastes of tourists from China and other countries, the tourism ministry said Friday.The new programs to be developed will target individual tourists or small groups, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. A group of Chinese tourists pose for a picture after arriving at South Korea's Incheon International Airport on Jan. 3, 2017. They were part of some 500 employees from a Ch

The South Korean government is working on plans to deal with China's recent hostile actions against the Korean Wave and businesses in apparent retaliation for welcoming a US-owned missile system, the finance minister said Friday."We see that such security issues are behind the recent movements by China. There seem to be some China-style responses," Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho told reporters at a press briefing in the administrative capital. "Related ministries including the foreign ministry and t

A plan to label China a currency manipulator, a pledge by US President-elect Donald Trump, might drag South Korea onto the manipulation list, according to analysis by a government-backed research center Thursday. In order to officially designate China a currency manipulator, the US needs to relax its existing standards or make new ones, the report by the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy said.  “In such a case, it is likely that South Korea will be also subject to f

Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn said Thursday the government should put top priority on helping companies create more jobs, particularly in support of young people and women, amid concerns of the nation’s growth furthering its slowdown this year.“In our policy directions this year, securing jobs is the most significant task,” Hwang said during the New Year’s policy briefing on economic affairs by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Land, Infra

The South Korean economy's recovery momentum remained lukewarm in recent months as a protracted slump in private spending offset a rise in production and exports, a state-run think tank said Thursday."The Korean economy exhibited partial improvement in investment and production-related indicators, but growth remains slow," the Korea Development Institute said in its monthly evaluation of the country's economic conditions. "Consumption sentiment slackened significantly on persisting uncertainties

South Korea's official inflation last year may be 1 percent, but the price hike felt by consumers is more like 10 percent because of markups in widely sought products, an independent survey showed Thursday.Comparisons drawn through retailers, manufacturers and the Korea Consumer Agency indicated that while some of the products were publicized in the price raise, others were not.KCA's price survey at giant supermarkets, department stores and traditional markets from June to December last year sho

When announcing its economic policy direction for 2017 last year, the South Korean government pledged to create 60,000 additional jobs in the public sector and increase tax benefits for private companies that hire more young people.These measures reflect concerns that employment conditions will continue to worsen in the coming year, as the country‘s economy is in a low-growth rut and ongoing corporate restructuring is expected to result in a large number of workers losing their jobs. According t

Apartment prices in Seoul rose 4.22 percent last year, slowing slightly from the previous year, according to data from KB Kookmin Bank on Wednesday. It was 1.34 percentage points lower than the 5.56 percent growth in 2015, which could signal that Seoul’s housing prices have started to go downhill.  (Yonhap)However, the annual growth was the second highest since 2007, the report showed. Prices of apartments in Songpa-gu, the southeastern area of the city, showed the highest growth of 5.69 percent

A rise in home prices tended to lower the birthrate, a trend that existed regardless of whether the economy was good or bad, a report from a local institute said Wednesday.The Korea Institute of Child Care and Education followed the changes in home prices and their correlation to childbirths from 1985-2014 among 19 member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The conclusion was that for every 1 percentage point increase in housing price index, the birthrate fell by

Korea's finance minister said Wednesday that the government will make all-out efforts to frontload its budget spending in the first quarter to pre-emptively cope with rising economic uncertainties at home and abroad."Facing strong headwinds inside and outside the country, the Korean economy will likely lose recovery momentum," Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said in a meeting on fiscal spending in Seoul."The government will beef up fiscal intervention as a trigger for economic reinvigoration and a st

The growth of mortgage loans in Korea markedly slowed last month amid indications of interest rate hikes and a downturn in the real estate market, data showed Wednesday.Outstanding home-backed loans extended by six major banks here - KB Koomin, Shinhan, Woori, KEB Hana, NH and the Industrial Bank of Korea - totaled 380.8 trillion won ($314 billion) in December. It represents a 180 billion won increase from the previous month, the lowest growth for December since 2010.Mortgage loans extended by t

The Korean government has finalized a plan to temporarily lift import tariffs on egg products to cope with skyrocketing egg prices at home, but corporate egg consumers remain cautious about imports due to various hurdles stemming from excessive logistics costs, fragility and sustained refrigeration, industry watchers said Tuesday.Egg prices have risen sharply in Korea in recent weeks due to a short supply following the worst episode of bird flu to hit the country. The move has prompted to push t

Korea’s shipments to China grew for a second consecutive month in December last year, data showed Tuesday, with short-term recovery expected. Exports to China account for more than 25 percent of the country’s total exports. They had declined for 16 consecutive months since July 2015, until inching up 0.4 percent in November last year.  The pace of recovery picked up in December last year, with a 9.6 percent increase on-year, according to data from the Ministry of Trade, Indus

 South Korea's top economic policymakers issued warning messages Tuesday about financial uncertainties this year, stressing the need for thorough risk management."When it comes to internal and external conditions, it's difficult to see even an inch forward," Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said during a New Year's meeting here with government officials and leaders in the financial industry.Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol in a file photo. (Yonhap)He used the term of an "era of ultra-uncertainty" an