When it comes to attracting foreign direct investment, people often assume that foreign-invested firms would be most interested in exclusive incentives in free economic zones for the purpose of lowering their labor and capital costs. However, foreign firms actually would prefer to partner with Korean firms here to tap into the growth potential of the Korean market and demand of consumers here, according to the head of the planning office of the eight free economic zones.“A variety of incentives

South Korea's trade minister pledged Wednesday to swiftly take measures in case US President-elect Donald Trump takes protectionist measures against Seoul.Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Joo Hyung-hwan made the comments in an inaugural session of a consultative body set up between the government and private experts to better deal with trade issues with the US.His comments came amid concerns that Trump could strengthen protectionism. Trump has denounced the free trade pact between South Korea

South Korea’s deficit in the trade of intellectual property rights declined in the second quarter this year from a year ago, the Bank of Korea said Tuesday.Korea exported $2.34 billion and imported $2.5 billion in intellectual property rights in the period. The decline was mainly attributed to reduced deficit from the trademark and franchise sector, the bank said.By country, Korea saw the largest trade deficit of $820 million with the United States, and the largest surplus of $460 million throug

South Korea’s legislators have been criticized for their slapdash deliberation on annual budget bills submitted by the government. The ongoing review of the spending plan for next year seems little different from previous ones.More worrisome is that the issue is not getting much public attention amid the influence-peddling and corruption scandal surrounding President Park Geun-hye and her longtime confidante Choi Soon-sil.Many experts note that it is not possible for legislators to thoroughly sc

Users of prepaid transportation cards in South Korea will be able to recharge them with change left from purchases at local convenience stores, starting next year, under the Bank of Korea (BOK)'s campaign for a "coinless society," officials said Monday.The central bank plans to introduce the test service in the first half of 2017. An image of coinless society plan using prepaid transportation cards. (Yonhap)In the longer term, the BOK will expand the service to supermarkets, pharmacies and other

The number of South Korean recipients of the state pension who are 100 years old or older has risen every year recently, data showed Monday.According to the data by the National Pension Service (NPS), the number of centenarians receiving the state pension came to 54 across the country as of August, up from 18 in 2011, 20 in 2012, 32 in 2014 and 47 in 2015. All centenarian pensioners also were paid the survivor's pension after their children who had subscribed to the state pension died.The state

Close to 40 percent of South Koreans would be classified as financially underprivileged if their income and assets were viewed together as their economic resources, a report released Monday argued.The report from the Gyeonggi Research Institute (GRI) questioned the conventional way of looking mostly at income to define the middle class, which it said can easily underestimate or overestimate the size of the economic segment. The institute conducted its own study to count household assets in the f

There is an increasing chance that the government may lower South Korea’s annual growth projection for next year to below 3 percent, due to stronger downward pressure from US President-elect Donald Trump’s uncertain trade policies and the domestic political scandal.Private economic think tanks, such as LG Economic Research Institute, have already revised down the nation’s growth projections to 2.2-2.7 percent for next year.The Bank of Korea also lowered its projection from 2.9 percent to 2.8 per

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles on the alarming state of the country’s economy and the challenges to be addressed. This is the last installment. -- Ed.

The quality of life for South Koreans ranks 47th in the world, as the country's economic stature is undercut by long working hours and unemployment, a local report said Friday.The annual report from the Institute for International Trade, a research arm of the Korea International Trade Association, said South Korea scored 4.95 on a scale of 1 to 10 in quality of life in 2015. The score placed South Korea 47th, down seven notches from the previous year. IIT releases the report annually based on so

Overseas card spending by South Koreans rose 9 percent in the third quarter from a quarter earlier, helped by increased outbound travelers, the central bank said Friday.In the July-September period, overseas card spending amounted to $3.78 billion, compared with $3.47 billion in the previous quarter, according to the Bank of Korea . From a year earlier, the Q3 tally marked a 14.6 percent hike.Overseas card spending includes purchases made with debit and direct payment cards, in addition to credi