The Korea Herald

Business closures by self-employed increasing for those with hired workers

Sept 19, 2016

Business shutdowns by the self-employed with hired workers went up for the 10th consecutive month in August, national statistics showed Monday, another sign of an economic slowdown.The number of self-operating businesses with hired hands decreased by 1,000 last month compared with a year ago, according to Statistics Korea. The self-employed are categorized in two different groups -- those that have hired workers and those that do not. Business closures by the latter have been declining steadily
[Graphic News] Korean life expectancy rapidly increases

Sept 18, 2016

South Korea’s life expectancy has increased at a rapid rate over the past two decades, largely on advances in medical services, a report showed last week.According to the Korea Insurance Research Institute, South Korea’s life expectancy came to 81 years as of end-2013, up 8.6 years from 72.5 years in 1990.KIRI officials attributed the large increase to medical advances, with the life expectancy of people diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases growing an average 3.9 years, according to the report
Korea is losing export competitiveness: report

Sept 18, 2016

South Korea is losing export competitiveness in the major industrial sectors as China is catching up fast in the technology and manufacturing industries, a report showed Sunday. The market share of Korea's top 13 export items accounted for 5.3 percent in the global market in 2015, shedding 0.4 percentage point from 2011, the Korea International Trade Association said in a report. The key export items include semiconductors, autos, ships, steel, flat panel displays, wireless communications equipm
KOSPI sees net foreign buying for 8 months

Sept 18, 2016

Offshore investors have kept buying Korean stocks for eight consecutive months on ample liquidity, marking the longest buying streak in seven years, the main bourse operator said Sunday. Foreigners have purchased a total of 12.87 trillion won ($11.43 billion) worth of stocks in the main KOSPI market from Feb. 1 to Sept. 9, the Korea Exchange said. Overseas investors bought 4 trillion won in July alone when major economies rolled out quantitative easing measures in the wake of Britain's vote to l
Korean economy facing growing downward risks in H2

Sept 13, 2016

A series of unfortunate industrial and economic events at home and abroad are weighing down on the South Korean economy, blasting hopes for recovery in the second half of 2016. According to a report by LG Economic Research Institute on Tuesday, the Korean economy is highly likely to suffer sluggish consumption, exports and facility investment for the last four months of the year as the fourth-largest economy in Asia is recently hit by collapse of the country’s largest shipper, recalls of the new
Korea posts 55th consecutive month of trade surplus in Aug.

Sept 13, 2016

South Korea extended its trade surplus streak to 55 months in August on the back of a turnaround in exports for the first time in 20 months, customs data showed Tuesday.The country's trade surplus came to $5.1 billion last month, down from a record $7.6 billion in the previous month, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.The figure also marked a 17.8 percent on-year rise from $4.3 billion tallied in the same month a year earlier, continuing its bullish run for 55 months in a row s
Korea's jobless rate edges up to 3.6% in Aug.

Sept 13, 2016

South Korea's jobless rate increased slightly in August from a year earlier, with the unemployment rate for young adults still remaining high amid a prolonged economic slump, a government report showed Tuesday.The unemployment rate in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 3.6 percent last month, compared with 3.5 percent tallied in July, according to the report compiled by Statistics Korea.The number of employed people stood at 26.5 million in August, up 387,000 from a year earlier, with the mo
Minimum wage hike ineffective to reduce poverty

Sept 12, 2016

Minimum wage hike ineffective in poverty reductionBy Kim Kyung-hoSkepticism has been raised over the effect of a minimum wage increase on reducing income inequality in the country.Contrary to its purported purpose of supporting low-income laborers, critics note, the minimum wage raise has mainly helped increase the income of middle-class workers, who account for 44 percent of employees entitled to a minimum wage. They also argue a minimum wage hike may result in fewer job opportunities for low-i
Korea's home transactions gain 4.3% in August

Sept 12, 2016

South Korea's home transactions gained 4.3 percent from a year earlier last month, government data showed Monday, amid growing concerns over mounting household debt.The number of home transactions came to 98,130 in August, up from 94,110 tallied over the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The total number of transactions has been on a steady rise since February when it dropped to 59,000, following tightened bank loan guidelines aimed at cooling
Foreign currency deposits grow in August

Sept 12, 2016

Foreign currency deposits held by banks in South Korea rose from a month earlier in August on a sharp rise in US dollar deposits by individual investors and exporters, central bank data showed Monday.Outstanding foreign currency deposits held by local residents came to US$67.34 billion as of end-August, up $1.11 billion from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.Foreign deposits include those held by foreigners who have stayed in South Korea for more than six months, a
Chinese employees of Taiwan cosmetic firm to visit Korea

Sept 12, 2016

Employees of Kelti Group, a Taiwanese cosmetics distributor and personal health care provider, are set to visit South Korea this week on an incentive tour program, the state-run tourism organization said Monday. About 6,400 employees of Kelti Group's Chinese branch will arrive in the southwestern port of Yeosu in two groups on Tuesday and Sunday aboard a 14,000-ton cruise ship as part of the group's incentive program, the Korea Tourism Organization said.Departing from Shanghai, the travelers wil
More households living in makeshift abodes despite rising housing supply

Sept 12, 2016

South Korea's housing penetration rate has well exceeded 100 percent, but there are over 300,000 households who live in makeshift or abnormal arrangements, three times more than five years ago, national statistics showed Monday.Numbers provided by Statistics Korea said that as of November last year, 11,409 households lived in abodes with plastic roofs or made of planks. Another 30,131 households lived in motels and other types of accommodations. Statistics showed 322,591 households lived in temp
Central bank freezes rate for 3rd straight month

Sept 9, 2016

South Korea’s central bank kept its key base rate unchanged at 1.25 percent for third straight month on Friday, as largely expected by market analysts, citing high household debt and uncertainties concerning the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.The decision to freeze its September rate was unanimous, as the Bank of Korea already noted in its minutes of last month’s policy committee meeting that a rapid increase in household debt was posing a risk to the economy.Also, the difficulty in foreca
Stocks sharply down on North's suspected nuke test, US falls

Sept 9, 2016

South Korean stocks traded sharply lower late Friday morning, as investors were spooked by the possibility of North Korea conducting a nuclear test and overnight losses on Wall Street. The Korean won fell sharply against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 25.77 points, or 1.25 percent, to 2,036.96 as of 11:20 a.m. US stocks closed lower Thursday on a slump in tech stocks, with the Dow Jones industrial average losing 0.3 percent to 18,479.91 points in the face o
BOK holds key rate steady at 1.25% in Sept.

Sept 9, 2016

South Korea's central bank on Friday held its policy rate steady for September, extending its wait-and-see mode for three straight months after sending the key rate to a record low level to strengthen growth for Asia's fourth-largest economy.In a widely expected move, the monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea voted to keep the key rate at 1.25 percent, as central bank officials have recently cited concerns about snowballing household debts and a possible rate hike in the United States.In Ju