South Korea's producer prices dropped slightly from a year earlier in July on a large cut in prices of coal and petroleum products, central bank data showed Friday.The producer price index for July came to 98.95, down 2.4 percent from the same month last year, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.Producer prices serve as an indicator of future consumer inflation.The July index marked a slight decrease from a revised 99.02 in the previous month.Prices of manufactured goods lost 0.

The volume of 50,000-won ($45.15) notes in circulation has exceeded 70 trillion won for the first time on growing demand and increased supply, the central bank's data showed Thursday.The outstanding balance of South Korea's highest-denominated banknote, came to 70.43 trillion won as of the end of July, up 0.8 percent from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. Since the bill was introduced in June 2009, its supply has been on a rapid rise. The amount totaled 60 trillion won in Septembe

Finance Ministry officials have suggested the national budget will exceed 400 trillion won ($364 billion) for the first time next year, while reassuring the state debt will still be held below 40 percent of gross domestic product.A senior ministry official said last week the 2017 budget would increase by more than 3.5 percent from this year’s 386.4 trillion won to hover slightly above the 400 trillion won mark.The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that, despite the planned inc

Some 4,700 employees were let go in the first half of the year at listed affiliates of South Korea’s top 10 conglomerates, according to data compiled by corporate tracker Chaebul.com on Wednesday. Two-thirds of the jobs lost were reported to be from the shipbuilding sector, which has been hard-hit by the prolonged slump.

The number of foreign residents in South Korea subscribing to the country's national pension program has reached over 260,000, but the number represents only a fraction of foreigners here, a lawmaker said Wednesday.As of end-May, the number of subscribers with foreign citizenship came to 264,651, the highest number since the national pension program was launched in 1988, Rep. Kim Sang-hoon of the ruling Saenuri Party said, citing related data from the National Pension Service.The government bega

Over 10,000 employees of a major Japanese funeral service company will visit South Korea between this fall and next spring, the state-run Korea Tourism Organization said Wednesday.The unprecedented group of Japanese visitors will arrive in Seoul and Busan in a period spanning six months starting from October, KTO said. The KTO and Busan Tourism Organization said they jointly attracted the largest number of travelers on the incentive tour program from Japan, with the first group scheduled to begi

South Korea's imports of Iranian crude oil more than doubled in the second quarter of the year from a year earlier following the lifting of international sanctions against the Middle East country, government data showed Wednesday.A total of 25.35 million barrels of crude oil was imported from Iran during the April-June period, soaring 123.3 percent from 11.35 million barrels tallied over the same period last year, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Iran

South Korea's exports to China dropped for the 13th consecutive month in July, the longest losing streak, data showed on Wednesday, as a slowdown in the world's No. 2 economy is showing no signs of a recovery.According to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association, shipments to China, South Korea's largest trading partner, dropped 9.4 percent on-year to reach US$10.13 billion last month, marking the 13th straight month of decline.China, grappling with slow growth, is South Ko

South Korea has regained its title as the world’s 11th-largest economy in nine years, according to national accounts data by the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.The latest data showed that Korea’s gross domestic product stood at $1.38 trillion in 2015, climbing back up to 11th place, based on the average dollar currency rate over the last three years.Korea’s ranking in terms of economic output has been sliding since 2006, beyond the top 10 during the Roh

State-run utility firm Korea Electric Power Corp. has to repay or roll over some 10 trillion won ($9.1 billion) worth of debts which are due by 2018, industry data showed on Tuesday.According to the data compiled by FnGuide, KEPCO's debt totaling 10.2 trillion won should be paid back or rolled over by 2018. It includes foreign currency-denominated debt, and is equivalent to some 40 percent of its outstanding corporate debts amounting to 26 trillion won in total.This year alone, the electricity s

South Korea ranked 11th worldwide in gross domestic product in 2015, with its global standing rising two notches from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday.According to the data by the World Bank, South Korea's nominal GDP came to $1.38 trillion last year, up from 13th place a year earlier. But the value was down 2.4 percent from $1.42 trillion the previous year.GDP, the broadest measure of an economy's performance, is the total value of goods and services produced within the economy in a given pe

The main opposition party fueled debate on changing the taxation system early this month by proposing to raise taxes for big corporations and high income earners.The proposal by the Minjoo Party of Korea was met with an immediate objection from Finance Ministry officials, who had left tax rates unchanged in a draft tax code revision disclosed days earlier.The party’s chief policymaker said he was ready to engage in a heated debate with the government on the direction of taxation overhaul in the

The International Monetary Fund said Friday South Korea's economy is forecast to expand 3 percent next year."Growth is projected to tick up to 2.7 percent this year and 3.0 percent in 2017, with inflation remaining subdued," the agency said in a report on the conclusion of its annual consultation with South Korea."The anticipated pickup in activity is based on growing private consumption, a stronger housing market, and the impact of fiscal and monetary easing," it said.The agency said Korea's ec