South Korea's three major political parties agreed Friday to put the government's extra budget plan to a vote on Aug. 22 amid President Park Geun-hye's push to pass it as swiftly as possible to help reinvigorate the economy.The agreement was reached at a meeting that National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun hosted with the floor leaders of the ruling Saenuri Party, the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea and the minor opposition People's Party.The ruling and opposition parties also agreed to o

Suncheon was just another city in South Jeolla Province until it became famous for its big Suncheon Bay and National Garden. Since the garden was named Korea’s first national garden in August 2013, millions of tourists have visited the city, contributing to the local economy. “We are pleased to hear that Suncheon became Korea’s most visited city last year with over 5 million visitors,” said Cho in an interview with The Korea Herald.“I am pretty sure that Suncheon is the place to wholly satisfy t

South Korea has to carry out sweeping reform of the service industry as a first step to transform the manufacturing-focused economy into the service sector-led economy, a Korea-born official from the International Monetary Fund said Friday."The South Korean economy has been steered by the manufacturing industry and has potential to become an economy led by the higher-level service industry," Rhee Chang-yong, director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific department, said in a lecture held in Seoul."But

South Korea’s export and import prices fell last month for the first time in three months due to falling oil prices and the won-dollar exchange rate, according to the Bank of Korea on Friday.The export price index stood at 78.8 in July, down more than 2 percent from 80.6 in June, while the import price index came to 75.85, down about 2.8 percent from 78.03 in the same period. The decrease rate of the import price index in July reached the highest in nine months.The appreciation of the Korean won

South Korea's import prices shifted back to a decline in July, affected by falling oil prices and stronger local currency, central bank data showed Friday.The nation's import price index dropped 2.8 percent on-month to 75.85, according to the Bank of Korea. It marks the first decline in three months.The BOK attributed the decrease to external factors, such as global oil prices and currency exchange rates.The monthly average price of Dubai crude oil shed 8.1 percent to $43.52 a barrel from $46.3

South Korea's electricity use hit a new record high again on Thursday as the country has been simmering in a weeks-long heat wave, the authorities said.The maximum electricity load soared to 84.49 million kilowatts as of 3 p.m., breaking the previous record of 83.7 million kilowatts set on Monday, according to the state-run Korea Power Exchange.The electric power reserve ratio went down to 8.5 percent, or 7.19 million kilowatts, marking the fourth single-digit ratio throughout the year. If the f

President Park Geun-hye on Thursday said her government will announce a plan in the near future to address mounting calls to overhaul South Korea's controversial electricity billing scheme that many say exceedingly overcharges users."The government has been exploring ways to help people struggling due to unusually high temperatures this year," the chief executive said during a luncheon with the newly elected Saenuri Party leadership, referring to public concerns about high utility bills caused b

Government officials were quick to describe the decision by global credit appraiser Standard & Poor’s on Monday to raise Korea’s sovereign credit rating from AA- to a record high of AA as positive recognition of the way they have handled the country’s economy.In a statement issued the same day, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said the decision was highly surprising, given the rating agency has been downgrading sovereign debt ratings of major economies lately.Ministry officials argued it sho

In the 1970s, South Korea’s industrial policy mostly focused on lifting the country out of poverty as it reeled from the aftermath of the Korean War, Japanese colonization and internal political turmoil.Its policy then concentrated on accelerating growth by handpicking key industries and developing them as rapidly as possible so that Korea could catch up with the advanced economies of the U.S., Europe and Japan.With its growth-first policy, the country encouraged those industries to research, de

Coming 4th Industrial Revolution calls upon Korea to refocus on science, technology

The number of female subscribers to South Korea's state pension fund jumped remarkably in the past five years, data showed Thursday, indicating that more women are joining the workforce to guarantee they can financially support themselves in their later years.According to the data by the National Pension Service, the number of female subscribers increased from 7.66 million in 2010 to 9.41 million in 2015.As of May 2016, the total number of female subscribers came to 9.48 million, or 43.9 percent

South Korea's exports expanded more than 16 percent in the first 10 days of the month from a year earlier on the back of increased business days and rising demand for chips and auto parts, customs data showed Thursday.Outbound shipments totaled US$9.7 billion from Aug. 1-10, up 16.4 percent from the same period last year, according to the Korea Customs Service.Exports of semiconductors jumped 18.8 percent on-year and those of automobile components soared 41.3 percent over the cited period.The on

Over 3,100 local firms benefited from the government's offshore marketing support program and achieved their first export this year, the trade ministry here said Thursday.Cases of successful overseas inroads were reported at a government meeting chaired by Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn to examine its support measures announced throughout the year to promote the export sector.The ministry also reported at the meeting that the number of smart factories intended to revamp the manufacturing sector ha

South Korea's central bank held its policy rate in place for August on Thursday, extending its wait-and-see mode for a second straight month after sending the key rate to a record low level to bolster growth here.In a widely expected move, the monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea voted to keep the key rate at 1.25 percent in August.In June, the central bank made a surprise rate cut, citing a need to support the economy.The country's exports have fallen every single month since the start of

U.S. imports from South Korea have risen in recent years mainly because the U.S. economy has picked up, a senior Korean official said Wednesday, rejecting Donald Trump's claims that the free trade deal between the two countries is to blame for U.S. trade deficits with South Korea.In an attempt to rally support from voters struggling with economic woes, the Republican presidential nominee has slammed free trade deals as a source of American economic problems. He has denounced the agreement with S