Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Friday urged the government to beef up efforts in promoting the importance of the extra budget that will be sent to parliament for passage next month, adding it will play a key role in revitalizing the national economy."I would like to ask related organizations including the financial ministry to highlight the importance of the extra budget, so it can be passed by the National Assembly in a timely manner," Hwang said during a Cabinet meeting. "The extra budget is

South Korea on Friday outlined an 11 trillion won ($9.64 billion) extra budget plan designed to prop up its economy facing sluggish exports and a possible fallout from corporate restructuring in key industries.It is part of the government's 28 trillion won economic stimulus package aimed at helping Asia's fourth-largest economy achieve 2.8 percent growth this year, which was downgraded last month from an earlier 3.1 percent.Passed by the Cabinet, the supplementary budget will be submitted to the

[THE INVESTOR] The Cabinet on July 22 approved an 11 trillion won (US$9.7 billion) supplementary budget to fund the  government’s economic stimulus measures. Along with the supplementary budget, the government plans to increase investment and spending by state-run companies and financial institutions to roll out economic stimulus measures to the scale of 28 trillion won. The supplementary budget will be submitted to the National Assembly on July 26. The bill will then be reviewed by concerned co

South Korea‘s three major telecom operators are projected to post stable earnings in the second-quarter of this year, on the strength of curbs on their marketing spending, an industry survey showed Thursday. Under a law that took effect early last year, telecom forms are banned from waging fierce competition by wooing customers with hefty subsidies. The combined revenue of SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus is expected to grow 2.3 percent on year to 12.6 trillion won ($11.04 billion) in the April-June

McKinsey’s global chief tells Korea to understand global consumers, grab growth opportunities 　

JEJU -- Korea’s exports may swing to the positive territory in August at the earliest, Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan said Thursday. Speaking at a forum in the southern island of Jeju, the minister said that exports are on track to return to year-on-year expansion, ending a long streak of contraction. “The year-on-year growth of exports dipped to a negative 20 percent in January, but improved to a negative 2.7 percent in June,” the minister said. Reasons behind the decline are both structural and

JEJU -- Park Yong-maan, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, voiced concern over a rush of business regulations proposed by parliamentarians in the past several weeks. “This could lead to a situation like a waterfall of regulations cascading on businesses,” he told reporters Wednesday on the southern resort island of Jeju. He was there to attend the KCCI’s annual forum for local business leaders.  Park Yong-maan, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. (KCCI)Si

Korea's finance minister on Thursday said the planned supplementary budget could create about 60,000 jobs amid industrywide restructuring efforts.Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho also said the extra budget is meant to stabilize people's livelihoods and revitalize Asia's fourth-largest economy by focusing on job creation.He made the comments in a meeting with advisers on the country's fiscal policy.Korea's unemployment rate for young people, aged between 15 and 29, reached 10.3 percent in June, up from

The head of the nation's leading business lobby group has expressed concerns over a set of bills designed to toughen corporate regulations, saying that they could be a big burden for the companies."A total of 119 bills are related to regulating (companies),"Park Yong-maan, president of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said at a forum held on the southern resort island of Jeju on Wednesday. "I fear the situation will be like a waterfall full of regulations." Park, who formerly headed p

South Korean exports to China fell 9.4 percent on-year last month, marking the 12th straight month of decline, the Korea International Trade Association said Wednesday. Shipments to China grappling with slow growth amounted to $10.2 billion in June, compared with $11.3 billion for the same month last year.

The average salary of Korean workers stood at 32.8 million won ($28,000) in 2015, up 1.5 percent from a year earlier, a survey showed Wednesday. The median income, however, was 25 million won, far below the average salary level, according to the Federation of Korean Industries. (123rf)The number of those who earned 100 million won or more came to 390,000, or 2.7 percent of the total. The country's major business lobby group analyzed income data from the labor ministry for 14.6 million workers na

The number of employees in their 60s and older surpassed that of 20-somethings in the second quarter as a lingering economic slowdown has undermined the job market for young job seekers in South Korea, government data showed Wednesday.A total of 3.98 million people aged 60 and over were employed in the April-June period, while those in their 20s reached 3.79 million, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. People browse through recruitment advertisements at a job fair in Seoul on Jul

A rising inflow of foreign direct investment is rare good news for the Korean economy that is struggling with declining exports, stagnant domestic demand and the task of overhauling inefficient, debt-ridden industries.New FDI pledged to the country hit a record high of $10.52 billion in the first half of this year, up 18.6 percent from $8.87 billion a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The ministry forecasts fresh FDI commitments to Korea will surpass $20 billi