South Korea’s gross domestic product -- the value of all goods and services created in the country -- improved slightly in the second quarter but underperformed that of most OECD countries on the US and China slowdowns, the latest Bank of Korea data showed Monday. The central bank found that the GDP rose 0.7 percent on-quarter in the April-June quarter, an incremental improvement from the 0.6 percent in the previous quarter. The latest growth rate ranks 20th among 35 countries -- including

A net selling by foreign investors in stocks traded on South Korea’s main board Kospi since January has reached 11.96 trillion won ($8.6 billion) Thursday, according to data from the Korea Exchange Monday. The data showed shares of Samsung Electronics accounted for a little over 9 trillion won, with Naver, LG Energy Solution and Kakao roughly making up the remaining purchases at over 1 trillion won, respectively. That contrasts sharply with a net buying by individual investors, who in the

From delivery riders to luxury shoppers, young people flock to less stressful, better compensated part-time jobs

Shin Jeong-eum, a 61-year-old Seoulite, remembers her childhood when her family was delighted with beef wrapped in a simple paper package and a carton of eggs held together by straw as Chuseok gifts. As for her, Shin's favorite moments in the 1970s were receiving new clothes from her relatives as they celebrated the traditional mid-autumn harvest festival, honoring their ancestors. “Nowadays, it’s all about gifting luxury items and we can just send the gifts after purchasing them t

South Korea said Thursday it plans to spend 74 trillion won ($53.4 billion) on supporting low-income families, senior citizens and other vulnerable people next year in a bid to ease the burden of rising living costs. The government plans to increase its budget spending by 8.7 trillion won in 2023 on-year to prevent vulnerable people from being left in a blind spot, according to the finance ministry. The money will be spent to support low-income households, people with disabilities, young people

The South Korean won tumbled to 1,384.2 won per US dollar on Wednesday in the onshore platform, the lowest closing figure since March 2009 during the global financial crisis, despite a warning from authorities that intervention could take place to steady the currency market. The US dollar’s rally – led by investors pricing in higher US interest rates to come by year-end – has been weakening not only the local currency, but six other major currencies, including the Japanese yen.

Apple Pay is in the final stage of talks with local credit card issuer Hyundai Card to start its Korean services by the end of this year, according to news reports on Wednesday. Apple’s digital payments service, launched in 2014, has since expanded its Asian reach, including China, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong. But it has struggled to enter Korea mainly due to a lack of technological infrastructure here. Most local retailers use the magnetic secure transmission technology, in which devic

Seoul shares tumbled on Wednesday as foreigners and institutions dumped holdings amid worries over the US Federal Reserve's continued aggressive rate hikes and their impact on the global economy. The Korean won also slid to the lowest point in more than 13 years. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 1.39 percent, or 33.56 points, to 2,376.46. Trading volume was moderate at 370.02 million shares worth 7.29 trillion won (US$5.3 billion), with decliners outpacing gainers 768 to 1

SK Broadband has decided to invest $4 million (5.5 billion won) in US collaboration platform developer Swit as the company seeks to boost its competitiveness in the business-to-business sector, the South Korean internet service provider said Wednesday. On top of the investment, SK Broadband said the company will become the sole distributor of Swit in the domestic market while pushing for collaboration businesses including new products that will integrate its message and fax services with Swit&r

Seoul-based private equity house MBK Partners Founder and Chairman Michael Byung-ju Kim will donate $10 million to help the renovation work of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, both the firm and the museum said Wednesday. “The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today that Michael ByungJu Kim has pledged $10 million to support the renovation of the Museum’s Oscar L. and H.M. Agnes Hsu-Tang Wing for modern and contemporary art," the Met said in an official press relea

The South Korean currency on Wednesday declined below the 1,380-won level against the U.S. dollar for the first time in more than 13 years during intraday trading amid a sharp decline in the country's current account surplus. The local currency had been trading at 1,387.30 won per dollar as of 11:25 a.m., down 15.60 won from the previous session's close. In the morning session, the won slid to as low as 1,388.40 against the greenback at one point. It marked the first time that the Kore

Seoul stocks opened lower Wednesday, tracking losses on Wall Street as investors remained concerned over the US Federal Reserve's aggressive rate hikes to combat runaway inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had fallen 0.71 percent, or 17.06 points, to 2,392.96 as of 9:15 a.m. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 0.7 percent amid worries over the Fed's continued rate increases and a looming energy c

South Korea posted a current account surplus for the third straight month in July, but the surplus plunged as the goods balance turned red for the first time in about 10 years due to fast-rising import costs of energy and other commodities, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's current account surplus came to $1.09 billion in July, compared with a surplus of $5.61 billion posted a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The July surplus was

SEJONG -- The scale of tax cuts for businesses will increase by more than 1 trillion won ($727 million) on-year in 2023, with its portion of total tax cuts for the overall sectors rising, state data showed Tuesday. According to next year’s budget on tax expenditures, submitted by the Finance Ministry to the National Assembly, the collective tax cuts for the overall sectors are estimated at 69.3 trillion won. Of them, corporate tax cuts -- including deductions for spending on fostering ma

Higher energy import bills, prompted by changes in the global economy, are to blame for the five-month trade deficit since April, with the trend likely to continue for the next three months, the Bank of Korea said Tuesday in a research paper. The August trade deficit came to $9.47 billion, a monthly record since 1956 when the Trade Ministry began to collect such data. The January-August deficit of $24.7 billion has already surpassed the yearly high set in 1996. Higher prices of energy and petrol