About half of the highest-earning South Korean companies have no investment plans for next year as they battle “uncertainty” around the omicron coronavirus variant and the disruptions the pandemic has caused, a local think tank said Monday. According to the Korea Economic Research Institute, 49 percent of the 101 companies that responded to the survey said they either do not plan to make new investments in 2022 or have yet to come up with one, citing an uncertain economic outlook.

SEJONG -- South Korea on Monday has expressed its commitment to joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is aimed at multilateral free trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, the nation has unveiled a policy to push for bilateral FTAs with more countries, including Mexico. In a ministerial meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said that the government “is seeking to collect public opinions and rea

South Korean stocks retreated for a second straight session Monday as investors took to the sidelines ahead of the US Federal Reserve's policy meeting later this week. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 8.57 points, or 0.28 percent, to close at 3,001.66 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 368 million shares worth some 8.5 trillion won ($7.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 495 to 347. Foreigners sold a

South Korea’s exports from the beginning of the year to Monday surpassed the record-high annual outbound shipments of $604.9 billion, observed in 2018, setting a new all-time high. According to data compiled by the Trade Ministry and Korea Customs Service, total outbound shipments surpassed the ful-year export record at 11:36 p.m. Monday. It is projected to surpass $640 billion on current trends, the Trade Ministry noted. A Trade Ministry official pinpointed further development in Kore

　A fifth of people aged 15 to 29 in South Korea were not in employment, education or training (NEET), a report has shown, which would mark the third-highest level among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. 　The estimated number of NEET youth in South Korea is nearly 1.59 million, according to a report by Chung Jae-hyun, head of the youth policy research and development division at the Korea Employment Information Service. 　They include about 778,000 who are se

South Korea needs to "steadily adjust" high levels of leverage maintained to prop up the pandemic-hit economy as excessive indebtedness could result in financial instability and reduce future policy room, a central bank report showed Monday. Rising household debt, in particular, has been cited as a major economic risk factor and the government has been tightening rules on lending amid worries that the financial imbalances caused by increased debt in the private sector could put a damp

South Korea said Monday it will expand financial support measures for local builders as their overseas orders are expected to fall short of last year's records amid the protracted pandemic. Korean construction firms clinched combined overseas orders worth $24.3 billion between Jan. 1 and Dec. 10, down 21 percent from a yer earlier, according to the government. Last year, local builders secured overseas orders worth $35.1 billion last year, but their combined orders for this year may be around

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday, led by advances of tech and auto stocks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14.09 points, or 0.47 percent, to trade at 3,024.32 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks climbed despite a high number of coronavirus cases, with investors keeping an eye on the Federal Reserve for signals about the tapering of stimulus measures. The Fed is set to announce its two-day meeting results Wednesday (US time). In Seoul, market

South Korea's exports grew 20.4 percent on-year in the first 10 days of December on the back of solid demand for chips and petroleum products, customs data showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $19.5 billion in the Dec. 1-10 period, compared with $16.2 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. (Yonhap)

One of the oldest US banks is joining a slew of foreign financial institutions that have lost interest in Asia’s fourth-largest economy

The South Korean economy is expected to expand 2.8 percent on-year in 2022, slower than this year's projected 3.9 percent growth, amid weaker private consumption and global demand, a local think tank said Sunday. The projection by the LG Economic Research Institute (LGERI) is lower than that by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of 3.3 percent and the 3.0 percent estimate by both the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Bank of Korea. "The export-led gro

  South Korean stocks are likely to undergo volatility next week due to uncertainty about the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting and the latest spike in COVID-19 cases, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 3,010.23 points Friday, up 1.41 percent from 2,968.33 points a week ago. The key stock index gained for the seventh straight session Thursday amid expectations of chip price hikes and eased concerns about the new omicron

SEJONG -- South Korea was found to have conducted longer closures of on-the-spot classes at schools than other countries amid the pandemic situation, a state-run statistics agency said Friday. According to Statistics Korea, Korea closed elementary, middle and high schools for 68 weeks (77.3 percent) of the 88 weeks from March 2020 to October 2021. The closure includes partial or full-fledged (all schools nationwide) shutdown of offline classes. “This is longer than the 62-week closure (7

South Korean stocks ended their seven-session winning streak on Friday as investor sentiment was hurt by concerns that the latest spike in COVID-19 cases could sap an economic recovery. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 19.34 points, or 0.64 percent, to close at 3,010.23 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 444 million shares worth some 8.1 trillion won ($6.9 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 418 to 4