Exports could be a breakthrough for the South Korean economy in the post-coronavirus era, a state-run trade agency said Monday. Despite numerous uncertainties that are expected to linger in 2021, the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency raised its exports forecast for next year, saying semiconductors and biotech products, among others, are likely to lead the gains. Overseas shipments would grow 6-7 percent in 2021 to reach $540 billion-560 billion next year, from around $510 bil

South Korean exports of instant noodles jumped more than 28 percent in the first 11 months of the year amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Overseas shipments of instant noodles, or "ramyeon" in Korean, came to $549.72 million in the January-November period, up 28.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and industry players. It was well above last year's total exports of $467 million. The surge was ascribed to the global popu

Hanjin Group, which controls South Korea‘s largest aviation firm Korean Air Lines, is speeding up asset divestments to secure cash in an apparent effort to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, filings showed Sunday. Hanjin Group’s holding company Hanjin KAL is poised to sell a 100 percent stake in a golf course developer Jedong Leisure to an undisclosed buyer for 23 billion won ($20.9 million). The company, located in Jeju Island, has sought to lay out a golf course development project

The local initial public offering market was all the rage in 2020 as nearly 300 trillion won ($272.9 billion) poured in, three times more than 2018 or 2019, according to industry data on Sunday. This year’s IPO market will come to a close with materials firm Sukgyung AT making its debut on Wednesday. Other than special-purpose acquisition companies and companies that merged with listed firms, a total of 76 companies were newly listed on the nation’s main Kospi and secondary Kosd

Government campaign to raise female representation sees progress, but more to be done

South Korea is considering providing rental assistance to smaller merchants hard hit by the new coronavirus outbreak, when it will give them another round of emergency handouts next month, people familiar with the matter said Sunday. The move comes as more smaller merchants and self-employed people are facing the growing burdens of paying rental fees due to the government's order to suspend their business amid the protracted pandemic. The country is preparing to provide more than 3 trillion wo

South Korean brokerage houses predicted the local stock market would continue its uptick move in 2021, citing signs of a global economic recovery and growing investor appetite for higher returns, data showed Sunday. Multiple securities companies set their upper-end target band for the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) above 3,000 points, showing greater confidence from a month ago. Between end-October and early November, brokerages had expected a band of 2,100-2,700 points,

The state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), the main creditor of SsangYong Motor Corp., is set to decide on whether to roll over maturing loans extended to the financially troubled automaker this week, industry sources said Sunday. Last week, SsangYong already missed the repayment of 60 billion won ($54.8 million) of debt to its three creditors. According to the sources, KDB will discuss whether to roll over 90 billion won in loans due Monday. The South Korean subsidiary of Indian carmaker Ma

South Korea’s sole bourse operator has named Sohn Byung-doo, former vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, to take the new chief post of the Korea Exchange, according to the officials Friday. Sohn’s CEO appointment was approved by shareholders of the Korea Exchange, they added. Prior to the shareholders meeting, he was named as the single candidate for the position earlier this month. Sohn, 56, has had a 30-year career in the civil service. He worked at the Ministry

With a new wave of coronavirus infections gripping the nation, South Korea’s economy this month faces growing uncertainties, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Friday. In its monthly economic report, called the “Green Book,” the ministry has upgraded its concerns on Asia’s fourth-largest economy by a notch, saying that the uncertainties are “expanding.” It has previously said that the uncertainties were “continuing” in the reports released i

South Korean stocks rose slightly to reach a record high Friday, buoyed by optimism over US stimulus talks despite a spike in local COVID-19 cases. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 1.75 points, or 0.06 percent, to close at 2,772.18. Trading volume was high at about 1.05 billion shares worth some 18.9 trillion won ($17.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 491 to 342. Foreigners sold a net 192.4 billion won, while in

A Hannam-dong residence in central Seoul owned by Shinsegae Group’s chief retained its top position as the most expensive house in Korea, data showed Friday. The value of Shinsegae chairwoman Lee Myeong-hee’s 2,862-square-meter house, as assessed by the government, was 29.53 billion won ($26.88 million), up 6.6 percent from this year. Lee is the younger sister of late Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee. Previously, the house’s declared price surged by 59.7 percent on-year fro

SEJONG -- South Korea's exports dropped at the fastest clip in 2019 due to sluggish overseas demand for semiconductors, government data showed Friday. The country's overseas shipments stood at $541.2 billion last year, down 10.3 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea and the Korea Customs Service. Large companies in Asia's fourth-largest economy suffered bigger declines than smaller businesses. Combined exports of 857 large corporations sank 13.5 percent

South Korea and France on Friday agreed to continue to support multilateralism over protectionism to overcome the economic fallout from the virus pandemic, and to expand cooperation in various areas from vaccines to green cars. "This year, the two countries have worked deeply together in multilateral frameworks, such as the Group of 20 and the OECD, to promote the travel of products, services and workforces despite the COVID-19 pandemic," Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee said during her m

South Korea formally inked a comprehensive trade deal with Indonesia on Friday, paving the way for local exporters to penetrate deeper into the Southeast Asian market. Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo met his Indonesian counterpart Agus Suparmanto here to sign the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The pact now needs a parliamentary approval. The two countries resumed their talks in 2019 after a five-year hiatus. The CEP