LIFE INSURANCE/ KYOBO LIFE

South Korea, China and Japan are in final talks to accept a United Nations aviation agency's proposal for an agreement critical for the safety of flights near Korea's southern resort island of Jeju, the transport ministry said Thursday.South Korean and Japanese air traffic controllers have been directing north-south flights and east-west flights, respectively, in the "Akara corridor," which is part of South Korean airspace. Japan has shepherded flights between Shanghai and Japan on beh

Komsco discloses ‘clothing security label’ tech to prevent forgery

The South Korean economy added 464,000 jobs in the second quarter of 2019 from a year earlier, government data showed Thursday.There were 18.68 million salaried jobs in the second quarter, compared with 18.22 million a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea.The figure represents a decline from the first quarter of this year when 503,000 jobs were created.The statistics agency said the economy added 162,000 jobs in health care and social welfare, and 77,000 jobs in the wholesal

Lending rates on fresh loans extended by banks in South Korea sharply fell from a month earlier in October, central bank data showed Thursday, an apparent outcome of two recent rate cuts.The average interest rate on all new loans extended by banks in the month came to 3.2 percent, down 0.11 percentage point from the month before, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.The rate on all outstanding loans came to 3.45 percent, also down 6 basis points from 3.51 percent in September. Th

South Korea's trade commission said Thursday it will soon decide whether to extend the existing anti-dumping tariff on stainless steel plates imported from Japan, which was first imposed in 2011.Currently, Seoul slaps an anti-dumping tariff rate of 13.17 percent on imported Japanese steel plates, according to the Korea Trade Commission. South Korea previously extended the measure once in 2016, which will run through December. The tariff mainly targets those from Japan's Nippon Steel Stainless St

South Korea has used almost 91 percent of this year's extra budget, to boost economic growth and support the parts and materials sector, the finance ministry said Thursday.The implementation of 5.3 trillion won ($4.5 billion) is equal to 90.7 percent of the 5.8 trillion-won extra budget, according to the ministry.In August, South Korea's parliament passed the extra budget to counter downside economic risks and cope with Japanese restrictions on exports to South Korea of high-tech materials, amon

About 58 billion won ($49.3 million) worth of cryptocurrency was stolen on Wednesday from Upbit, a South Korean exchange, in a cyberattack, the exchange's operator said.The company, Dunamu Inc., said deposit and withdrawal services were immediately halted after the finding. "At 1:06 p.m., 342,000 Ethereum worth 58 billion won, were transferred from the Upbit Ethereum Hot Wallet to an unknown wallet," it said in a statement posted on the website of its exchange under the name of its CEO

South Korea’s money supply to gross domestic product ratio came to 151.5 percent last year, higher than the Organization for Economic Cooperation Development average, data from the World Bank and Korea Center for International Finance showed Wednesday. The country’s high money supply-GDP ratio -- a measure of financial deepening -- indicates economic activity has been sluggish this year, with stagnant real estate investments and bank deposits, despite growth in the volume of currency

KB Insurance, a unit of KB Financial Group, said Wednesday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with global e-commerce platform Cafe24 to provide comprehensive insurance services for e-commerce merchants.The deal was signed by KB Insurance Chairman and CEO Yang Jong-hee and Cafe24 CEO Lee Jae-suk at the KB Insurance headquarters in Seoul.  Through the newly formed partnership, both firms plan to roll out more insurance and financial services for e-commerce merchants, in cooperat

South Korean banknotes have different lifespans, with the most valuable bills circulating for three more years on average than smaller bills, according to data from the Bank of Korea earlier this week.The central bank said 50,000 won bills, Korea’s largest denomination, had an average lifetime of 162 months, while 10,000 won bills lasted only about 127 months. The lifespan of a banknote is the period of time between the note’s issuance by the BOK and its return to the bank due to dam

SEJONG -- For South Koreans who say they do not support the incumbent administration, jobs are one of the main reasons cited in polls. President Moon Jae-in’s detractors say the government’s labor policies consist largely of pouring taxpayers’ money into the creation of temporary jobs in the public sector.Critics point to figures showing improved employment rates for senior citizens, who gained temporary jobs at public institutions, but bleaker outcomes for those in their 40s i

Stationery products featuring characters from Disney animation “Frozen 2” are displayed at E-mart’s Yongsan Station branch, Wednesday. The South Korean retail giant said it would sell 10 types of stationery and accessories made by Australian brand Smiggle featuring characters from the hit movie at 50 of its stores nationwide.Since opening six days ago, “Frozen 2” has dominated box offices here, attracting 319,499 moviegoers as of Tuesday. (khnews@heraldcor

South Korean business sentiment remains weak for December amid Sino-American trade tensions and the slowing global economy, a think tank said Wednesday.The business survey index of the country's top 600 companies by sales came to 90 for next month, down from 92.7 for November, according to the Korea Economic Research Institute affiliated with the Federation of Korean Industries, the top business lobby.A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists, while a figure above the benchmark me

Shipments in South Korea's manufacturing and mining industry rose 3.4 percent in 2018 from a year earlier due mainly to growth in refined petroleum and petrochemical and chemical sectors, data showed Wednesday.  Combined shipments by manufacturers and mining companies with more than 10 employees reached 1,567 trillion won ($1.3 trillion), up 52.1 trillion won from 2017, according to the data from Statistics Korea.  The hike is attributable to a 22.8 percent gain in shipments from