The number of low-paid people hired by South Korea's public and governmental organizations rose at the fastest pace in five years in the first half of this year amid sluggish employment conditions, government data showed Sunday.In public administration, defense and social welfare, 387,000 employees were paid less than 2 million won (US$1,800) per month during the January-June period, up 45,000 from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The on-year increase was the largest

The amount of non-mortgage loans extended by local banks increased at a sharp pace last month as a new set of loan guidelines on mortgages took effect, industry data showed Sunday.According to the data, the outstanding balance of non-mortgage loans, including lending through overdraft lines of credit, in five major commercial banks including Shinhan Bank and Kookmin Bank reached a combined 101.2 trillion won ($90.5 billion) as of the end October, up 2.1 trillion won from a month earlier. The on-

Foreign investors remained net sellers in the South Korean bond market for two straight months last month, but the amount sold decreased, financial data showed Sunday.Foreigners offloaded a net 244 billion won ($218.2 million) worth of South Korean debts last month, continuing their selling mode from September, when they dumped a net 2.22 trillion won, according to the data. It was the first time in 2018 that net foreign holdings of South Korean bonds decreased two months in a row. Offshore inve

CJ CGV Vietnam Holdings Co. said Friday it will further expand its presence in Vietnam by maximizing funds from its planned listing in South Korea this month.　The cinema chain based in Vietnam is scheduled to go public on Seoul‘s main KOSPI bourse on Nov. 16. It plans to issue 5.71 million shares, with the share price to be set between 18,900 won (US$16.8) and 23,100 won, according to the firm and the bourse operator, Korea Exchange.　“We find great potential in the Vietnamese market,

Two South Korean banks will stop accepting payments from Iran in line with the start of U.S. sanctions on the Islamic Republic‘s petroleum exports, a financial source said Friday.　Woori Bank and state-run Industrial Bank of Korea are the two main channels of money between South Korean firms and Iran, but they have instructed local firms to complete payments by Sunday, a day before the U.S. sanctions against Iran take effect.  　From Nov. 5, the two South Korean banks will stop handling

Former Bota Bio executive and husband of veteran actress Kyun Mi-ri was sentenced to four years in prison for manipulating stocks and raking in billions in illicit gains. Judge Sim Hyeong-sup of the Seoul Southern District Court handed down a four-year sentence and a fine of 2.5 billion won ($2.2 million) for the convict, identified only by the surname Lee, for violating laws related to capital markets and financial investment. Lee was found guilty of gaining approximately 2.3 billion won throug

South Korea's central bank chief said Friday that the local financial market will likely face wider volatility in the coming months due to lingering uncertainties abroad.With global financial markets, including Wall Street suffering a stock rout, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index nose-dived 14.8 percent in October alone, and the secondary index for the tech-laden KOSDAQ market plummeted 23.4 percent. "Escalating global downside risks have caused the recent worldwide tumble, bu

Concerns are growing that President Moon Jae-in and his aides have stuck to economic policies detached from the reality of the country’s economy, which is rapidly losing vitality amid deteriorating conditions at home and abroad.According to government sources, Moon plans to preside over a meeting of economy-related ministers in November for the first time in four months to call for strengthening efforts to enhance economic fairness. Discussion at the planned meeting is set to focus on faci

South Korea's chief economic policymaker said Thursday that the government will strive to boost lackluster facility investment by accelerating state-led projects.Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon also promised to slash regulatory red tape to allow the private sector to focus on making investments that can contribute to economic growth. "The government will make efforts to provide a momentum for facility investment to turn around," Kim said in an economy-related ministers meeting.Facility

South Korea's exports rose in October compared with a year ago on upbeat sales of memory chips and petrochemical products, government data showed Thursday.Outbound shipments reached $54.97 billion last month, a 22.7 percent surge from a year ago and the second-highest monthly figure since September 2017, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.  Imports jumped 27.9 percent on-year to $48.42 billion in October, resulting in a trade surplus of $6.55 billio

South Korea's consumer price growth accelerated in October, hitting the highest in 13 months, on a sharp rise in prices for agricultural goods and oil-related products, government data showed Thursday.The country's consumer price index climbed 2 percent last month from a year earlier, moving up from the previous month's 1.9 percent on-year gain, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.The reading marks the highest since September 2017, when the comparable figure was 2.1 percent.From a

WASHINGTON -- The United States denied Wednesday that it has informed some South Korean banks of impending sanctions for their transactions with North Korea.Rumors spread in South Korea that the US Department of the Treasury is soon to impose secondary sanctions on several banks for their involvement in the government's recent expansion of economic and other exchanges with the North.Such sanctions target third-party entities that conduct dealings with an already sanctioned entity, such as North

The recent move by China and Japan toward reinvigorating their economic partnership could lead to aggravating the external environment for the Korean economy, experts here say.The cooperative mood between the world’s second- and third-largest economies is coming at a time when Korea’s economic ties with its two neighboring powers have been shadowed by lingering diplomatic estrangement.It has also raised concerns that Seoul may be sidelined from discussions on key matters involving th

South Korea’s National Pension Service, the third-largest pension fund in the world, has taken over 5 percent in losses from domestic stocks from January to August, hit by the ongoing bearish trend in the local stock market this year.  The public pension fund, overseeing 650.9 billion won ($571.8 million) in assets as of end-August, yielded 2.3 percent return from its investments, according to its disclosure Tuesday. The NPS invests in various asset classes including equities and fixe

South Korea's industrial output for September posted its biggest drop in 19 months due to a fall in auto and electronic parts production, government data showed Wednesday, raising concerns that the economy is on the brink of a slowdown.Production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries backtracked 2.5 percent on-month, following a revised 1.3 percent on-month gain in the previous month.On a monthly basis, the September reading is the sharpest decrease since February last yea