Overseas sales accounted for nearly a fifth of all products sold by Korean companies and the numbers are expected to continue rising in the future as countries ramp up protectionist policies, market data showed Sunday.Data from the Bank of Korea and Export-Import Bank of Korea showed the foreign sales ratio for local firms standing at 18.8 percent in 2016, following efforts by companies over the years to build production facilities abroad.Companies have actively built factories and various opera

Both labor and business communities in South Korea on Saturday expressed dissatisfaction with the country's minimum wage set for 2019.The Minimum Wage Council -- a panel comprised of representatives from labor, management and the general public -- announced that South Korea's minimum wage for next year has been set at 8,350 won (US$7.37) per hour, up 10.9 percent from this year, after a 19-hour discussion. The representatives for the labor circle have demanded a 43 percent increase to 10,790 won

 South Korea's minimum wage for next year has been set at 8,350 won ($ 7.37) per hour, up 10.9 percent from this year, officials decided on Saturday. The decision was made after the Minimum Wage Council -- a panel comprised of representatives from labor, management and the general public -- had a 19-hour meeting overnight to meet the deadline.   This is the first time in history that the country's minimum wage will surpass the 8,000 won-mark. Monthly salary at the minimu

US-based hedge fund Elliott Associates has officially filed for an investor-state dispute settlement against the South Korean government seeking $770 million in compensation for the merger between two Samsung Group affiliates, the Justice Ministry said Friday.Elliott submitted its application for arbitration claiming it has suffered $770 million due to “unfair” mediation by the Korean government in the process of approving the merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries in 20

US financial services firms Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan said Friday that they expect the South Korean central bank to raise the base rate next month on a modest economic recovery and low inflationary pressure.In a monetary policy committee meeting on Thursday, the Bank of Korea held the benchmark policy rate unchanged at 1.5 percent, citing signs of an economic slowdown and uncertainties over global trade disputes.The BOK has maintained the accommodative stance for eight months since the 0.25 p

South Korea's economy is on a recovery path on the back of a rebound in industrial output, although capital spending and consumption are facing adjustments and external uncertainties are on the rise, a government report said Friday.A weaker job market, rate hikes in the United States and rising oil prices pose downside risks for Asia's fourth-largest economy, the finance ministry said in its monthly economic assessment report. "The overall recovery pace is being maintained as industrial out

South Korea’s financial regulator on Thursday imposed a top-level sanction on Samsung BioLogics over a past accounting irregularity, concluding that its omission of key governance information notices was intentional, but reserved its final opinion on accounting fraud charges.The biopharmaceutical affiliate of Samsung Group is therefore to face a prosecutorial probe over the case and have its stock transactions suspended, but has so far avoided the worst scenario of being delisted.“Th

BOK inches down economic forecast to below 3 percent

The Bank of Korea on Thursday revised down its earlier growth forecast on the South Korean economy to 2.9 percent for 2018 due to rising economic uncertainties at home and abroad.In the monetary policy meeting for July, the central bank slashed 0.1 percentage point from its earlier growth outlook of 3.0 percent published in April.The adjustment came as the latest economic data including sluggish job creation and slowed exports raised concerns that the economy is losing steam and entering a downs

South Korea's trade ministry said Thursday it is preparing for fallouts from the flaring trade dispute between the United States and China as the world's two largest economies are seemingly on a collision course that could have global repercussions. Concerns are rising that Asia's fourth-largest economy could be among the losers of the protracted trade war between its top two trading partners after the Donald Trump administration unveiled an additional list of tariffs on $200 billion worth of Ch

South Korea's central bank on Thursday froze its key rate for July as the economy shows some signs of a slowdown and inflationary pressure remains low.The monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea voted to keep the critical rate unchanged at 1.5 percent as widely expected, extending its wait-and-see stance to eight months.In November last year, South Korea's central bank adjusted up the key rate for the first time in more than six years, citing economic recovery. Gov. Lee said the July decision

Korea’s manufacturing exporters need to set their sights on new business opportunities that would stem from an escalating trade war between the US and China, experts here say.Protracted trade friction between the world’s two biggest economies might also give them more room to prepare for the fallout from China’s ambitious plan to become a global power in major advanced industries by 2025.Behind President Donald Trump’s toughening stance against Beijing seems to be Washing

The Korea Blockchain Association on Wednesday gave a nod to the cybersecurity standards of 12 cryptocurrency exchanges in Korea, including major players such as Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax. This came over two months after the association launched a self-regulatory inspection in May of 14 member exchanges among the total 23, upon agreement by the exchanges.Exchanges that gained self-regulatory affirmation were 12 out of 14: Dexko, Hanbitco, OKCoin Korea, Huobi Korea, Bithumb, Upbit, Neofra

The South Korean central bank is expected to hold the country's key rate at the current 1.5 percent in its upcoming monetary policy meeting amid rising uncertainties at home and abroad, market insiders said Wednesday.The Korea Financial Investment Association said that in its latest poll, 89 percent of 100 local bond traders forecast a rate freeze at the BOK meeting scheduled for Thursday.Global investment banks and credit appraisers, such as HSBC and Moody's, also expected the BOK to not move t

Korea's jobless rate fell slightly in June due to a rise in employment in the health care, public service and financial sectors, but the number of newly created positions remained sluggish, government data showed Wednesday.The unemployment rate stood at 3.7 percent last month, down 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier, according to the report compiled by Statistics Korea.The number of employed people reached 27.12 million in June, up 106,000 from the same one-month period in 2017, according