The US Congress has called on the United States Trade Representative to arrange for a consultation meeting in regards to any amendments to the free trade pact with South Korea, Seoul's trade promotion agency said Tuesday. Four leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives sent a letter to the US Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer, urging the office to "consult closely with Congress before meeting with South Korea and throughout its discussions," the Korea International Trad

South Korean stocks trimmed earlier losses Tuesday morning as institutions and individuals bought stocks on bargain hunting. The won traded higher against the dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Indexa backtracked 1.75 points, or 0.07 percent, from the previous day's close to stand at 2,423.35 as of 11:20 a.m.Institutions and individuals bought a combined 85 billion won ($75 million) worth of stocks. Foreigners sold a net 93 billion won, pulling down the main index. Market be

The approved minimum wage increase next year will incur 1.75 trillion won ($1.55 billion) in additional pay for small and medium-sized enterprises that hire foreign workers, a local business association said Tuesday.Some 269,000 foreigners were working an average of 209 hours per month at local companies as of May this year. The hike in minimum wage will raise their monthly pay by 332,891 won, which covers basic pay, overtime and employee insurance, according to the Korea Federation of SMEs.&nbs

The number of child rearing-related economically inactive South Koreans fell to a record low level this year amid the country's chronic low birthrate, government data showed Tuesday. Economically inactive people refer to those who are unemployed and not looking for jobs. They include those who have intentionally given up seeking jobs or are engaged in educational pursuits.  According to the data provided by Statistics Korea, the number of economically inactive people aged over 15 stood at 1

Financial Services Commission Chairman nominee Choi Jong-ku on Monday denied allegations that the regulator gave a preliminary endorsement for the license of K bank, the nation’s first internet-only bank, despite it not meeting the requirements.“I do not believe that FSC officials would have jumped to conclusions with certain intentions and given favors,” Choi said during a confirmation hearing at the National Assembly. But Choi added he would take due measures, if the approval

Bank of Korea’s upward revision last week of its 2017 growth forecast for the Korean economy was overshadowed by its gloomier estimate of the growth potential of Asia’s fourth-largest economy.The central bank revised up its growth outlook for this year to 2.8 percent from the 2.6 percent estimate in April. It cited a rise in exports and facility investment, which is expected to be coupled with a gradual improvement in private consumption in the second half of the year.In a move that

South Korean stocks ended at a fresh record high Monday taking a cue from gains on Wall Street last week. The won rose against the US dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 10.47 points, or 0.43 percent, to close at a record high of 2,425.10. Trade volume was moderate at 252.17 million shares worth 4.82 trillion won ($4.27 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 526 to 279.Institutional investors bought a net 110.77 billion won worth of stocks on expectations that

According to a report on the new government’s new energy supply plan submitted to Rep. Choi Yeon-hye of the Liberty Korea Party, Korea’s target is similar to those of major countries and regions. But careful consideration of the effectiveness of the plan is needed considering the limited land space, a key factor in expanding sunlight and wind power generation, and the nation’s high reliance on energy imports, the lawmaker said.

Korea’s export price index of semiconductors hit 48.79 last month, reaching the highest in more than two years, according to the Bank of Korea on Monday. 　Last month’s price index of semiconductors was a 14.2 percent increase compared to December last year and marked the highest since December 2014 when it stood at 49.05. According to the BOK, the price hike is attributed to global rising demand for Korean chips.　Exports of flash memory chips, widely used in smartphones, increased by

　It takes the average Korean worker more than 100 minutes to commute to and from work every day, according to data from Job Korea, an internet employment site, on Monday. For Seoul residents, the average daily commute was 2 hours and 15 minutes.　Job Korea surveyed 820 men and women and found that the average worker spent 101.1 minutes commuting to and from work. Those surveyed said their commute to work takes roughly 48.1 minutes, while heading home from work takes 53 minutes.　The survey also sh

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday tracking gains on Wall Street, with investors waiting for second-quarter earnings results from big companies due out later this month.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 11.89 points, or 0.49 percent, to a high of 2,426.52 in the first 15 minutes of trading.On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 0.39 percent at 21,637.74 and the tech-heavy NASDAQ was up 0.61 percent to 6,312.47. Companies such as Samsung Electronics Co. and

Stock trading via smartphones accounted for an average 34.48 percent of daily trading on the secondary KOSDAQ market during the first half of this year, the nation's bourse operator said Monday. In 2010, stock trading via smartphones took up just 3.8 percent of the KOSDAQ market, according to the Korea Exchange. Mobile stock trading in South Korea has jumped over the past seven years, mainly due to brokerages' stepped-up marketing efforts for smartphone users.  Last year, stock trading via

A nominee for the nation’s financial watchdog on Sunday addressed the need to ease ownership regulations on non-financial entities in the banking sector to promote additional launches of internet-only banks.　Choi Jong-ku, the nominee for chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said a pending bill on easing up Korea‘s existing banking laws to accommodate non-financial industries owning bank stakes, should be decided considering the nature of internet-only banks designed to cove

South Korea's car exports to the United States have declined, rather than increased, after the two countries abolished import taxes last year as part of their free trade agreement, data showed Sunday.  The Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association published the analysis that rebuts a widespread belief in the US that lower tariffs increased Korean car sales in the country. It underlies the recent US calls for amendments to their five-year-old FTA. Korea's car exports to the US have increase