South Korea’s potential growth rate has declined for decades, reflecting the nation’s aging society, slowing capital accumulation and changing job market, a think tank report showed Wednesday. Asia’s fourth-largest economy’s potential growth rate – gross domestic product per person aged 15 and over – by decade came to an average 2.1 percent in the 2010s, compared with 7.6 percent in the 1980s, according to the Korea Economic Research Institute. The figure has

South Korean steelmakers appear to be in the final stage of negotiations with shipbuilders over prices of thick steel plates, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday. Posco, the country's largest steelmaker, has reportedly proposed a hike in the prices of thick steel plates -- a key material that accounts for about one-fifth of shipbuilding costs -- to 1.15 million won ($980) per ton. The offer marked a sharp increase from the first half of this year when thick steel plates were sold at

The real estate investment trust (REIT) unit of SK Group, South Korea's No. 3 conglomerate, said Wednesday it will carry out an initial public offering in September. SK REIT said it will sell 46.5 million shares to investors in the planned IPO, whose specific date has yet to be unveiled. Its public offering price has been set at 5,000 won ($4.26) per share, with the company seeking to raise about 233 billion won through the IPO. After a demand forecast session for institutions on Aug. 23-24,

South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. said Wednesday it will reduce production at its US plant this week due to a chip shortage. Hyundai Motor will cut vehicle production at the Alabama plant from Tuesday to Friday (US time) over a lack of semiconductor parts, a company spokesman said over the phone. The Alabama plant halted operations for one week last month due to the same problem. From January to July, Hyundai's vehicle sales rose 22% to 2.34 million units from 1.92 million in the year-ago perio

South Korea's exports of automobiles edged down 2.9 percent in July from a year earlier as the global supply shortages of automotive chips hindered production, data showed Wednesday. Outbound shipments of automobiles reached 181,046 units in July, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of value, exports advanced 12.3 percent to $4.1 billion. The ministry attributed the decrease to a low base effect, as overseas shipments of cars gathered ground in July 2020 after the

The global semiconductor market is expected to expand 25.1 percent this year on the back of robust growth from the memory sector, a report from an industry tracker showed Wednesday, amid concerns of a slowdown in demand. World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS), a nonprofit organization of chipmakers, said the global semiconductor market is expected to grow to $551 billion in 2021, up from its previous forecast of $527.2 billion. It also revised up the market growth for the year to 25.1 p

Sales by major companies in South Korea rose nearly 10 percent in the first half of the year in spite of the coronavirus pandemic with their total operating profit more than doubling, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. Combined sales of 225 out of the country's top 500 firms came to 1,127.4 trillion won ($960 billion) in the January-June period, up 10.4 percent from a year earlier, according to CEO Score. Their operating profit stood at 105.1 trillion won in the six-month period, more than do

South Korea's industry ministry said Tuesday it has hosted a business roundtable with Kazakhstan and signed around two dozen business agreements, in a move to enhance economic ties with the Central Asian nation. During the meeting, Seoul and Nur-Sultan signed a set of 23 memorandums of understanding in various industries ranging from automobiles to the development of natural resources, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The move came during Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart

The number of employees for South Korea's major companies has declined by nearly 30,000 over the past three years, with global tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. having the largest workforce, a corporate tracker said Tuesday. The combined headcount of the country's top 100 firms stood at about 1.39 million as of the end of 2020, down slightly by over 27,000 from three years earlier, according to the CXO Institute. Last year alone, the number decreased by 9,000 from the previous year, marking t

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Tuesday the government plans to provide more than 70 percent of emergency relief funds to small merchants hard hit by the pandemic over the next two weeks. The move is aimed at accelerating the provision of cash handouts to pandemic-stricken merchants as the country is grappling with the fourth wave of the pandemic. The country plans to provide a total of 4.22 trillion won ($3.6 billion) in relief aid to micro business owners by the end of September as it crea

Some foreign cryptocurrency exchanges have distanced themselves from South Korea as Korean authorities are set to enforce tighter regulations against virtual coins. By Sept. 24, cryptocurrency exchanges targeting Korean investors must register with the nation's anti-money laundering body and disclose their details on risk management. Under the tougher regulations, banks will issue real-name accounts in line with stricter guidelines to prevent money laundering. Beginning Sept. 25, cryptocurrenc

South Korea's exports and imports of camping goods reached a fresh high in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, a report showed Tuesday. Asia's fourth-largest economy exported and imported $399 million worth of camping equipment last year, an all-time high and up 40 percent from the previous year, according to the report from the Korea Trade Statistics Promotion Institute. In the first half of this year alone, the country's trade in camping gear stood at $293 million, above the $285 million reg

Under the highly controversial Serious Accidents Punishment Act, which was codified by the National Assembly in January this year, business owners and responsible executives are required to comply with new health and safety obligations. A failure to comply with such requirements that results in serious bodily harm will subject them to significant civil liability and administrative/criminal penalties. The introduction of the act is seen as a legislative effort by the South Korean government to

Tax collection on properties, stocks up W33tr during pandemic

By The Investor team 　 The South Korean financial and investment market has been going through probably the biggest and fastest change in its modern history under the COVID-19 pandemic, which still shows no sign of abating. It may not be the case just for Asia’s fourth-largest economy, as global markets as a whole have also been greatly touched by the spread of the virus and a series of expansionary fiscal measures, as well as the lockdowns that followed. What appears to have made the