South Korea's trade commission decided Thursday to uphold the existing anti-dumping tariff on imported Chinese H-shaped steel beams. The move will extend the anti-dumping tariff, which has been in force since July 2015, by another five-year period, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. H-shaped structural steel beams are widely used in building large structures. The domestic market for the product was estimated at 2.2 trillion won ($2 billion) in 2019, or 2.8 million tons.

Foreign workers earning income in South Korea should file their year-end tax settlements for 2020 before they receive February’s salary, the tax agency said Thursday. According to the National Tax Service, foreign employees are required to settle their year-end taxes by submitting related documents to their employers between Jan. 15 and March 2. The process determines whether they owe more taxes or qualify for reimbursement of income taxes paid over the past year. The procedure is cover

In 10 weeks, 17% climb seen in Ilsan, 15% in Paju

South Korea said Thursday it plans to expand subsidies provided for electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel-cell automobiles this year in line with the country's green energy drive. Under the plan, South Korea will allocate 1 trillion won ($930 billion) to promote sales of electric cars, which marks a 25 percent rise from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The budget allocated for hydrogen cars will also reach 365.5 billion won, up 52 percent on-year. The cou

The number of beef cattle in South Korea rose nearly 4 percent in the fourth quarter of the year on increased beef consumption, government data showed Thursday. Asia's fourth-largest economy had 3.36 million beef cattle, including Korean-breed cattle known as "hanwoo" here, as of Dec. 1, up 3.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It represents the largest-ever fourth-quarter tally since the statistical agency began tracking related data in 1983.

Local retail sales of processed rice products shot up nearly 11 percent in 2019 from a year earlier due to the growing demand from single-member households while more people opt for convenient meals, data showed Thursday. Retail sales of processed rice products, including ready-to-eat steamed rice, porridge, and noodles, came to 884 billion won ($804 million) in 2019, compared with 797.3 billion won posted in 2018, according to the latest data provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and R

South Korea's exports rose 10.6 percent on-year in the first 20 days of January on the back of robust shipments of chips and autos amid the pandemic, customs data showed Thursday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $28.2 billion in the Jan. 1-20 period, compared with $25.5 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Per-day exports also grew 10.6 percent on-year during the cited period. Imports inched up 1.5 percent on-year to $28.6 billion in the 20-da

South Korea's producer prices rose 0.7 percent on month in December last year, aided by a modest rise in prices of farm goods, central bank data showed Thursday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, stood at 103.78 in December, compared with 103.09 a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Compared with a year earlier, the index rose 0.1 percent, the BOK data showed. In November last year, producer prices stayed flat, underscoring lackluster demand

The new administration of US President Joe Biden is expected to have a positive impact on South Korea's exports as he pledged to reverse the Trump administration's protectionism and trade wars, along with a massive economic relief package. However, trade tension between the US and China is likely to persist as he is predicted to confront Beijing by stepping up cooperation with Washington's European and Asian allies, although Biden is unlikely to engage in a trade war seen under Trump. "Wh

The government will extend some 38.4 trillion won ($34.86 billion) in financial support for companies and small merchants suffering from liquidity crunch ahead of Lunar New Year’s Day, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday. The size of the financial support package, usually planned weeks before the holiday to spur spending, has increased by 2.1 trillion won from last year. The three-day Lunar New Year holiday kicks off on Feb. 11. “Although the third wave of the COVID-19 epidemic

South Korea plans to monitor foreign exchange liquidity conditions for non-banking institutions on a monthly basis in a bid to ease potential market jitters caused by their dollar crunch, the finance ministry said Wednesday. The Ministry of Economy and Finance unveiled a set of measures to reduce non-bank institutions' FX liquidity risks as a market rout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic brought to the fore their vulnerability to external shocks. "The government drew up measures to manage F

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Wednesday it plans to temporarily remove tariffs on imported egg products to resolve a supply shortage sparked by the outbreak of highly pathogenic bird flu here. The move, which is set to be finalized next week, would allow local companies to import up to a combined 50,000 tons of fresh eggs and seven other types of egg products without tariffs until the end of June, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. This will mark a sha

Jobs offered by the government and state-run companies grew by the largest-ever in 2019 on the back of a state policy to increase hiring in the public sector, data showed Wednesday. A total of 2.6 million people were employed in 2019 by the public sector, up 151,000, or 6.1 percent, from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Jobs offered by the public sector are positions in central and provincial governments and state-run firms. The tally marked the largest on-year

The number of registered vehicles in South Korea grew nearly 3 percent in 2020 from a year earlier, with that of green cars exceeding the 800,000 mark, government data showed Wednesday. The total number of car registrations came to 24,365,979 units at the end of last year, up 2.9 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The number translates into one vehicle for every 2.13 people living in Asia's fourth-largest economy. Las

W130b to be spent on homegrown vaccines, treatments