Exports could be a breakthrough for the South Korean economy in the post-coronavirus era, a state-run trade agency said Monday. Despite numerous uncertainties that are expected to linger in 2021, the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency raised its exports forecast for next year, saying semiconductors and biotech products, among others, are likely to lead the gains. Overseas shipments would grow 6-7 percent in 2021 to reach $540 billion-560 billion next year, from around $510 bil

South Korean exports of instant noodles jumped more than 28 percent in the first 11 months of the year amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Monday. Overseas shipments of instant noodles, or "ramyeon" in Korean, came to $549.72 million in the January-November period, up 28.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service and industry players. It was well above last year's total exports of $467 million. The surge was ascribed to the global popu

South Korea is considering providing rental assistance to smaller merchants hard hit by the new coronavirus outbreak, when it will give them another round of emergency handouts next month, people familiar with the matter said Sunday. The move comes as more smaller merchants and self-employed people are facing the growing burdens of paying rental fees due to the government's order to suspend their business amid the protracted pandemic. The country is preparing to provide more than 3 trillion wo

The state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB), the main creditor of SsangYong Motor Corp., is set to decide on whether to roll over maturing loans extended to the financially troubled automaker this week, industry sources said Sunday. Last week, SsangYong already missed the repayment of 60 billion won ($54.8 million) of debt to its three creditors. According to the sources, KDB will discuss whether to roll over 90 billion won in loans due Monday. The South Korean subsidiary of Indian carmaker Ma

With a new wave of coronavirus infections gripping the nation, South Korea’s economy this month faces growing uncertainties, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Friday. In its monthly economic report, called the “Green Book,” the ministry has upgraded its concerns on Asia’s fourth-largest economy by a notch, saying that the uncertainties are “expanding.” It has previously said that the uncertainties were “continuing” in the reports released i

SEJONG -- South Korea's exports dropped at the fastest clip in 2019 due to sluggish overseas demand for semiconductors, government data showed Friday. The country's overseas shipments stood at $541.2 billion last year, down 10.3 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea and the Korea Customs Service. Large companies in Asia's fourth-largest economy suffered bigger declines than smaller businesses. Combined exports of 857 large corporations sank 13.5 percent

South Korea and France on Friday agreed to continue to support multilateralism over protectionism to overcome the economic fallout from the virus pandemic, and to expand cooperation in various areas from vaccines to green cars. "This year, the two countries have worked deeply together in multilateral frameworks, such as the Group of 20 and the OECD, to promote the travel of products, services and workforces despite the COVID-19 pandemic," Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee said during her m

South Korea formally inked a comprehensive trade deal with Indonesia on Friday, paving the way for local exporters to penetrate deeper into the Southeast Asian market. Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo met his Indonesian counterpart Agus Suparmanto here to sign the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The pact now needs a parliamentary approval. The two countries resumed their talks in 2019 after a five-year hiatus. The CEP

SEJONG -- South Korea's overseas direct investment tumbled 24 percent in the third quarter of the year as the coronavirus pandemic dented global investment flows, government data showed Friday.  The value of investments made by South Korean companies came to $10.77 billion in the July-September period, down 23.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Economy and Finance. It marked the third consecutive quarterly decline. Overseas direct investment fell 4 p

South Korea's consumer prices are expected to grow at a faster pace in the next two years due to an economic recovery and rising rent, a central bank report said Thursday. South Korea's consumer inflation is forecast to reach 1 percent in 2021 and 1.5 percent the next year, according to the report from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The country's core inflation, excluding volatile food and energy prices, is projected to come to 1 percent and 1.3 percent in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The BOK said

South Korea’s outbound shipments of music albums and videos reached an all-time high this year, in the wake of growing popularity of K-pop acts worldwide, data showed Thursday. According to data from the Korea Customs Service, the export amounts surged by 94.9 percent on-year to $170 million for the January to November period. It was based on the export declaration data of physical CDs and DVDs. Records of online music downloads and streaming services were not included. Album exports so

Since July, average price up 28% in Sejong, 9% in Seoul

South Korean companies' sales declined at a slower pace in the third quarter than three months earlier as the manufacturing sector fared better amid improving exports, central bank data showed Thursday. Sales of local businesses fell 3.2 percent in the July-September period from a year earlier, slowing from a record 10.1 percent fall in the second quarter, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The pace of a fall in corporate sales eased last quarter, but it marked the seventh con

South Korea plans to implement its economic policy next year to maintain economic recovery momentum and prepare for a post-pandemic era, the finance ministry said Thursday. The South Korean economy is expected to grow 3.2 percent next year, following this year's estimated contraction of 1.1 percent, the first contraction since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The ministry's 2020 and 2021 growth outlooks are lower than its June projection of

The income gap between the haves and have-nots in South Korean narrowed to a fresh record low in 2019, as the bottom 20 percent income bracket saw their income rise due to state welfare support, data showed Thursday. The Gini coefficient measured with disposable income, a gauge of income inequality, came in at 0.339 last year, down from 0.345 the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. A reading of zero means complete income equality, while higher numbers nearing one indica