South Korea will push ahead with privately financed infrastructure projects worth more than 30 trillion won ($25.1 billion) this year, as part of its efforts to revive the coronavirus-battered economy, the Finance Ministry said Thursday. The projects include construction of highways as well as sewage systems, worth 4.5 trillion won and 2.3 trillion won, respectively, said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki in a meeting with economy-related ministers.  The authorities

  SEJONG -- The number of beef cattle in South Korea hit a record high in the second quarter of the year amid rising beef prices, government data showed Thursday.  There were 3.33 million beef cattle, including Korean-bread cattle known as "hanwoo," in the country as of June 1, up 2.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by Statistics Korea.  It marks the largest-ever tally since the statistical agency began tracking related data in 1986.  The s

South Korea's economy contracted at a sharper rate than what had been expected in the second quarter, delivering the worst performance in over two decades, as the pandemic hammered outbound shipments and private spending in Asia's fourth-largest economy, central bank data showed Thursday. In the April-June period, the country's real gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 2.9 percent from the same period last year, marking the slowest growth since a 3.8 percent on-year contraction in the last thre

Calling tax revision ‘neutral,’ fiscal chief says enhanced rich tax not a tax hike attempt

Exports by South Korean small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sank at a double-digit rate in the second quarter of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Wednesday. Local SMEs' overseas shipments came to $22.5 billion in the April-June period, down 13.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, marking a sharp turnaround from the 2 percent on-year increase in their exports in the first quarter, which were worth $24.2 bil

SEJONG -- The number of young South Koreans preparing for job exams rose in May this year, data showed Wednesday, as job markets are hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The data released by Statistics Korea showed that 804,000, or 17 percent, of 4.73 million economically inactive youths aged 15-29 prepared for exams in May to land jobs, up 1.7 percentage points from the same period last year. Among the 804,000 people, 28.3 percent were preparing for state exams to become low-ranking public

The number of people using financial mobile apps, including for banking and stock trading, has surpassed users of apps for online shopping and games, industry data showed Wednesday. According to the data by mobile big data platform IGAWorks, a total of 31.16 million people with Android devices used financial applications in June, compared with 23.63 million people using e-commerce apps and 19.84 million mobile game users. "The number of financial app users greatly increased following the

Buoyed by the recovery of global oil prices, South Korea’s producer price index rose 0.5 percent on-month in June, ending a monthslong slide, the nation’s central bank said Tuesday. The producer price index for all commodities and services here inched up 0.5 percent on-month to 102.52, data released by the Bank of Korea showed. It had remained flat in May after extending a decline in the February-April period, weighed down by the coronavirus pandemic. “The recovery of global

South Korea's overall wealth grew at a slightly slower pace than a year before in 2019, central bank data showed Tuesday, amid a prolonged decline in exports that also kept its economy growing at the slowest pace in a decade. The country's national assets came to 16,621.5 trillion won ($13.84 trillion) as of the end of last year, up 6.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the national balance sheet from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The rise marks a slowdown from an 8.2 percent on-year incre

South Korea said Tuesday it will speed up efforts to expand its free trade agreement (FTA) networks to overcome the economic jitters sparked by the new coronavirus pandemic. "South Korea will not only focus on opening markets but seek to build a sustainable partnership with developing nations on the back of FTAs," Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo said during a conference with business organizations and companies held in Seoul. The remark came amid concerns that the COVID-19 pandemic is

SEJONG -- South Korea's exports dropped 12.8 percent on-year in the first 20 days of July amid the economic fallout from the new coronavirus, customs data showed Tuesday. The nation's outbound shipments stood at $24.6 billion in the July 1-20 period, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. The daily average exports during the 20-day period also declined 7.1 percent. The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted trade and halted production around the globe, with a rising number of cou

Taking impact from the COVID-19 fallout, South Korea’s household debt compared to its economic size has become one of the world’s highest, while its debt grew at one of the fastest paces during the first quarter this year, a report showed Monday. As of the end of March this year, Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw its household debt stand at 97.9 percent of its gross domestic product, which was the highest among the 39 countries reviewed by the US-based Institute of Internatio

South Korea has been seeing an increase in zombie firms -- especially those who have been incapable of covering annual borrowing costs for more than two years –- and they have been dragging down the manufacturing sector’s labor productivity, a report by the nation’s central bank said Monday. The Bank of Korea defined zombie firms as at least 10 years old and unable to cover debt servicing costs from current profits due to struggling with an interest coverage ratio below 1 for

South Koreans' overseas securities investment soared to a record high in the first half of the year on brisk stock purchases, data showed Monday. Local investors' transactions of overseas securities were valued at $142.4 billion in the January-June period, up 63.4 percent from the second half of 2019, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository (KSD). The figure marks the highest half-year tally since data tracking began in 2011 and accounts for nearly 83 percent of last year'

SEJONG -- The employment rate for people in their 40s in South Korea hit a 21-year low in June as the coronavirus pandemic hammered job markets, data showed Monday. According to the data from the nation's statistics agency, the employment rate for 40-somethings stood at 76.9 percent last month, marking the lowest rate since June 1999. An official at Statistics Korea attributed the decline to lackluster performances in the wholesale and retail sectors, which were hit hard by the coronavirus