South Korea's finance ministry said Thursday it has designated 10 industrial sectors for deregulation, including artificial intelligence and biotechnology, to help them develop technologies and services with fewer regulatory hurdles. Other industrial sectors include mobility service, new medical technologies, biotechnology, fintech, tourism and e-commerce, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement. Companies in the industrial sectors are expected to develop products without re

SEJONG -- South Korea will swiftly implement its fiscal spending as China's rapidly spreading coronavirus epidemic is expected to cast a shadow on the nation's fragile economic recovery, a senior official said Thursday. The spread of the virus is likely to have an "unexpected" impact on the nation's economic growth, Vice Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol said in a meeting with relevant economic officials earlier in the day. South Korea has planned to spend 62 percent of its budget in t

South Korea's current account surplus narrowed sharply in December as its exports fell at a faster rate than imports, central bank data showed Thursday. The country's current account surplus came to $4.33 billion in the month, down $1.64 billion from the month before, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The reading also marks a $580 million drop from the same month in 2018. The country's current account balance has been in the black for eight consecutive months since May 201

Government promises tax benefits for affected businesses, strong measures to prevent monopolies of masks and sanitizers

South Korea on Wednesday unveiled a financial package worth 820 billion won ($690 million) to help modernize aging passenger boats and cargo vessels. The package is meant to help smaller shipping companies build 59 new ships -- 21 passenger boats and 38 cargo vessels, the Financial Services Commission said. Under a plan, a shipping company can receive financial help, up to 60 percent of costs needed for building a ship, from banks, and South Korea's state-run Korea Ocean Business Corp. guaran

South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves surged to a record high of $409.6 billion in January, surpassing its previous record from December, the nation’s central bank data showed Wednesday. The increase in reserves came despite a strong US dollar trend, which weakened the dollar value of other foreign currencies held by Korea, the Bank of Korea said. But a rise in profits and investment returns of other foreign assets under the country’s management contributed to the la

South Korea said Wednesday it will hold a series of meetings with counterparts in Russia and Azerbaijan this week as part of the country's drive to forge deeper ties with emerging countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. A South Korean delegation of trade officials plans to discuss ways to promote exchanges of goods and services, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy. South Korea has been seeking to expand cooperation with Russia, especially in materials, parts, and eq

Concerns are escalating over South Korea's export performance down the road amid the new coronavirus crisis, but officials say no serious fallout has been reported yet. It is widely feared that the outbreak and spread of the novel coronavirus, which is believed to have originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, will dampen China's economic growth in the first quarter. China is South Korea's leading export market, with slightly over 25 percent of its overseas shipments going to the world's secon

Major South Korean companies sharply cut payments of performance-based pay and dividends for 2019 due to abysmal earnings, industry sources said Wednesday. Top-cap Samsung Electronics Co. recently decided to lower the maximum amount of performance pay for workers at its semiconductor division to 29 percent of their annual salary from 50 percent in 2018. Samsung's operating income tumbled 53 percent on-year to 27.7 trillion won ($23.4 billion) last year due mainly to a protracted slump in chip

A majority of South Korea's monetary policy board members apparently see gradual but definite signs of improvements in economic conditions surrounding the country, minutes from their latest rate-setting meeting showed Tuesday, possibly indicating the board may stand pat on rate cuts for some time. "The local economy continues to face an overall slump but is showing signs of improvement in certain sectors," one of the board's seven members told the meeting held Jan. 17, according to t

South Korea is set to approve tougher penalties Tuesday against those who engage in hoarding of protective masks, as China's coronavirus outbreak has sparked a sharp rise in demand for such masks, officials said.  Under the tougher penalties, a person who engages in hoarding of protective masks will face a prison sentence of a maximum two years or a maximum fine of 50 million won ($42,108), the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement. Such penalties will go into effect Wedne

South Korea's financial authorities said Tuesday that they are working on a plan to provide emergency liquidity to smaller firms and self-employed people hit hard by a new coronavirus. The plan includes extension the maturity of debts and provision of fresh loans to eligible smaller firms and self-employed people, officials said. Businesses that could be eligible for the financial assistance are likely to include restaurants, lodging facilities and others in the tourism sector. The authoriti

SEJONG --South Korea's consumer prices rose 1.5 percent on-year in January, marking their fastest gain in 14 months, the statistics agency said Tuesday. The country's inflation also rose 0.6 percent on-month in January on the back of increased prices of agricultural and industrial products, according to Statistics Korea. Core inflation, which excludes agricultural and petroleum products, increased 0.9 percent from a year earlier. Utility prices were unchanged on-year in January, while prices

Seoul ups guard against downside risks amid rapid epidemic spread

The South Korean government’s intervention in the foreign exchange market, including the buying and selling of US dollars, has so far helped stabilize volatile exchange rates, a report released by the nation’s central bank showed Monday. According to the Bank of Korea’s recent report on the local foreign exchange industry, the government’s decision to purchase around $100 million from 2005 to 2018 helped rein in currency volatility by 0.003 percentage point in terms of