3 in 5 workers say they won't be able to use remaining vacation time before it expires at the end of the year

The South Korean economy expanded 0.4 percent from three months earlier in the third quarter as earlier estimated, the Bank of Korea said in its latest revision released Tuesday.The third quarter growth estimate remained unchanged from preliminary figures released in late October despite slight upward revisions to consumer spending and overall exports as a large drop in construction investment offset the gains, it said.Domestic spending grew 0.2 percent from three months earlier in the July-Sept

SEJONG -- More than 3 million of the working-age population, aged 15-64, in South Korea have been de facto out of work, while the government highlighted that the nation’s jobless people stayed under 1 million (864,000) last month with official unemployment rate falling to 3 percent.According to the Supplementary Index for Employment III, a database held by Statistics Korea, the extended (or sentiment-reflected) jobless rate posted 10.6 percent as of October 2019.The figure is generated fro

South Korea has completed repayment of a total of 48.7 trillion won ($41.2 billion) worth of Treasury debts sold for this year, the finance ministry said Monday. By repaying 1.5 trillion won worth of the debt last Thursday, the government bought back all Treasury bills that were sold for this year, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement.  Such debts are usually sold to raise money to cover short-term financial shortfalls, and thus are generally sold with a maturity of less

South Korea's consumer prices rose 0.2 percent on-year in November, marking the first gain in four months, the statistics agency said Monday.The consumer price index stood at 104.87 in November, compared with 104.71 for the same month last year, Statistics Korea said in a statement.The November reading was followed by zero growth in October and the first negative inflation rate in September that sparked fears of deflation.However, the November inflation rate was below market expectations. A surv

SEJONG -- South Korea has yet to see any positive signals of an economic revival although the government predicted it would bounce back in the second half of the year.The financial woes of companies are continuing while the stock market is lackluster. In addition, another round of the US dollar’s strong position is aggravating the situation.Korea saw its exports fall by 10.3 percent during the Jan. 1-Nov. 20 period, on year, according to the Korea Customs Service. The nation’s outbou

Negative signals weigh down final growth outcome

South Korea's per capita national debt exceeded 14 million won ($11,864) and is expected to double by 2028, data showed Sunday, amid concerns that such ballooning debt could weigh on the nation's fiscal health. According to the National Assembly Budget Office, per capita national debt stood at 14.18 million won as of Saturday. In comparison, per capita national debt was 7.23 million won in 2009. The office predicted that South Korea's national debt may rise to 1,490 trillion won in 2028, compare

South Korea’s central bank on Friday left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 1.25 percent, while cutting its economic growth forecast for this year to the lowest level in a decade. The widely expected decision to keep its policy rate frozen follows the Bank of Korea’s Monetary Policy Board’s move in October to trim the rate by 25 basis points to the current rate. It had come merely three months after cutting the rate to 1.5 percent in July. The central bank is likely to m

The Bank of Korea Friday kept its policy rate frozen for the remainder of the year to see the impact of recent rate cuts on Asia's fourth-largest economy.But the central bank again trimmed its growth outlook for this year and next year amid still prevailing headwinds.BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said the local economy is estimated to grow 2 percent on-year in 2019 and 2.3 percent next year.The figures mark downward revisions from the 2.2 percent for 2019 and 2.5 percent for 2020 forecast in July."T

South Korea will create momentum for an economic rebound next year, the country's chief economic policymaker said Thursday.  Asia's fourth-largest economy suffered a setback as exports slowed amid a global economic slowdown and the trade dispute between the United States and China.  About 40 percent of South Korean exports go to the US and China -- South Korea's top two trading partners and the world's two largest economies.   The International Monetary Fund has recently lowe

South Korea, China and Japan are in final talks to accept a United Nations aviation agency's proposal for an agreement critical for the safety of flights near Korea's southern resort island of Jeju, the transport ministry said Thursday.South Korean and Japanese air traffic controllers have been directing north-south flights and east-west flights, respectively, in the "Akara corridor," which is part of South Korean airspace. Japan has shepherded flights between Shanghai and Japan on beh

The South Korean economy added 464,000 jobs in the second quarter of 2019 from a year earlier, government data showed Thursday.There were 18.68 million salaried jobs in the second quarter, compared with 18.22 million a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea.The figure represents a decline from the first quarter of this year when 503,000 jobs were created.The statistics agency said the economy added 162,000 jobs in health care and social welfare, and 77,000 jobs in the wholesal

South Korea's trade commission said Thursday it will soon decide whether to extend the existing anti-dumping tariff on stainless steel plates imported from Japan, which was first imposed in 2011.Currently, Seoul slaps an anti-dumping tariff rate of 13.17 percent on imported Japanese steel plates, according to the Korea Trade Commission. South Korea previously extended the measure once in 2016, which will run through December. The tariff mainly targets those from Japan's Nippon Steel Stainless St

South Korea has used almost 91 percent of this year's extra budget, to boost economic growth and support the parts and materials sector, the finance ministry said Thursday.The implementation of 5.3 trillion won ($4.5 billion) is equal to 90.7 percent of the 5.8 trillion-won extra budget, according to the ministry.In August, South Korea's parliament passed the extra budget to counter downside economic risks and cope with Japanese restrictions on exports to South Korea of high-tech materials, amon