South Korea’s money supply to gross domestic product ratio came to 151.5 percent last year, higher than the Organization for Economic Cooperation Development average, data from the World Bank and Korea Center for International Finance showed Wednesday. The country’s high money supply-GDP ratio -- a measure of financial deepening -- indicates economic activity has been sluggish this year, with stagnant real estate investments and bank deposits, despite growth in the volume of currency

SEJONG -- For South Koreans who say they do not support the incumbent administration, jobs are one of the main reasons cited in polls. President Moon Jae-in’s detractors say the government’s labor policies consist largely of pouring taxpayers’ money into the creation of temporary jobs in the public sector.Critics point to figures showing improved employment rates for senior citizens, who gained temporary jobs at public institutions, but bleaker outcomes for those in their 40s i

Stationery products featuring characters from Disney animation “Frozen 2” are displayed at E-mart’s Yongsan Station branch, Wednesday. The South Korean retail giant said it would sell 10 types of stationery and accessories made by Australian brand Smiggle featuring characters from the hit movie at 50 of its stores nationwide.Since opening six days ago, “Frozen 2” has dominated box offices here, attracting 319,499 moviegoers as of Tuesday. (khnews@heraldcor

South Korean business sentiment remains weak for December amid Sino-American trade tensions and the slowing global economy, a think tank said Wednesday.The business survey index of the country's top 600 companies by sales came to 90 for next month, down from 92.7 for November, according to the Korea Economic Research Institute affiliated with the Federation of Korean Industries, the top business lobby.A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists, while a figure above the benchmark me

Shipments in South Korea's manufacturing and mining industry rose 3.4 percent in 2018 from a year earlier due mainly to growth in refined petroleum and petrochemical and chemical sectors, data showed Wednesday.  Combined shipments by manufacturers and mining companies with more than 10 employees reached 1,567 trillion won ($1.3 trillion), up 52.1 trillion won from 2017, according to the data from Statistics Korea.  The hike is attributable to a 22.8 percent gain in shipments from

Prices of safe assets, such as gold and bonds, in South Korea are turning bearish, market data showed Wednesday, as investor risk appetite has been revived on hopes of a Sino-US trade deal and other positives.The yellow metal, one of the most common safe assets, finished at 55,140 won ($46.9) per gram on the country's gold exchange Tuesday, according to the data from the Korea Exchange.Tuesday's close was 10 percent lower than the 61,300 won recorded Aug. 13, the highest level since the gold exc

South Korea's trade terms continued to worsen for the 23rd consecutive month in October with its export prices slipping at a faster rate than those of imports, central bank data showed Tuesday.The terms of trade index for products came to 90.84 last month, down 3.4 percent from the same month last year, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The trade terms index measures the amount of imports a country can purchase for each unit of exports. A reading below 100 means import prices

Senior trade officials from South Korea, China and Japan will hold a fresh round of talks this week on forging a free trade deal among the three Asian neighbors, Seoul's trade ministry said Tuesday. Since launching the talks in 2012, the three nations have made little headway toward a deal that, if successful, would create one of the world's largest economic blocs.  This week's talks, the 16th round of negotiations, will be held starting Wednesday for three days in Seoul, according to the M

BUSAN -- Industry Minister Sung Yun-mo said Monday that South Korea had created momentum for the liberalization of regional trade and cooperation through the 2019 ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit. Speaking to reporters at the summit venue in Busan, Sung said free trade and multilateralism were currently facing challenges, including a trade war between the US and China as well as Japan’s economic restrictions against Korea.  “Amid the ongoing trade friction, it is very meaningful t

Government is ‘relatively’ optimistic despite overwhelmingly dismal signals

Park Young-sun is a veteran female politician who has frequently made the news with her boldness and initiatives. She now serves as minister of small and medium enterprises and startups. Since taking office in March, Minister Park has shown outstanding political power and careful attention to detail. But SMEs increasingly face challenges, such as the advent of the “fourth industrial revolution” and the increased minimum wage. The Korea Herald interviewed Minister Park about possible

Finance minister to emphasize Korean government’s efforts to improve economic vitality through investment, exports

South Korea's economy is expected to grow 2.1 percent next year, after posting an estimated growth of 1.9 percent this year, as the global economy's slowdown is likely to end in the coming months, according to a Goldman Sachs report on Saturday.The US bank's forecast was lower than the 2.2 percent economic growth for this year projected by the Bank of Korea in July."We expect the global growth slowdown that began in early 2018 to end soon, in response to easier financial conditions and an e

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Thursday slashed its growth outlook for South Korea's economy this year to 2 percent amid a slowdown in global trade.The OECD's outlook represented a drop from its previous forecast of 2.1 percent in September. It said the South Korean economy would grow 2.3 percent in 2020, unchanged from its previous forecast."Economic growth will remain subdued, as the global slowdown and trade tensions hold back exports, while high unce

South Korea's household income inequality narrowed in the third quarter of 2019 from a year earlier, data showed Thursday, as employment situations of the low-income bracket improved amid efforts to bridge the income gap.The average household earned 4.87 million won ($4,100) per month in the July-September period, up 2.7 percent from the previous year, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.The monthly average income of the bottom 20 percent income bracket came to 1.37 million won in