The government’s fiscal spending has a multiplier impact, augmenting the economy by about 1.3 times over five years, central bank data showed Monday.In a recent study by the Bank of Korea, the multiplier effects of government spending on the domestic economy stood at 1.27 over five years.The given index means that every 1 trillion won ($844 million) spent by the government will generate 1.27 trillion won in gross domestic product during the period.When the figure is low, it means that expa

Fiscal spending may have a greater impact on the economy than generally viewed, but the effect may take some time to take place, a central bank report said Monday.In a recent study conducted by the Bank of Korea, the multiplier effect of government spending on the local economy came to 1.27 over a five-year period. This means every 1 trillion won ($850 million) spent by the government will generate 1.27 trillion won in gross domestic product over a five-year period, the report said.Previously, t

SEJONG -- The Moon Jae-in administration has continued to push for “income-led” growth by raising the minimum wage and scaling back the workweek. This was aimed at boosting consumption by raising the disposable income of low-income households. This in turn was meant to boost growth in the overall economy.But drastic hikes in the minimum wage had side effects, as small and midsized businesses took a conservative stance toward hiring due to higher labor costs, which have been linked to

South Korea’s tax burden per capita will stand at an estimated 7.5 million won ($6,300) next year, slightly up from this year, and is poised to grow through 2023, according to data released by the government Sunday. The data comes amid growing concerns about a heavy tax burden in relation to the government’s expansionist fiscal operations, including efforts to change the tax system. The tax burden per capita, which stood at an estimated 7.4 million won this year, will increase by nea

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles to look into the weakening of the global economic framework in light of fading liberalism and the rise of trade protectionism and nationalism. This is the second installment. -- Ed.The World Trade Organization was birthed in 1995 as an advocate of free trade, persuading global economies to lower trade barriers through yearslong rounds of negotiations. Though it has slowly been losing its clout in recent years, the WTO continued to shine as a be

South Korea's jobless rate hit a six-year low in August, and job additions increased the most in 29 months, government data showed Wednesday.The unemployment rate fell 1 percentage point on-year to 3 percent in August from a year earlier, also marking the lowest level for any August since 2013. The number of employed people reached 27.3 million in August, a rise of 452,000 from the same month in 2018, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The number of jobs added is the largest sin

The new head of South Korea's antitrust regulator on Tuesday said the agency will crack down on tech companies over their abuse of monopoly power and dominant market position.Joh Sung-wook, the chairwoman of the Fair Trade Commission, said in her inaugural speech that the move is meant to facilitate market innovation, but she did not elaborate. She said last month that the antitrust regulator has been looking into alleged unfair trade practices by two US tech giants -- Google Inc. and Apple Inc.

SEJONG -- A large portion of online commenters say that the Moon Jae-in government should be held accountable for letting housing prices spiral out of control since taking office in May 2017.A variety of data showed that Seoul apartment prices climbed sharply between 2017 and 2018, compared to figures during past administrations.In 2012, apartment prices in Seoul posted the negative growth of 6.1 percent on-year, hit by the subprime mortgage fiasco in the US and the global financial crisis.Figur

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles to look into the weakening of global economic frameworks in light of fading liberalism and rise of trade protectionism and nationalism. This is the first installment. -- Ed.This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Bretton Woods Agreement, which laid the foundation of the liberal economic order in the post-World War era and led to the establishment of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.But it is also likely to be remembered as the

South Korea's economy is expected to expand 1.9 percent in 2019 from a year earlier, a local research institute said Sunday, posting sluggish growth due to the protracted trade dispute between the United States and China.The figure marks a decrease of 0.3 percentage point from the previous outlook of 2.2 percent suggested in June, according to the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI).The organization attributed the lackluster growth to the prolonged feud between the world's top two economies

The South Korean won is expected to further advance against the US dollar for some time on what analysts called long-awaited but unanticipated positive developments that helped remove some uncertainties facing Asia's fourth-largest economy.The local currency closed at 1,196.90 won to the greenback on Friday, up 3.30 won from Thursday's close, extending its gains to a third consecutive session. It marked the first time since Aug. 1 that the won-dollar exchange rate breached the 1,200-won mark.Fri

South Korea plans a record budget spending next year to help boost the country's exports, which have been lackluster for months in the face of growing trade frictions, such as that between the United States and China, the trade ministry said Friday.The budget of 1.07 trillion won ($891 million), earmarked to promote exports and diversify overseas markets, will be the first to break the 1 trillion-won mark, according to the Ministry of Trade, Investment and Energy.The country also plans to provid

Posco, Woori, Shinhan, Eximbank among entities seeing wider business opportunities

South Korea's current account surplus grew for a third consecutive month to a nine-month high in July on an increased trade surplus and a narrowing deficit in the service sector, central bank data showed Thursday.  The country's current account surplus came to  $6.95 billion in the month, the highest since October 2018, when the country posted a $9.35 billion surplus, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.   The country's current account balance has been in the

South Korea and China on Wednesday signed a deal that would ease tax audit burdens for several South Korean companies doing business in the world's second-largest economy, South Korea's tax agency said.The advance pricing arrangement is an ahead-of-time agreement between the tax authorities of the two countries to specify a pricing method that a South Korean company will apply to its transactions with its subsidiary in China. The arrangement can make it possible for tax officials to verify if a