South Korea's jobless rate rose to 4.5 percent in January as the pace of hiring slowed, government data showed Wednesday, in the latest sign of an economic slowdown in Asia's fourth-largest economy.The unemployment rate marked the highest level for any January since 2010, when the corresponding figure stood at 5 percent, according to Statistics Korea. The South Korean economy added just 19,000 jobs in the first month from a year earlier, the fewest since August last year when employers added jus

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has revealed Tuesday that the most expensive real estate in South Korea is the Nature Republic cosmetics store located in Myeong-dong, Seoul, valued at 183 million won ($163,000) per square meter. This is the 16th consecutive year it has held the position, dating to 2004. The second and third most expensive lots were also located in the Myeong-dong vicinity: the Woori Bank headquarters (177.5 million won per square meter) and Uniqlo’s Chu

Samsung Electronics is expected to cough up some 16.8 trillion won ($15 billion) in corporate tax this year, its regulatory briefing showed. This is up 20.1 percent from the previous year, and 2.4 times the number from 2015.The record-high tax was attributable to its all-time high operating profit of 58.9 trillion won fueled by the memory chips sector boom last year, coupled with a revised tax code that raised the maximum tax rate from 22 percent to 25 percent for companies with over 300 billion

Inventory of South Korean manufacturers has increased to its highest point in 10 years, data showed Monday, a likely sign of a dulled economy.Figures obtained from the Korea Center for International Finance and Statistics Korea put the inventory-to-sales ratio in December last year at 116 percent. The number is the highest since 122.9 percent in September 1998, when the country was struggling with the Asia-wide foreign exchange crisis. The ratio has been on the incline from late last year. After

SEJONG -- South Korea’s nine provinces are competing to step up outbound shipments of agricultural products amid growing demand from a variety of overseas buyers, including Southeast Asian countries.South Chungcheong Province is drawing particularly close attention since diversifying its export markets last year. Whereas until then the province had mainly focused on Hong Kong, Taiwan and the US, it has expanded its export destinations to include Singapore, Cambodia and Vietnam.According to

SEJONG - The North American Free Trade Agreement is estimated to have much contributed to development of the commerce segment in the continent as one of the world’s main trade blocs.Though US President Donald Trump recently threatened to terminate the NAFTA contracts, expressing dissatisfaction with trade terms with Mexico and Canada, it is undeniable the three-member trade bloc has been a counterpart to the European Union.In Europe, apart from the EU there is the European Free Trade Assoc

Apartment transactions in Seoul sank to a six-year low in January from a year earlier, according to data from the land administration department of the Seoul Metropolitan Government. The number of apartments sold in the capital city plunged to 1,857 last month, down 81.8 percent from 10,198 in January 2018 and the lowest level for the month since 2013. Real estate experts noted that with increased supplies of new houses in the midst of fortified anti-speculative regulations, the lease

South Korean exports are forecast to decline in 2019, as outbound shipments contracted for two months in a row, economic organizations and observers said Wednesday.The poor export showings in December and January marked the first time in 27 months that shipments have fallen in consecutive months on an annual basis and are an indication of tougher times ahead for Asia's fourth-largest economy, experts here said. Data by the Korea Customs Service showed exports down 5.8 percent from a year earlier

The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp., which is currently seeking to open its own university in South Jeolla Province in 2022, is expected to face hurdles in opening on time amid financial and administrative challenges, industry watchers said Monday.In January, KEPCO selected the Booyoung Country Club golf course in Naju, 355 kilometers south of Seoul, as the site of the planned university.Under KEPCO’s vision, the university will have some 1,000 students and 100 professors, with the op

The Korean government is often referred to as an obstacle for startups here due to the heavy red tape. However, state-run Gyeonggi Content Agency is trying to buck that trend by supporting media startups that are trying to create new contents that can offer alternatives for newspapers, magazines and books. Last week, GCA launched its fifth G-hub in Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province. It has opened four such hubs over the past four years. “In the fourth industrial revolution era, media contents

The Korean currency weakened to an over two-year low against the yen last month as concerns about a global economic slowdown prompted investors to search for safer assets, central bank data showed Sunday. The local currency was traded at an average of 1,030.57 won per 100 yen in January, down 31 won from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.The January reading marked the lowest level since November 2016, when the won hit 1,076.82 against 100 yen.The US dollar serves as the ben

The contribution of government spending and investment to South Korea's economic growth reached a nearly 20-year high in the fourth quarter of last year amid sluggish private consumption and production, central bank data showed Sunday.According to the latest data by the Bank of Korea, South Korea's gross domestic product grew a surprising 1 percent in the October-December period from three months earlier. It helped meet the BOK's target of a 2.7 percent expansion for the whole of 2018.In the fou

The possibility of South Korea defaulting on its credit loans has dipped to the lowest level in over 11 years, with its credit default risk shrinking to lower than those of other major economies such as China, Britain and France, the central bank said Saturday.According to the Bank of Korea, the country's Credit Default Swap premium on foreign exchange stabilization bonds with a five-year maturity came to 32 basis points, or 0.32 percent, as of Friday, down 9 basis points from 41 bp on Jan. 3.A

South Korea's consumer prices rose 0.8 percent in January from a year earlier as agricultural products stabilized and oil products fell, government data showed Friday.The reading represents a decline from the previous month's 1.3 percent on-year gain, according to figures released by Statistics Korea. It marked the lowest tally in 12 months. From a month earlier, the index fell 0.1 percent.Prices of agricultural, livestock and fishery goods rose 2.5 percent on-year in January, compared with a 5.

South Korea's exports moved down 5.8 percent in January from a year earlier, government data showed Friday, due mainly to weaker performances by chips and petrochemical goods. Outbound shipments came to US$46.3 billion for January, down from $49.2 billion posted a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.  It marked the second consecutive month to post an on-year drop.South Korea did not post an on-year decrease in exports for two straight m