Corporate retirement pension funds managed by South Korea's financial institutions topped 172 trillion won ($153 billion) as of September last year, but their annual rate of return was low, government data showed Monday. The retirement pension scheme, which was introduced in 2005, is meant to help fund retirees' severance payments. Companies and employees make contributions to the pension funds, and employees can receive the pension after retirement. The accumulated corporate retirement pension

The ratio of household debt to gross domestic product in South Korea increased at the second fastest pace in the world last year, only outranked by China, despite the Seoul government’s tightened lending rules, data showed Wednesday. According to data compiled by the Bank for International Settlements, Seoul’s household debt accounted for 96 percent of the GDP at the end of the second quarter in 2018, up 2.4 percentage points from the previous year. The growth rate marked the se

The European Commission has informed the World Trade Organization of its decision to adopt a 25-percent duty on imports of steel into the European Union above a certain level from Feb. 2, the foreign ministry said Friday.In the notice to the WTO, the EC said steel imports below 105 percent of volumes recorded during the 2015-2017 period will be exempt from tariffs through 2021. But steel imports exceeding 105 percent will be slapped with a 25-percent duty, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in

Within this month the renewed calculation method for the legal minimum wage will be finalized, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Friday.“The government will announce its draft next week and confirm the final plan within January,” said the fiscal policymaker in a meeting of economic officials held at Seoul Government Complex. The government had recently gestured at partly adjusting the legal wage system, embracing the market’s backlash against the drast

Philip Morris Korea Director Kim Byung-chul (left) poses for a photo during an initiation ceremony on Thursday in Seoul for the Community Chest of Korea’s Honor Society, an exclusive club for individuals who have donated at least 100 million won. Kim became the 2,027th member with his latest donation, which will be used to help medically vulnerable social groups, prevent the spread of poverty and reinforce environmental protection projects, the company said.   Credit:PMK

South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves reached a record high level in December, amid a weakening US dollar trend, the central bank said Friday.The total amount of foreign currency holdings stood at $403.69 billion as of the end of December, up $710 million from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. This renewed an earlier record of $403 billion observed in September. The appreciation of nondollar currencies when converted into the greenback was largely attributable to the la

President Moon Jae-in’s chief policy adviser held a closed-door meeting with South Korean conglomerate executives late last year, the presidential office confirmed Thursday, in what appeared to be the government’s attempt to address mounting concerns over the country’s economic outlook. According to Cheong Wa Dae, Kim Soo-hyun, presidential chief of staff for policy, met with senior officials at family-controlled conglomerates in late 2018. The meeting was reportedly held at a

SEJONG - During his 2017 presidential campaign, candidate Moon Jae-in promised to create 800,000 jobs if elected. His employment pledge is estimated to have appealed to many voters, including among the youth.The Moon administration has reportedly poured about 54 trillion won ($48.2 billion) in taxpayer money, involving a supplementary budget and stabilization fund, into the employment-related segment over the past 20 months. But the result at the present stage falls far short of the stated goal,

New foreign direct investment pledged to South Korea rose to the highest level ever last year, led by rising interest in the nation's high-tech industries and startups in emerging sectors, government data showed Thursday.South Korea received $26.9 billion worth of FDI commitments in 2018, up 17.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It was the fourth consecutive year to surpass the $20 billion mark.  The actual investment made by foreign comp

The Ministry of Economy and Finance said Wednesday it will level criminal charges against a former official for making public remarks accusing the Moon Jae-in government of forcing bond issuance and interfering in corporate personnel affairs.But the high-profile figures who were directly mentioned in the accusation -- including former Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon -- have continued their silence amid the snowballing controversy.“The ministry will submit a bill of indictment against former

Approximately half of South Korea’s self-employed businesses plan to lay off employees or cut back on hiring this year, according to a survey released Wednesday.Incruit, an online recruiting service, conducted the survey with 240 self-employed participants, asking whether their business decisions in 2019 will be effected by the Cabinet’s decision to pass the revised Minimum Wage Act.  The decree obliges employers to provide workers with paid leave depending on their weekly worki

GM Korea Co., the South Korean unit of General Motors Co., said Tuesday that it has cut the prices of mainstay models in an effort to revive lackluster sales.Starting Tuesday, GM Korea slashed the prices of its major models, such as the Impala sedan and the Trax and Equinox sport-utility vehicle, by up to 3 million won ($2,700), the company said in a statement. The company expects its “customer-focused pricing approach” to strengthen the position of those key Chevrolet vehicles in th

South Korea's exports hit an all-time high last year on brisk sales of memory chips and petrochemical goods, government data showed Tuesday.Outbound shipments came to $605.5 billion for 2018, up 5.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports jumped 11.8 percent on-year to $535 billion last year for a trade surplus of $70.5 billion, marking 10th consecutive year the country exported more goods than it bought, the ministry sai

SEJONG -- As the new year approaches, so does the middle phase of President Moon Jae-in’s 60-month tenure.The coming 20 months could be a time for Moon to respond to the concerns of citizens, the majority of whom are asking him to walk back his North Korea-oriented policy focus and prioritize the economy in the South.Statistics indicate that one of the biggest concerns of ordinary people is the increasing polarization of society -- a problem aggravated by the recent jump in apartment price

South Korea’s consumer prices in December grew at the slowest pace in five months due to government cuts of the fuel tax and gas fees, but prices of agricultural goods and dining out maintained a steady uptrend, data showed Monday.The consumer price index for December rose 1.3 percent from a year earlier, down 0.3 percent from the previous month and marking the lowest on-year rise since the 1.1 percent observed in July, according to the data released by Statistics Korea.The rate of increas