The bulk of Vietnamese consumers are positive about the design and image of South Korean goods, but many feel burdened by their high prices, a poll showed Tuesday.The survey of 2,000 Vietnamese people, taken by the Ho Chi Minh City office of the Korea International Trade Association, showed 84 percent of the respondents think South Korean products have good designs.An additional 16 percent consider their designs ordinary, with no negative responses.Concerning the image of South Korean goods, 89

 South Korea's producer prices backtracked for the first time in nearly one year in October as farm production recovered in the fall season, central bank data showed Tuesday.The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, reached 105.41 last month, down 0.4 percent from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It is the first on-month decline since November last year when the index edged down 0.1 percent. On a year-on-year basis, i

Korea needs to step up efforts to increase exports in the service sector to offset a possible decline in the outbound shipment of its major manufactured goods, experts here say.Exports have shored up the slowing Korean economy so far this year, as decreasing investment and slumping consumption decelerate its growth.According to data recently released by Korea Customs Service, the country’s goods exports increased 22.7 percent on-year to $54.9 billion in October, mainly on the back of a ris

South Korea's chief economic policymaker said Monday that more efforts should be placed on economic reform to help innovation-led growth policies bear fruit.In a meeting with businessmen, Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said it's time to seek measures so the incumbent Moon Jae-in administration's economic policy goals such as income-led growth can make headway."We have had much debate on those issues, but it's time to allow the policies to produce some results," the senior official said

Retail investors are estimated to hold more than 3 trillion won worth of Samsung BioLogics Co. shares, whose trading was suspended last week over window-dressing, a corporate researcher said Monday.As of last Wednesday, individual investors owned an estimated 9.6 million shares of Samsung BioLogics, or 14.53 percent, according to Chaebul.com. It translates into 3.2 trillion won ($2.83 billion) in value, based on the closing price Wednesday, when its trading was halted. Foreign investors held an

South Korea’s central bank chief on Monday urged Asia-Pacific economies to reinforce their resilience against potential external risk factors amid a fluctuating global financial environment.“We must enhance the general resilience of the regional economy so that drastic changes in capital flows stemming from external risks do not lead to systematic risks,” Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said in a conference jointly held at Seoul’s Plaza Hotel by the BOK and the Bank for In

South Korean stocks ended higher for the second consecutive session on Friday as investor sentiment recovered on hopes of eased US-China trade friction. The South Korean currency rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 4.34 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 2,092.40. Trading volume was moderate at 294 million shares worth 4.69 trillion won (US$4.15 billion), with winners outnumbering losers 564 to 261.Individual and institutional investors picked up 18

The home ownership rate in South Korea came to 55.9 percent in 2017, 0.4 percentage point up from a year earlier, government data showed Friday. The data released by Statistics Korea said 11 million households out of 19.67 million across the country owned homes in 2017. The average price of homes came to 225 million won ($199,000), and the average size stood at 86.3 square meters.The data also showed that the total number of residences across the country came to 17.12 million units, up

South Korea's three oil commodity exchange traded funds have chalked up abysmal returns over the past month due to tumbling crude prices, a fund evaluator said Friday.The oil-focused funds, which are pegged to crude prices, posted an average return of over minus 15 percent in the month to Friday, according to market tracker KG Zeroin. Oil ETFs consist of either crude firm stocks or futures and derivative contracts to track the price and performance of oil, or in some cases oil-related indexes.Th

Retail sales and industrial output in restructuring-hit regions remained in a slump in the third quarter, government data showed Thursday.According to the data compiled by Statistics Korea, retail sales in South Gyeongsang Province, North Jeolla Province and Ulsan declined 2.3 percent, 1.2 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively, in the July-September period, from a year earlier. The regions are home to major shipyards, including Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., and automaking-related firms, suc

Local companies are struggling to adapt to a shorter workweek and calling for greater flexibility in its application, but their calls face vehement objections from the country’s umbrella labor groups.Under a recently revised law, the maximum weekly working hours have been reduced to 52 from 68. The revisions took effect in July for companies with 300 or more employees and will also affect smaller businesses in the coming years.There seems to be public consensus here that Korea’s noto

South Korean exports of information and communication technology posted growth for the 24th month in a row in October on the back of brisk overseas sales of semiconductors, government data showed Wednesday.A total of $20.21 billion worth of ICT products were shipped overseas last month, up 12.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Science and ICT. The total exceeded the $20 billion mark for the third month in a row and marked the second-highest monthly tally to d

South Korea's financial regulator said Wednesday it will give a final ruling on whether Samsung BioLogics Co. violated accounting rules, a decision that could lead to the delisting of the biopharmaceutical firm. The ruling will be announced at around 4:30 p.m., an official at the Financial Services Commission said.The regulatory probe by the Securities and Futures Commission centers on questions about Samsung BioLogics' sudden profits in 2015 after years of losses. Samsung BioLogics reported a n

South Korea's jobless rate rose slightly in October due to a fall in employment in the retail and hospitality sectors, with poorer-than-expected job creation showing no signs of a letup, government data showed Wednesday.The unemployment rate stood at 3.5 percent last month, up 0.3 percentage point from a year earlier, according to the report compiled by Statistics Korea. The number of employed people reached 27.09 million in October, an increase of 64,000 from the same month in 2017, according t

The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. said Tuesday its net profit plunged in the third quarter compared with a year ago due to higher fuel costs.Net profits stood at 737.29 billion won ($650.4 million) on a consolidated basis in the July-September period, down 51.8 percent from a year earlier, KEPCO said in a regulatory filing. The firm's sales gained 1.4 percent on-year to 16.4 trillion won on increased electricity demand during an unprecedented stretch of hot summer weather. Its operat