South Korea's trade promotion agency said Sunday it has reached an initial agreement with Britain to expand the two countries' already-strong partnership. The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said its CEO, Kwon Pyung-oh, signed the memorandum of understanding with Britain's International Trade Secretary, Liam Fox, for a strategic partnership in bilateral investments, trade information exchanges, and joint overseas projects. "Britain is the world's fifth-biggest economy in terms of gr

South Korea's consumer price growth continued to stay above 1 percent in September, hitting the highest level in a year, on a sharp rise in prices for agricultural goods and the service sector, government data showed Friday.The country's consumer price index climbed 1.9 percent last month from a year earlier, accelerating from the previous month's 1.4 percent on-year gain, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.The on-year rise marks the highest since September last year, when the co

Real estate accounted for more than half of South Korean households' total assets, with the rate of homes owned for investments far higher compared to major economies, a report showed Thursday.It is based upon an analysis of features of household assets in five nations -- South Korea, the United States, Britain, Australia and the Netherlands -- by the Mirae Asset Retirement Institute. According to the report, real estate property accounted on average for 51.3 percent of the total assets of South

South Korea has seen one of the fastest expansion paces for its household debt against its gross domestic product this year, despite a series of policy actions focused on lending restrictions, data showed Wednesday.According to data compiled by the Bank for International Settlements, Seoul’s household debt was equal to 95.2 percent of its GDP as of end-March this year, up 2.3 percentage points from a year prior.This growth rate marked the third fastest among 43 key economies across the wor

Despite a recent rebound in consumer sentiment, the country’s household consumption is set to weaken in the longer term amid deteriorating employment conditions and rising debt-service costs, experts say.Bank of Korea data showed last week consumer confidence rebounded in September after falling for eight straight months, partly on the back of robust exports and low inflationary pressure. The composite consumer sentiment index, which is based on the central bank’s survey of about 1,9

The ratio of household debt to gross domestic product in South Korea increased at the fastest clip after China and Hong Kong despite a series of tightened lending rules, data showed on Wednesday.According to the data compiled by the Bank for International Settlements, South Korea's household debt accounted for 95.2 percent of the GDP at the end of March this year, up 2.3 percentage points from a year before.The growth rate marks the third fastest among 43 major economies, after China's 3.7 perce

South Korea's employment conditions in September may remain disappointing, the country's top economic policymaker said Tuesday, adding that he does not rule out the possibility of a contraction.In a parliamentary interpellation session, Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon expressed concerns that job creation remains in the doldrums and said last month's data took a hit due to ongoing corporate restructuring moves and various policy uncertainties."(Job conditions) are not good, and we are not rul

Officials from the presidential office, ministries and the ruling Democratic Party will meet next week to discuss follow-up measures regarding the latest inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang, party officials said Tuesday.The three-way meeting will be held Monday to discuss how to implement the agreement reached during the September summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to DP officials. Moon visited Pyongyang from Sept. 18-20 for his third summit with the

South Korea's industrial output advanced in August from a month earlier, helped by a rise in auto production, government data showed Tuesday. Production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries rose 1.4 percent on-month in August, following a revised 0.5 percent on-month gain in the previous month.From a year earlier, industrial output also climbed 2.5 percent, following a revised 1.0 percent on-year rise tallied for July.Production in the service sector rose 0.1 percent on-m

Concerns are rising over the weakening of the country’s manufacturing industries, which are suffering the effects of deteriorating conditions at home and abroad.Data released last week by Statistics Korea showed that the manufacturing capacity index -- which measures the maximum possible level of production through the full use of manpower, facilities and other input factors -- had declined for five consecutive months as of July, from 102.9 to 102.6. The annual average figure for 2015 is s

South Korea spent some 76 percent of its state budget earmarked for 2018 in the first eight months as it moves to maintain its recovery pace and create more jobs, the finance ministry said Monday.Some 212.8 trillion won ($191 billion) was spent through August, 12.6 trillion won, or 4.5 percentage points, more than the expected outlay of 200.3 trillion won, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.It earlier said efforts were under way to front-load its budget spending to minimize any fa

Dairy exports to China are recovering quickly this year after a steep dive in 2017 due to a diplomatic spat, industry officials said Monday.Maeil Dairies Co. is estimated to have increased its exports to China by 20 to 30 percent in the first six months of this year compared to the same period last year."The exports would be similar to the total in the first half of 2016," a company official said. "Our China exports last year dropped 30 to 40 percent from 2016 due to the diplomati

South Korea's exports slipped in September compared with a year ago due to fewer working days and a high base effect, despite the high daily volume of products shipped abroad, government data showed Monday.Outbound shipments reached $50.58 billion last month, down 8.2 percent from a year ago, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Average daily exports reached $2.69 billion in September, constituting a record high.Imports fell 2.1 percent on-year to $40.83

The number of jobless people last month reached its highest level since 1999, while the government’s unemployment allowance payments also hit a record high, government data showed Sunday.According to data compiled by the Korea Employment Information Service, the monthly average number of South Koreans without a job -- referring to those who have been out of job for four weeks or longer -- stood at 1.13 million as of end-August this year, up 45,000 from a year earlier and marking the highes