Different views have been raised over whether a sharp increase in the minimum wage will result in a significant loss of jobs down the road.Korea’s minimum wage, which is applied across all regions and sectors, is set at 7,530 won per hour ($6.95) for 2018, up 16.4 percent from last year. It marks the first double-digit increase in more than a decade.The Minimum Wage Commission, comprising members who represent the government, employers and labor groups, last year agreed on the steep increa

South Korea's finance ministry said Tuesday it would delay the implementation of a revised tax scheme designed to widen the taxation base among foreign investors in the face of strong calls from related industries to scrap such a move.Under the revised tax schemes, the Seoul government was planning to collect capital gain taxes from foreign investors who own more than 5 percent stakes in locally listed companies, lowering the ownership threshold from 25 percent.But the ministry said it would rev

South Korea faces far more import restrictions from the United States than any other country in a clear sign of growing American trade pressure on its ally, a trade body said Tuesday.Asia's fourth-largest economy was subject to 196 import regulations from the rest of the world as of Monday, with the US taking up the lion's share of 40 cases, according to the Korea International Trade Association.Of the total American restrictions, 30 cases were anti-dumping investigations, with countervailing du

South Korea’s services account deficit widened to $3.77 billion in December last year, from a deficit of $730 million a year earlier due to a rise in overseas trips and foreign business services, preliminary data by the Bank of Korea showed Monday.Such a sharp rise in deficit in the service account has led to the country‘s current account surplus to narrow in December, marking $4.09 billion, down from a surplus of $6.96 billion a year earlier.For all of 2017, Korea’s current ac

Recent economic indicators point to the weakening vitality of the Korean economy shored up largely by an increase in exports.Business sentiments remain pessimistic as manufacturing and construction sectors are suffering setbacks. Core inflation, which excludes volatile oil and food prices, has dropped to an 18-year low, reflecting sluggish domestic demand.Manufacturing output shrank 6.6 percent from a year earlier in December, following a 1.7 percent on-year decline in the previous month, accord

South Korea's current account surplus narrowed in December last year from a year earlier due mainly to a sharp rise in the deficit in the service account, central bank data showed Monday. The country's current account surplus reached $4.09 billion in December, down from a surplus of $6.96 billion a year earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.It marked the 70th consecutive month of a current account surplus, which started in March 2012. The services account deficit wide

 The median price of apartments in Seoul surpassed 700 million won ($651,000) for the first time in January. According to KB Bank, the price rose 3 percent from the previous month, reaching 705 million won. The bank has been conducting surveys on the median apartment price since December 2008. The median price is the figure in the middle of the numbers that range from lowest to highest.　

The top economic policymakers of South Korea and China agreed to boost bilateral tourism and economic cooperation, Seoul's finance ministry said Friday, in a sign that Beijing may stop its retaliation against South Korean companies over the stationing of a US missile system. The agreement came after talks between South Korean Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon and his Chinese counterpart, He Lifeng, chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission, earlier in the day. Kim has said

South Korea’s monthly consumer inflation came to 1 percent in January on-year, the slowest gain in 17 months, as the prices of agricultural goods such as vegetables fell, data showed Thursday.Calling such weak inflation “economic stability at target range,” the government pledged Thursday to carry out pre-emptive measures to curb consumer price fluctuations ahead of next week’s 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games and the national Lunar New Year holiday later in the mont

South Korea's exports soared 22.2 percent in January from a year earlier on brisk sales of memory chips and petrochemical products, government data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments came to $49.21 billion for January, up from $40.25 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Exports rose for the 15th month in a row, posting double-digit growth for the first time in four months.Imports also jumped 20.9 percent on-year to $45.48 billion

The United States' recent issuance of safeguard measures against washers and solar panels could hurt the prospects of amending a bilateral free trade agreement with South Korea, a former US negotiator said Wednesday.Wendy Cutler, former chief negotiator for the Korea-US free trade agreement, raised the concern as bilateral talks are under way to renegotiate the five-year-old pact.A week earlier, US President Donald Trump approved tariffs on imported large residential washing machines and solar c

Korea's tourism promotion agency said Wednesday it will push forward efforts to stabilize and diversify the country's inbound tourism market this year, as part of its broader aims to achieve qualitative growth.The Korea Tourism Organization plans to unfold a two-track approach where it focuses on stabilizing inflows of visitors from such countries as China, Japan and the United States, while diversifying its portfolio by attracting people from other countries, including Vietnam and India.The tou

South Korea and the United States on Wednesday began their second round of talks to amend their free trade agreement, amid rising trade tensions between the two nations over Washington slapping steep tariffs on washers and solar panels.The two-day talks come a week after US President Donald Trump signed safeguard tariffs on foreign washers and solar panels, including those from South Korea, saying the measures would protect American jobs.The Seoul government is expected to raise the topic of US

Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. said Tuesday they have set up new logistics facilities in the United States in an apparent move to better cope with US safeguard measures.Samsung Electronics America has signed a deal with a real-estate firm to lease a 421,000-square-foot facility in Edgefield County, South Carolina, a Samsung official said.The new facility appears to serve as a hub for warehousing and shipping washing machines being produced in Samsung's appliance factory in Newbe

South Korea's washing machine exports have nearly halved over the past five years, customs data showed Tuesday, with more declines likely from new US safeguard measures.Last year's tally from the Korea Customs Service said washer exports last year amounted to US$118.6 million, down $4.56 million from the previous year. Shipments of the home appliance have been dropping for eight years after peaking at $392.4 million in 2009. Figures comparing the last five years show that last year's exports wer