Apartment prices in Seoul increased by 0.57 percent last week, faster than the previous week’s 0.33 percent and similar to the rate at the end of July last year, immediately before the government’s anti-speculation measures were announced, data by Real Estate 114 showed.Industry watchers said the sale prices of apartments in expensive and popular districts in Seoul such as Gangnam, Songpa and Yongsan have been skyrocketing since the end of last year as the government’s strong m

South Korea is within reach of becoming the fifth-largest exporting nation in the world, fueled by a steady rise in outbound shipments, a private economic think tank said Sunday. The Hyundai Research Institute said in its latest 2018 export issue review paper that as of September last year, Asia's fourth-largest economy ranked No. 6 among exporters, up from eighth place in 2016. In 2017 its products accounted for 3.6 percent of all exports, a record high for the country.It said the Netherla

South Korea's unemployment among the youth remained high with no signs of recovery last year, data showed Sunday, despite solid improvements in the job markets of other advanced economies.According to the data compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the country's unemployment among those aged from 15 to 24 came to 10.2 percent for the July-September of 2017, marking the third consecutive quarter that the figure hovered above the 10-percent mark.The unemployment amo

Product safety is the top priority for Chinese consumers of infant goods, a report said Thursday.The report by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said South Korean companies need to focus on improving the safety of products while making inroads into the infant goods market in China.The number of newborns rose by 1.31 million to 17.8 million in 2016 from a year earlier as the Beijing government lifted the decades old "one-child policy" and allowed couples to have a second child

President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday reiterated his pledge for conglomerate reform and vowed to protect socially vulnerable clusters from the possible aftermath of the increased minimum wage, underlining his economic slogan for a fair economic order.“Conglomerate reform matters not only for the sake of economic transparency but also in the sense that it may return economic achievements to small and medium-sized firms and to the people,” the president said in his New Year’s addres

South Korea is set to hold tough trade negotiations with the world’s two biggest economies -- the US and China -- this year while navigating rising protectionism around the globe.An early and smooth conclusion of the negotiations, which trade officials here say is far from guaranteed, would help improve external conditions for the Korean economy that relies heavily on exports for growth.According to government data, Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw its exports to China and the US in

South Korea's jobless rate rose slightly in December due to seasonal factors, government data showed Wednesday.The unemployment rate stood at 3.3 percent last month, up 0.1 percentage point from a year earlier, according to the report compiled by Statistics Korea.From a month earlier, it also climbed 0.1 percent. The number of employed people reached 26.42 million last December, up 253,000 from a year earlier, unchanged from the previous month's rise.  The unemployment rate for young people

Trade officials here expect Korea’s exports will grow 4 percent on-year in 2018.The target is modest compared to last year’s 15.8 percent growth but will still be challenging, as worsening conditions, including the strengthening of the won, are weighing on exporters.Heo Yoon, the dean of the Graduate School of International Studies at Sogang University, said export growth would slow dramatically if such negative factors add to the high base effect.According to Trade Ministry data, As

SEJONG -- South Korea's finance ministry said Sunday that it has finalized the details on a tax code overhaul whose main features are the levying of an additional tax on owners of multiple homes, a move intended to curb rising housing prices, and the raising of the highest corporate income tax rate.Late last year, the National Assembly approved a bill that, starting in April, will impose an additional tax of up to 30 percentage points on owners of multiple homes.The parliament also passed a bill

South Koreans' investment in overseas stocks came to US$30.5 billion in the first 11 months of last year, central bank data showed Sunday.The figure represents a 55 percent hike from $19.6 billion tallied in the January-November period in 2016, according to data compiled by the Bank of Korea.South Koreans' investment in overseas stocks could hit the highest mark for the whole of 2017 since 2007, when the comparable figures came to $52.6 billion.Meanwhile, South Koreans' investment in overseas bo

South Korea's current account surplus narrowed in November over the previous year, due mainly to a sharp rise in the service account deficit, central bank data showed Friday.The country's current account surplus reached $7.43 billion in November, down slightly from a surplus of $8.03 billion a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.November was the 69th consecutive month of a current account surplus, which started in March 2012.The services account deficit widened to

South Korea is expected to benefit from China's rapidly growing service industry if the two countries agree to upgrade their bilateral free trade agreement to include the service and investment sectors, experts said Friday.South Korea and China implemented the FTA in December 2015 and recently agreed to launch follow-up negotiations to expand the scope of the trade deal to lower barriers in the service and investment sectors.Experts and industry officials expressed hope that a high-level market

Kakao Corp, the operator of the country's top mobile messenger service Kakao Talk, will launch debit cards next week to jump into the offline payment business, company officials said Friday.Promotional events are already under way before the official launch Wednesday for the debit cards that will be linked with Kakao Pay, officials said.Kakao Corp already has debit card services that are partnered with some commercial banks and credit card firms. It is the 10% owner of Kakao Bank, which issues d

Economic policymakers will take measures in case of excessive fluctuations in FX market

South Korea's top economic policymakers said Thursday that they will do their best to manage economic and financial risks to maintain economic growth momentum in the new year."Despite some downside risks at home and abroad, the South Korean economy pulled off favorable growth last year thanks to strong fiscal policies," Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said in a breakfast meeting in Seoul with Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon."This year, we expect the economy to continue on the recove