Deputy Prime Minister for economic affairs and Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon underlined that South Korea does not intervene in foreign exchange markets, seeking to ensure that the country continues to stay out of the US-designated currency manipulator list, according to ministry officials.Minister Kim met with his US counterpart Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Saturday, on the sidelines of the Group of 20 Finance Ministers Summit in Washington DC, to discuss pending issues including North

Credit and debit card spending in South Korea soared more than 30 percent over the recent extended Chuseok holiday season from a year ago, industry data showed Sunday.A daily average of 191.8 billion won ($170.1 million) worth of purchases were made through credit and debit cards during the Sept. 30-Oct. 9 holidays, up 35.8 percent from the 141.2 billion won average tallied during the Chuseok holidays last year, which fell mid-September, according to the data compiled by KB Kookmin Card Co. The

South Korea is struggling to achieve its goal of 3 percent growth this year as skepticism grows over sluggish domestic demand and investment. Officials said the government is not considering stimulus measures for now, as it has already injected an extra 11 trillion won ($9.76 billion) into the economy in August. But it may come up with microeconomic measures to support vulnerable sectors if third-quarter growth is less than expected, they said. The data will be released late this month. "Th

Amid Korea’s continued strive for increased transparency and regulatory business reforms, the Fair Player Club and US Embassy Seoul hosted a joint seminar on better regulatory compliance in Seoul on Thursday. 　The seminar invited keynote speaker Aaron Szabo, senior adviser for International Regulatory Cooperation of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in Washington, who shared the US’ approach for establishing analytic tools for regulatory design and review. 　“The

South Korean stocks fell slightly Friday, pulling back from a record high, led by a sell-off by foreign and local retail investors. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 1.14 points, or 0.05 percent, to close at 2,473.62. Trade volume was moderate at 233 million shares worth 6.7 trillion won ($5.93 billion).  The KOSPI opened higher, despite a weak lead on Wall Street overnight. Analysts said the local stock market t

Slightly fewer South Koreans now think that they will be better off in the future amid the sluggish pace of recovery in Asia's fourth-largest economy, a survey showed Friday.According to the poll conducted by Gallup Korea between Tuesday and Thursday, 22 percent of the 1,500 respondents said their livelihoods will improve within the next one year, down 2 percentage points from a month earlier.It also said 57 percent of those that answered the poll believed their living conditions will remain the

South Korea's tax agency said Friday it will crack down on tax evasion by big businesses and wealthy individuals to boost its tax revenue.The National Tax Service plans to thoroughly look into possible capital outflows by high-income earners and conglomerates and check moves to pass on managerial control of firms without paying related dues, the NTS said in the documents produced for the parliamentary audit. Tax evasion, the practice of deliberately attempting to get by without paying taxes, is

South Korea's trade minister said Friday that he will consider all possibilities when renegotiating the terms of the free trade agreement with the United States, so as to protect the country's interests and not give in to unilateral demands. Last week, the two nations agreed to begin the long-anticipated process of amending the FTA at Washington's request. US President Donald Trump has blamed the five-year-old deal for America's growing deficit in goods trade with South Korea. But Seoul has argu

South Korea's national tax revenue continued to increase in the first eight months of this year on a modest recovery pace of Asia's fourth-largest economy, the finance ministry said Friday.The government collected 189.5 trillion won ($167.4 billion) in taxes in the January-August period, up 17.1 trillion won from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. The amount collected is equal to 75.5 percent of this year's tax revenue target of 251.1 trillion won, incl

The South Korean government is gearing up to expand and systemize support for industries to lead in the “fourth industrial revolution” that is anticipated to bring about some 40 trillion won ($35.3 billion) in economic effects. On Tuesday, President Moon Jae-in attended the first session of the presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, during which he pledged to introduce a “regulatory sandbox” for new industries, allowing companies to test innovative i

The South Korean economy is enjoying a steady uptick in overseas sales and a modest improvement in manufacturing production in recent months, but the pace of recovery is being hurt by lukewarm private consumption caused by rising uncertainties, a state-run think tank said Thursday.In the latest monthly economic report, the Korea Development Institute said that Asia's fourth-largest economy is being led by brisk exports and output of semiconductors.Industrial output rose 2.6 percent in August fro

Banks in South Korea are likely to maintain strict rules on extending loans to households in the fourth quarter, central bank data showed Thursday, amid the government's efforts to stabilize the overheated housing market.The overall index measuring banks' "attitude" in extending loans to households came to minus 20 for the October-December period, compared with minus 7 a quarter earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.A reading below zero means banks will tighten rules in extend

The amount of agricultural and fishery products smuggled into the country has risen sharply in recent years, with nearly half of them coming from China, customs data showed Thursday.The amount rose to 123.9 billion won ($109.3 million) last year from 40.3 billion won in 2014 and 67.7 billion won in 2015, according to findings released by the Korea Customs Service. By country, China accounted for 108.5 billion won, or 46.8 percent, of the 231.9 billion won worth of goods smuggled into the country

Foreign investment banks predicted South Korea's economy will not be able to achieve 3 percent growth this year, according to a report released Thursday by a South Korean institute.Nine foreign investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, Nomura and Barclays, said that Asia's fourth-largest economy could grow by 2.8 percent on average, according to the Korea Center for International Finance. The center -- set up under the auspices of the South Korean government and the Bank of Korea -- closely mon

The electricity production cost will surge sharply in the coming decades as the Moon Jae-in administration's plans to halt construction of new nuclear power plants in pursuit of eco-friendly energy, an opposition lawmaker said Thursday.The liberal Moon government has announced plans to decommission several aging nuclear power plants earlier than expected and scrapped plans for the construction of several nuclear power plants.Moon also pledged to close several coal-fired power plants so the count