About half of South Koreans who file tax returns earn an average 1.72 million won ($1,515) a month, data from the tax agency said Thursday, an amount which is just enough to sustain a single temporary worker.The median income in 2015, is derived by dividing the income distribution into equal halves, compared with a monthly average income of 2.69 million won, according to the data provided by the National Tax Service to Rep. Park Joo-hyun for a parliamentary audit. The records cover the years 200

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon on Wednesday left for Washington to attend a series of economic meetings including the Group of 20 summit of financial ministers and central bank governors.During his six-day visit, the top financial policymaker is expected to seek progress in key US-related issues, such as the renegotiation of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement, and reiterate bilateral partnership in responding to North Korea’s military threats. Accompanied by Bank o

Calls are rising for South Korea to take full precautions against a possible exodus of foreign capital in the course of tensions escalating over North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons programs.Government officials have said the impact of the North Korea risk on the local financial market will be limited. Their measured remarks might be intended to avoid exacerbating volatile market sentiment. But many experts including former economic policymakers worry that the government lacks a sense

Korean and American business leaders met in Washington on Tuesday to voice concerns over pending modifications and revisions to the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement, as per the US Trump administration’s move to tackle the US’ growing trade deficit.    　During the 29th Joint Conference of Korea-US Business Councils, 30 leaders from Korea and 40 from the US gathered to discuss potential bilateral relationship damages that may result from FTA revisions, as well as voicing di

South Korea's food and agricultural exports to China rebounded for the first time in six months in September, thanks to strong sales of gingseng, ramyeon and beer, the government said Wednesday. Outbound shipments of food and agricultural products to China was estimated at $108 million in September, up 1.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Sea food products, such as dried laver, were not included on the list. Sales

The number of Chinese medical tourists to South Korea declined sharply in the first half of this year, mainly due to the diplomatic row with China over the deployment of a US anti-missile system here, government data showed Wednesday.According to the data compiled by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of Chinese people arriving South Korea for medical purposes declined 24.7 percent on-year during the January-June period. China has been banning package tours to South Korea since

South Korea's customs office said Wednesday it will ease regulations on small and medium-sized duty-free shops to allow them to more freely relocate within the same administrative district. The Korea Customs Service has limited small and medium- sized duty-free shops from moving to other locations as it grants license to operators as a way to attract foreign travelers and boost the local economy. The local duty-free industry had benefited from the influx of Chinese travelers over the past severa

South Korea didn't raise issue with China's trade barriers against South Korean companies during a World Trade Organization meeting earlier this month, sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday, a decision that may reflect a rise in tension with North Korea and talks to extend the bilateral currency swap deal. During a meeting of the WTO Council for Trade in Services in Geneva on Friday, the South Korean officials did not point out Beijing retaliatory actions in the tourism and retail indu

The monthly salary for the country's top 0.1 percent earners averages 54.58 million won ($48,088), a sum equal to the total earned income by 2.95 million people in the bottom 27 percent, statistics from the tax agency showed Wednesday. The annual salary for the top 0.1 percent, fewer than 20,000 people in number, totaled 11.35 trillion won last year, accounting for 2.02 percent of the 562.59 trillion won paid to all workers. These figures were provided by the National Tax Service to ruling party

The 64 trillion won ($56 billion) currency swap deal between South Korea and China ended on Tuesday as the two countries failed to agree on terms of deal extension within due time.While tension remained up to the last minute, neither country came up with an official announcement after midnight, which was the expiration point.But possibilities remain that the two countries will carry on with their negotiations and resume the swap at a later stage.South Korea's currency swap with the United A

South Korea's finance minister plans to stress the country's solid fundamentals and financial stability during the upcoming global economy conference in Washington, officials said Tuesday.Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon is set to deliver the message later this week when he meets with his counterparts and central bankers from the Group of 20 leading economies.Geopolitical tensions have heightened on the Korean Peninsula in recent months as North Korea has fired intercontinental ballistic missiles

Following the decision to begin talks of amending the Korea-US free trade agreement last week, South Korea’s political parties are bracing for a full-fledged debate during an audit beginning this week, with the opposition lambasting the government for “failing to dodge” the US’ calls.　The National Assembly’s Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee is set to open its audit and inspection session Friday, focusing on the overall effects of the now five-yea

South Korea's Cabinet on Tuesday approved raising fines that can be slapped against financial firms over violations in public disclosures, state regulators said. Under the tougher rules, fines will be raised by about two to three times their current levels from Oct. 19 if financial firms violate relevant laws on public disclosures or obstruct probes by financial authorities, the Finance Services Commission said in a statement. Along with the tougher regulation, the Cabinet approved nine other re

The government said Tuesday it has revised regulations to require manufacturers of recalled products to provide consumers with timely information of problems found through SNS messages and TV commercials.The new regulations also stipulate automobiles, livestock products, manufactured goods, bottled water, cosmetics and consumer chemical products should have health hazard classification, the Fair Trade Commission said.Only foods, medicine, medical equipment and health foods are currently subjecte

China's imports of consumer goods from South Korea all shrank except for a handful of products despite a rise in demand for similar goods made in other countries, a report from a trade group said Tuesday.The report from the Beijing office of the Korea International Trade Association said South Korea accounted for 3 percent of all consumer goods imported by China in the January-July period of this year. Detailed data for the top 20 consumer products showed that global shipments to China during th