The growing signs of the Korean economy weakening amid deteriorating conditions at home and abroad are prompting the government to work on additional stimulus measures.Economic indicators have taken a steep downturn in recent months.The on-year increase in the number of employees remained at 212,000 in August, the lowest in four and a half years, according to Statistics Korea.Output in the sector of restaurants and accommodating facilities fell 4.3 percent from a year earlier in July, reflecting

While the world economy is on a recovering trend, South Korea continues to suffer from aggravating unemployment, particularly among the youth, data showed Monday.The average unemployment rate among the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has steadily declined over the past six months. However, that of South Korea has continued to surge for the past four years.South Korea’s youth unemployment rate is 0.9 percentage points higher than the 9.8 percent

About half of South Korea's manufacturing firms have hiring plans next year, the central bank said in a report Monday.The Bank of Korea said 52 percent of 279 firms across the country said they plan to hire new recruits next year and among them, 38.9 percent said they will increase the number of recruits in 2018 compared with this year.By sector, 52.6 percent of information technology firms said they could hire more people in the new year vis-a-vis 2017. On the other hand, 10.5 percent of IT com

South Korea's exports of health care and cosmetics goods continued to grow in the first half of this year on the back of strong global demand, government data showed Monday.Outbound shipments of locally produced drugs, medical equipment and cosmetics were valued at $5.41 billion in the January-June period, up 13.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Exports of cosmetics products surged 20 percent on-year, the data showed, follow

Income polarization has deepened in South Korea during the past decades amid a growing number of high income earners coming from already rich and well-educated parents, a report said Monday.The report written by professor Ju Byeong-ki of Seoul National University said income has been set not only by the efforts of individuals but also the economic clout and education of their parents. The report, which analyzed the disposable income of selected households between 1998 and 2014, showed inequ

A quarterly report by the Bank for International Settlements showed that the debt-service ratio for the households in South Korea reached 12.5 percent, up 0.7 percentage points from a year ago in the first quarter this year.This is the highest level since the first quarter in 1999 when the relevant data started to be collected.

South Korea's tax authorities have imposed 1.307 trillion won ($1.15 billion) in taxes on offshore tax evaders last year, an opposition lawmaker said Sunday.The National Tax Service has collected only 1.067 trillion won in taxes as some people filed complaints with the country's Tax Tribunal against its decisions to slap taxes on offshore tax evaders, said Park Myung-jae, a lawmaker of the Liberty Korea Party, citing data provided by the tax agency. Offshore tax evasions have been on the ri

South Korea's unemployment rate has risen steadily in the past few years, while jobless numbers among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development members as a whole have fallen, official data showed Sunday. Data by Statistics Korea and the OECD showed that Asia's fourth-largest economy has entered a recovery stage, albeit a weak one, but growth has not led to more positions being created. This is in contrast to most other OECD member states that reported improvements in the job market

South Korea's top trade negotiator left for the United States on Sunday ahead of the second round of talks on possible amendments to their free trade pact, an official said.Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong is set to meet with US politicians and business executives in an apparent move to assess the US atmosphere ahead of the special session meeting of a joint committee scheduled for Oct. 4 in Washington.Kim is scheduled to attend a roundtable to be hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce on Monday. The

South Korean households' debt service burden reached an all-time high in the first quarter of the year with the pace of its growth ranking first worldwide, an international report said Sunday.According to the report by the Bank for International Settlements, the debt service ratio of the local household sector came to 12.5 percent in the January-March period.It was up 0.7 percentage point from a year earlier and marked the highest level since the first quarter of 1999, when BIS started to compil

South Korea's hypermarket chain E-Mart has reached a deal to sell off five of its six remaining stores in China effectively ending its 20-year presence in the market, industry sources said Sunday.Sources in the retail investment banking sector said E-Mart inked an agreement with Thailand's CP Group to hand over the stores in Shanghai pending approval from Chinese regulators. They said that the company is in the process of selling off its one outlet in Xishan by the end of the year. Exact details

South Korea's trade minister issued a call Friday for a united front from leading Asian and European economies against protectionist trends and for the promotion of open trade and investment to benefit all sides.Paik Un-gyu, the minister of trade, industry and energy, made the request at the Asia-Europe Meeting, which is being attended by 250 trade ministers and senior officials from 51 nations to discuss trade and industrial issues. "Today, the global economy faces new challenges. Protecti

Debt incurred by self-employed businesses in South Korea has reached 521 trillion won ($459 billion) and countermeasures are in the works, a senior official said Friday.Speaking at a financial forum, Kim Yong-beom, vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), said some 6 percent of the loans have been extended to poor-credit borrowers, putting them at high risk of default.Kim based his remarks on data provided by local credit appraiser Nice Information. The total includes both corpo

The top trade negotiators of South Korea and the United States held their first face-to-face meeting in Washington on Wednesday to discuss the future of the countries' free trade agreement (FTA), both sides said.The talks between South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer came as Washington seeks to amend the five-year-old deal known as KORUS. "They discussed ways to move forward," a USTR spokesperson told Yonhap, noting the talks foll

Smaller South Korean firms lagged far behind their larger counterparts in debt service capability, the country's central bank said Thursday, in the latest sign of a deepening polarization of corporate performance.The interest coverage ratio of all South Korean firms stood at 9 in the first half of this year, up from 6.8 from a year earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a report, citing data compiled by credit appraiser NICE Information Service.The ratio -- a firm's operating profit divided by its i