South Korea's trade minister said Wednesday that taking China to the World Trade Organization is one option being considered in response to that country's apparent retaliatory actions against Seoul's decision to deploy a US missile shield.The Beijing government slammed the deployment of the defense system, called THAAD, on South Korean soil, claiming that the system will threaten its national security.It also seemed to have banned Chinese travel agencies from selling group tours to South Korea a

South Korea's semiconductor exports are expected to exceed $90 billion this year due to increased overseas chip demand and higher prices, an international traders organization said Wednesday.In the January-August period, outbound shipments of computer chips surged 52 percent on-year to $59.5 billion, the Korea International Trade Association said in a statement. "If the country reports an average of $8 billion a month in semiconductor exports for the rest of the year, the overall value (of

South Korean exports of information and communication technology products increased for the seventh month to hit an all-time high in August on brisk overseas sales of semiconductors and displays, government data showed Wednesday.A total of $17.4 billion worth of ICT products were shipped overseas, up 23.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT.The monthly overseas shipments of ICT products is a new high surpassing the previous $16.53 billio

South Korea's single household income fell for the third consecutive quarter in the April-June period this year due to a drop in temporary jobs for the elderly and young people amid a sluggish pace of economic recovery, government data showed Wednesday.The average monthly income of a single household shrank 2 percent to 1,642,540 won ($1,455) in the second quarter from 1,676,003 won a year earlier, according to the figures provided by Statistics Korea.The number represents about 45 percent of th

South Korea's jobless rate stayed unchanged in August, but the number of newly employed people dropped to a 4 1/2-year low amid weak signs of economic recovery, government data showed Wednesday.The unemployment rate stood at 3.6 percent last month, staying flat from the same month last year, according to the report compiled by Statistics Korea. From a month earlier, it gained 0.1 percentage point.The number of employed people reached 26.7 million in August, up 212,000 from a year earlier, markin

South Korea's export prices rose slightly in August from a month earlier due to the hike in prices of coal and petrochemical products, the central bank said Wednesday.In local currency terms, overall export prices rose 0.5 percent month-on-month in August, according to preliminary data provided by the Bank of Korea.Year-on-year, export prices rose 10.7 percent last month, marking the 10th consecutive month of gains. It marked the highest since March 2009 when the corresponding figure was 17.4 pe

The heads of the central banks of South Korea, China and Japan are set to begin an annual meeting later Wednesday, the Bank of Korea said, amid keen interest on a currency swap deal between Seoul and Beijing.Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol is scheduled to host a banquet for his Chinese counterpart Zhou Xiaochuan and Japanese central banker Haruhiko Kuroda in Songdo, west of Seoul.The three "will exchange views on recent economic and financial developments in the three countries" during

In the wake of the Moon Jae-in government’s reinforced restrictions on housing loans, the increase in mortgage loans has slowed down while credit loans made a record leap in August, data showed Tuesday.According to the Bank of Korea’s monthly data on financial market trends, the balance for household loans stood at 744.2 trillion ($658.4 billion) as of the end of August, up 6.5 trillion won from the previous month.The on-month increase was down 200 billion won from that of July and d

South Korea's top economic policymaker said Tuesday that he has no immediate plan to raise property ownership tax as a tool to cool down the speculative movement in the local real estate market.The government earlier announced a series of strong measures to curb price hikes in the capital city and its surrounding areas. It designated Seoul and other cities, including the administrative city of Sejong, as "overheated speculative districts" to tighten mortgage rules and restrict transact

Although the South Korean government has poured in some 100 trillion won ($88.4 billion)88,449,000,000) over the past 10 years to solve the low birthrate issue, the country’s spending on family benefits still remained among the lowest of the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.The Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs said in a recent report that the country’s family benefits spending as a percentage of gross domestic product reached 1.13 perc

The rate of labor force participation for young Koreans last year ranked near the bottom among developed nations, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Tuesday. 　Data from the OECD showed that the labor force participation rate for Koreans between the ages of 25 and 29 was 76.7 percent last year. The figure ties with Chile for the 31st spot among the OECD’s 35 members.　The OECD’s definition of labor force participation rate is calculated by dividin

Major construction bodies in South Korea called on the government Tuesday to withdraw its scaled-back infrastructure budget for 2018, saying it may hurt not only the industry but also the national economy.Announcing its budget request late last month, the government said that it will spend 17.7 trillion won ($15.7 billion) on infrastructure projects in the coming year, down a whopping 20 percent from this year."We express serious concern over the drastic cut in next year's infrastructure bu

The money supply in South Korea jumped 5.1 percent in July from a year earlier, the central bank said Tuesday.The nation's M2 totaled 2,472.1 trillion won ($2.18 trillion) in July, compared with 2,352.2 trillion won a year earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement. The money supply fell 0.2 percent on-month, the statement said.The growth rate of the money supply has been on the decline since October 2015 as companies decreased domestic credit.M2 is a measure of the money supply countin

South Korea's household loans extended by banks rose 9 percent in August from a year earlier due to increased mortgages and other bank loans, central bank data showed Tuesday.Outstanding household loans from lenders came to 744.2 trillion won ($658 billion) as of the end of last month, vis-a-vis 682.4 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea.Compared with July, the amount rose by 6.5 trillion won. Mortgages climbed 3.1 trillion won on-month to 557.7 trill

South Korea said Tuesday that it aims to export more than $1 billion worth of seaweed products annually by 2024 as part of its effort to diversify its overseas shipment portfolio.According to the report submitted to the Cabinet, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said the country is expected to ship 380,000 tons of dried laver and other seaweed products in 2024, up from the 250,000 tons -- worth $350 million -- sold overseas in 2016.Dried laver, called "gim" in Korean, is usually roa