The governor of Poland's Lodzkie Region on Thursday called on South Korean electronics and automobile companies to invest in the province which is rich in skilled workers and is a major transportation hub in Europe. Gov. Witold Stepien is visiting Seoul along with business executives from nine Polish companies to promote the investment opportunities for the central region,  which includes the country's third-largest city of Lodz. "The Lodzkie Region is located at the very center of Pol

China Ocean Resources Co., a Hong Kong-based deep-sea fisheries company listed on the local stock market, said Thursday it filed a court petition to halt the delisting procedures being undertaken by Korea Exchange.China Ocean Resources, which listed its stocks in South Korea in 2009, is on the verge of being kicked out of the Korean bourse as it has been accused of posting false public disclosures and using opaque accounting practices. In a regulatory filing, China Ocean Resources said the petit

President Moon Jae-in’s vision of improving economic equity may suffer some setbacks due to a group of Christian lawmakers’ resistance to an incoming taxation bill on religious leaders.While the administration and the parliamentary cluster remained at odds over the issue, a public poll showed a majority of the public consider religious taxation necessary.Civic groups, led by the Korea Taxpayers’ Association, on Thursday held a press conference in front of the National Assembly,

South Koreans’ use of cards overseas hit a record high in the second quarter of this year amounting to $4.18 billion, up 20.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea on Thursday. It marked a 4 percent increase from the preceding quarter.Some 6.11 million South Koreans traveled abroad in the second quarter, according to government data, down from 6.51 million from January through March. In comparison, card spending by foreign visitors here reached $1.87 billion in the sa

Loans extended to local businesses rose slightly in the April-June period from a quarter earlier on increased operating expenses and facility investments, central bank data showed Thursday.Outstanding corporate loans came to 1,016 trillion won ($900 billion) in the second quarter, up 1.4 percent from the preceding three months, according to data from the Bank of Korea.Compared with a year earlier, the second quarter figure marked a 4.7 percent gain. In terms of where the money was spent, loans e

The ratio of South Korea's short-term foreign debt to its foreign reserves hit the highest level in more than a year in the second quarter, central bank data showed Thursday.The country's short-term external debt -- with a maturity of one year or less -- totaled $117.3 billion as of the end of June, up $1.9 billion from three months earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea. The end-June figure accounted for 28.8 percent of the country's total external debt, the highest percentage sinc

South Korea's finance chief said Thursday that the government will increase spending on job creation by more than 10 percent in 2018 as part of its efforts to help raise income levels of ordinary people."The government will set aside some 12 percent more money to boost employment in next year's budget and increase the minimum wage to guarantee people proper income," Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said in a minister-level policy meeting in Seoul. "The move is aimed at cementing hou

The South Korean government will expand health insurance benefits for pregnant women, the government said Thursday, in an effort to better tackle the country's chronic low birthrate.The Ministry of Health and Welfare said those who had given birth in the past 60 days will be able to benefit from changes to the national health insurance policy starting next month. So far, only pregnant women have been covered.Also, the ministry and the National Health Insurance Corporation will provide an additio

Overseas card spending by South Koreans hit a record high in the second quarter despite a decline in the number of people going overseas, the central bank said Thursday.In the April-June period, overseas card spending amounted to $4.18 billion, up 20.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. From a quarter earlier, the Q2 tally marked a 4-percent increase.Overseas card spending includes purchases made with debit and direct payment cards, in addition to credit cards. The hike

South Korea's finance chief said Wednesday that the government will examine steps to ease regulations to help offset the negative side effects of a looming corporate tax hike.Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon made the comments during a session of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts in parliament when asked about the possible fallout from more taxes on employment and growth.Still, Kim did not elaborate on deregulations. South Korea has been pushing to lift or ease unnecessary business restr

Concerns are growing that local businesses may be compelled to move production abroad, as policies pursued by President Moon Jae-in’s government add significantly to their cost burdens.Measures taken or considered by the new administration since Moon took office in May are expected to make companies shoulder up to 40 trillion won ($35.4 billion) in additional costs next year alone, analysts say.Many businesses will find it hard to absorb increasing labor costs as minimum wages continue to

　The Office of the United States Trade Representative announced Wednesday that the Trump administration remains committed to amending terms of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement, following a joint committee session with Seoul and Washington on Tuesday where the two parties were unable to reach a consensus. 　“Ambassador Lighthizer remains focused on improving implementation of KORUS and amending or modifying the agreement to benefit American workers, farmers, ranchers and businesses,”

South Korea’s population will hit a peak in 2031, predictions by Statistics Korea showed.The number of households, meanwhile, will continue to rise until 2043 due to a rise in single-person households before starting to decline in 2043.

The number of newborn babies in South Korea dropped to a six-month low in June, government data showed Wednesday.About 28,900 babies were born in the month, down 12.2 percent, or 4,000, from 32,900 tallied a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea.It is the second-lowest monthly figure after just 27,200 kids were born in December last year.Childbirths have been on the decline since a 3.4 percent on-year gain in November 2015, logging a double-digit on-year drop for seven straig

South Korea's household debt hit a record high in the second quarter, central bank data showed Wednesday, despite tighter lending rules meant to curb rapidly growing household debt.The country's overall debt incurred by households came to 1,388.3 trillion won ($1.22 trillion) as of end-June, up 10.4 percent from a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Bank of Korea.Household debt rose 2.1 percent in the second quarter from the previous three month period, it said. South Korea's househo