For President Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s first progressive state chief in almost a decade, challenging goals include reducing economic inequality and expanding state-led public welfare, without financially burdening the average taxpayer.To achieve the goals, the president has been saying that his set of economic democratization plans do not require an extra tax increase, while leaving room for “further discussion” on the matter. “It is absolutely crucial to stabilize real

With the looming possibility of a trade war between the US and China over intellectual property rights, the Korea International Trade Association says prospects are high that Korean companies will see a consequent slump in export figures. 　In a report Wednesday, KITA researchers said, “We need to take action,” claiming that if the US unilaterally imposes trade sanctions against China -- and if a full-scale trade dispute is sparked, the economic battle between the two economies is lik

The Patent Court of Korea is gearing up to launch the 2017 International IP Court Conference on Sept. 6 in Daejeon under the theme of “court, IP and business.” 　This year’s conference will feature four sessions: cooperation and harmonization among IP courts; new challenges in IP litigation from a business perspective; recent issues on pharmaceutical and biotech patents; and patentability and remedies with a focus on the ICT industry.The upcoming international forum will also fe

Foreign currency deposits held by banks operating in South Korea rose in July from a month earlier as exporters increased their deposits of dollar-denominated earnings, central bank data showed Thursday.Outstanding foreign currency deposits held by local lenders, domestic and foreign, reached $69.11 billion in July, up $5.5 billion from a month earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.Broken down, foreign currency deposits held by domestic banks came to $59.38 billion in July, up from $54.

The government’s plan to impose more levies on large companies will undermine their competitiveness amid a rising global trend of tax reductions and further distort the country’s taxation structure, analysts say.A draft tax code revision unveiled early this month proposes raising the corporate tax rate for businesses with taxable profit of 200 billion won ($176 million) or more to 25 percent from the current 22 percent.The proposal goes against moves by most major economies to cut co

South Koreans are expected to jack up their spending on sports and tours in the third quarter of this year, a survey showed Wednesday, as the country's key consumer sentiment index reached a six-year high last month.According to the survey conducted by the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute, the expected consumer sentiment index in the culture, sports and tourism sector for the July-September period came to 110.1, up 3.2 points from a year earlier.  A reading above 100 means optimists ou

　Amid ambiguity regarding the US President Donald Trump administration’s vow to alter certain terms of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement, Tami Overby, senior vice president for Asia at the US Chamber of Commerce, reiterated her stance that the trade deal continues to be mutually beneficial to both nations. 　“What the Korea-USA FTA provides to American companies in Asia is a launching pad,” Overby said during an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday.　“US businesses

Kakao Bank, South Korea's second Internet-only bank, has emerged as the leading provider of household loans this month, far outpacing its sole competitor and traditional lenders, data showed Wednesday.According to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service, Kakao Bank saw its household lending increase by 540 billion won ($473 million) in the first 11 days of this month, the largest amount among 19 lenders in the country.It accounted for 24.9 percent of the 19 lenders' combined household le

South Korea's finance minister and central bank governor pledged Wednesday to take measures to stabilize financial markets, if necessary, amid lingering tensions between North Korea and the United States."The government and the Bank of Korea plan to make aggressive efforts to stabilize financial markets by closely monitoring domestic and foreign financial markets," BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said in a meeting with Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon in Seoul.Kim also said the government will take

The ratio of long-term unemployed people to the total jobless in South Korea reached an 18-year high in July, data showed Wednesday, as companies were reluctant to offer quality jobs amid uncertainties over their future.The long-term unemployed numbered 180,000 in July, accounting for 18.7 percent of the total jobless and marking the highest figure since 19.7 percent for September 1999, shortly after the country's foreign exchange crisis, according to the data from Statistics Korea.Long-term une

South Korea's credit default risk has hit an 18-month high amid saber-rattling between the United States and North Korea over the latter's weapons program, data showed Wednesday.The credit default swap (CDS) premium for South Korean foreign exchange stabilization bonds with a five-year maturity reached 70 basis points as of Monday, the highest level since 71 basis points on Feb. 25, 2016, according to the data by the Korea Center for International Finance.The CDS premium jumped 13 basis points o

Although the proportion has continued to decline, 1 in 5 of those employed in South Korea work at least 54 hours a week, data from Statistics Korea showed.Average weekly working hours have been falling since the introduction of the five-day workweek in 2004, but the decline rate has become stagnant since the system was fully adopted in 2010.

South Korea's government said Tuesday that it will provide 100 billion won ($87.6 million) in special credit guarantees to young entrepreneurs that are setting up new companies and hiring workers.The plan made possible by the passage of the extra budget through parliament last month, is being pushed forward by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and aims to create good jobs by launching competitive venture businesses. The ministry said business owners who are 39 years old and younger, and have hi

South Korea's trade surplus remained in the black for the 66th month in a row in July amid brisk outbound shipments, customs data showed Tuesday.The country's trade surplus came to $10.3 billion last month, slightly down from a surplus of $10.7 billion tallied a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.Asia's fourth-largest economy has posted a monthly trade surplus since February 2012. It logged $6.7 billion in trade surplus with Southeast Asian countries in July, inc

A recent string of economic indicators point to the weakening recovery of the Korean economy, casting doubts over the government’s expectation that this year’s growth rate will reach 3 percent.In its monthly economic assessment report released last week, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said the recovery pace “was not solid,” as an upturn in exports and facility investment was offset by weak industrial output.The cautious assessment followed analysis made earlier by t