South Korean exports of information and communication technology products increased for the eighth consecutive month in June on brisk overseas sales of semiconductors and displays, government data showed Wednesday.A total of $15.9 billion worth of Korean-made ICT products were shipped overseas last month, up 18 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.June's overseas shipments of ICT products marked a monthly record high for

South Korea's top economic policy chief said Wednesday that he will make all-out efforts to stave off any fallout from heightening external pressures, such as a potential US rate hike and spreading trade protectionism."We are facing Washington's tightening monetary policy and a trend toward trade protectionism," Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said in a policy meeting in Seoul. "We need concerted efforts to deal with such risks."In line with changes, he said the government wil

South Korea's jobless rate edged up in June as the number of newly employed people recorded a five-month low amid a feeble economic recovery, government data showed Wednesday.The unemployment rate stood at 3.8 percent last month, up 0.2 percentage point from the same month last year, according to the report compiled by Statistics Korea. From a month earlier, it also rose 0.2 percentage point.The number of employed people reached 26.86 million in June, up 301,000 from a year earlier, marking the

South Korea's new government will seek both growth and fairer wealth distribution under the main theme of "good growth," a presidential official said Tuesday, hinting it will also break from the country's longstanding preoccupation with numerical targets."The new government will pursue good growth," the official told reporters, declining to be named. "This means we will no longer follow the pattern of putting forward growth targets and pushing for growth-centric policies

With Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power’s pending decision to suspend the construction of Shin-Kori No. 5 and 6 nuclear power plants in Ulsan, the plant’s parent company Korea Electric Power Corp. is reviewing whether it could be held legally liable to its shareholders.  　After taking office in May, President Moon Jae-in decided to temporarily suspend the construction of the Shin-Kori plants as part of his administration’s nuclear-free energy policy to reduce the country&rsqu

South Korea's state audit agency on Tuesday requested that the prosecution probe the customs service over a suspected illicit selection of duty-free operators in 2015. The Board of Audit and Inspection raised suspicions that the Korea Customs Service arbitrarily applied rules to eliminate Hotel Lotte from receiving a license to run a duty-free store in Seoul in its July and November biddings.  It also accused the KCS of later creating additional slots in breach of regulations to help the du

South Korea's exports shot up nearly 40 percent in the first 10 days of this month from a year earlier on robust overseas demand for semiconductors and ships, customs data showed Tuesday.Total outbound shipments reached $14.3 billion from July 1-10, up 38.5 percent from $10.3 billion tallied over the same period last year, according to numbers compiled by the Korea Customs Service.The sharp increase was led by a 574.4 percent on-year surge in exports of vessels and a 50.4 percent gain in chips,

The South Korean economy is experiencing a feeble recovery as brisk exports and investment were offset by flaccid private consumption and weak service sector growth, a government report said Tuesday."On the back of an upturn in global trade, upbeat exports and investment pushed up the South Korean economy to a large extent, while domestic demand remained weak due to sluggish private consumption and service sector output," the finance ministry said in its monthly economy assessment repo

Local egg prices still are high despite the arrival of eggs imported from Thailand following the latest outbreak of bird flu, data showed Tuesday.The Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade said a carton of 30 eggs was priced at an average 7,969 won ($6.94) as of Monday, up slightly from last month. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, 970,000 eggs imported from the Southeast Asian country arrived in South Korea via ship last week. The government has been dealing with

Korea has seen foreign direct investment slump and investments by local companies abroad balloon over the past few years.According to data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Korean firms’ investments overseas amounted to $276.1 billion for a decade through 2016, nearly tripling $94.7 billion invested by foreign businesses in the nation over the same period.Last year alone, Korean companies invested $35.2 billion abroad, up 14.2 percent from the year before, strengthening effo

Drivers who are less at fault for a car accident, will pay lower auto insurance premiums in a change from the current system, the financial regulator said Monday. The change, which will go into effect from September, is aimed at adjusting the degree of balance between at-fault drivers and those who are much less responsible for an accident after reporting the case to an insurance firm to get compensation. Currently, if a driver is 80 percent responsible for an accident with the other driver bein

　Home purchases are becoming increasingly unaffordable and prices and loan interest rates have reached their highest level in four year and three months, the Korea Housing-Finance Corp. announced Monday. 　In the first quarter of this year, the Korea-Housing Affordability Index rose to 59.3, a 0.4 percentage point increase compared to the previous quarter, according to data. The figure marks the highest average rate in more than four years since reaching 59.9 in the fourth quarter of 2012.　The K-

More corporate CEOs are becoming less optimistic about the immediate future of the global economy compared with last year, an international survey said Monday.   The poll carried out by consulting firm KPMG International said that out of 1,261 CEOs from 10 countries who were canvassed between Feb. 21 and April 11 this year, 65 percent were confident about global economic growth for the next three years. Although still a majority, the number lags behind the 80 percent tallied last year.

The head of South Korea's antitrust watchdog said Monday that he will strengthen the enforcement of fair trade laws by expanding civil actions against rule-breaking companies."I will introduce a system that will allow multiple economic players to enforce trade rules at the same time," Fair Trade Commission Chairman Kim Sang-jo said in a conference held in Seoul. "I will make efforts to get trade law violations be resolved through civil suits." Under the current Fair Trade Act