SEJONG (Yonhap) -- The unemployment rate for the age group of 20s and 30s with no career experience hit a record high in the first quarter, due largely to a sluggish recruitment market and preference for hiring experienced workers, government data showed Saturday.The tally on the unemployed aged 20-39 who have never had a job came to 95,000 in the January-March period, recording the highest level since the government began to track related data in 1999, according to Statistics Korea. The number

YOKOHAMA, Japan (Yonhap) -- The South Korean economy will gain further momentum after the presidential election set to take place early next week, central bank governor said Saturday, citing strong exports and improved consumer sentiment amid signs of recovery in global economies.“In the past, domestic consumption tended to gather momentum on positive anticipation over the economy in the first year of the new administration, since the new government had pushed its drive for boost measures,

Chief financial policymakers of South Korea, Japan and China have vowed to fight against "all forms of protectionism" amid growing concerns of US President Donald Trump's protectionist policies. Finance ministers and central bank governors of the three nations made the pledge Thursday after their meeting on the sidelines of an annual gathering of the Asian Development Bank, according to their joint statement. The Northeast Asian powers agreed that "trade is one of the most importa

South Korea's trade minister said Thursday that the government is preparing for every possible scenario, including the renegotiation of a free trade deal with the United States."Seoul is studying every aspect of the pact and getting ready to deal with each case, including the renegotiation of the South Korea-US free trade agreement," Trade Minister Joo Hyung-hwan said in a meeting with experts and researchers from state-run think tanks and private institutions. "We will keep close

Finance ministers and central bank governors of South Korea, China and Japan will hold talks to coordinate policies and strengthen cooperation in the emergence of trade protectionism, Seoul's finance ministry said Thursday.The trilateral meeting will be held Friday in the Japanese city of Yokohama, with South Korea's Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho to be the chairperson, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol will also attend the gathering.The policymakers f

South Korea’s chronic deficit in its services account hit a new high in the first quarter, as Chinese tourists shunned the country in the wake of Beijing’s apparent retaliation against the deployment of a US anti-missile system, the central bank said Thursday.According to the Bank of Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw its current account surplus halve to $5.9 billion in March from $10.5 billion a year earlier, mainly due to a widened deficit in its services account and a

South Korea's current account surplus narrowed in March from a year earlier due to an increased deficit in the service balance, central bank data showed Thursday.The country's current account surplus reached $5.93 billion in March, compared with a surplus of $10.55 billion a year earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.The figure represents a surplus for 61 months in a row. The current account is the biggest measure of cross-border trade.The BOK said the widened deficit

South Korea's foreign exchange reserves rose slightly in April from a month earlier due to a hike in the value of non-dollar currencies when converted into the US greenback, central bank data showed Thursday.As of the end of April, the country's foreign exchange reserves came to $376.57 billion, up $1.27 billion from the previous month, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.Foreign exchange reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, as well as International M

Conspicuously missing from the five major presidential candidates’ campaign pledges is how they would address increasing external trade pressures on the country, particularly the protectionism pursued by US President Donald Trump, upon winning next week’s election.During their debate on economic issues last week, the audience was apparently let down by their unfocused approaches to a rising US demand for renegotiating the bilateral free trade agreement that took effect in 2012.A day

The return of high denomination 50,000 won notes hit a four-year high early this year, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Wednesday.The central bank said it retrieved 4.59 trillion won ($4.06 billion) worth of the notes in the first quarter of this year, while printing 6.96 trillion won in new bills.This represents a return rate of roughly 66 percent, up from 57.5 percent in the last three months of last year.The return rate of the notes first issued in June 2009 has been on the decline since 2013 fal

The head of Korea's central bank will attend three major policy meetings set to take place in Japan later in the week, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Wednesday.BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol plans to participate in the 20th ASEAN-plus-three finance ministers and central bank chiefs meeting Friday, the 50th ADB annual gathering Saturday and the BIS meeting from Sunday to Monday, the bank said. At the meetings, Lee is expected to discuss pending issues in the financial markets and touch on measures to expand

South Korea and China will both be hurt economically by the fallout caused by the deployment of the advanced US missile defense system on the Korean Peninsula, a local think tank said Wednesday.According to the Hyundai Research Institute (HRI), Beijing's retaliation against Seoul's decision to station a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here could cost Asia's fourth-largest economy 8.5 trillion won ($7.5 billion) in losses in 2017. This translates into the country's gross domes

Korea's incoming president is expected to help push up the country's stock prices to record high levels, local market watchers, citing past trends, said Wednesday.Analysts said the prediction is based on the recent rise in share prices fueled by generally good earnings reports by big name companies in the first quarter and forecasts that the global economy is on the mend. They also said that the country's stock market has almost always moved up during the first two years of a new president's ter

Offshore investors' holdings of Korean stocks hit an all-time high last week, as the nation's benchmark index has gained on better-than-expected corporate earnings, according to the Korea Exchange on Wednesday. Foreign investors' holdings of Korean stocks stood at 522.8 trillion won ($463.1 billion) as of last Friday, compared with 408.3 trillion won on May 2, 2011, when the index closed at an all-time high of 2,228.96.Foreign holdings accounted for 36.5 percent of the KOSPI's market capitalizat

South Korea’s exports to the United States are expected to suffer losses of as much as $17 billion over five years if the two nations renegotiate their bilateral free trade deal, according to a report. The Korea Economic Research Institute, a private think tank in Seoul, said in the report that South Korea’s auto, machine and steel sectors would suffer the most if tariff rates are revised upon renegotiation.In another possible scenario, if the two agree to delay the tariff eliminatio