As of October last year, some 1.11 million women were hired in restaurant businesses, taking up 9.8 percent of the total working women. When adding bars and other beverage outlets, the proportion reached 12.0 percent, becoming the No. 1 industry in which women were employed, Statistics Korea data showed Tuesday.Half of the employed Koreans earned 2 million or less per month. When grouped by industry type, the number of employees was the largest in retail.

South Korea's top tax official and his Indian counterpart agreed to avoid double taxation between the two countries, the government said Wednesday.National Tax Service chief Lim Hwan-soo and India's Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia also agreed to create stable tax conditions for investments during their meeting in Seoul, according to the NTS.The bilateral double taxation avoidance pact was reached in September last year, creating a mutual foundation to address double taxation issues facing South

Payouts by private pension savings accounts to investors significantly fell short of needs for post-retirement life, official data showed Wednesday.The average monthly payout by private pension savings stood at 260,000 won ($231) last year, down 20,000 won from a year earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Including an average monthly payout by the National Pension Service, an investor received a total of 600,000 won in pension last year.The payout is compared wit

Consumer sentiment had generally improved in April, but it worsened for those under 40, a detailed index from the central bank indicated Wednesday. The Bank of Korea said overall the consumer sentiment index for the month rose to 101.2 from 96.7 in the previous month. A reading above 100 means there are more optimists than pessimists. However, a separate index for the under-40 age group measuring their sentiment on current economic conditions fell 1 percentage point from 94 in March. This contra

The number of companies that had their credit ratings upgraded increased by 76.9 percent last year compared to the previous year. Those that had their credit ratings downgraded, meanwhile, dropped by 42.8 percent, the Financial Supervisory Service said Tuesday.But there were still three times as many companies with “negative” outlooks for their credit ratings than with “positive” outlooks.

The second annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank  will be held on South Korea's southern island of Jeju in June, the finance ministry said Tuesday.The meeting of the board of governors will held on June 16-18 with the theme "sustainable infrastructure" and more than 10 seminars and discussion sessions, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.   Detailed programs include one-on-one business meetings for networking by people in the infrastruc

South Korea's terms of trade deteriorated slightly in March from a year earlier as a rise in export prices was offset by a hike in import prices, central bank data showed Tuesday.The terms of trade index for products came to 99.57 last month, down 4.5 percent from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The index measures the amount of imports a country can purchase for each unit of exports, showing how the country's exports are doing in comparison to others.In Marc

Despite its recovery in the first quarter, South Korea’s Consumer Confidence Index ranked near the bottom among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to OECD data Monday. The Consumer Confidence Index is an indicator designed to measure consumers’ perception of their economic situation. A reading below 100 indicates that pessimistic consumers outnumber optimists.In March, Korea’s index reached 99.06, increasing for the sec

Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Monday reaffirmed the government's support for local firms seeking to advance into overseas infrastructure markets, stressing their role in creating jobs and revitalizing the economy.During a meeting with business leaders, Hwang reiterated that the government would strive harder to cater to the specific needs of each firm by providing business-related information and financial support, and enhancing cooperation with foreign governments. "

The number of indirect and direct employment induced from South Korean companies‘ exports reached 4.08 million as of last year, a report by the Institute for International Trade at Korea International Trade Association showed Monday.The number of new employment posts induced from every $1 million worth of exports reached 8.23, the highest in five years.

South Koreans are suffering from intensified economic difficulties in recent months due mainly to rising consumer prices and the higher jobless rate, government data showed Monday.The country's so-called misery index, measured by the unemployment rate plus the consumer inflation rate, was 6.4 in the first three months of the year, with the former standing at 4.3 and the latter at 2.1, according to the data by Statistics Korea. It rose sharply from the previous quarter's 4.7, and 3.4 for the July

The number of US import restrictions so far this year has already surpassed half of last year's total, a local trade body said Monday, including one against South Korean products.According to the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), the US has launched an investigation into 24 separate cases on suspicions of anti-dumping and countervailing duties in the January-April period. This is already more than half of the 53 actions taken for the whole of 2016.South Korean carbon and alloy steel

South Korea’s direct investment in the US shot up in 2016 but that in China increased at a slower pace during the same period, industry data showed Monday.According to data by the Export-Import Bank of Korea, the nation’s total overseas direct investment hit a record high of $35.2 billion in 2016, continuing to grow from $23.1 billion in 2007. The growth of FDI in an overseas market means Korean companies either established business operations in the overseas market or acquired contr

The following is the second in a series of articles breaking down the presidential candidates’ major economic pledges in a simulated question-and-answer format by gathering their answers from their official websites, media interviews, public speeches, books and more. The second installment delves into their proposals on job creation. -- Ed.Job creation is a top priority in presidential candidates’ campaign pledges, as the South Korean economy faces a series of problems in terms of jo