The first negotiating session for next year's minimum wage fell through Tuesday, as public sector representatives stayed away from the meeting in protest of labor activists shouting slogans in the conference room. The tripartite Minimum Wage Commission, which is composed of nine members each from labor, business and public sectors, was scheduled to meet for its first plenary meeting at 3 p.m. Tuesday to determine the minimum wage for 2024. But public sector representatives, including Commis

The Korean government will extend the current tax cut imposed on fuel until the end of August, the Finance Ministry announced Tuesday. Fuel tax reductions -- namely a 25 percent cut for gasoline, and 37 percent cuts for diesel and the liquefied petroleum gas butane -- which were to end in April, will last for another four months, considering the rising prices of oil, the ministry said. The cut pulls down gasoline prices by cutting tax worth 205 won ($0.16) from 820 won to 615 won per liter, di

South Korean imports of Japanese seafood swelled nearly 21 percent in the first quarter of 2023 despite concerns over Tokyo's planned release of contaminated water from its crippled nuclear power plant, government data showed Tuesday. Seoul imported $48.6 million worth of fishery products from the neighboring country in the January-March period, up 20.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. It marked the largest first-quarter value of Japanese se

Concerns mount over South Korea's chip export slump, low recovery of Chinese tourist numbers

South Korea was not considering planning a supplementary budget, its finance minister has said, despite a looming decline in this year's tax income. "We are not mulling a supplementary budget at this point," Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said during a meeting with reporters in Washington on Thursday (U.S. time), where he attended the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' meeting. The comment came as South Korea's tax income declined 15.7 trillion won ($12 billion) as of Fe

WASHINGTON -- South Korean Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho has said he will meet with his Japanese counterpart, Shunichi Suzuki, next month, the first meeting between the finance ministers of the two neighbors in nearly seven years in the latest sign of a thaw in diplomatic relations. The agreement was made in Washington where the two attended the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' meeting, Choo said last Thursday. "Since the two leaders initiated a watershed moment (for

Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong underlined that is “too early” to discuss a rate cut, issuing a warning on growing expectations that the central bank may start to cut its base rate soon. With the BOK deciding to hold the rate at 3.5 percent for a second consecutive time on Tuesday, market expectations have grown that the rate hike cycle has ended and a pivot on the BOK’s rate stance could come within the year. Rhee, however, drew a line, saying it is premature to discuss a

The South Korean economy continues to face uncertainties amid global price hikes but conditions are expected to improve from the second half of the year, the country's finance minister said Thursday. Choo Kyung-ho, who is double-hatted as deputy prime minister, also said the country will work to keep prices down. Economic conditions for South Korea "are believed to gradually show signs of improvement," Choo told reporters. The South Korean finance minister is currently on a trip t

Market sees end of rate hike cycle; central bank warns against ‘excessively’ dovish market expectation

Global investors have hailed South Korea's latest efforts to revamp its financial regulations, such as the extension of trading hours, pointing out they will help the country attract more investment, the finance ministry said Wednesday. The assessment came during Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho's meetings with representatives from major US investors, including Blackstone, the Bank of New York Mellon, and Goldman Sachs, earlier this week in New York on Monday and Tuesday, according to th

Korea's rate freeze to further widen gap with US

Large South Korean firms saw their interest expenses spike more than 50 percent in 2022 from a year earlier due to rising interest rates, a corporate tracker said Tuesday. The combined interest cost of 377 out of the country's top 500 firms by sales stood at 39.9 trillion won ($30.2 billion) last year, up 50.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the Leaders Index. The surge came as South Korea's central bank has remained hawkish in an effort to curb persistently high inflation. T

South Korea's exports fell 8.6 percent on-year in the first 10 days of April, data showed Tuesday, due to the continued downcycle in the global chip industry. The country's outbound shipments stood at $14 billion in the April 1-10 period, compared with $15.3 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports shed 7.3 percent on-year to $17.4 billion during the cited period, resulting in a trade deficit of $3.41 billion. In March, outbound shipments fe

South Korea's trade surplus with China is expected to be weaker than in the past down the road, although it is unlikely to result in a deficit, the finance minister has said. "It is clear that China will not give our economy a chance to rebound as quickly as it has in the past," Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said during a meeting with South Korean reporters in New York on Monday. Exports to China, South Korea's top trading partner, plunged 33.4 percent on-year in March to re