Representatives of South Korea's labor and management have agreed to set next year's minimum hourly wage at 9,620 won ($7.41) in a 5 percent increase from this year, officials said Thursday. The Minimum Wage Commission, which is composed of nine members each from labor, business and the general public, struck the agreement Wednesday night during a plenary session held at the government complex in Sejong. The new rate translates to a monthly wage of 2.02 million won. It will apply equal

South Korea's industrial output and facility investment rebounded in May from the previous month in the latest sign that Asia's fourth-largest economy maintains mild recovery momentum amid heightened external uncertainty, data showed Thursday. Industrial production rose 0.8 percent in May from the previous month, compared with a 0.9 percent on-month fall in April, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Compared with a year earlier, industrial output grew 7.1 percent. Facility inv

South Korea's business sentiment worsened for July amid deepening concerns over high raw materials prices and a global economic downturn, a central bank poll showed Thursday. The business sentiment index (BSI) for local companies came to 82 for July, down 5 points from the previous month, according to the survey by the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index measures corporate prospects for business conditions in the following month. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. The figu

SEJONG -- South Korea has recently carried out a senior-level promotion in the Czech Republic for its nuclear energy technologies in an attempt to win a reactor project in the European nation, the Energy Ministry said Wednesday. The core of promotion activities was Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang’s meetings with Czech senior officials and political heavyweights in Prague on Tuesday.   In a meeting with his counterpart Jozef Sikela, Lee commented on details on Ko

Inflation expectations hit 10-year high ahead of BOK rate decision in July

Representatives of South Korea's labor and management have submitted amendments to their respective proposals for an increase in next year's minimum wage, only to confirm a wide gap, officials said Wednesday. Under the current law, the 27-member Minimum Wage Commission (MWC), a trilateral panel composed of nine representatives each from labor, management and the general public, has to complete its review on the new minimum wage by mid-July for a formal announcement by Aug. 5 every year

South Korea's terms of trade worsened for the 14th straight month in May due to fast-rising import prices of oil and other key commodities, central bank data showed Wednesday. The nation's net terms-of-trade index for goods -- a gauge of overall trade terms -- stood at 85.33 last month, down 10.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The figure, however, was up 1.3 percent from a month earlier, the first on-month rise in four month

Business leaders of South Korea and Japan will hold their annual meeting early next week, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) said Wednesday, after a nearly three-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Korea-Japan Business Council, co-hosted by the FKI and the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, will take place in Seoul at the FKI headquarters Monday, the FKI said in a release. More than 20 top business leaders, including the chiefs of the FKI and Keidanren -- Huh Chang-soo

A diner is seen eating alone at a university cafeteria in Seoul on Tuesday. The cost of eating out at a restaurant for a four-person household in the first quarter of this year jumped 17 percent from the previous year, while the sharp rise in the cost of dining out has driven a 3.8 percent surge in the Consumer Price Index on-year, according to recent data by Statistics Korea.

In meeting with employers, Choo warns ‘excessive’ pay raises aggravate inflation

Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho asked companies Tuesday to refrain from excessively raising wages for employees as the move could further accelerate inflation. Choo made the request during a meeting with members of the Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF), including Sohn Kyung-shik, federation chief and CJ Group chairman, and Rhee In-yong, president of Samsung Electronics Co. "We're concerned that some IT companies and large conglomerates have recently jacked up wages, and such a trend ha

About 4 out of 10 companies in South Korea saw their raw material prices jump 20 percent or more this year amid fast-rising oil and commodity bills, a central bank survey showed Monday. According to the survey by the Bank of Korea on 570 firms, 40.3 percent said so, with 8.1 percent saying that the prices jumped 50 percent or higher compared with a year earlier. With the raw material price increase, 69 percent of those surveyed raised the prices of their products or services. Of them, 43.1 perce

A top official of the Bank of Korea (BOK) will attend a meeting of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) this week in the Netherlands and discuss global cooperation, Seoul's central bank said Monday. Bank of Korea (BOK) Deputy Gov. Lee Seung-heon will depart for the European country on Tuesday to join the general assembly of the FSB in Amsterdam on Thursday, according to the BOK. The FSB is a consultation body that coordinates and cooperates for global financial market stability. It is made u

SEJONG -- Economic policymakers on Friday said they would ramp up pressure on gas stations in a bid to ease inflationary pressure from surging energy costs, as soon as an expanded fuel tax cut goes into effect next week. The government announced last week that it would further increase tax cuts on fuel consumption from the current 30 percent to 37 percent, the maximum legal cap. “In consultation with the oil refinery industry, (the government) plans to induce a cut in supply prices for g

Consumption of gasoline and diesel in South Korea jumped more than 40 percent in May from a month earlier, as expanded fuel tax subsidies channeled pent-up demand from the pandemic, data showed Friday. The combined consumption of the two fuel types reached 24.82 million barrels, up 43 percent from 17.35 million barrels logged in April, according to the data by Petronet, an online petroleum information provider run by the Korea National Oil Corp. The surge contrasts with the declining trend seen