South Korea showed a much higher share of business electricity consumption in total power spending than other member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.In the ministry’s report Monday, power consumption for industrial use in Korea accounted for 56.6 percent of total electricity use in 2015, with just 13.6 percent for household use. But according to the International Energy Association, OECD member countr

Thirty-two South Korean businesses are in need of corporate rehabilitation, according to the Financial Supervisory Service on Sunday. The financially troubled companies were chosen among 602 companies scrutinized by the FSS on their credit risks out of 1,973 local firms with over 50 billion won ($45 million) debt. The FSS rated the 602 firms from A to D, with A and B considered financially healthy while C and D are ill. Among the selected 32 this year, 13 received a C, while the remaining 19 got

The financial health of South Korea’s public sector is improving for the second consecutive year, showed a report by the Bank of Korea last week. The total revenue of the general government sector and public corporations stood at 735.6 trillion won ($659.4 billion) in 2015, up 3.4 percent from the previous year. The public sector’s total expenditure recorded 701.8 trillion won, a 1.1 percent on-year increase. The outpacing revenue growth produced a 33.8 trillion won surplus last year, nearly dou

Exports of Korea’s automobiles in the first half of this year dropped 13.5 percent on-year on lower demand in global emerging markets, data showed Thursday.The nation exported 1.33 million cars in the first half of this year, down from 1.54 million units in the same period last year, according to data released by the Korea Automobile Manufacturer’s Association. The value of total exported cars was $19.01 billion, a 14.4 percent fall from last year’s $22.21 billion. “Sluggish economic growth in e

Korea’s major industries are projected to contract in the second half of this year, a report showed Wednesday. According to the state-invested Korea Development Bank, the amount of orders that local shipbuilders receive will plummet by 88.2 percent in the second half of this year. In the first half, they fell by 94.6 percent on-year. The bank also forecast that construction firms’ orders will shrink by 7.4 percent this year, with a decline both locally and overseas.The display industry is also a

The average duration Korean manufacturers expect their firms to last is growing shorter, as they suffer from falling profitability amid the prolonged economic slowdown at home and abroad, a survey showed Monday.Korean firms’ average expected longevity was 8.4 years, according to a poll by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry of 2,400 manufacturers across the nation Electronics-makers forecast the shortest lifespan, while textile producers had the longest. Nearly half of the respondents sai

Hyundai Motor Group beat global rivals in terms of the percentage of vehicles produced in its home country last year, with nearly 45 percent of its cars produced locally, a carmakers’ business lobby said Sunday. The combined proportion of domestic output for Hyundai Motor Co. and its sister company Kia Motors Corp. was 44.8 percent, the highest among the world’s top five carmakers by sales, according to data from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association. Hyundai Motor and its 34 percent-ow