The Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office announced Tuesday it is speeding up its investigation into alleged large-scale collusion among Korea’s major construction companies, which are suspected of bid rigging a project to build liquefied natural gas storage tanks. 　Last year 13 construction companies, including Hyundai E&C, Daewoo E&C and Daelim E&C, were slapped with 351.6 billion won ($309.2 million) in fines by the Fair Trade Commission after the governmental watchdog accused the builde

　President Moon Jae-in is embarking on his first overseas trip as Korea’s leader, attending a critical two-day Korea-US Summit with President Donald Trump on Thursday and Friday. 　During the summit, Moon is slated to spearhead delegations that are to highlight the importance of the five-year Korea-US Free Trade Agreement as well as address looming uncertainties regarding the US’ attempts to renegotiate it -- a crucial economic issue here since Trump took office in January. 　With his

CEOs and business leaders from some of the country’s top conglomerates are heading to the United States alongside President Moon Jae-in for a two-day Korea-US Business Summit with President Donald Trump next week, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry announced Thursday. 　In Moon’s first international trip as the new president, he will be joined by a 52-person Korean business delegation, which includes Hyundai Motor Company Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae

To help startups prepare for the future, Korea Development Bank has been running the “KDB Next Round” program that helps link companies with new investors.　First launched in August last year, KDB’s Next Round was introduced in an effort to minimize market friction and promote market expansion in order to further develop startup investments in the wake of the “fourth industrial revolution.”　The KDB’s investment platform does not involve a funding model or direc

The number of single households is continuing to spike as more Koreans live away from their families, while the country’s marriage rate continues to nose-dive. 　According to a survey released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the number of single-person households in the second half of 2016 reached roughly 5.27 million as of October last year, up 3.3 percent from the previous year. 　The data showed that the number of married people living alone hit 3.12 million or 59.1 percent of all singl

A forum of the world’s five largest intellectual property offices, known as IP5, emphasized its new vision for a stronger and more flexible intellectual property system that can adapt to the fourth industrial revolution at an event marking 10 years of global cooperation.The heads of IP5, including Lee Young-dae, acting commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, gathered together in Valletta, Malta on May 31 and June 1 to take stock of all the achievements made by the offices

The government said Monday it would apply stricter lending regulations on homes in Seoul and parts of Busan to curb real estate speculation and reduce household debt.　The announcement was made jointly by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Financial Services Commission and the Ministry of Construction and Transportation. 　The new regulations, which are set to take effect on July 3, stipulates that the loan-to-value ratio in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, Sejong and selected areas in Busan are t

Despite strong exports, South Korea’s current account balance slid to $4 billion in April this year, recording the smallest surplus in the past year, according to the Bank of Korea on Monday. 　Bank of Korea announced the current account balance had continued a surplus for 62 consecutive months, but the growth in exports was offset by higher dividend payouts to foreigner investors, surging oil prices and other factors, which contributed to the current account surplus decreasing dramatically