Calls are rising for South Korea to take full precautions against a possible exodus of foreign capital in the course of tensions escalating over North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapons programs.Government officials have said the impact of the North Korea risk on the local financial market will be limited. Their measured remarks might be intended to avoid exacerbating volatile market sentiment. But many experts including former economic policymakers worry that the government lacks a sense

Korean builders are struggling with deteriorating conditions at home and abroad, raising concerns over the impact of the slumping construction industry on the country’s economy.Local construction orders dropped 3.4 percent from a year earlier in August, following a 33.6 percent decrease in the previous month, according to data from Statistics Korea. The value of accomplished construction works across the country also declined 2 percent on-month in August.This downward trend is set to

Data released last week pointed to the deepening sluggishness of the Korean economy, strengthening the case for readjusting the new administration’s policy focused on expanding welfare benefits and guaranteeing higher wages and a more secure job status for employees.Retail sales and facility investment fell 1 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, from a month earlier in August, according to the data from Statistics Korea.Accomplished construction work also recorded an on-month drop of 2 p

The booming semiconductor sector has veiled the sagging vitality of other major manufacturing industries in Korea, analysts say.The high performance of two local chipmakers -- Samsung Electronics and SK hynix -- has helped boost the country’s exports and corporate profits as a whole. But the overreliance on them causes concerns over the potential damage the Korean economy will suffer when the boom cycle in global demand for semiconductors ends.The country’s semiconductor exports are

The growing signs of the Korean economy weakening amid deteriorating conditions at home and abroad are prompting the government to work on additional stimulus measures.Economic indicators have taken a steep downturn in recent months.The on-year increase in the number of employees remained at 212,000 in August, the lowest in four and a half years, according to Statistics Korea.Output in the sector of restaurants and accommodating facilities fell 4.3 percent from a year earlier in July, reflecting

Trade officials here were perplexed last week by a presidential spokesperson’s remarks dashing the possibility of South Korea taking China to the World Trade Organization for Beijing’s retaliation against Seoul’s hosting of an advanced US missile defense system.The spokesman told a press briefing that South Korea would seek to strengthen strategic communication and cooperation with China to resolve “difficult issues” between the two sides. He said it was important to maintain cooperation with Ch

The relevance of President Moon Jae-in’s income-led growth policy is being put to an early test by the worsening unemployment problem.Data released by Statistics Korea last week showed the on-year increase in the number of newly employed people in August fell to the lowest in four and a half years.  The unemployment rate for young people aged 15-29 stood at 9.4 percent last month, the highest for August since 1999, when the Korean economy was struggling with the aftermath of a foreign

Korea’s manufacturing industries have been losing their vitality, squeezed between worsening external conditions and domestic policies that are an increasing burden on them.Industrial facilities across the country ran at 71.6 percent of their capacities on average in the second quarter of this year, according to Statistics Korea.The figure is the lowest since the January-March period of 2009 when the Korean economy was struggling to pull out of the aftermath of a global financial crisis.&n

China has shown no hesitation in disregarding its obligations under the free trade agreement with South Korea to take retaliatory measures against the deployment of a US missile defense system here.This behavior is reinforcing the perception that Beijing cannot be expected to abide by international norms, such as the separation of politics from economic affairs, when it feels the need to advance or defend its interests.China is threatening to intensify retaliation against South Korea after addit

Doubts are rising over the government’s assertion that the country’s fiscal soundness can be maintained even if public spending increases at a faster pace than economic growth during President Moon Jae-in’s five-year presidency, which began in May.Such an optimistic view is based on expectations that tax revenues will continue to rise as the Korean economy is put on a path toward recovery. A draft tax code revision, if passed during the ongoing parliamentary session, would incr

South Korean companies struggling with restraints on their businesses in China are likely to come under more pressure with the deployment of additional launchers of a US anti-missile battery here set to begin as early as this week.Beijing seems unlikely to ease its stance on the issue in the wake of North Korea’s sixth and most powerful nuclear test Sunday.China began to take retaliatory measures in July last year when Seoul agreed to deploy the US missile shield known as the Terminal High

[THE INVESTOR] Government officials were quick to describe the decision by global credit appraiser Standard & Poor’s on Monday to raise Korea’s sovereign credit rating from AA- to a record high of AA as positive recognition of the way they have handled the country’s economy.In a statement issued the same day, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said the decision was highly surprising, given the rating agency has been downgrading sovereign debt ratings of major economies lately.Ministry official

Some potential candidates going all out in campaign activitiesGreeting a group of senior citizens at a Busan welfare center last Friday, Rep. Park Geun-hye used only her left hand.“Sorry but my (right) hand hurts,” said Park, who had shaken hands with voters all day long. The former chairwoman of th

GNP candidate for Seoul mayor Na Kyung-won waves to supporters in Seoul early this month. (Yonhap News)More women take center stage as Korea braces for major elections next yearAsked to comment on his rival contender announcing policy pledges every day, Park Won-soon, who is running for Seoul mayor

Measures urged to prevent liabilities from holding back growthEncouraging Koreans to have confidence in their economy’s ability to cope with global fiscal crises in his radio address Monday, President Lee Myung-bak listed a set of factors backing his argument, including the national debt being kept