President-elect Park Geun-hye said Wednesday that her government would seek to reform business laws and regulations for small- and medium-sized enterprises as a means to sustain growth that can be shared with and felt by everyone.“The incoming government believes in the importance of promoting (the so-called) ‘warm growth’ that can reach all parts of the society,” said Park in a meeting with SME businesspeople and members of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry.She added that her administr

Foreign shareholdings in Korean stocks and bonds have hit a record-high due to monetary easing overseas that led to the inflow of funds investing in higher yielding and riskier assetsEquity and debt investments by foreign investors reached 502.6 trillion won in total as of the end of 2012, mainly driven by funds from Europe and the U.S. where central banks had been printing and pumping money to stimulate their economies, according to Financial Supervisory Service data. It showed that the U.S. wa

Following is the 11th in a series of articles on President-elect Park Geun-hye’s key policies ― Ed. Korea has entered a period of low growth. A slew of analysts say it is heading in a direction similar to Japan’s “Lost Decade.”With 1 percent growth coupled with the global economy facing further slowdown in 2013, the outlook for Korean exports, the country’s main source of growth, is not looking rosy.President-elect Park Geun-hye, who has an engineering background, sees a need to overcome future

The Korean won has been gaining against the U.S. dollar since the second half of last year, raising concerns among policymakers about whether the exchange rate will break the psychological threshold of 1,000 won per dollar.Korea has maintained its policy, even through currency intervention, for a weak won as a means to support exports, the country’s main growth driver, as a strong won makes Korean products more expensive overseas.Should the won show signs of gaining further, the government is mo

Zodiac Maritime Agencies, a global ship owner and manager, could be interested in acquiring STX Pan Ocean, Korea’s leading operator of bulk carriers, industry sources said.The London-based ship management company, owned by the Ofer family, is believed to have emerged as "one of the potential overseas candidates" to purchase a controlling 36.8 percent stake in the Korean shipping company, the sources claimed.The 36.8 percent is held by STX, the parent holding company, STX Offshore & Shipbuilding,

Annual income growth for households headed by those in their 20s and 30s has been waning as the economic slowdown casts a shadow over young adult employment.According to Korea’s statistics bureau and financial data, the average annual salary increase for young employees decreased to 2.67 percent in the third quarter of 2012, from 5.31 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011.Meanwhile, households headed by those in their 40s and 50s, Korea’s main workforce, saw their annual income increase about 6

The Tungurahua volcano in central Ecuador keeps spewing gas, ash and red-hot rock, forcing hundreds to evacuate from their homes.The country’s Geophysical Institute says incandescent rock shot from the crater of the 5,023-meter high mountain fell about half (a kilometer) down its flanks. Explosions early Wednesday rattled windows 14 kilometers away, while rain-borne ash has been falling to the southwest of the crater.Regional emergency director Lourdes Mayorga says that about 100 families are st

Patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes often gradually show symptoms of depression as their illness progresses.The link between diabetes and depression had long been suggested, but not proven, by scientists as far back as the 1680s when renowned English doctor Thomas Willis first stated the hypothesis.A team of Korean and American scientists, led by Dr. Lyoo In-kyoon of Ewha Brain Institute and Division of Life and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Ewha Womans University, corroborated this thr