The Bank of Korea (BOK) may raise its 2021 growth forecast to some 4 percent this week as exports showed signs of a strong recovery amid an aggressive fiscal stimulus, economists said Wednesday. The BOK is widely expected to freeze its key rate at a record low of 0.5 percent at Thursday's monetary policy meeting, but market observers will closely monitor the central bank's revised growth outlook. The BOK's February forecast was that South Korea's economy would grow 3 percent this year. So

The new US special representative for North Korea, Sung Kim, spoke by phone with his Japanese counterpart and the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the State Department said Tuesday. US President Joe Biden announced Kim's appointment last week after summit talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Kim, a career diplomat, has served as ambassador to South Korea, the Philippines and Indonesia as well as a special envoy for six-party t

Large companies in South Korea cut their workforce nearly 1 percent in 2020 from a year earlier in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. According to CEO Score, 309 out of the country's top 500 corporations had a combined headcount of 1,203,835 as of the end of March, down 0.8 percent or 9,756 from end-December 2019. The number of their regular workers declined 1 percent to around 1.13 million over the cited period, with that of irregular employees edging up

South Korean manufacturers' business sentiment fell for June, marking the first on-month decline since January, as chip shortages cost automakers, central bank data showed Wednesday. The business sentiment index (BSI) for local manufacturers came to 97 for June down from 98 for May, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The index measures manufacturers' outlook on business conditions in the following month. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. Hyundai Motor

WASHINGTON -- The United States supports the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games, but only "very limited" categories of Americans, including athletes, will travel to the host nation, a White House spokeswoman said Tuesday. Jen Psaki also said US athletes and other visitors will follow a very strict set of safety protocols while taking part in the quadrennial sporting event that has already been delayed by a year. "Our position has not changed on the Olympics. We respected the decision

South Korea announced Wednesday that people who have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine will no longer be required to wear masks outdoors starting in July, as part of incentives for those participating in the public vaccine campaign. The incentive program announced at a daily interagency coronavirus response meeting also included a plan to lift the gathering ban for direct family members who have had their first vaccine dose. South Korea launched its two-dose vaccination regimen campa

South Korea's daily new coronavirus cases sharply bounced back to a nearly two-week high Wednesday as sporadic cluster infections, along with more transmissible variant cases, continued to pop up across the country. The health authorities said those who are vaccinated will be partly exempted from wearing masks and other virus restrictions in an effort to encourage more people to get COVID-19 jabs. The country reported 707 more COVID-19 cases, including 684 local infections, raising the total c

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, helped by expectations of a fast economic recovery from the pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 6.76 points, or 0.21 percent, to 3,178.08 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks advanced despite the overnight losses on Wall Street, as local economists increasingly speculate that the central bank may raise its 2021 growth forecast to some 4 percent this week. A strong 41.1 percent jump in April exports

South Korea plans to invest about 73 trillion won ($65.4 billion) in its signature green energy projects by 2025 as it seeks to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, the finance minister said Tuesday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the country is working to attain the goal of going carbon neutral in a bid to transform the country‘s fossil-fuel reliant economy into an eco-friendly one. “We plan to invest 3.8 percent of our gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025 in Green New Deal proj

South Korean stocks ended their three-day losing streak Tuesday, following the US Federal Reserve's comments that helped ease concerns of early post-pandemic inflation. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 27.02 points, or 0.86 percent, to close at 3,171.32 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 603 billion shares worth some 11.5 trillion won ($10.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 618 to 224. Foreigners bought

South Korea plans to provide tax incentives and financial support to makers of automotive chip parts and other key parts and materials, the finance minister said Tuesday. Hong Nam-ki said the country plans to offer support to corporate projects to develop eight key parts and materials, including automotive chip parts and rare-earth permanent magnets used for electric vehicles. Hong said at a meeting on the parts and material industries that the move will help attract private investments worth

North Korea's official newspaper on Tuesday called for all-out efforts to promptly finish planting rice within the optimal period at all costs amid concerns unexpected rainfall could hamper rice planting. Ri Jae-hyon, department director at the North's agriculture ministry, made the appeal in a contributory piece carried by the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the North's ruling Workers' Party. "Rice planting may not go as planned due to unfavorable farming conditions," Ri said, urging of

A total of 52 South Koreans who arrived from India this month on special flights have tested positive for the new coronavirus, health authorities said Tuesday. Of 1,718 people who returned home from the pandemic-ravaged country, 3 percent were confirmed to have been infected with COVID-19, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). South Korea has airlifted its nationals from India 10 times via special flights since May 4 after the South Asian country became a virus h

South Korea has refrained from specific comments about China's internal affairs and that stance was reflected in last week's joint summit statement with the United States, Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong said Tuesday. Chung made the remarks during a briefing on the outcome of the summit between President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden in response to a question why their joint statement, which calls for improvement in North Korea's human rights situation, made no mention of human rights

South Korea on Tuesday confirmed three more cases of so-called breakthrough COVID-19 infections, bringing the total caseload here to four. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said the four people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus even after receiving two doses of a vaccine.   A "breakthrough case" is when a person tests positive form COVID-19 between their first and second doses of a two-dose regimen or a person tests positive after full vac