South Korea's industry minister has vowed to come up with support packages for the auto and shipbuilding companies to tackle challenges facing the sluggish manufacturing sectors.Sung Yun-mo, minister of trade, industry and energy, put top priority on revitalizing the key manufacturing sectors as

South Korean manufacturing companies have grimmer expectations for next month as escalating trade rows between the United States and China weigh heavily on their export-oriented production, a central bank poll showed on Oct. 30, 2018.The business survey index (BSI) of manufacturers came to 72 for No

South Korea's suicide rate remains the highest among developed nations despite declines in recent years, comparative statistics from welfare authorities indicated on Oct. 29, 2018.An analysis of health data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), conducted by the M

South Korea's consumer sentiment fell slightly to below the breakeven point of 100 in October as rising oil prices and sliding stock prices hurt peoples' confidence in the future, a central bank poll showed on Oct. 26, 2018. Based on a new set of household samples, the composite consumer sen

The number of elderly people dying lonely deaths is increasing, especially for men, welfare data showed on Oct. 26, 2018. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which released the data for a parliamentary audit, 3,331 aged people died over the past five years while living alone. Th

The South Korean economy slowed down in the July-September period, central bank data showed on Oct. 25, 2018, fueling concerns of an economic downturn. In the three months, Asia's fourth-largest economy grew 0.6 percent on-quarter, the same as the 0.6 percent gain tallied in the second quarter a

South Korea's No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix Inc. saw its third-quarter net profit soar 53.6 percent from a year earlier, as the company continued to expand its shipment of memory chips to offset the sluggish global selling prices. The company's net came to a record 4.69 trillion won (US$4.13 bill

Local banks profited 109 trillion won (US$96.28 billion) in interest income over a 3 1/2-year period ending in June this year as the spread widened, regulator's records showed on Oct. 23, 2018. Data provided by the Financial Services Commission for a parliamentary audit showed an average 2.08 pe

South Korea's producer prices continued to move upwards, posting a more-than-five-year high in September due to the record-breaking heat wave in the summer months, central bank data showed on Oct. 23, 2018. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, reached 105.78 in Sep

South Korea's central bank chief on Oct. 22, 2018 again hinted at a future rate hike in the coming months to solve financial imbalances and secure wider policy tools. "It is necessary to adjust the (current) accommodative monetary policy in a way that eases the financial imbalances and have pol

South Korea and the European Union have agreed to work together to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing to promote sustainable fisheries, Seoul's maritime ministry said on Oct. 18, 2018. Kim Young-choon, South Korean minister of oceans and fisheries, signed a joint declaratio

South Korea on Oct. 17, 2018 avoided being labeled a currency manipulator by the United States but remained on a list of countries to monitor. The U.S. Department of the Treasury wrote in a semiannual report to Congress that it determined six major trading partners warranted attention to their curre

South Korea's corporate tax rates as of this year are the seventh highest among member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the finance ministry's data showed on Oct. 18, 2018. A report from the ministry provided for a parliamentary audit, released by o

South Korea's market for over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives grew 14.8 percent on-year in the first half, on the back of growing demand to hedge various risks, data showed on Oct. 17, 2018. The combined turnover of OTC derivatives, such as stock options and futures, stood at 7,783 trillion won (U

South Korea's ranking in global competitiveness rose by two notches this year thanks to improvement in the country's macroeconomic environment and a high-level of information technology, a report showed on Oct. 17, 2018. In 2018, Asia's fourth-largest economy ranked 15th out of 140 count

Samsung Electronics Co. on Oct. 16, 2018 said it sent US$600,000 to help in the recovery from the recent earthquake that devastated parts of Indonesia. The move came after Indonesia's Sulawesi Island was hit hard by a 7.5-magnitude quake and ensuing tsunami late last month. Samsung said

South Korea's import prices rebounded to a near four-year high in September due to a steady rise in crude oil, central bank data showed on Oct.16, 2018. In Korean won terms, the import price index gained 1.5 percent to 90.69 last month from August, according to preliminary data from the Bank of

Bank loans to realtors grew at double the pace of lendings to private businesses over the past five years, according to data that a ruling party lawmaker used on Oct. 15, 2018 to argue that money was not going to industries that create jobs. According to the Bank of Korea, 302.1 trillion won (US$266

More than half of 586.3 trillion won (US$513.39 billion) in corporate loans by local commercial banks is collateralized by real estate, regulator's data showed Friday.Records provided by the Financial Supervisory Service for a parliamentary audit said that, of the total corporate lending as of t

Samsung Electronics' gas and induction electric cooktops received the highest scores from the U.S. Consumer Report, this was reported by Korean-lnguage media on Sept. 23, 2018.Samsung's gas cooktops, which are 30-inch and 36-inch models, were seleced as two of the five top-performing models