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

South Korea's exports shot up 21.6 percent on-year during the first 20 days of September, due to a rise in outbound shipments of chips and petrochemical goods, customs data showed Friday.The country's outbound shipments reached US$36.5 billion in the September 1-20 period, according to the K

Seoul shares may undergo upward momentum next week, as eased concerns over global trade disputes and positive forecasts for corporate earnings could whet investors' appetite for bargains, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,339.17 on Friday,

Reinsurance firms in South Korea saw their combined profit slip 13.8 percent on-year in the first half, hit by losses from accidents at home and abroad, data showed Tuesday.Ten reinsurers in South Korea posted a combined net profit of 134.7 billion won (US$119.6 million) in the January-June period,

More than eight in 10 South Koreans favor the increased use of renewable energy on the grounds that it is clean and inexhaustible, a poll showed Monday.According to the survey of 1,003 South Koreans across the nation, 86.2 percent of respondents said they are in favor of the expansion of renewable e

The corporate value of more than 6 out of 10 firms in which South Korea's state pension operator invests has risen since its introduction of the so-called stewardship code in late July, a report said Friday.The National Pension Service (NPS) adopted the stewardship code on July 30, which refers

South Korean stocks will move within a tight range as investors may remain skittish over the escalating trade tension between the United States and China and rising odds of a Federal Reserve rate hike in September, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finish

South Korea's current account surplus reached its yearly high in July on the back of solid growth in exports, central bank data showed Thursday.The country's current account surplus came to US$8.76 billion in July, up from $7.25 billion a year ago, according to the preliminary data from the

South Korean shares will likely trade higher next week as investors are expected to continue buying up relatively undervalued shares following improvements in the U.S. economy, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,322.88 points on Friday, up 1.29 percent

Selling coffee will be completely banned at elementary, middle and high schools starting mid-September, the food ministry said Tuesday.The ban will become effective as of Sept. 14 following a law revision, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Foods and beverages with high levels of caf

South Korea's consumer confidence plunged to a 17-month low in August due largely to a sluggish job market and inflation, central bank data showed Tuesday.The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI) for this month stood at 99.2, down 1.8 points from the previous month, according to the survey

South Korea's trade promotion agency said Sunday it will provide customized consulting services to beef up efforts to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) tap into overseas markets.The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) said it will increase the number of employees tasked

The Bank of Korea (BOK) will likely maintain its policy rate at the current 1.5 percent next week as Asia's fourth-largest economy is struggling with sluggish employment and global trade disputes, a market watcher said Saturday.Chaired by Gov. Lee Ju-yeol, the seven-member panel of the BOK will

South Korea's terms of trade dropped at the fastest clip in nearly seven years last month as import prices rose sharply amid higher crude oil prices, central bank data showed Friday.The terms of trade index for products came to 92.94 last month, down 9.7 percent from a year earlier, according to

Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said Thursday that the government will propose the largest job creation-centered budget next year that will benefit both the public and private sectors, as the nation's economy is struggling with employment problems.Kim, who made the remarks at a parliamentary budg