South Korea's seafood exports moved up 1.2 percent from a year earlier in 2024, driven by the popularity of dried seaweed products, the oceans ministry said Thursday. Outbound shipments of seafood products came to $3.03 billion last year, up from $2.99 billion recorded in 2023, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The growth was primarily led by exports of dried seaweed, known as "gim" in Korean, which surged 25.8 percent on-year to a record high of $997 million. E

South Korea is maintaining a stable supply of electricity this winter season amid relatively warm temperatures, the Industry Ministry said Thursday. "This winter, the electricity supply is being stably managed due to relatively warm temperatures, with local nuclear plants operating at full capacity as well," the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said. The average temperature in December reached 1.8 C, higher than the typical 1.1 C recorded in previous years. The ministry noted that despite

South Korea's central bank held its base rate steady at 3 percent Thursday, keeping its guard up against the further weakening of the local currency. Following two consecutive 0.25 percentage point rate cuts in November and October, the Bank of Korea's monetary policy board maintained the policy rate at 3 percent. It was the first monetary policy meeting held amid the political turmoil sparked by President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law on Dec. 3 last year. The monetary policy board

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp., South Korea's top automakers, are expected to release their annual earnings results next week, drawing attention as to whether they can extend their streak of record-breaking performances, industry watchers said Thursday. According to an analysis of securities industry forecasts by Yonhap Infomax over the past three months, Hyundai Motor is estimated to report sales of 173.1 trillion won ($118.9 billion) and an operating profit of 14.8 trillion won for 2024. Whil

Seoul shares closed little changed Wednesday as investors await key US inflation data amid trimmed bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts and the Bank of Korea's key rate decision. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 0.59 points, or 0.02 percent, to close at 2,496.81. Trade volume was moderate at 525.6 million shares worth 9 trillion won ($6.2 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 592 to 270. Foreigners and individuals bought a combi

Financial authorities keep eye on currency depreciation as it could trigger inflation Korean stocks ended down on Wednesday, with the benchmark Kospi and secondary Kosdaq giving back early gains following the detention of impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol in the morning. The Kospi closed at 2,496.81 points, down 0.02 percent from the previous close, while the Kosdaq declined by 0.90 percent to finish at 711.61 points. The main bourse failed to maintain the 2,500 level it touched in the morning t

South Korea's employment growth in 2024 slowed substantially compared to previous years, with December marking a net job loss compared to one year before, according to Statistics Korea on Wednesday. The country's employment marked 28.58 million last year, increasing by 0.9 percent (159,000) compared to 2023. This was the lowest growth since 2020 when Korea had 218,000 fewer jobs than the previous year. Korea's job market grew significantly after 2020, adding 369,000 jobs in 2021 and peaking at 8

Acting President Choi Sang-mok offered a somewhat pessimistic forecast for the job market on Wednesday, partly attributing the latest employment figures to negative sentiment among employers. In December, the country recorded a net loss of 52,000 jobs compared with the previous year, posting its first on-year decline in nearly four years. The December figure also marked a sharp turnaround from the 120,000 job additions the previous month. "A combination of temporary factors, such as the terminat

South Korea's standard agency said Wednesday it plans to enhance safety surveillance of products sold on overseas shopping platforms amid soaring direct purchases made by local consumers. Under the plan, the country will monitor the safety of 1,000 products sold on major overseas platforms this year, sharply up from the 400 evaluated in 2024, according to the Korean Agency for Technology and Standard. "If a test shows a certain product is hazardous, the government will take precautionary measure

South Korea's on-year employment growth slowed significantly in 2024 as the number of new hires fell in the manufacturing and retail sectors, and among young people, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people increased 159,000, or 0.6 percent, from a year earlier to 28.58 million in 2024, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. Job creation had been more robust in the immediate post-pandemic period, with 816,000 new positions added in 2022, the largest on-year growth since

South Korea's exports of information and communication technology products jumped 24 percent in December from a year earlier, helped by robust sales of semiconductors, government data showed Tuesday. Outbound shipments of ICT products came to $22.66 billion last month, compared with $18.25 billion a year earlier, the Ministry of Science and ICT said in a press release. The country's ICT imports in December stood at $13.32 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $9.33 billion in the sector. By p

South Korea has approved an enforcement decree to strengthen the country's preparedness for supply disruptions of key resources, the industry ministry said Tuesday. The enforcement decree on the Special Act on National Resources Security was passed during a Cabinet meeting held on the day, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The decree is designed to provide detailed measures for the act, which aims to enhance stability in the supply of critical commodities, including oil, n

South Korea will set up tailored strategies for different scenarios in the wake of potential changes in the US trade policy following the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump next week, the industry ministry said Tuesday. "If the United States introduces detailed trade protectionism measures, significant impacts on South Korea's exports will be inevitable," the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a policy report. "There are also concerns protectionist measures could spread amo

Insurance firms in South Korea saw their risk-based capital ratio rise in the third quarter of last year, data showed Tuesday. The risk-based capital ratio of local insurance firms stood at 218.3 percent as of end-September, up 1 percentage point from three months earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The RBC ratio is derived from the actual solvency capital divided by the minimum solvency capital required. It measures an insurer's ability to absorb losses and pa

South Korean stocks fell more than 1 percent Monday on losses in big-cap tech shares as investors doubted there will be future rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, given strong data on the US economy. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 26.22 points, or 1.04 percent, to close at 2,489.56, extending the losing streak to a second session. Trade volume was moderate at 569.34 million shares worth 8.89 trillion won ($6.04 billion), with los