South Korea's trade minister on Friday expressed regret over the decision by the United States to slap stiff tariffs on steel imports, saying the nation will consider filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization if it is not exempted. Paik Un-gyu, minister of trade, industry and energy, made the remark after US President Donald Trump ordered new tariffs of 25 percent be slapped on all st...

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a 25 percent tariff on steel imports that is certain to add pressure on South Korean exports. Trump signed two proclamations -- one for steel and another for a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports -- to address what the administration has called a threat to national security. South Korea was the third largest exporter of steel products...

Calls are growing for more strenuous efforts to improve the country’s labor productivity to offset the negative effects of reduced work hours and increased wages on companies and the economy as a whole. Korea’s labor productivity remains near the bottom among major economies. A Korean worker produced added value worth $33.10 per hour on average in 2016, far below the average of $47.10 for 35 me...

Korea faced far more import restrictions from the United States than any other country in February amid Washington's growing trade pressure on its ally, a trade body said Wednesday. Asia's fourth-largest economy was subject to 196 import regulations from the rest of the world as of Monday, with the US accounting for 40 of them, the highest number, according to the Korea International Trade Assoc...

Government focuses on lobbying key US counterparts, refrains from reciprocal tariff

Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong on Tuesday set out on his second trip to Washington, DC in a week to meet with government officials and lawmakers to get Seoul exempted from proposed steel product tariffs announced by the United States. His trip comes as US President Donald Trump is set to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports this week, a move certain to affect Korean steel producers....

A looming global trade war is feared to deal a blow to corporate Korea as Asia's fourth-largest economy banks heavily on exports for its economic growth, analysts said Tuesday. The world's three major economic powerhouses are locking horns with one another after US President Donald Trump has threatened high tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum. China, the world's second-largest economy, is ...

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Monday he's "not backing down" from his plan to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. The action is expected to come this week, with Trump earlier announcing plans to introduce a 25 percent tariff on steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum. The new duties would hurt Korea, the No. 3 exporter of steel products to the US last year, after Canad...

Industrial restructuring has been going adrift under President Moon Jae-in’s administration, deepening concerns about the weakening of the country’s economic fundamentals. In December, the administration announced a new direction for corporate restructuring, which focused on ensuring a balance between financial logic and industrial consequences and considering the effects on regional economies a...

US beef imports shot up significantly last year, beating Australian meat to regain its No. 1 status in the Korean market for the first time in 14 years, industry data showed Monday. Korea imported 177,000 tons of US beef last year, up 13.5 percent from 156,000 tons tallied in 2016, according to the figures provided by the Korea Rural Economic Institute. Beef imports from Australia decreased 3.9...

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump has so far made no indication he will exempt certain countries from tariffs on steel imports, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Sunday. Trump is expected to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports this week, a move certain to affect South Korean steel producers. On Thursday, he said he would introduce a tariff of 25 percent on steel and 10 percen...

Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol, a veteran monetary policy expert with a career spanning 41 years at the central bank, is widely seen as an advocate of the bank's independence who has promoted better communication with the market. The reappointment of Lee, 66, comes at a critical time for the South Korean economy, which has been grappling with mounting household debt and weak consumption. It is ...

WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Thursday he plans to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports next week, a move that could affect South Korean steelmakers. Speaking at a meeting with business executives at the White House, Trump also said he plans to impose a 10 percent tariff on imports of aluminum and keep the two measures in place indefinitely. "We'll be signing it in. And yo...

SEJONG -- Korea's industrial output increased in January from a month earlier on a rise in production in the automaking and chipmaking sectors, government data showed Friday. Production in the mining, manufacturing, gas and electricity industries rose 1 percent on-month in January, following an adjusted 0.5 percent on-month decline in the previous month, according to the data by Statistics Korea...

Korea's exports moved up 4 percent on-year in February, with its growth slowing mainly due to fewer working days caused by the Lunar New Year holiday, government data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments reached $44.88 billion in the one-month period, up from $43.16 billion a year ago, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Exports rose for the 16th consecu...