Korea maintained a current account surplus for the 12th consecutive month thanks to increased exports, despite foreign exchange volatility due to currency wars ignited by Japan’s weak yen policy.The Bank of Korea said Wednesday that the current account, the broadest measure of the country’s foreign trade, recorded a surplus of $2.25 billion in January, with exports reaching $47.1 billion.This is mostly in part due to increased outbound shipments of telecommunication products, petrochemicals and

Korea’s birth rate increased for the third consecutive year in 2012, while its death rate reached a 30-year high.According to Statistics Korea, the number of newborns reached 484,300 last year, up 2.8 percent from a year earlier.This marks the highest since 2007 when Korea had 493,200 babies.Its crude birth rate increased by 0.2 to 9.6 births per 1,000 people.Also, Korea’s total fertility rate bounced back to 1.30 births per woman throughout her lifetime.The fertility rate began to dive in 2001

The National Pension Service, the country’s pension fund operator, said Tuesday that its assets reached more than 400 trillion won ($368 billion).This accounts for about one-third of Korea’s gross domestic product and is worth almost double the market cap of Samsung Electronics, the largest listed company on the stock exchange, it noted.It is also more than eight times the sum of Hyundai Motor’s total market value, and the pension fund operator could afford to acquire about an 88 percent stake i

Households spend up to 40 percent of monthly paychecks to pay interest plus principal on loans to local banks according to the Bank of Korea.Citing a survey of 2,119 Korean households, the Bank of Korea said about 8 percent responded that they use 40 percent of their salaries a month to repay their debt.More than 60 percent said that they are struggling to meet deadlines in repaying their loans, indicating that rising household debt needs to be urgently resolved.Household debt was the biggest sy

Ssangyong Engineering & Construction, beset by the housing market slump and a feud between its shareholder and creditor, is scheduled to file for a corporate workout process this week.The process refers to a company requesting its creditor banks for a payment delay or partial debt relief, in exchange for amending its financial structure.The nation’s No. 13 builder has a series of promissory notes and bonds amounting to 60 billion won ($55 million) whose maturity ends this Thursday, while facing

With Cho Won-dong named chief economic aide to President-elect Park Geun-hye, joining Finance Minister-nominee Hyun Oh-seok in the incoming government, the economic duo, who are described as “two of a kind,” are expected to first tackle issues on rising household debt through growth policies focused on boosting welfare.Park’s full economic lineup is yet to be established, as top new posts for the Financial Services Commission, the Fair Trade Commission, the National Tax Service and the Korea Cus

Controversy over the appointment of Kim Jeong-hoon as the minister of future creation and science is growing as opposition lawmakers are increasingly questioning his nationality and patriotism.Kim’s strong track record as an entrepreneur and engineer with a rich education background, was not enough for the opposition Democratic United Party, which argued that it was against the law to appoint someone who has foreign citizenship.It also raised concerns about Kim’s loyalties, pointing out that he

Japan’s NEC, an IT services and products provider, is looking to adopt an English testing system for employees used by Korea’s top conglomerate Samsung Group, according to Japanese and local media.NEC, a former semiconductor rival of Samsung Electronics, plans to test some 100,000 of its employees and recruits at its headquarters and subsidiaries over the next three years using the Oral Proficiency Interview-computer, developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.Samsung

The International Monetary Fund has lowered Korea’s economic growth forecast to 3.2 percent this year, down from its initial forecast of 3.6 percent.The revision was disclosed to financial policymakers at the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors’ meeting in Moscow last week.The IMF also predicted that Korea would grow 3.9 percent in 2014.The global financial organization initially had a GDP outlook of 3.6 percent in October 2011 in its report.However, the drop came as the IMF

Korea saw a record high level of capital invested in short-term financial instruments as dim outlooks on the economy made investors reluctant to invest in assets with long maturities.Short-term investments ― floating capital that can be immediately transferrable ― in financial products such as securities accounts, repurchase agreements and money market funds amounted to a record 666 trillion won ($617 billion) in December 2012, according to data from the Bank of Korea and Korea Financial Investm

State-run conglomerates that have been given enhanced management independence are about to bear bigger burdens to meet high expectations this year as the government wants them to maintain their leadership through profit increase and new business development.The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Friday that it will keep its hands-off approach with Korea Gas Corp, Korea District Heating Corp, Incheon International Airport Corp. and Korea Airports Corp.The ministry has added Busan Port Authorit

Boo-Kang Tech, an environmental tech company, is seeking to list on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ possibly in the first half of this year with Mirae Asset Securities as its lead underwriter, a BKT official said.BKT is looking to raise around 30 to 40 billion won via an initial public offering. The IPO proceeds will be used to finance environment and energy plant engineering projects both at home and abroad.Also, the stock floatation will help the company secure funding from banks for further project inv

Currency devaluation and exit strategies for monetary easing are expected to top the agenda among financial policymakers at the upcoming G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bankers, Korean officials said Wednesday. The meeting is scheduled for Feb. 15-16 in Moscow.Korea’s Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan and Bank of Korea Governor Kim Choong-soo will be attending the two-day meeting to share their views, especially on the global foreign exchange market, which has been prone to increased vo

Korea’s employment rate continued to drop for the third straight month, hitting a one-year low of 57.4 percent in January, according to Statistics Korea.Data released Wednesday showed that Korea’s employment rate is below the OECD-member average of 63 percent.January’s job rate was unchanged from the same period a year ago, and the youth unemployment rate continues to show no signs of improvement.The jobless rate for those aged between 15 and 29 reached 7.5 percent in January for the second mont

Korean exporters may need to brace for rough sailing in overseas markets earlier than expected as Japan prepares to accelerate the depreciation of its currency to jumpstart its economy, analysts said.Foreign investment banks and domestic securities companies have drawn their outlooks for the Japanese yen to further weaken faster than their initial estimation, forecasting its value to drop over 100 yen to the dollar as early as the second half of this year.The general consensus among investment b

Korea posted record tourism revenue last year, thanks to the popularity of hallyu, or the Korean Wave, and aggressive marketing, according to the Bank of Korea.The country’s inbound tourism brought in more than $14.2 billion in 2012, up 13.6 percent from $12.5 billion a year earlier.This means that the tourism sector was earning more than $1 billion monthly for the first time.The record high earning has contributed to decreasing the travel account deficit to some $5.9 billion last year, from $7.

Low investment and consumption are further weighing on the Korean economy, said the Korea Development Institute, a state-run think tank, in a report.Signs show that industrial production has been improving and exports maintaining resilience since last month.However, slow investment, especially in the construction sector, which is leading to a stagnant real estate market, is projecting a bleak outlook for the economy.Although the consumer sentiment index is above 100, showing more optimism than p

The Export-Import Bank of Korea will focus on boosting infrastructure project financing and supporting growth of small and medium enterprises this year, said Kim Yong-hwan, president of Korea Eximbank.The state-run policy bank will increase its support in financing overseas projects such as energy plants, highways, railroads, resources and other areas of construction to help Korean companies win deals and create jobs.This move comes as Korea faces tough competition from Japan and China in the in

Korea’s services sector growth outpaced the manufacturing sector last year, another sign of a sluggish economy continuing.The manufacturing sector expanded 2.2 percent in 2012, slower than the 2.4 percent growth in the services sector, according to the Bank of Korea.This is the first time in 11 years that the services sector has grown more than manufacturing, which has traditionally been the main driver of exports, Korea’s main source of growth.Data also showed that the services sector contribut

S-Oil, Korea’s third-largest refiner, held a charity event, “Sharing Ddeokguk,” at Gwangya Church in Yeongdeungpo, southern Seoul, Tuesday.Some 100 employees, executives and volunteers, including S-Oil CEO Nasser Al-Mahasher, made Korean traditional rice cake soup, or ddeokguk, for 700 people, the company said.The company extended its goodwill to senior citizens living alone in single-room housing, the disabled and the homeless in the area.S-Oil also delivered New Year gift packages filled with