The Korea Times

Youth unemployment rate lowest in 29 months

By Yoon Ja-youngThe unemployment rate of young people fell to its lowest level since May 2013. Conditions in the job market are improving as more jobs are being created in manufacturing and service sectors.According to Statistics Korea, Wednesday, the number of employed increased by 348,000 in October from the previous year, marking the biggest leap in job creation in two and a half years.The general employment rate stood at 60.9 percent while the unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 3.1 percent, the lowest since November 2013.The statistics office attributed it to growth in the manufacturing sector.“With the GDP growth rate picking up in the third quarter and production increasing, the manufacturing sector is increasing hiring,” said Sim Won-bo, head of the agency's employment statistics division.Employment in the manufacturing sector increased by 191,000 jobs last month, taking up 17.3 percent of the total employment.The condition of the job market also improved for youths. The unemployment rate of the people aged between 15 and 29 recorded 7.4 percent, which

Nov 12, 2015By Yoon Ja-young

Economy

State-run banks hinder corporate restructuring

Hong KyttackKDB CEOKwon Seon-jooIBK CEOLee Duk-hoonEximbank Korea CEOBy Yoon Ja-youngState-run banks are failing to lead the corporate restructuring of insolvent companies, the Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in a report Wednesday.The country’s leading think tank analyzed corporate restructuring by the Korea Development Bank (KDB), Export-Import Bank of Korea, and Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) on insolvent companies where these banks are the main creditors.Compared with the companies where commercial banks are the main creditors, it took on average 2.5 years more for these companies to enter a workout program.“The state-run banks expanded financial support for companies that started showing signs of insolvency, delaying the start of work-out programs as a consequence,” said Nam Chang-woo, an associate fellow at the institute.“Instead of requesting preemptive corporate restructuring, the banks had a tendency to delay this based on optimism,” he said.The state-run banks were ineffective even after they had started the work-out programs for bad comp

Nov 11, 2015By Yoon Ja-young

State-run banks hinder corporate restructuring

Economy

Experts share insights at trade forum

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Yoon Sang-jick gives a speech at the 2015 Seoul Conference on Trade and Industry, Tuesday. The minister said Korea will continue its efforts for regional economic integration and global trade liberalization. / Courtesy of Ministry of Trade, Industry and EnergyBy Yoon Ja-youngKorea will continue its support for regional economic integration and trade liberalization amid rapid shifts in the global system, the country’s trade minister said at a forum, Tuesday. Trade experts at the forum explained that Korea has much to gain by joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy hosted the 2015 Seoul Conference on Trade and Industry (SCTI) in downtown Seoul, where experts from around the world had a heated discussion under the theme “A New Paradigm for the World Trading System.”In a luncheon speech, Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Yoon Sang-jick pointed out that the world is seeing a rapid shift in trading patterns. With the agreement reached on the TPP, he said that negotiations are likely to ga

Nov 10, 2015By Yoon Ja-young

Economy

OECD cuts economic growth forecast for Korea

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) cut its economic growth outlook for Korea this year to 2.7 percent from its previous estimate of 3 percent. It also lowered the growth forecast for next year to 3.1 percent from 3.6 percent.In the OECD Economic Outlook released Monday, it expected Korea to mark 2.7 percent growth in gross domestic product (GDP) this year, cutting it by 0.3 percentage points from its estimate in June.“The economy was hit by two shocks in 2015 _ an outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and a marked slowdown in demand from China and other Asian countries,” it noted in the report.“While the MERS outbreak has been resolved, weaker demand from Asia remains a headwind to growth,” it added, citing the appreciation of the Korean won, which rose more than 20 percent in trade-weighted terms during the three years to April 2015, as another negative factor for Korea’s exports.The OECD expects the Korean economy will pick up to attain 3.1 percent growth rate in 2016 and 3.6 percent in 2017, upon increas

Nov 9, 2015By Yoon Ja-young

Economy

Hanmi signs license deal with Janssen

By Yoon Ja-young Hanmi Pharm President and CEO Lee Gwan-sunHanmi Pharmaceutical has signed a 1 trillion won ($915 million) licensing deal to develop diabetes treatments with U.S. drug maker Janssen, the Korean company announced Monday. Hanmi shares soared more than 15 percent.Hanmi said it had signed a license-out deal on HM12525A, a bio medicine based on oxyntomodulin that it has been developing to treat diabetes.Janssen will have exclusive rights to develop and commercialize the drug except for Korea and China. It plans to start phase-two clinical tests next year.Hanmi will meanwhile receive up to $915 million from Janssen for exporting the technology. After commercialization, Hanmi will receive over 10 percent royalties from sales.“We expect that the cooperation with Janssen, which has vast experience in clinical development and marketing, will provide new treatment for patients suffering from diabetes and obesity as early as possible,” said Hanmi Pharmaceutical CEO Lee Gwan-sun.The new treatment activates both GLP-1, which affects the secretion of insulin and app

Nov 9, 2015By Yoon Ja-young

Economy

China's restructuring to hinder growth in Korea: KDI

By Yoon Ja-youngThe Chinese economy is expected to go through restructuring for the time being, and this is likely to hinder growth here for a considerable time, the country’s leading economic think tank said, Monday.The Korea Development Institute (KDI) noted in a report that uncertainties are rising in China ― while its economic growth rate is falling, volatility is increasing in financial markets.“Behind the unstable Chinese economy is concern that it may plummet while restructuring excessive investments made to boost the economy during the global financial crisis,” said Kim Seong-tae, a fellow at the institute.Kim noted that China had implemented massive fiscal expansion and monetary easing during the global financial crisis to absorb the shock from it, but that ended up in increasing debt.“As a result, the ratio of investment to gross domestic product (GDP) soared to nearly 50 percent in China. A considerable part of the debt seems to be related to the overheated real estate market,” he said.With the global economy seeing its growth potential f

Nov 9, 2015By Yoon Ja-young

Economy

Imported cosmetics twice as expensive in Korea

An official from the Customers Union of Korea announces the results of a survey on prices of 65 foreign cosmetics brands sold in Korea compared to other countries in a press meeting held at the Fair Trade Commission in Sejong City near Daejeon, Monday. The results show foreign cosmetics are being sold at prices nearly 2.5 times higher than the average price in five countries — the U.S., UK, Germany, France and Japan. / YonhapBy Yoon Ja-youngSome imported cosmetics are sold at twice the price in Korea than they are in other countries, a consumer group report showed Monday.Consumers Union of Korea, a leading consumer group in the country, compared consumer prices of 54 cosmetics in six countries ― the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Japan and Korea.It turned out that all 54 are sold at higher prices in Korea than they are in the other countries.High-end cosmetics sold at local department stores are priced on average 1.02 to 1.56 times more than they are overseas. A 200 milliliter pack of Biotherm Homme Foam shaver, for instance, sells for 36,000 won at de

Nov 9, 2015By Yoon Ja-young

Imported cosmetics twice as expensive in Korea

Economy

KIC chairman tenders resign after audit

By Yoon Ja-young Ahn Hong-chulKIC chairmanThe head of the Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) suddenly tendered his resignation Friday, with more than one year left before the end of his term.The state organization managing assets entrusted by the government, the Bank of Korea, and public funds said that Chairman Ahn Hong-chul offered his resignation to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, which oversees KIC, for personal reasons.His three-year-term was supposed to be officially over in December 2016.The sudden resignation came as a surprise as he had been steadfast in the face of strong pressure from the opposition parties since his inauguration in December 2013. The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) has been demanding Ahn to resign after it was revealed that he had posted numerous slanderous remarks regarding the late former President Roh Moo-hyun and the NPAD chief Moon Jae-in, who was the party’s presidential candidate, on a social networking service during the 2012 presidential election. Back then, Ahn was working for President Park Geun-

Nov 6, 2015By Yoon Ja-young

Economy

Korea's GDP to catch up to Japan's in 2020: IMF

By Yoon Ja-youngKorea’s per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to near $37,000 in five years, catching up to Japan.The report comes from estimates by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) World Economic Outlook Database, but experts point out that it would be difficult for ordinary people to feel as if they are better off unless their quality of life improves.According to the estimates, Korea’s nominal per capita GDP will likely reach $36,750 in 2020, up 31.4 percent from last year’s $27,970.Japan, meanwhile, will see its per capita GDP grow a mere 6 percent to $38,174 from $36,222 in the same period.It compares with a decade ago when Japan’s per capita GDP was double that of Korea: Japan’s per capita GDP was $35,785 in 2005, while that of Korea stood at a mere $18,658.On top of the narrowing gap in per capita income, the Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD) evaluated Korea as more competitive than Japan in its World Competitiveness report, ranking Korea 25th, two notches higher than Japan.However, not many Ko

Nov 5, 2015By Yoon Ja-young

Economy

Korea's dependence on China deepens with exports

By Yoon Ja-young Korea, increasingly dependent on China for exports, could be hit hard by a slowdown in the neighboring country.According to Statistics Korea and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the country’s exports to China this year totaled $102.1 billion as of September, accounting for 25.7 percent of the total.The percentage of China’s total trade with Korea, including both exports and imports, also rose to 23.2 percent, up from 21.4 percent a year ago.Korea’s exports to China have steadily been getting bigger since the two countries opened diplomatic relations in 1992 when trade with China stood at a mere 3.5 percent.In 2003, trade with China overtook that with the United States, Korea’s long time biggest trading partner, and China has remained at the top of the list since then.Exports to Japan, meanwhile, totaled $54.3 billion during the same period, with the ratio of total exports falling to 4.9 percent from 5.7 percent a year ago. In 1973 Japan accounted for 38.5 percent of Korea’s exports.While exports to Japan and the EU were h

Nov 3, 2015By Yoon Ja-young

Yoon Ja-young

Read more

Youth unemployment rate lowest in 29 months

State-run banks hinder corporate restructuring

Experts share insights at trade forum

OECD cuts economic growth forecast for Korea

Hanmi signs license deal with Janssen

China's restructuring to hinder growth in Korea: KDI

Imported cosmetics twice as expensive in Korea

KIC chairman tenders resign after audit

Korea's GDP to catch up to Japan's in 2020: IMF

Korea's dependence on China deepens with exports

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