The LEGOLAND project pushed by the Gangwon provincial government is finally back on track after wasting seven years due to disputes. .The assembly of Gangwon Province approved on Dec. 14 a plan to build a LEGOLAND park in Chuncheon, the capital of the province, by 2021.The plan was passed after a he

The South Korean government, including nine economy-related ministries such as the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), held a briefing session on its small and mid-size business smart manufacturing innovation strategy at a council chamber in th

The Korean version of the so-called "Google tax," which refers to a value-added tax (VAT) on the gross revenues of global IT giants, such as Google and Facebook, has gotten to first base. It is still not clear what the exact tax revenue from global internet companies will be but the figure is estima

South Korea’s GNI per capita is expected to top US$30,000 this year after having broken the US$20,000 mark 12 years ago, the Bank of Korea said on Dec. 9.South Korea’s GNI per capita reached US$29,745 last year. The value for the first three quarters of this year is estimated at US$23,433. If this p

Korea has become the 10th signatory to an international arrangement designed to promote cooperation in combating securities and derivatives violations with a cross-border element.The Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced on Dec. 6 that the International Organization of Securities Commissions

South Korea’s tourism account deficit reached the lowest level in 23 months as more tourists visited South Korea from China and Japan. In the meantime, the country posted a current account surplus for the 80th consecutive month. According to the Bank of Korea, the tourism account deficit totaled US$

The South Korean economy has become more dependent on large businesses. Data released by Statistics Korea show that large businesses, which accounted for less than 1 percent of corporate Korea in terms of the number of companies, took up half of the total corporate profits in 2017.According to a rep

The average debt ratio of South Korea’s listed firms has been cut by about 70 percent from the late 1990s, showing a substantial improvement in financial soundness of Korean corporations.According to a report released by local market research firm Korea CXO Institute on Dec. 6, the debt-to-equity ra

South Korea’s foreign exchange reserves totaled US$402.99 billion as of the end of last month, showing a month-on-month increase of US$0.24 billion, according to data released by the Bank of Korea on Dec. 5. Korea's forex reserves hit a record high of US$403 billion in September and edged down t

Official FTA talks among Korea, China and Japan will resume in eight months.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of Korea announced on Dec. 5 that it will hold the 14th official Korea-China-Japan FTA talks in Beijing on Dec. 6 and 7.In the upcoming talks that follow the 13th round of n

Deputy prime minister and finance minister nominee Hong Nam-ki said on Dec. 4 that he would change the method to determine the minimum wage for 2020 and beyond, expressing concerns that the planned 10.9% increase in the minimum wage for the next year would deliver a shock to the market."I think it i

The life expectancy of South Koreans born last year is 82.7 years. The life expectancy of South Koreans has been on the increase although population has been falling in many cities and towns of the nation. Statistics Korea announced on Dec. 3 that the life expectancy of South Koreans increased by 0.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on Dec. 1 to temporarily stop their trade war for 90 days.Earlier, the U.S. president said that tariffs on Chinese products worth US$200 billion in total would be raised from 10% to 25% from Jan. 1, 2019. China, which imposed retali

South Korea’s exports topped US$50 billion in November for the seventh consecutive month. This year’s total exports are highly likely to exceed US$600 billion for the first time ever.The Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy announced on Dec. 1 that exports totaled US$51.92 billion last month, up 4.5

South Korean lawmakers are stepping up efforts to introduce regulations against global ICT giants such as Google amid opposition from the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. A bill has been proposed for value added tax imposition on such companies, while the Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committ

A seminar on trilateral cooperation among South Korea, Japan and China will be held in Songdo, Incheon, on Dec. 3 under the theme “Present and Future of ROK-Japan-China Trilateral Cooperation.” The semina takes place for the first time at the initiative of the South Korean government. A track-1.5 me

The Korea Federation of SMEs has asked the Ministry of Health and Welfare to address business owners’ National Pension burden for foreign workers with an E-9 visa.At present, foreign workers from the eight countries including the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia have to be covered by the National

The United States reportedly asked the South Korean government not to introduce a so-called ‘Google tax,’ claiming that any server localization attempt targeting global IT companies will be in violation of the KORUS FTA. However, South Korean lawmakers say that server localization and the FTA have n

The Korea Space Launch Vehicle-2 Nuri was successfully test-launched on Nov. 28, with the test fire burning for 151 seconds, which exceeded the targeted duration of 140 seconds.The launch vehicle, which is scheduled to be formally launched in 2021, is a three-stage rocket developed on South Korea’s

The added values of the South Korean mining and manufacturing industries increased a lot last year while the number of persons working in the manufacturing industry decreased for the first time since the global financial crisis of 2009 during the same period. This has to do with adverse business con