The South Korean government plans to develop 5G-based autonomous driving services for limited spaces, including ports, factories, and campuses, by 2021. It also plans to develop by 2026 5G-based vehicle to everything (V2X) communication technology and a 5G-based control system to realize autonomous

The conflict between South Korea and Japan triggered by Japan’s restrictions on exports of key semiconductor materials shows signs of escalating into “a tariff war.”The South Korean government decided on July 10 to extend an anti-dumping duty on imports of ethyl acetate, including those from Japan,

Standard and Poor’s (S&P), one of the big three global credit rating agencies, has slashed its growth outlook for South Korea’s economy this year to 2.0 percent from 2.4 percent.S&P joins the growing list of overseas agencies that have lowered their estimates of Korea’s economic growth to around 2.0

Japan's Asahi TV reported on July 10 that Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong met with major Japanese banks and expressed concerns over the possibility of deterioration of South Korea-Japan relations with Japanese product boycotts and anti-Japan rallies spreading ahead of the Aug. 15

South Korean President Moon Jae-in had an emergency meeting with business leaders on July 10 and said that their role is essential in dealing with Japan’s export restrictions against South Korea. Some experts point out that the remarks are inappropriate in that the restrictions were triggered by pol

Minjung Party lawmaker Kim Jong-hoon said on July 9 that South Korea's borrowings from Japan totaled US$56.3 billion as of the end of 2018 according to the Bank for International Settlements.As of that date, South Korea had a total external debt of US$310.2 billion, including US$83.3 billion to

The U.S. and South Korean governments had their first bilateral trade talks since the implementation of the KORUS FTA seven years ago with regard to the Korea Fair Trade Commission’s penalty imposition on Qualcomm. The U.S. government demanded stronger defense for American companies subject to the c

Moody's said that Japan's semiconductor material export restrictions can have a negative impact on South Korea's economic growth rate, which is estimated at 2.1 percent and 2.2 percent for this year and 2020, respectively.“Disputes surrounding war damage compensation have led to the rest

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on July 8 that the South Korean government would have to take measures if Japan’s retaliatory export restrictions actually did harm to South Korean companies. “That is not desirable at all, and we need to avoid confrontation,” he made his first remarks on the

The Korean manufacturing industry's dependence on Japan has fallen sharply over the past nine years. As the Korean government plans to support Korean companies developing semiconductor materials, parts and equipment, its dependence on Japan is expected to decline further.The proportion of Japane

The Financial Services Commission announced on July 7 that it would set up a task force in order to better respond to financial disputes such as the investor-state dispute (ISD) against Lone Star Funds. The task force directly under the secretary general of the commission is scheduled to be official

The World Bank announced on July 7 that South Korea recorded a nominal GDP of US$1,619.4 billion last year to come in 12th out of 205 countries. South Korea took the 14th place in 2009 to 2013, 13th in 2014, 11th in 2015 and 2016, and 12th in 2017.Last year, the United States topped the list with ov

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that the Pacific Alliance held its 14th summit in Lima, Peru on July 6 (local time) and agreed to discuss South Korea’s associate membership in September this year.Organized in 2012, the Pacific Alliance is a regional economic union of Mexico, Per

Samsung Electronics vice chairman Lee Jae-yong went on a business trip to Japan in the evening of July 7 with the company trying to deal with Japan’s semiconductor material export restrictions and tensions over the issue escalating between the South Korean and Japanese governments. The vice chairman

The Bank of Korea announced on July 4 that South Korea posted a trade surplus of US$4.95 billion in May this year after recording a trade deficit of US$660 million, the first deficit since April 2012, in the previous month.The immediate recovery was because its goods account surplus was maintained w

With the Japanese government restricting exports of certain semiconductor and display materials to South Korea, the South Korean government stopped its discussion regarding becoming a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).Led by Japan, the CPTPP is an FTA-type

The South Korean government is planning to review its projects related to the development of industrial materials, components and equipment with regard to Japan’s export restrictions on hydrogen fluoride, fluorine polyimide and photoresist.“We are going to expedite the technological development, com

The Yomiuri Shimbun reported on July 3 that a number of Japanese companies are expressing concerns that the Japanese government’s export restrictions against South Korea would negatively affect themselves and the overall economic ties between the two countries. Some Japanese experts are pointing out

Concerns are growing that Japan's economic retaliation against Korea, which started in the semiconductor and display sectors, may expand and hit the Korean industry as a whole. Japanese media outlets reported that Japan would expand the list of the items subject to export restrictions in the fut

South Korea’s exports fell 13.5 percent from a year ago in June this year, showing a negative growth for the seventh consecutive month. In the first half of this year, exports fell 8.5 percent.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on July 1 that South Korea’s exports totaled US$44.18