With an investment fever about virtual currencies such as bit coins showing no sign of cooling off, it is pointed out that virtual currency exchanges are rather encouraging speculation. This is because virtual currency exchanges allow investors to short-buy or short-sell foreign currencies up to fou
In the first half of this year, foreign investment in Korean free economic zones reached US$1.7 billion, the second highest in history.According to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy on July 25, foreign investment in these zones in the first half of the year grew 167% to US$1.7 billion fr
The Korean government predicted the nation’s GDP growth of 3.0 percent this year in the new government’s economic policy direction announced on July 25.In December of last year, the government forecast that Korea’s GDP would only grow 2.6 percent from the previous year in its "2017 economic policy d
In response to the USTR’s proposal to hold a meeting for revision of the Korea-US FTA in Washington, DC within one month, the Korean government made a counterproposal, saying, “Let’s have a meeting in Seoul after a new Korean trade minister is appointed.” The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Ene
The South Korean government is planning to reach US$200 billion in terms of the total value of overseas construction orders obtained from 2017 to 2021. For reference, the annual total of the value has been on average about US$100 billion for years.The government’s rather humble goal has to do with a
As Mercedes-Benz’s parent firm Daimler is now being investigated for alleged emission cheating overseas, it has stirred up some controversy in South Korea as well. Customers are asking questions if they should cancel their orders and some consumers are preparing for filing a civil action against the
If Solid sells off Pantech’s Internet (IoT) business after pulling out of Pantech's smartphone business and selling its smartphone patents, Pantech will be virtually broken up. When Solid sells off the company in July as planned, Pantech, which is a synonym for a myth of a venture start-up’s success
The “VR Shopping Mall” where people can buy goods in a virtual reality world, will open for the first time during the Korea Sales Festa at the end of September.The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) announced on July 24 that the ministry held a business agreement ceremony for the prom
A mass production technology of micro LEDs, which are attracting attention as a next generation display after organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), was developed by Korean researchers.The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) under the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning announ
The size of assets under management by South Korea's state pension fund surpassed the 600 trillion won (US$536.19 billion) mark for the first time.According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MHW) and National Pension Service (NPS) on July 23, the total value of funds managed by the NPS reached
The Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy of South Korea announced on July 23 that the 19th round of negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) takes place from July 24 to 28 in Hyderabad, India.The negotiations are scheduled to be attended by director general for FTA neg
The new ministry’s core business of is to bring out an innovative economy centered on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and venture start-ups by correcting the nation’s economic structure which favored big business over small ones so that the structure has been called “an unlevel playing fie
Major Korean corporations are beginning to build overseas production bases one after another not only to reduce costs, but also to promptly respond to overseas demand. Building overseas production bases is also effective in avoiding trade restrictions because trade barriers of protectionism are incr
The Moon Jae-in administration will increase the number of electric cars and hydrogen powered cars to 350,000 and 15,000, respectively, by 2022. It will also focus on promoting new industries of the future that can create high added value, such as semiconductor, augmented reality (AR) and virtual re
The Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning of South Korea announced on July 19 that it would create new growth opportunities based on a combination between information and communications technology (ICT) and software. To this end, the South Korean government is planning to establish fourth indus
It has been found that Samyang Food exported products in violation of halal food standards to Islamic countries while advertising them as those in compliance with the standards.The Ministry of Food & Drug Safety of South Korea and the Korea Muslim Federation issued a warning against the company in A
SK Telecom announced on July 19 that the company received permission to temporarily operate self-autonomous vehicles from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for the first time as a domestic telecommunication company.As a result, SK Telecom's self-driving car will run on test roads as
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure & Transport holds a public hearing on drone industry development on July 19 with the Korea Transport Institute and the Korea Aerospace Research Institute.According to the ministry’s plan to that end, approximately one trillion won (US$900 million) is invested for
According to the Ministry of Employment and Labor on July 18, the ministry launched an investigation into a controversy surrounding the use of violent language against his chauffeurs by Lee Jang-han, chairman of Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceuticals.The Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to focus on a
Kolon Life Science is striving to penetrate the U.S. market with its gene therapy product Invossa. The company is currently preparing a clinical trial so that its cartilage regeneration effect can be acknowledged by the U.S. FDA.The upcoming trial focuses on knee cartilage regeneration and the subje