The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on Dec. 29 that a total of 834,617 persons worked for 37,686 startups in South Korea at the end of last year and the numbers changed from 817,297 and 39,101 in one year.In 2021, the number of such persons exceeded the top four conglomerates’ employee count
The Ministry of Employment and Labor is planning to change rules so that foreigners with the E-9 visa for non-professional work can stay longer in South Korea.According to the current rules, foreigners with the visa for employment in, for example, manufacturing, agriculture and construction must lea
The South Korean government announced on Dec. 28 that it would reduce regulations related to foreigners’ economic activity participation, with the aging of the population accelerating.According to the government, South Korea’s total fertility rate is continuing to fall and estimated to reach 0.7 in
The Central European Institute of Asian Studies conducted opinion polls on adults in 56 countries, including 1,364 Koreans, from 2020 to this year, asking about their perceptions about China. The institute announced that South Koreans’ anti-China sentiment is the strongest among the 56 nations.Speci
The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is likely to adversely affect South Korea’s exports in the industries including steel and aluminum. The test implementation of the mechanism is scheduled for October next year and it will be fully implemented in 2026. The climate change
The 2023 budget plan of the South Korean government was finalized on Dec. 24. According to the plan, next year’s national defense budget is 57.0143 trillion won.The budget includes 18.8 billion won for the purchase of 20 F-35As. The Republic of Korea Air Force currently has 40 F-35As. More than 27 b
The Ministry of Finance of Indonesia announced on Dec. 25 that a budget has been allocated regarding 800 billion won Indonesia is supposed to pay to South Korea in the two countries’ KF-21 development project. Some of the money is expected to be paid next year.The project led by Korea Aerospace Indu
The ruling and opposition parties reached an agreement on the budget bill for 2023 on Dec. 22. The floor leaders of the two parties agreed to lower the corporate tax rate by 1 percentage point across all tax bands. The ruling party pushed for a 3-percentage point cut for the top tax band, while leav
The Korean government will add display technology to national strategic technologies, expanding tax credits to manufacturers of display panels.At present, only semiconductor, battery and vaccine are classified as national strategic technologies under the Restriction of Special Taxation Act, while di
Vietnam is expected to become Korea’s third-largest trading partner this year, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) said in a report on Dec. 21.Trade between Korea and Vietnam was US$500 million in 1992 when the two countries normalized their diplomatic relations. It reached US$80.7 billion las
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo remarked on Dec. 20 that financial audit in trade unions is necessary in the interest of social transparency, and the Ministry of Employment and Labor will be in charge of preparations.He first mentioned the issue on Dec. 18. “Union activities need to be more open to the
The numbers of foreigners and foreign employees in South Korea are continuing to decrease in the wake of COVID-19. The foreign workers’ wages are rising with demand for them not falling. The individual monthly wage of about one-third of them is three million won or more.Statistics Korea announced on
The Financial Times reported on Dec. 18 that the environmental regulatory authorities of the European Union agreed on the implementation of the world’s first carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) and non-EU states are opposed to it.The mechanism for the purpose of zero carbon emissions by 2050 i
The Korea International Trade Association said in its report on Dec. 19 that the bilateral trade between South Korea and Vietnam has increased 164 times and their mutual investment has increased more than 145 times since the establishment of their diplomatic relations in 1992. At present, Vietnam is
Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca and Defense Minister Angel Tilvar visit South Korea on Dec. 20. They are likely to discuss arms purchase from South Korea.South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo visited Romania in August this year and their visit is a return visit. At that time, the
The Federation of Korean Industries recently conducted a survey at 150 companies in the top 12 export industries of South Korea and on the top 1,000 list in terms of sales. When it comes to South Korea’s 2023 export growth rate, their average estimate is 0.5 percent. For reference, the rate was 25.7
The combined capacity of renewable energy facilities in South Korea topped 30 GW this year. This is desirable in terms of reducing the use of fossil fuels to achieve carbon neutrality.One problem is that renewable energy sources do not guarantee constant power generation in all hours and weathers, a
The White House released guidelines on the Inflation Reduction Act on Dec. 15. The guidelines include EV subsidy and incentive qualifications and South Korea failed to have its demand reflected in the guidelines.“The Inflation Reduction Act is one of the most important measures for clean energy deve
The Bank of Korea announced on Dec. 15 that South Korea’s import price index was 148.07 in November, down 5.3 percent from the previous month.The index fell in three months, with the Korean won-U.S. dollar exchange rate and international oil prices falling together. The average exchange rate was 1,4
The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on Dec. 15 that South Korea’s public-sector debt increased from 1,280 trillion won to an all-time high of 1,427.3 trillion won in 2021.The amount, which is the sum of central government, local government, and public enterprise debts, was slightly over 1,