The Bank of Korea announced on Sept. 12 that South Korea’s real GDP grew 0.7 percent in the second quarter of this year and the growth rate is the 20th-highest among those of the 35 countries that consist of China, Indonesia and the OECD member states other than Lithuania, Colombia, Costa Rica, Luxe
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia has warned South Korea not to join the U.S.-led Russian crude price cap scheme.“The South Korean economy will have to face serious consequences if the South Korean government decides to follow it,” Georgy Zinoviev, director of the ministry's First Asia D
Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun remarked on Sept. 6 that the U.S. and South Korean governments would continue to discuss the EV subsidy part of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which stipulates that EV subsidies from the U.S. government are limited to those made in the United States.The minister is cur
Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) has recovered 460 billion won through the sale of its stake in the Anchor oil and gas field in the Gulf of Mexico, which it purchased in 2008 for 1.2 trillion won. The 460 billion won is less than 40 percent of its original investment in the offshore oil field.Accordi
Hyundai Research Institute said in its report on Sept. 6 that South Korea’s added values would decrease by US$60.1 billion if the United States initiated anti-China export control in the strategic industries including electrical, electronics and communications equipment manufacturing. According to t
The Bank of Korea said in its report on Sept. 6 that South Korea’s trade deficit attributable to rising energy prices is likely to continue for a while, with the current global economic slowdown adversely affecting its exports.“From January to August this year, South Korea’s trade balance decreased
Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Chairman Lee Bok-hyun remarked on Sept. 5 that the FSS is working closely together with the prosecution and the Korea Customs Service regarding suspicious foreign exchange transactions in the banking sector and the FSS is open to cooperation with the Ministry of J
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy released an export competitiveness enhancement strategy on Aug. 31 with South Korea recording a trade deficit for five months in a row. According to the strategy, the government will focus more on China-, semiconductor- and energy-related risks.According to
The South Korean government announced on Aug. 31 that it increased the E-9 foreign worker quota by 10,000 to 69,000 for this year in view of the ongoing worker shortage at shipbuilders and non-large companies.A number of foreign workers’ arrival in South Korea has been indefinitely postponed due to
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) reached a conclusion on Aug. 31 that the South Korean government must pay US$216.50 million to Lone Star Funds. The government is going to lodge an appeal.“The amount is much smaller than Lone Star’s initial claim of US$4.68 bill
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said on Aug. 31 that the South Korean government is working on various hydrogen production techniques, including production from nuclear power-based electricity.Han made the comment during a congratulatory speech at the H2 Mobility Energy Environment Technology (MEET) 202
The South Korean government is working on different market strategies to help Korean builders win more overseas infrastructure construction projects. The current annual performance is approximately US$30 billion after the peak of US$71.6 billion recorded in 2010, and the government is aiming to incr
The Korean government has revised the power supply plan drawn up by the preceding Moon Jae-in administration, raising the proportion of nuclear power generation from 23.9 percent to 32.8 percent by 2030, while lowering the share of renewable energy-based power generation from 30.2 percent to 21.5 pe
The South Korean government sent a delegation to the United States in response to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. The delegation led by Deputy Minister for International Trade and Legal Affairs Ahn Sung-il is scheduled to stay in Washington D.C. until Aug. 31 and visit the Office of the United Sta
Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Lee Chang-yang remarked on Aug. 29 that the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act is likely to be a violation of KORUS FTA and WTO rules and the South Korean government is planning to bring it to the WTO if necessary.The act is to limit EV subsidies to those assembled in N
Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Hoi-jae remarked on Aug. 29 that South Korea in the first half showed an import dependence on a single country of at least 75 percent when it comes to 636 items with an import amount of at least US$10 million each.“The 636 import items include 351, 83 and 49 fr
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced on Aug. 28 that South Korea’s trade surplus with the United States was US$21.671 billion in the first half of this year, up 86.9 percent from a year ago. In this period, South Korea’s exports to the United States increased 25.9 percent while its imports from
Korea has won a large-scale nuclear power plant construction project for the first time in 13 years since its successful bid for the Baraka Nuclear Power Plant project in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2009.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on Aug. 25 that Korea Hydro & Nuclear
Korean automobile industry insiders are raising the call for the South Korean government to change its electric vehicle (EV) subsidy policy, as the United States and China are becoming increasingly nationalistic in the EV and EV battery industry. According to experts, however, the policy cannot be c
The Korean startup investment market has enjoyed an unprecedented boom for years but is freezing rapidly, hitting hard startups looking for investment. In July, the number of domestic startup funding cased stood at 135 and the investment amounts totaled 836.9 billion won, according to the Startup Al