The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on Jan. 20 that the exports from the ICT sector of South Korea totaled US$176.9 billion with a year-on-year decline of 19.7 percent and the imports added up to US$108.4 billion with a year-on-year increase of 1 percent last year. The trade surplus

The South Korean government announced on Jan. 20 that finance, culture and innovation will be added to the 9-Bridge scheme for mutual cooperation between South Korea and Russia and it will establish mid- to long-term cooperation models and bilateral and multilateral FTA belts with northern countries

The Ministry of Science and ICT is planning to provide innovative public services based on blockchain technology.The ministry’s keyword for its blockchain development projects is service popularization. In this regard, the ministry will allocate a budget of 16.1 billion won for blockchain R&D and re

South Korea took the second spot with 88.16 points in Bloomberg Global Innovation Index 2020, which was released on Jan. 18. Germany topped the list with 88.21 points. South Korea, which did so from 2014 to 2019, fell one notch as its productivity ranking dropped due to external factors such as Japa

The United States and China signed their first-phase trade agreement on Jan. 15. What lie ahead are variables related to the implementation of the agreement and issues such as the Chinese government’s subsidies for state-run Chinese companies, which triggered their trade disputes. In addition, South

The Busan Coast Guard announced on Jan. 16 that it has investigated the Russian who is the owner of a 1,014-ton Panamanian petroleum product carrier since March last year. The investigation on the owner grounded for violation of U.N. Security Council sanctions on North Korea is showing little progre

The South Korean government is concerned that the United States may change the target of its protectionist trade policy based on high tariff rates from China to Europe, India or South Korea.At present, its application of Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to automobiles for tariffs of up

The South Korean government came up with a new policy package on Jan. 15 to accelerate the growth of the biotech industry. All of the 10 new projects that constitute the package are scheduled to be launched in the first half of this year. The government is going to concentrate on deregulation and th

South Korea, China and Japan have made some progress in negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) following the trilateral summit held late last year. Yet they remain divided over “open data,” a concept that some data should be freely available to everyone to use and republish as they wish.The th

The National Tax Service announced on Jan. 13 that a total of 18.58 million salaried employees, up 3.2 percent from a year ago, conducted year-end tax adjustment for their 2018 income and their average salary rose 3.6 percent to 36.47 million won. Meanwhile, the total earned income tax jumped 10 per

North Gyeongsang Province is operating a booth for local companies jointly with Daegu city at CES 2020, the world’s largest tech expo which opened in Las Vegas, the United States on Jan. 7. Thirty companies located in Daegu city or North Gyeongsang Province are showcasing their technological prowess

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on Jan. 10 that it would discuss mutual cooperation with the UAE government in oil stockpiling at the 10th General Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).Specifically, Joo Young-joon, head of the ministry’s Office of Energy

The fourth edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) 2024 will be held in South Korea’s Gangwon Province in the cities of PyeongChang and Gangneung, home to the Olympic Winter Games 2019, the International Olympic Committee announced in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Jan. 10 (local time).The IOC vo

The Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in its report on Jan. 8 that the growth of the South Korean economy still remains slow although some indices are indicating the possibility of an economic recovery.According to the KDI, consumption and service output growths increased and leading economic i

The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on Jan. 8 that South Korea’s overall fiscal deficit was 7.9 trillion won in the period of January to November 2019. The deficit is the largest since 2009, when it amounted to 10.1 trillion won.South Korea’s overall fiscal balance fell below zero in Febru

Middle East risks are on the rise in the wake of the recent bombing of a U.S. military base in Iraq by Iran. Experts point out that the conflict between the United States and Iran can shock the domestic as well as global economy in that Middle East oil accounts for approximately 70 percent of South

Korea’s current account surplus took an upturn in November 2019, the first on-year increase in nine months, but it looks more like a recession-type surplus.Current account surplus widened as Korean companies paid less in dividend to overseas investors because of their deteriorating profits, and both

With military tensions escalating between the United States and Iran, South Korea’s shipping companies and airlines are on edge. The safety of the Strait of Hormuz, a major route for Korean shipping companies, has been at stake, and airline losses have been growing due to soaring international oil p

South Korea suffered a 13 percent drop in inbound foreign direct investment (FDI) last year compared to 2018. FDI shrank throughout the first half of last year before recovering to some degree in the second half due to large-scale acquisitions of domestic companies by foreign investors.One main reas

The United States has effectively entered war with Iran. The Korean economy, which has a long way to go, could suffer from the escalating geopolitical crisis arising from the Middle East. The unfavorable development in the Middle East, coupled with the U.S.-China trade war and Japan’s export restric