Seoul, April 20 (IANS) Outgoing Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Rhee Chang-yong said on Monday that achieving economic stability and growth through monetary and fiscal policy alone has become increasingly difficult, calling for a broader role for the central bank in addressing long-term structural challenges.Rhee made the remarks during his farewell ceremony in Seoul, as he completed his four-year term. His successor, Governor-designate Shin Hyun-song, is set to begin his term Tuesday as his nomina…
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New Delhi, April 20 (IANS) President Lee Jae Myung stressed the need for South Korea and India to work together to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz in an interview published on Monday, also highlighting the need for joint efforts to stabilise global supply chains.In a written interview with The Times of India, held before his summit talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he noted that the effective closure of the critical shipping route due to the prolonged conflict betw…
Seoul, April 14 (IANS) South Korea will attend a multilateral meeting this week on joint efforts to stabilise the Strait of Hormuz, including ways to ensure free and safe passage through the waterway in the event of an end to the Middle East conflict, officials said Tuesday. The online meeting, set for late Wednesday (Seoul time), is a follow-up to the Britain-led ministerial meeting of more than 40 countries that took place earlier this month regarding the maritime chokepoint where thousands of…
Seoul, April 14 (IANS) Electric vehicle (EV) charging costs will be reduced by up to 15 per cent during afternoon hours on weekends starting this week, the climate ministry said on Tuesday.The reduction in the charging fees will be supported by a 50 percent rate discount on electricity used at 94,000 private home-use chargers and 13,000 public fast chargers between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on weekends and public holidays, according to the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment.This will result in…
Seoul, April 11 (IANS) Cash assistance for the bottom 70 per cent of income earners in South Korea will begin being rolled out later this month, the government announced Saturday, as part of efforts to ease the financial strain caused by rising oil prices.The aid will first reach the most vulnerable within that income bracket starting April 27 and expand to the broader eligible group May 18.Approximately 32.5 million people are eligible for the aid, with payments ranging from 100,000 won ($67.30…
Seoul, April 9 (IANS) South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Thursday it is time for the nation to fundamentally change its economic system, as rising oil prices and inflationary pressures from the war in the Middle East have dampened prospects of an economic recovery.However, Lee urged officials to embrace such grave economic conditions as an opportunity to improve the nation’s economic system as he presided over his first plenary meeting of the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC) to d…
Seoul, April 8 (IANS) The South Korean government vowed Wednesday efforts to help South Korean vessels stuck in the Strait of Hormuz to safely pass through the shipping route after the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire with the full reopening of the crucial passage for oil.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources will cooperate with the foreign and oceans ministries to ensure the safe and swift passage of Korean oil tankers tied up at the Hormuz strait, officials said.Th…
Seoul, April 8 (IANS) North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, in a back-to-back launch that came after President Lee Jae Myung expressed regret over drone flights by individuals into the North.The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the missiles launched from the Wonsan area in the North at around 8:50 a.m. They flew some 240 kilometres. It marked the North’s fourth confirmed ballistic missile launch this y…
Seoul, April 6 (IANS) The South Korean won weakened against dollar on Monday after US President Donald Trump renewed threats to strike Iranian energy facilities and bridges if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened, while setting a new deadline for action.The won closed at 1,506.3 per dollar, down 1.1 won from the previous session, reports Yonhap news agency.The local currency opened at 1,510.3 won on Monday, but some of the earlier losses were pared on news reports that the United States and Iran…
Seoul, April 6 (IANS) A special counsel team on Monday demanded a 10-year prison term for South Korea’s former President Yoon Suk Yeol during the appeals trial of his obstruction of justice case stemming from his 2024 imposition of martial law. Special counsel Cho Eun-suk’s team sought the sentence at the final hearing at the Seoul High Court, double the five-year term handed down by a lower court in January.Yoon was convicted by the lower court of obstructing investigators from detaining him la…