Seoul, March 10 (IANS) South Korea’s per capita income edged up 0.3 per cent in 2025 to remain in the $36,000 range, as the depreciation of the Korean won against the US dollar offset actual solid income growth, central bank data showed on Tuesday.Nominal per capita gross national income (GNI) stood at $36,855 last year, marking a 0.3 percent increase from a year earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).In terms of the won, the GNI climbed 4.6 percent from a year e…
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Seoul, March 10 (IANS) Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday refused to meet with representatives of a special investigation committee on the 2022 crowd crush who visited the Seoul Detention Centre to persuade him to attend a hearing.The National Commission for the Investigation of the October 29 Itaewon Disaster is scheduled to hold the hearing Thursday and Friday to uncover the truth behind the crowd accident that killed 159 people in the central Seoul district in October 2022…
Seoul, March 8 (IANS) Unionised workers at Samsung Electronics are set to begin a vote later this week on whether to launch a strike, industry sources said on Sunday, amid controversy after a union warned that employees who refuse to participate in the walkout could face disadvantages.The company’s three largest unions, which represent a combined estimated 89,000 of the tech giant’s roughly 130,000 employees, will hold the vote from Monday through March 18 on whether to stage a general strike fo…
Seoul, March 8 (IANS) Gasoline and diesel prices rose moderately on Sunday as the government considers adopting a price cap system amid concerns over rising energy prices following the escalating conflict in the Middle East.According to data from the Korea National Oil Corp., the nationwide average price of gasoline came to 1,893.3 won (US$1.27) per liter, up 3.9 won from the previous day, while diesel rose 4.8 won to 1,915.4 won per litre, reports Yonhap news agency.In Seoul, fuel prices also i…
Seoul, March 6 (IANS) South Korea recorded its fifth-largest monthly current account surplus in January, driven by a semiconductor upcycle and strong exports, central bank data showed on Friday.The current account surplus totalled US$13.26 billion in January, down from $18.7 billion in December, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).Compared with the same month a year earlier, however, the figure surged 397.4 percent, marking the fifth-largest monthly surplus on record, reports Yonhap news agency…
Seoul, March 3 (IANS) South Korean stocks plummeted nearly 5 per cent late Tuesday morning amid escalating concerns over possible economic impacts from the ongoing Middle East conflict.South Korea’s main bourse operator, the Korea Exchange (KRX), issued a sell-side circuit breaker, temporarily halting trading after a sharp drop sparked by market concerns over U.S. airstrikes on Iran.Selling of the KOSPI 200 Futures index was suspended for five minutes at 12:05 p.m., according to KRX.The index fe…
Seoul, March 1 (IANS) South Korea’s exports jumped nearly 30 per cent from a year earlier in February to mark the highest level ever recorded for the month, driven by growing demand for semiconductors amid the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, government data showed on Sunday.Outbound shipments totaled $67.45 billion last month, up 29 per cent from $54.2 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, reports Yonhap news agency.The record…
Seoul, Feb 27 (IANS) The government on Friday decided to allow global tech giant Google to transfer government-supplied high-precision map data of South Korea to its overseas facilities, contingent on supplementary measures to address security concernsThe Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which oversees national mapping policy, made the decision after holding a meeting with officials from foreign, defence and other related ministries, reports Yonhap news agency.Google filed its lat…
Seoul, Feb 25 (IANS) South Korea and the United States will stage their annual joint springtime military exercise next month to strengthen their combined defense posture as they are preparing for the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington to Seoul, the allies’ militaries said Wednesday.The Freedom Shield (FS) exercise is scheduled to take place from March 9-19, involving the field training exercise dubbed “Warrior Shield,” according to the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (…
Seoul, Feb 25 (IANS) The number of babies born in South Korea grew at the fastest pace in 15 years in 2025, with the country’s total fertility rate rising to 0.8 for the first time in four years, government data showed on Wednesday.A total of 254,500 babies were born last year, up 6.8 per cent, or 16,100, from 2024, according to the provisional data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics. The ministry will announce the final statistics in August, reports Yonhap news agency.The 2025 tally marks…