2009.04.30 – Drops of imports, stronger and faster than exports and a weak won with a sluggish domestic demand, made a current account surplus reaching a record of $6.65 billion in March, announced the Bank of Korea.

2009.04.30 – 16 people including a 15-month child are being tested to check if they are infected or not by swine flu. It is a total of 23 people who have been checked after a trip in swine-flu-affected areas (Mexico and USA).

2009.04.30 – Almost 10 chaebols (conglomerates) should sign an agreement with their bank (creditors) to improve their financial structures and undertake restructuring. These groups were the first concerned by restructuration during the global financial turmoil.

2009.04.30 – South Korea plans to cut off taxes on hybrid vehicles (electric) by up to $2,440 from July 1st. Taxes which will be cut off concerned registration of vehicles, education, consumption tax, etc.

2009.04.30 – Briefly: President Roh is the thirst president after Chun Doo-Hwan and Roh Tae-Woo to be directly concerned by receiving illicit money; Ministry of Transport plans to review a law which will keep the pedestrians to the right side of the street; Renault Samsung Motors gave 91 cars and 22 engines and transmissions systems ($1.1 million)to 27 schools and universities specialized on automotive industry; Government will invest $737 million in the next three years to improve industrial complex and make it more eco-friendly and knowledge-oriented.

2009.04.29 – Consumer sentiment index knew a big increase in April, indicated the Bank of Korea, with +14 points compared to March reaching 98 points, the highest note since the first quarter of 2008 (102 points).

2009.04.29 – Tests confirmed yesterday that the Korean tourist back from Mexico was infected by swine flu, experts announced. Patient, a 51 years old woman from Gyeonggi Province (near Seoul), went to Mexico City from April 19th to 25th.

2009.04.29 – Seoul city is worrying of negative impact of swine flu on international trade, and therefore on South Korea economy dependent around 60% of exportations, as the economy was slowly recovering.

2009.04.29 – Creditors are helping Hanbul Motors Corp., local and unique importer of French automaker Peugeot SA, with a $14.8 million bailout package. Debts of the importer will be rescheduled by 2011 after a contract signed with Korea Development Bank (KDB). American automaker General Motors, through its Chief finance officer Ray Young, announced that they will wait the help of KDB to think about how to help its Korean subsidiary GM Daewoo.

2009.04.29 – Briefly: Elections will be held today in Bupyeong (Incheon) and Gyeongju (North Gyeongsang) for local politic representatives; Number of birth declined by 7.1% to 36,700 in February; Hanjin Group CEO Cho Yang-Ho has been elected one of the most influential executive in the global air-cargo industry by the International Air Cargo Association (TIACA); The prêt-à-porter Fashion Show begins today in Busan with 11 designers from Korea, Japan, China, France and Hong-Kong.

2009.04.28 – One case of swine flu has been suspected in South Korea on Korean tourist (in Seoul) back from Mexico (official announcement at 10AM). 150 peoples already died of swine flu in few days and lots of suspected cases have been confirmed around the world (one case in France).

2009.04.28 – Think tanks announced that they will ignore South Korea GDP growth IMF forecasts considered as too pessimistic: -4% in 2009 (IMF), against 2.2% (HRI), -2.1% (LGERI), -2.4% (SERI), 0.7% (KDI). Finance ministry and Bank of Korea are also below IMF prediction with respectively -2% and -2.4%.

2009.04.28 – Jeju will own a naval strategic base by 2014 in the southern coast after a MOU signed between Ministry of national defense, Ministry of Land, transport and maritime affairs and Jeju provincial government. This agreement had been suspended since 2002 due to opposition of locals who do not want a naval base on “the Island of World Peace”.

2009.04.28 – South Korean semiconductor group Hynix developed the world fastest mobile DRAM (Dynamic random access memory) which meets the demand from smart-phones, mini-laptops and other portable electronic devices.

2009.04.28 – Briefly: Police investigators arrested six Chinese for “voice phishing”; mobile payments (post-payment which charges consumer on their mobile phone bill) doubled in three years; The number of international couples’ divorces increased by 30% to 11,255, 83% less than five years after marriage; South Korea will propose talks to North Korea next week regarding the Kaesong joint complex.

2009.04.27 – Sales of Korean car abroad halved in the first quarter compared to last year with only $4.37 billion, announced the Kama (Korea Automobile Manufacturer Association). Sales of foreign vehicles dropped by 36.5% to 436.285 units.

2009.04.27 – Despite a light rebound of the economy, manufacturing industry dropped strongly to a minus-13.5% in the first quarter compared to last year: the worst quarterly performance since its statistical creation in 1970 said the Bank of Korea.

2009.04.27 – Yeosu 2012 International Exposition faces a major problem: an insufficient budget for infrastructure. Yeosu city government and Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs called for an extra budget of $126 million.

2009.04.27 – Shinhan Financial Group Co. announced this weekend that it agreed with its French bank partner BNP Paribas SA to sell 35% plus two shares of SH&C Life Insurance to the French Company, this entity becoming then a subsidiary of BNP Paribas (Shinhan owns 15%).

2009.04.27 – Briefly: Thirst son of Kim Jong-Il has been assigned to a post in the top military organization of North Korea, a sign of succession for experts; South Korea avoids recession with a small growth of 0.1% in first quarter; Kia Motors announced a net income of 97.4 billion won, an excellent result compared to last year net loss of 24.8 billion won; Monaco football player Park Chu-Young goaled and won (0-1) yesterday night for the 33 Ligue 1 match.

24.04.2009 – Two Korean movies have been selected for the 2009 Cannes Festival: Thirst by Park Chan-Wook in official competition, and Mother by Bong Joon-Ho in the “un certain regard” competition. Lee Chang-Dong will be in the official jury directed by French actress Isabelle Huppert.

24.04.2009 – Bank of Korea indicated that Korean GDP decreased by 4.3% in the first quarter compared to last year. Goods exportations (60% of the GDP) decreased by 3.4%. GDP is better than the last quarter (which decreased by -3.4% vs. 2007 Q4) with an increase of 0.1%.

24.04.2009 – Government announced a $6.4 billion plan to support the shipping industry which have difficulties in this slump in global trade period.

24.04.2009 – According to the Bank of Korea, foreign investments in Korea decreased by 27.5% in 2008. Europe stays the first investor with $197.9 billion (32.9%), followed by South-East Asia (21.4%), USA (20.2%) and Japan (6.8%). In the other way, Korea decreased its investments abroad (-13.2% to $290 billion), going first to USA (22.6%), then Europe (17.6%), South-East Asia (17.2%) and China (14.9%).

24.04.2009 – Seven international schools will be built in Korea by 2010 to give better adaptation to foreign investors, declared Finance minister Yoon Jeung-Hyun. Seoul city plans to provide more accessible medical services.

24.04.2009 – Briefly: American army base will move up to South of Han river by 2015; During the nine upcoming days, Korea launches the bicycle festival to promote a green way of life; A building for expat will be built in Seoul central by 2012; Pyeongchang has been selected for the third time to organize Winter Olympic Games in 2018; 40 civic groups have joined together against the bill for foreign residents and visitors fingerprinted by next year.

23.04.2009 – IMF reduced its 2010 growth forecast for Korea from 4.2% to 1.5%, projecting a contraction of 4% this year.

23.04.2009 – US General Walter Sharp, commander of US troupes in Korea, indicated that militaries are becoming better prepared to face instabilities in North Korea, meaning change in the communist regime or massive outflow of refugees.

23.04.2009 – Hyundai Kia Automotive Group announced that they will recruit 4,000 new people and 1,000 intern this year, but also establish disability aids services and continue to promote the program Happy Move Global Youth Volunteer Corps which send two groups of 500 university students for volunteer project abroad.

23.04.2009 – Women in their 20s are more employed than men in the same age, indicated National Statistical Office, with a rate of 57.6% against 56.2% in March.

23.04.2009 – Briefly: Serial killer Kang Ho-Soon has been sentenced to dealth penalty after killing 10 women, last death penalty sentence was in 1997 Dec. 20; More children living in Gangnam area are going abroad, 4% in 2008 representing one of every 25 students; According to National Police Agency, number of crimes made by foreigners is increasing with 20,623 people arrested last year; Christopher Hill, former US Ambassador in Korea, has been named US Ambassador in Irak; Dibcom announced the availability of DVB-SH for Mobile Television by Satellite.

2009.04.22 – South Korea signed during the Hanover Fair in Germany four Memories of Understanding (MoU) for total investment of $200 million with European companies to promote strongly green energy industries: wind power generators, solar panels and rechargeable batteries.

2009.04.22 – SK Telecom announced yesterday that they developed a “Mobile in Vehicle” service which enables remote control of cars like oil level, doors, trunks and which will be available by the end of the year.

2009.04.22 – Performance of LG Electronics are better than expected for the first quarter with $340 million operating profits driven by LCD TV business. LG planed an increase of 10% in the second quarter compared to the first one.

2009.04.22 – Two Koreas, on the demand of North, met briefly yesterday in Kaesong between 8:35pm and 8:57pm to discuss about the situation of the joint industrial complex whereas the tension are increasing between the two countries since few months.

2009.04.22 – Briefly: Posco CEO Chun Joon-Yang went yesterday to New-Caledonia where he met Paul Naoutyine, northern province president; STX, Korean group under a deal with French Government, won a $517 million contract to build a helicopter carrier by 2012; President Lee is getting better among the population as 40% of Koreans approved his politic; Korean Airlines and Asiana Airlines announced that they will increase the fare on the flight linking Europe and USA from 5 to 10% (KAL).

2009.04.21 – South Korea should see the fastest economy recovery of OECD countries with a Composite leading indicator which rose by 1.6 points. This indicator indicates how economy will fare in the next six months by measuring industrial output, housing and financial markets conditions, and GDP of each country. The current total of 92.9 points indicates that the economy may shrink. France’s indicator rises by 0.1 point (ranking 8th).

2009.04.21 – After Minerva (31) has been condemned to 18-month jail for spreading false financial rumors on the second biggest online portal Daum, the Seoul Court decided to acquits him as false information on government policy are not considered as false rumors.

2009.04.21 – Recruiters are seeking more and more French and Russian speakers according to the online portal Incruit which counted 18,705 offers listing French language last year against 1,217 in 2006.

2009.04.21 – A crucial meeting will be held today between two Koreas as a delegation of seven members get to Kaesong to meet their North-Korean counterparts, first inter-Korean talks in more than a year.

2009.04.21 – Briefly: New chief executive of Posco Chung Joon-Yang is pushing to change the company’s corporate culture; Russian foreign affairs minister will visit Pyongyang this week; Orange taxis launched only for foreigners are available in Seoul; SK Telecom opened an online shopping mall in China under the name qiansun.com.

2009.04.20 – Korean government will give marketing assistance to local SMEs through a $2.3 million budget to bring more customers from technology industries abroad.

2009.04.20 – Two Koreas will meet on Tuesday in the joint industrial complex of Kaesong to discuss the tension following the launch of a missile beginning of April, declared Unification Ministry.

2009.04.20 – South Korea created the first tidal currents power plant in Asia located in Jindo, south-western part of the country. The sub-marine turbines can create 1,000 kilowatts, enough for about 1,000 homes and engineering plan on 1,200 KW.

2009.04.20 – Korean government announced that it will support through $750 million budget the research and development in the robot sector in the next five years to get into the global top three. A first increase of 10% of the budget has been planned for next year. This new budget would be able to create 13,800 jobs.

2009.04.20 – Briefly: Samsung Mobile Display announced that the global smart phone market could grow to 500 million units by 2012 (170 million by 2009); the most widely sold Korean food product is the Xylitol Chewing-gum made by Lotte Confectionery Co.; Bankruptcies continue to grow for the third consecutive month with 223 companies which closed the door in March; The government help disabled to find a job through its Korea employment promotion agency for disabled.

2009.04.17 – French Transport Secretary of State DOminique Bussereau came to Seoul April the 16th to sell French ports and convince South Koreans to invest in ports and logistics. During his visit, he went to Seoul Line9 Operation to analyze and understand the main activities of Alstom (Rotem), Veolia Transport and Systra.

2009.04.17 – A survey conducted by the Kotra indicates that 55% of foreign firms consider human resources as their first reason to invest in Korea. Among other reasons are mentioned IT infrastructure, geographic advantages and logistic.

2009.04.17 – Ebay invests $1.2 billion to take control of its main South-Korea rival GMarket and then become leader of online consumer-to-consumer market in South Korea.

2009.04.17 – Briefly: Korea Times released an article on cultural gaps in mixed marriages; Airlines companies sell more tickets because of upcoming large weekend in May; SK Telecom signed a MOU with Cisco to develop their business in China; Government wants to promote “Green Port” concept.

2009.04.16 – SK Group plans to invest $4.2 billion in R&D by 2012. This year, investments will reach record-high $900 million, 18% more than last year.

2009.04.16 – Projections of government on exportations in 2009 have been reviewed from $426.7 billion to $365 billion. Exportation could decrease by 10% compared to last year.

2009.04.16 – Japan and South Korea promised, as of a meeting between foreign ministers Hirofumi Nakasone and Yu Myung-Hwan, to continue to reinforce their cooperation for the negociation between Japan, two Koreas, USA, Russia and China.

2009.04.15 – Number of foreigners in Korea for the first quarter strongly increased by 25.6%, representing 2.01 million foreigners in only three months (1.4 million tourists), a record-high since 1980s.

2009.04.15 – Cisco Systems plans to invest $2 billion in South Korea in the next 5 years in the Information and Green technology sectors.

2009.04.15 – The Green wave is now concerning the local market of clothes and fashion. Since the recent discovery of toxic talc in fibers, consumers are getting interest for eco-friendly fashion clothes.

2009.04.15 – North Korea, to answer the decision of UN Security Council, declared that they pull out six-party talks and announced they will restore their nuke plants to strengthen national defense.

2009.04.15 – Briefly: Only 10% of adults are expected the support of their children once they will be inactive; Former president Roh’s family’s fortune is strongly analyzed; From today, three operators SK, KTF and LG will allow an access to the Windows instant messenger on mobile phone for 20 wons per message; BMW Korea had operating losses in 2008 of $40 million; Ssangyong Motor Labor Union voted the strike against massive layoffs (86.1% of 5.025 unionized supported).

2009.04.14 – Main Korean industries are watching on smaller Chinese cities (different from Shanghai or Beijing), as CJ Home Shopping which since 2004 accumulated through its development in small cities 100 billion won and 150,000 consumers.

2009.04.14 – Low won, healthcare and casino are the main reason of the constant increase of Japanese tourists in South Korea in 2008, representing 40% (6.89 million) of tourists in the peninsula. In January 2009, 240,000 Japanese already came, an increase of +55% compared to January 2008.

2009.04.14 – The Bank of Korea (BoK) announced that it will support banks through a $2 billion loan.

2009.04.14 – LG Electronics met big difficulties to sell its last mobile phone “Incite”, whereas it is cheaper than its main rival Samsung Electronics “Omnia”. SK Telecom and KTF said just 1,000 units have been sold since its launch in February.

2009.04.14 – Briefly: Dementia concerns nearly 10% of older people in South Korea according to the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family Affairs; Seoul City wants to attract more and more Chinese tourists by advertising through the Bank of China; Governmental data indicated that the gap between children having access or not to private courses was getting larger, raising fears of low-income families; Minerva (31) has been condemned to 18-month jail for spreading false financial rumors on the second biggest online portal Daum.

2009.04.13 – The meeting which had been organized in Pattaya in Thailand before the Asian Summit between foreign trade ministry of South Korea, Japan and China has been reported because of chaotic anti-government protests and organized instead in the hotel where Lee was staying.

2009.04.13 – Number of unemployed people should passed over one million for the first time in 8 years, indicated Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the National Statistical Office, reaching 4%.

2009.04.13 – UN Security Council (USA, China, Russia, Great-Britain and France) and Japan met for a meeting and reached a common agreement condemning the launch of a rocket by North Korea and reinforcing the unity for toughen sanctions against the regime, beginning by stopping any missile tests in the country and any trade of weapons with foreign countries.

2009.04.13 – Organization committee of the Seoul Motor Show elected Sorento R by Kia Motor as the best crossover of 2009, the New SM3 by Renault Samsung Motors as the best passenger car, and the Ssangyong C200 as the best concept-car.

2009.04.13 – Briefly: Former President Roh’s wife and son have been interrogated this weekend for their possible involvement in the corruption scandal; South Korea plans to attract more foreign patients in the healthcare sector; Number of applicants who signed up for the TOPIK (test of proficiency in Korean) increased by 43% last weekend compared to past year; Obesity rate in Korea is the lowest of OECD with 3.5%, followed by Japan (3.9%) and Swiss (7.7%); Samsung Electronics announced yesterday the launching of the world’s slimmest Blu-Ray player BD-P4600 (KRW 449,000).

2009.04.10 – SK Telecom will invest 3 trillion wons ($2.2 billion) by 2014 in new growth technologies, indicated Chief executive Jung Man-Won. Growth of technologies in telecom industries is slowing because of growing disparity between competitiveness of hard- and software industries.

2009.04.10 – 445,000 people benefited unemployment funds in March 2009, which represented a record high of $283 million and an increase of 64.3% as of 2008, according to Labor Ministry.

2009.04.10 – According to the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, almost 50% of the under-19 population living in rural region of South Korea would be biracial by 2020.

2009.04.10 – ASEAN (fifth trade partner of Korea) and South Korea reached an agreement which will finalize negotiations of free trade. South Korea already ratified three FTA with Chili, Singapore and European association.

2009.04.10 – Briefly: Government plan to build the nation first large-scale seawater desalinization plant in the port city of Busan; Car registration dropped by 20.1% in March with only 298,000 new cars on the road; Hyundai Asan CEO said he will go everyday to North Korea until the South Korean employee will be released; A new virus, alternative of Conficker virus, is coming through South Korea using personal protocol peer-to-peer and communicate with myspace, msn, aol, cnn and ebay.

2009.04.08 – President Lee Myung-Bak made yesterday the difference between the discussion held regarding the launch of a satellite by North Korea and the cooperation between South and North in the Kaesong Industrial Complex.

2009.04.08 – World mobile phone leader Nokia came back to the Korean market yesterday launching its last smartphone 6210s for 300$.

2009.04.08 – KT launches it new brand “QOOK” which will group all the activities of landline phone and Internet services. Objectives remain the same whereas the brand mark changes for all KT products (except mobile phone).

2009.04.08 – Former President Roh Moo-Hyun admitted yesterday that he received cash from businessman Park Yeon-Cha – at the center of a ballooning bribery scandal – through his former secretary.

2009.04.08 – Briefly: Jeju Air will launch on Friday its first flight between Incheon and Bangkok which will be operated two times a week; Foreigners entering South Korea will be fingerprinted by 2010 proposed Ministry of Justice; Korail new CEO has for objective to develop business cooperation abroad; Credit card spending slows sharply in the first quarter 2009.

2009.04.07 – Free Trade agreement, which has not been validated before G-20, has been reported to May for another round of negotiation on duty drawback scheme, announced negotiator in Chief Lee Hye-Min.

2009.04.07 – Exports of IT products dropped in March by -26.7% compared to March 2008, reaching $8.8 billion, reported Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE).

2009.04.07 – South Korea has the second world worst fiscal imbalance (following USA) among OECD countries, with a deficit of -4.9% forecast between 2008 and 2010.

2009.04.07 – Average wage growth dropped on a 10-year-low in South Korea with +1.8% against +5.5% one year before (survey on 837 companies with more 100 employees).

2009.04.07 – Briefly: Imported cars’ sales dropped by 18.5% in March with 4,711 units compared to 5,782 units a year before; Samsung Electronics will allow employees to take one Friday per month off so that it could develop a creative work environment; Kita will support South Korea exporting SMEs; Big firms ask for a minimum Toeic score of 729 points (average calculated by Incruit, Job portal), while foreign firms ask 720 points and 715 for public firms.

2009.04.06 – The Free Trade Agreement between European Union and South Korea has not been validated as it was expected before the G-20 in London. Through a common declaration, the two parts indicated that they will proceed to an intern consultation which will fix if they continue or not to negotiate a FTA.

2009.04.06 – Telecommunication satellite launched Sunday the 5th of April by North Korea has failed to enter orbit announced South Korea.

2009.04.06 – South Korea will inject this year $103.3 million to support research and development in the energy sector, focusing on reusable energy, electric power, waste management and hi-tech systems and parts production.

2009.04.06 – The launch of a satellite made by North Korea – jugged as a rocket test – has been condemned by the international community. An emergency meeting has been organized by the UN Security Council yesterday.

2009.04.06 – Briefly: Seoul Motor Show offers this year a special focus on hybrid vehicles; Young Koreans are « media junkies » with almost 14 hours in front of Internet, TV, magazines or radio; Patrick Le Quemont, Designer in chief and senior vice president of Renault, in visit in the Seoul Motor Show, indicated that South Korea has excellent car designers; Russia, USA, Japan, China and South Korea agreed to continue to negotiate with DPRK regarding its nuclear program.

2009.04.03 – French President Nicolas Sarkozy may come to South Korea in 2010 for a summit with Lee Myung-Bak, announced Ambassador for France to Korea Philippe Thiébaud during his speech in the National Assembly.

2009.04.03 – American and South Korean Presidents met in London before the beginning of G-20 and agreed to push for eventual sanctions through United Nations Security Council against North Korea if it conducts a long-range missile test in the next few days.

2009.04.03 – Biennial Seoul Motor Show began yesterday with a focus on eco-friendly cars. This show is the opportunity for Renault Samsung to present its new car SM3 and the concept-car e-MX.

2009.04.03 – Koreans overseas spent $12.11 billion in 2008, the first decrease since 5 years (-10.3% vs 2007). Number of Koreans traveling overseas also decreased by 10.1%. Non-Korean residents in South Korea spent $6 billion, an increase of 68.9%.

2009.04.03 – Briefly: Foreign direct investments dropped by 40% in the first quarter; Apartment prices scheduled for renovation in Gangnam rose comparing to last September; North Korea seems to begin fueling the missile which means the launch could be made in the next 3-4 days for a cost of $500 million; Police force presented its new pepper spray which will be used for self-defense.

2009.04.02 – South Korea is more and more dependant from foreign markets variation. The Bank of Korea announced that Korean exports were linked by 55% to GNI (Growth National Income), increase of 11.2% compared to 2007. This ratio passed over 50% for the first time it has been created (in 2000 by the BoK).

2009.04.02 – Trade balance reached a record in March with $4.6 billion surplus, with exportations at $28.3 billion (-21.2%) and importations at $23.7 billion (-36%).

2009.04.02 – Whereas Samsung Electronics launched beginning of April its new LED TV, the new generation of television (LED is energy efficiency and brightness), and is doing an intensive communication campaign in the media, LG Electronics, its main rival, prefers to wait as they estimate the market will not open up so fast.

2009.04.02 – Samsung Thales opened a new repair and test center for the WAS-423, an advanced naval gun fire control system, at the Navy's Logistics Command in Jinhae, South of the peninsula.

2009.04.02 – Briefly: South Korea won the football match vs North Korea yesterday (1-0) and is taking the head of its group; Makgeolli (local alcool) is gaining in populatiry as it sales increased in December by 30% (vs 2007); Increase by 8.5% of car sales in March compared to February; Increase of consumer prices by 3.9% in March (vs 2008); Korea Exchange Bank greeted its new CEO Larry A. Klane who is replacing Richard Wacker who will serve as chairman of the board of directors for U.S. buyount fund Lone Star.

2009.04.01 – State-run companies will cut 10% of their workforce regarding their restructuration, saving over 127.7 billion won.

2009.04.01 – South Korea helped developing countries by giving $797 million, an increase of 14% compared to the $699 million given last year.

2009.04.01 – Industrial output is still decreasing compared to 2008, but less than the last months with -10.3% in February compared to -25.5% in January.

2009.04.01 – As Japanese tourism is continuously increasing, a shuttle service will be available for Japanese to move between North and South of the Han River.

2009.04.01 – Briefly: In South Korea, one car over ten is a Hyundai Sonata; manufacturers are more confident in March by 57%, after a slow down between September (73%) and February (43%); A high-speed train will connect Seoul to Chuncheon in 2011; Hyundai Motor, with the agreement of the labor union, will increase its production of compact car in its Ulsan plant; POSCO marked its 41st anniversary giving a new vision and new objectives of the coming years.