Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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Tougher measures in store to rein in household debt: top regulator
Financial authorities will unveil additional measures to rein in household debts, the new head of the financial regulator said Tuesday. Koh Seung-beom, the new chairman of the Financial Service Commission (FSC), said that curbing household debts is his top priority. "I will mobilize all available policy means to reduce risks of surging household debts," Koh said, but stopped short of saying when the FSC will unveil additional measures. The FSC will make a decision on whether to ex
Aug. 31, 2021
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Seoul stocks rise for 3rd day on tech gains
South Korean stocks rose for the third straight session Tuesday as foreign investors scooped up tech shares after an overnight tech rally on Wall Street. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 55.08 points, or 1.75 percent, to close at 3,199.27 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 647.3 million shares worth some 15.2 trillion won ($12.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 495 to 333. Foreigners purchased a net 1.1
Aug. 31, 2021
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Renault Samsung to develop eco-friendly car with Lynk & Co
Renault Group set up a joint venture with China’s Geely Automobile Holdings earlier this month and plans to unveil a Renault brand hybrid passenger car in China and have Renault Samsung Motors develop an eco-friendly vehicle. For the new eco-friendly car, Renault Group said it will share technologies with Lynk & Co, a Chinese-Swedish automobile brand owned by Geely. The research and development team of Renault Samsung is expected to work on an eco-friendly car tailored to Korean cust
Aug. 31, 2021
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Hyundai Steel sets insourcing precedent, launches three new units
Hyundai Steel is launching three new subsidiary companies as part of an insourcing drive aimed at enhancing its competitiveness and the well-being of around 7,000 affiliated workers, the firm said Tuesday. It is the first major manufacturer in the country making the move to directly hire workers from partner companies and provide them with the same benefits, the steelmaker said. The new entities are established at the locations of the firm’s major production bases -- Incheon, Poh
Aug. 31, 2021
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HDC Hyundai Development Company creates ‘sustainable’ urban projects
HDC Hyundai Development Company recently announced a number of projects to build “sustainable urban platforms” that combine residential, business, shopping and cultural facilities. The company said it aims to break ground next year to turn the Kwangwoon University Station area in Seoul’s Nowon-gu into such a space that presents “a living culture of the future.” HDC expects the residential, business, shopping and cultural facilities, where contactless payments wi
Aug. 31, 2021
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Amazon Global Store launches in Korea
Global online retailer Amazon and South Korean e-commerce platform 11st launched the Amazon Global Store on 11st on Tuesday. The move has made it easier to buy tens of millions of products available on Amazon’s US website, ranging from PCs, toys and fashion to electronics, with free shipping on orders over 28,000 won ($24). Though the service has been in operation in 12 other countries, it marks the first time Amazon is working with a local company for the launch. It also makes 11st the
Aug. 31, 2021
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Number of restaurant, hotel workers drops in July as pandemic lingers
The number of people working at restaurants and hotels dropped 64,000 on-year in July as the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic continued to weigh down on the sectors, the government said Tuesday. The total number of workers in the restaurant and hotel industry stood at 1.09 million last month, down 64,000, or 5.5 percent, from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor. The sectors have shed workers for 18 straight months since the pandemic first exploded
Aug. 31, 2021
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Fed’s tapering talk has limited impact on Korean market ‘for now’
The reports surrounding the US Federal Reserve’s plan to trim bond purchases over an extended period have had limited impact on the Korean market “for now,” First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-won said Tuesday. The remark follows some volatility observed in the nation’s main bourse in the events leading up to and after US Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at the Fed’s annual Jackson Hole gathering last week. The central bank may begin withdrawing some of i
Aug. 31, 2021
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Hyundai Heavy develops offshore carbon dioxide storage platform
Hyundai Heavy Industries Group has developed an offshore platform to store carbon dioxide under the ocean floor with the state-run Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC), the group said Tuesday. The group's two affiliates-- Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) and KSOE's subsidiary Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. -- have won approval in principle (AIP) for the offshore platform from DNV, a Norwegian ship quality assurance and risk management company, it said. AIP for the platform mea
Aug. 31, 2021
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Blackstone seeks up to W320b in exit from handbag maker IPO
New York-based private equity firm Blackstone is attempting to cash in on its holdings in Simone Acc Collection for up to 320.7 billion won ($275.3 million) in a partial exit involving an initial public offering, a prospectus showed Tuesday. The IPO of luxury handbag maker Simone, which could fetch up to 400.9 billion won before its proposed October listing on the Korea Exchange‘s main board Kospi, will allow the world’s largest private equity investor to carry out an immediate exi
Aug. 31, 2021
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Institutions' investment in foreign securities up 5.1% in Q2
South Korean institutions' investment in foreign securities rose 5.1 percent in the second quarter as they increased their holdings of foreign stocks and bonds, central bank data showed Tuesday. The combined value of foreign securities held by institutional investors came to $381.1 billion as of end-June, up $18.5 billion from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Foreign securities include stocks, bonds and so-called Korean paper, which refers to foreign currency-denomi
Aug. 31, 2021
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Banks' bad loans fall 11.5% in Q2
Nonperforming loans at South Korean banks fell 11.5 percent in the second quarter from three months earlier due to a decline in overdue corporate loans, data showed Tuesday. Nonperforming loans came to 12.2 trillion won ($10.5 billion) at the end of June, down 1.6 trillion won from the end of March, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Overdue corporate loans reached 10.5 trillion won at the end of June, down 1.4 trillion won from a quarter earlier, the data sho
Aug. 31, 2021
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Moon stresses need to keep expansionary fiscal policy in 2022
President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday emphasized the importance of maintaining an aggressive fiscal policy next year, as the government has proposed an 8.3 percent hike in the state budget. "(We) are facing a very important time for the nation in the midst of the world's order of upheaval and great transformation. The fiscal role is more important than ever," he said at the start of a weekly Cabinet meeting. Main agenda items included the budget plan for fiscal 2022. In its final annual b
Aug. 31, 2021
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HMM's land-based workers at HMM vote to strike for pay increase
Unionized land-based workers at HMM Co. have voted for a strike after failing to reach an agreement with the management over a pay raise, the union said Tuesday, triggering concerns over potential disruption at the country's top shipper. In a vote held Monday, 98 percent of its 755 members supported the strike if the negotiations go nowhere, according to the union. A week earlier, unionized sailors and other sea-based workers at the company also voted in favor of a strike to solve wage disput
Aug. 31, 2021
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[Newsmaker] S. Korea proposes record W604tr budget for 2022 amid pandemic
South Korea on Tuesday proposed a record high budget of 604.4 trillion won ($519 billion) for next year as it plans to maintain expansionary fiscal spending to cement the economic recovery and narrow social gaps caused by the pandemic. The proposed budget, endorsed by the Cabinet, marks an 8.3 percent on-year rise from this year's 558 trillion-won budget, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The increase is lower than the 8.9 percent increase for this year. The government plans to
Aug. 31, 2021
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Seoul stocks open lower amid virus woes
South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as investors took to the sidelines amid the country's protracted fight against its worst wave of the pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.03 points, or 0.13 percent, to trade at 3,140.16 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. South Korea's fight with the current wave of the pandemic weighed on investor sentiment as health authorities struggle to flatten the virus curve ahead of the Chuseok holiday next month. In
Aug. 31, 2021
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S. Korea wary of potential market volatility from Fed's tapering issue: official
Talks about the Federal Reserve's tapering of asset purchases have had limited impacts on South Korea's financial market, but the country will monitor the situation with "extra" vigilance, a senior government official said Tuesday. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in a Jackson Hole speech Friday (U.S. time) that the Fed may begin to taper bond purchases this year, but he took a cautious stance about an early tapering of asset buying or a hike in interest rates. First Vice Finance Mini
Aug. 31, 2021
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Home transactions sink 37% in July
Home transactions in South Korea tumbled 37 percent in July amid government efforts to rein in soaring housing prices, government data showed Tuesday. The number of homes changing hands nationwide stood at 88,937 last month, down 37.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The July reading was little changed from the 88,922 deals registered in the prior month. The number of home transactions in the South Korean capital of S
Aug. 31, 2021
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Industrial output down in July amid toughened virus curbs
South Korea's industrial output decreased in July from the previous month in the latest sign that the country's economic recovery momentum slowed amid the fourth wave of the pandemic, data showed Tuesday. Industrial output fell 0.5 percent in July from the previous month, a turnaround from a 1.6 percent on-month gain in June, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. From a year earlier, it increased 4.7 percent. Retail sales, a gauge of private spending, declined 0.6 percent in July
Aug. 31, 2021
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Hahn & Co. sues Namyang Dairy for breach of contract
Seoul-based buyout firm Hahn & Co. has filed a lawsuit against Namyang Dairy Products shareholders for failing to abide by a binding contract to sell their controlling shares to them, the nation’s second-largest private equity fund said Monday. The lawsuit, submitted to the Seoul Central District Court on Aug. 23, is meant to urge shareholders, including Namyang Dairy Chairman Hong Won-sik, to implement the sales deal signed on May 27 as planned, Hahn & Co. said in a statement.
Aug. 30, 2021