Individual retirement pension market likely to reach 82 tln won in 2030: report

SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's individual retirement pension market will likely reach 82 trillion won (US$72.4 billion) in 2030, an industry report showed on Monday.The country's financial regulator is planning to introduce the individual retirement pension scheme in July next year, under

Sept. 19, 2011

Oil taxes more than half of gasoline price at pumps

SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- Taxes levied on gasoline sold at local pumps accounted for 54.7 percent of consumer prices, a government report said Monday, fueling public demand for lowering oil taxes on petroleum products that have risen in recent months.According to the report submitted to the annual

Sept. 19, 2011

Savings banks' massive illegal loans revealed

SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korean savings banks were discovered to have extended illegal loans to their major shareholders, financial regulators said Monday, angering depositors and fueling anxiety following the suspension of seven local savings banks.The data comes a day after the Financial

Sept. 19, 2011

Hana SK Card's customer data leaked

SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- Hana SK Card Co., a South Korean credit card firm, said Monday that some 200 customers' personal information has been leaked, the latest in a series of security breaches that are spurring concern about private data protection. The card firm, a joint venture between Hana F

Sept. 19, 2011

KT to launch mobile payment service for iPhone

SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's telecom titan KT Corp. said Monday that it will roll out a new service for Apple Inc.'s iPhone, which will turn the smartphone into a mobile wallet for wireless financial transactions. The country's second-largest mobile operator plans to introduce a new sma

TechnologySept. 19, 2011

S. Korean workers' real income growth slows amid high inflation: report

SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korean workers' monthly wages grew at a faster pace than other major economies last year, but inflation-adjusted income growth was behind other countries due to rising prices, a report showed Monday.South Korean workers' nominal wages came to 2.02 million won ($1,81

Sept. 19, 2011

Nuclear reactors in S. Korea suffer numerous stoppages

SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea‘s government said Monday that there were a total of 91 failures in operations of nuclear reactors in the country over the past 10 years due to mechanical glitches and other problems.In a report to the National Assembly, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said t

IndustrySept. 19, 2011

LG to release new smartphone with QWERTY keypad

LG Electronics Inc., the world's third-largest handset maker, said Sunday that it will launch a new smartphone model here in South Korea next week that targets young consumers who prefer computer-like QWERTY keyboards.The Optimus Q2 is equipped with a 1.2 GHz dual core processor, 4-inch display, 500

IndustrySept. 18, 2011

Korea to overhaul credit card industry

The Financial Services Commission said on Sunday it would draw up a comprehensive plan to restructure the troubled credit card industry, which is under criticism for pursuing rapid expansion at the risk of generating market bubbles.“The average number of credit cards held by a single individual rose

Sept. 18, 2011

Hyundai Heavy denies report on Nigerian shipyard plans

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. on Sunday denied reports that it will be building a shipyard in Nigeria.On Friday, Reuters reported that Hyundai Heavy will be investing $7 billion to build a shipyard in the African country, quoting the company’s chief executive Lee Jai-seong.The company, however, said

IndustrySept. 18, 2011

Local industries brace for exchange rate impact

Local industries were seen bracing for the impact from the recent surge in the Korean won against the U.S. dollar exchange rate amid lingering concerns of a debt crisis in the European region.On Friday, the local currency ended at 1,112.5 won against the greenback, with the exchange rate stabilizing

Sept. 18, 2011

Dismal growth prospects abroad likely to squeeze Korean economy

The government has been pushed to lower growth projections for the Korean economy as debt in Europe and dismal growth prospects in the U.S. are expected to set back exports and consumer spending this year and next.The latest data shows that shrinking consumer demand and depressed business sentiment

Sept. 18, 2011

Loan defaults on the rise

The number of loan defaults in Korea reached 1.09 million as of June, up 19.5 percent from six months earlier, credit data showed on Sunday. According to Nice Information Service, the number of people who failed to pay back loans they got from local lenders and financial firms rose by 179,000 in the

Sept. 18, 2011

Higher volatility spurs speculative trades

Hot money on currency market and risky bets on derivatives on the riseWith the local stock market riding a wave of volatility in recent weeks, speculative transactions have increased at an alarming pace, the country’s financial regulators warned on Sunday. Although it is often difficult to distingui

Sept. 18, 2011