Shares down on currency corporate earnings woes

South Korean stocks ended lower on Monday on concerns that local firms’ earnings would be worse than previously expected. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock PriceIndex shed 5.04 points, or 0.25 percent, to 2,026.60. Trading volume was moderate at 334 million shares worth 4.38 trillion won ($4.15 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 576 to 255.The index, after swerving in and out of positive terrain in the morning session, caved to institu

Sept. 29, 2014

S. Koreans, firms invest nearly $23b in tax havens

South Korean companies and individuals invested nearly $23 billion in 50 tax havens over the past seven years, data showed Sunday.    According to the data by the National Tax Service and the Export-Import Bank of Korea, South Korean individuals and companies invested $22.77 billion in the tax havens from 2007 through 2013.    The amount represents about 12 percent of overall overseas investments made by South Korea worth 197.88 trillion won ($189.4 billion) during the period.    Of the tax have

Sept. 28, 2014

Salary for Korean banking group CEOs too high compared to profits: market tracker

Despite lower profits than their overseas peers, South Korea's leading banking groups are paying their CEOs a much better salary, data showed Sunday.   The average annual pay last year for the country's top three banking groups reached an estimated 2.7 billion won ($2.6 million), according to data compiled from multiple financial institutions at home and abroad. By comparison, three top Japanese banking groups paid their CEOs an average 1.25 billion won, based on won-yen exchange rate at the end

Sept. 28, 2014

S. Korea moves to levy anti-dumping duties on ethanolamine imports

South Korea's trade commission said Friday it has decided to impose punitive duties of up to 21.79 percent on ethanolamine imports from four countries, including the United States and Japan.The decision followed a 10-month probe into allegations of dumping by a local importer of the chemical compound that is widely used to produce detergent, plasticizer and various other products. The products from Malaysia and Thailand were also named for punitive duties."The Trade Commission has come to rule i

Sept. 26, 2014

Yeongjongdo to turn into Korea’s Las Vegas

A 2.3 trillion-won ($2.2 billion) casino resort project in Midan City on Yeongjongdo Island within the Incheon Free Economic Zone is expected to launch before the opening of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics.The project, which LOCZ Korea ― a consortium formed by China’s Lippo and Caesars Entertainment of the U.S., which received a preliminary casino license from the Seoul government in March ― includes the construction of a 7,700-square-meter site with a casino, hotels, dining spaces, shoppin

Sept. 25, 2014

National debt nears 490 trillion won in 2013: data

South Korea’s national debt neared 490 trillion won ($470.8 billion) in 2013 as the government increased borrowing to make up for its deficit, a government report showed Tuesday.According to the report by the Finance Ministry, the debt owed by the central and provincial governments came to 489.8 trillion won in 2013, up 46.6 trillion won from a year earlier. The debt is equal to 34.3 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.The central government’s debt rose 38.9 trillion won on-year to 4

Sept. 23, 2014

South Korea's national debt nears 490 tln won in 2013: gov't data

South Korea's national debt neared 490 trillion won ($470.8 billion) in 2013 as the government increased borrowing to make up for its deficit, a government report showed Tuesday.According to the report by the finance ministry, the debt owed by the central and provincial governments came to 489.8 trillion won in 2013, up 46.6 trillion won from a year earlier. The debt represents 34.3 percent of the country's gross domestic product.The central government's debt rose 38.9 trillion won on-year to 46

Sept. 23, 2014

Piketty warns of S. Korea's chaebol factor

Thomas Piketty, whose treatise on economic equality has taken the international economic community by storm, raised the need for property renewal in South Korea where massive wealth is often inherited among a few, select conglomerate clans. "You cannot have the same families forever. There is a serious issue of how you renew the property structure," the French economist said in an interview Friday with Yonhap News Agency in Seoul. "It's important to avoid extreme reproduction of inequality in th

Sept. 20, 2014

Korean won extends loss to dollar

The South Korean won continued to decline against the U.S. dollar Friday, extending its loss to the second consecutive session as it moves in tandem with the global trend of the strong dollar following the Federal Reserve meeting.The local currency ended at 1,044.60 won against the greenback, down 1.20 won from Thursday’s close. The dollar rose to the highest in six years earlier in the day on expectations that the Fed’s fund rates will be raised at a faster-than-expected clip, prodding investor

Sept. 19, 2014

Korea cut crude imports from conflict-ridden Iraq in July

South Korean refiners reduced imports of crude oil from Iraq on-year in July when the Middle East country became mired in internal conflict, while increasing crude imports from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, data showed Thursday.South Korea imported 5.36 million barrels of Iraq crude oil in July, down 40.3 percent from 8.99 million barrels a year ago and 13.9 percent from 6.23 million barrels in June, according to the data by the state-run Korea National Oil Corp.By company, GS Caltex bought 4.36 milli

Sept. 18, 2014

S. Korea to hike N. Korea-related budget by 10.4 pct in 2015

South Korea announced a double-digit increase in next year's budget for its ministry handling North Korean affairs on Thursday, emboldened by President Park Geun-hye's reunification drive.The unification ministry's total budget will jump 10.4 percent on-year to 1.4 trillion won ($1.3 billion) in 2015, according to the government's new budget plan approved by the Cabinet. It requires parliamentary endorsement.By type, the ministry's general budget will grow 5.8 percent to 230 billion won, which i

Sept. 18, 2014

Key points in South Korea's 2015 budget proposal

The following are key points of the 2015 budget proposal endorsed by the government on Thursday.Along with its spending plan, the government also gave estimates on revenue collection and mid-term fiscal management plans.Spending:    - Expand 2015 spending by 5.7 percent to 376 trillion won ($361 billion)    - 115.5 trillion won on health, welfare and labor, an increase of 8.5 percent from 2014    - 53 trillion won on education, up 4.6 percent    - 18.8 trillion won on research and development, u

Sept. 18, 2014

Strong won fans export fears

The South Korean won has remained one of the best performing currencies against the stronger U.S. dollar in terms of value since early June, when the European Central Bank announced a quantitative easing program, data showed Wednesday, spurring calls for measures to ease its appreciation to help local exporters. The dollar has steeply strengthened against the euro and other major currencies on strong U.S. economic data and the ECB’s move to adopt a bond buying program to boost the flagging euroz

Sept. 17, 2014