South Korean stocks ended 0.3 percent lower Thursday as investors sat it out after last week’s gains, analysts said. The South Korean won lost ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 6.22 points to 2,054.51. Trading volume was moderate at 283.9 million shares worth 3.74 trillion won ($3.6 billion), with decliners beating gainers 457 to 353.Analysts said the decline came as investors took a breather and locked in gains after the benchmark index set year

Aug. 7, 2014

The Seoul government is considering taking action to counter a recent decision from the United States to impose punitive duties on South Korean steel products, a ranking trade official here said Monday.“The government plans to come up with appropriate measures based on a legal review of the decision and the impact it will have on the country’s exports of the same product to the U.S.” Deputy Trade Minister Choi Kyong-lim said at a press briefing. The move follows the July 11 decision by the U.S.

Aug. 7, 2014

South Korea will levy taxes on firms not spending enough of their profits on investment and salaries, a move aimed at funneling corporate money into households and stimulating the overall economic growth in the process, the finance ministry said Wednesday.The ministry plans to lower tax rates on dividend income as another effort to induce money flows from companies to investors and small shareholders.The measures make up the crux of this year's tax code revisions proposed by the ministry. The re

Aug. 6, 2014

South Korean stocks ended lower on Tuesday as investors took a breather following a recent rally and weak economic data from China, analysts said. The South Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 14.16 points, or 0.68 percent, to 2,066.26. Trading volume was moderate at 341.5 million shares worth 4 trillion won ($4 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 503 to 301.“Investors backed away from the temporarily overheated market and instit

Aug. 5, 2014

The number of dormant credit cards in South Korea dropped below the 10 million mark last month, marking the first time it has done so since 2005 when the Credit Finance Association began tracking the data.About 9.7 million credit cards issued by 20 banks and card companies had remained idle for more than a year. The figure was down more than half from the 23.5 million a year earlier, according to the CFA on Tuesday.CFA officials explained that the decline is due in part to the government’s home-

Aug. 5, 2014

South Korea can boost its potential economic growth by employing more women in the workforce, a report said Tuesday, urging lawmakers to come up with relative measures for the country where female labor participation is among the lowest in developed nations."Underemployment in some segments of the (Korean) population is an important labor market challenge and a factor contributing to lower potential growth," the report jointly written by the International Monetary Fund and the Bank of Korea said

Aug. 5, 2014

The South Korean government announced Monday that it will disband some districts and areas within the country’s free economic zones as they have failed to submit development plans and attract foreign investment.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said that some 10 districts and portions of four districts in eight FEZs will no longer be part of the zones, beginning Tuesday.“Under the FEZ law, the designations of those areas in the zones will be automatically canceled as they have not shown

Aug. 4, 2014

South Koreans filing for a personal bailout program rose nearly 10 percent during the first half of 2014, data showed Monday, as local household debt shot up to its highest level since late last year. The number of people seeking a bailout went up 9.9 percent on-year to 57,069 during the January-June period, according to industry sources and court records. On an annual basis, the figure has been on the rise since 2010.The government’s personal bailout program is designed to provide people some l

Aug. 4, 2014

South Korea topped the list of wage gaps between men and women among advanced countries with the gender pay gap hardly narrowing over the past decade, data showed Monday.According to the data compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, South Korea’s wage gap by gender stood at 37.4 percent, the highest among the 11 OECD member nations surveyed, as of 2012.The figure means that South Korean women are paid 37.4 percent less than their male counterparts.Japan came next wi

Aug. 4, 2014

South Korean stocks ended higher on Monday as investors pinned hope on positive sentiment stemming from the new economic team’s policy stimulus, analysts said Monday. The South Korean won gained ground against the U.S. dollar.After swerving in and out of positive territory, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 7.32 points, or 0.35 percent, to 2,080.42. Trading volume was low at 249.47 million shares worth 3.86 trillion won ($3.75 billion), with gainers beating decliners 514 to 28

Aug. 4, 2014

South Korea's minimum wage has been set at 5,580 won ($5.40) per hour for next year, up slightly over 7 percent from this year, the labor ministry said Monday.In late June, a trilateral council of government, labor and management representatives agreed to raise the country's minimum wage for 2015 by 7.1 percent from the current 5,210 won per hour.The hourly wage translates to 44,640 won a day for those who work eight hours a day and 1.16 million won a month for those who work 209 hours a month.T

Aug. 4, 2014

South Korea topped the list of wage gap between men and women among advanced countries with the gender pay gap hardly narrowing over the past decade, data showed Monday.According to the data compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, South Korea's wage gap by gender stood at 37.4 percent, the highest among the 11 OECD member nations surveyed, as of 2012.The figure means that South Korean women are paid 37.4 percent less than their male counterparts.Japan came next wit

Aug. 4, 2014

South Korea and New Zealand will hold the eighth round of negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement next week, the South Korean government said Friday. “At the upcoming round of negotiations, we will work together for tangible progress by narrowing our differences in the area of market liberalization for products and by resolving other remaining issues, such as the country of origin, customs and investment,” the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a press release.Next week’s t

Aug. 1, 2014

South Korea’s consumer prices grew at the slowest pace in three months in July due to stable prices of vegetables and livestock, a government report showed Friday.The country’s consumer price index rose 1.6 percent last month from a year earlier, decelerating from June’s 1.7 percent gain. This marked the slowest pace of consumer price growth since April when it rose 1.5 percent. The price increase has remained in the 1 percent range since November when it gained 1.2 percent from a year earlier.

Aug. 1, 2014

South Korean stocks closed lower Friday as investors sought profit-taking after the benchmark index set new yearly records this week, analysts said. The South Korean won lost ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 3.02 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,073.10. Trading volume was low at 266 million shares worth 4.93 trillion won ($4.78 billion), with gainers outpacing losers, 507 to 295.Analysts said the decline came as investors took a breather and locked

Aug. 1, 2014

South Korea's exports grew from a year ago last month with imports also rising at a similar pace, the government said Friday.Outbound shipments amounted to US$48.42 billion in July, up 5.7 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.Imports rose 5.8 percent on-year to $45.9 billion.The country's trade surplus widened slightly to $2.52 billion from $2.45 billion in July 2013. July also marked the 30th consecutive month the country has posted a tr

Aug. 1, 2014

South Korea’s imports of energy declined slightly in the second quarter of 2014 from a year earlier, customs data showed Thursday.According to the data by the Korea Customs Service, South Korea imported $34.35 billion worth of energy during the April-June period, down 1.7 percent from the same period a year earlier. The energy imports accounted for 26.3 percent of the country’s total imports, down 1.3 percentage points from a year earlier.The amount of energy imports also fell 1.1 percent over t

July 31, 2014

South Korean stocks closed higher Wednesday to set another yearly record as investor sentiment was boosted by the government’s latest economic stimulus package, analysts said. The South Korean won slightly rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 20.64 points, or 1 percent, to 2,082.61. Trading volume was moderate at 328 million shares worth 6.13 trillion won ($5.99 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 417 to 384.After breaching the 2,060-poi

July 30, 2014