South Koreans became the world's top users of credit cards in 2011, data showed Monday, in line with the government's effort to promote purchases with plastics to bolster domestic consumption.According to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea, South Korea's per-capita credit card transactions came to 129.7 cases in 2011, up 12.8 percent from 114.9 cases tallied a year earlier.The number hovers far above Canada, which posted an average transaction of 89.6 cases, trailed by the United States with

June 10, 2013

An independent online press company said Sunday it plans to unveil the list of 30 more South Koreans who are suspected of setting up shell companies in offshore tax havens to evade taxes.Since late May, the Korea Center for Investigative Journalism has released names of 18 high-profile South Koreans, including a son of a former president, who set up paper companies in tax haven regions for alleged tax evasion or stashing away slush funds.“We’ve identified additional names of 30 suspected Koreans

June 9, 2013

POSCO, South Korea’s biggest steelmaker, became the world’s fifth-largest crude steel producer in 2012, dropping by one notch from a year ago, data showed Saturday. According to data by World Steel Association, India’s ArcelorMittal retained its top ranking with 93.6 million tons of crude steel, followed by Japan’s Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. with 47.9 million tons. POSCO’s crude steel production came to 39.9 million tons last year, down from 39.1 million tons in 2011, it said. POSCO’s d

June 9, 2013

South Korea’s bourse operator said Friday it has received applications from 21 firms wishing to be listed on the new Korea New Exchange market catering to smaller industry players.The Korea Exchange said 10 brokerage houses, which were selected as authorized supervisors in March to evaluate and supervise firms to be listed on the envisioned market, handed in the list of candidates on Friday. Slated to open on July 1, the KONEX market aims to foster growth of small and mid-sized firms, and add to

June 9, 2013

Stock assets owned by heads of South Korea’s top-10 conglomerates, or chaebol, have shrunk by nearly 7 percent this year due to the prolonged stock market slump, an online media site reported Sunday.According to Chaebul.com, shares owned by the chairpersons of the nation’s 10 largest conglomerates, excluding public corporations, were worth 25.6 trillion won ($22.91 billion) as of Friday, down 6.6 percent, or 1.8 trillion won, from the beginning of the year.Lee Kun-hee, the chairman of Samsung El

June 9, 2013

South Korea’s exports of tech products and its IT-related trade surplus rose to record highs in May as global demand for Korea’s smartphones and semiconductors remained firm, government data showed Sunday.Korea’s exports in tech products amounted to a record $15.15 billion last month, up 17.2 percent from a year earlier, according to data by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and the trade ministry.The country’s trade surplus in the tech sector also hit an all-time high of $8.27 bi

June 9, 2013

The South Korean economy grew slower than earlier forecast in the first quarter as consumer spending remained subdued and export growth slowed amid the yen's slide to the won, the central bank said Friday.Korea's gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic performance, grew a revised 0.8 percent in the January-March period from three months earlier, down from a previous estimate of 0.9 percent on-quarter expansion, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).The first-quarter reading

June 7, 2013

Demand for gold and 50,000 won banknotes is soaring after the Park Geun-hye government’s vow to tax the underground economy, data showed on Thursday.According to Yonhap News, which compiled data from the Bank of Korea and some financial institutions, the amount of 50,000 won banknotes in circulation as of April reached 35.52 trillion won ($31.83 billion). During the first four months of this year alone, the amount increased by 3.76 trillion won. It is almost double the increase from the same per

June 6, 2013

South Korea’s food watchdog said Wednesday that it has found no unapproved genetically modified wheat and flour in shipments from the U.S. state of Oregon.The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety made the announcement after inspecting a 1-kilogram sample from each shipment of U.S. wheat and flour being stored by South Korean importers and milling companies.The move comes days after the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed unapproved genetically modified wheat had been found in a

June 6, 2013

Credit card installment purchases fell to a 10-quarter low in the first quarter as a revised financial rule and the economic slump dampened consumers’ sentiment, data showed Wednesday.According to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea, the country’s credit card installment buying came to 20.2 trillion won ($18.1 billion) in the January-March period, down 17.1 percent from three months earlier.In contrast, the amount of single payment purchases edged down 1.9 percent over the cited period to rea

June 6, 2013

LOS ANGELES (Yonhap News) ― A leading U.S. auto magazine has picked the Kia Cadenza as the best sedan among its American and Japanese rivals, a move that South Korea’s second-largest automaker Kia Motors Corp. will boost its sales in the United States.“A huge value proposition, solid fuel efficiency, near-luxury ride, and pretty sheetmetal make the Kia our near-unanimous choice for first place,” Motor Trend, an automobile magazine, said in its July edition posted on its website.The magazine comp

June 6, 2013

The capital adequacy ratio of South Korean bank holding companies fell in the first quarter of this year from three months earlier, largely due to a decrease in the amount of capital set aside to counter risk, the financial regulator said Thursday. The average capital adequacy ratio of 10 local bank holding companies, including top player Woori Finance Holdings Co., stood at 13.11 percent as of the end of March, down 0.12 percentage point from three months earlier, according to the Financial Sup

June 6, 2013

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday announced the renewal of Iran sanctions exceptions for South Korea and eight other nations.The nine nations will be able to continue purchasing reduced amount of Iranian crude oil for the coming 180 days without any penalties under the National Defense Authorization Act."The United States and the international community stand shoulder to shoulder in maintaining pressure on the Iranian regime until it fully addresses concerns about its nuclear progr

June 6, 2013