Most airmailed pet foods flunk quarantine

The majority of pet foods ordered from overseas by Korean online shoppers last year were seized and trashed at the quarantine service for phytosanitary reasons, the Food Ministry said Sunday.The National Plant Quarantine Service confiscated 2,231 packages, or 93.3 percent of the total pet foods and animal feeds that entered the country via airmail in 2014, the ministry said.According to the ministry data, pet foods take up about 82.4 percent of all airmailed packages that failed the quarantine i

March 1, 2015

Shinhan opens earnings analysis system

Shinhan Bank said Sunday that it had developed a new investment performance analysis system, which enables customers to check the earnings rates of their savings, funds, and trusts at a glance.In addition to offering an in-depth analysis and strategies to customers, the system will also display the individual investment earnings rates of the bank’s asset managers.“The new system will boost customers’ earnings rates by offering a customized investment strategy,” said a representative of the bank.

March 1, 2015

Seoul shares tick down 0.37 pct on profit-hunting

South Korean stocks crept down 0.37 percent Friday, snapping their seven-session winning streak, as investors sought to lock in profits from recent rallies, analysts said. The South Korean won declined against the U.S. dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 7.28 points, or 0.37 percent, to close at 1,985.8. Trading volume was heavy at 407.5 million shares worth 5.51 trillion won ($5.02 billion), with gainers beating decliners 415 to 386.  "The global stock market has been

Feb. 27, 2015

Gov't to ease bank levies for won-yuan 'market creators'

South Korea plans to provide incentives by cutting or reducing bank levies on 12 banks that have been named as "market creators" of the won-yuan exchange market in a bid to vitalize the recently launched market.  Under the plan, Seoul will eliminate the bank tax on yuan debts and partially reduce other levies depending on the lenders' won-yuan trading volume, the finance ministry and the central bank said in a joint press release.  The move, which is tentatively valid for this year, is a follow-

Feb. 27, 2015

FSC backs relief program for borrowers

Financial authorities said Thursday that local lenders would launch a massive program to cut the cost of loans for borrowers next month as a way to curb rising household debts.Under the new loan-transfer program, the money will go to help households seeking to refinance their mortgage lending at cheaper rates.The Financial Services Commission said the debt-refinancing program will start on March 24 and run until the sales reaches 20 trillion won.The measure came amid reports that the nation’s ho

Feb. 26, 2015

Credit card spending rate slows

South Koreans’ credit card spending reached 48.4 trillion won ($44 billion) last month, up 3 percent from the same period a year ago, the Credit Finance Association said Thursday.This marked the second-lowest increase since February last year, when credit card spending grew 2.5 percent on-year. In January 2014, the increase rate stood at 9 percent.CREFIA attributed the low increase to less overall spending in January as the Lunar New Year holiday was in February this year.This led to less retail

Feb. 26, 2015

Korea struggles to curb auto insurance fraud

A damaging traffic accident is a devastating experience for anybody, even more so if one has to struggle to prove the genuineness of the casualty and discard the suspicions of insurance fraud.“The worst was that I had to spend extra time and effort communicating with the insurance company official to prove that I had sufficient reasons to be hospitalized,” said Lee Hye-jung, a 33-year-old medical researcher living in Seoul.Lee was hit by a full-speed bus last October while crossing the road on h

Feb. 26, 2015

S. Korea's terms of trade rise for 5th month in Jan.

South Korea's terms of trade improved for the fifth straight month on-year in January as weaker oil prices pushed import prices lower compared to export prices, data showed Thursday.The country's net terms-of-trade index for goods reached 95.82 last month, surging 8.4 percent on-year and hitting the highest level in more than four years. The January gain accelerated from 3.9 percent on-year growth in the previous month.The index is calculated by dividing the index for export prices by that for i

Feb. 26, 2015

New tax reference system confuses users

The National Tax Service’s renewed website is causing inconvenience to users due to its complicated security measures and lack of compatibility.In order to use Hometax, on which the NTS spent over 200 billion won ($182 million), users have to install at least eight security programs. Also, the new website is incompatible with the former system and requires conventional users to resubscribe.Earlier this week, the tax agency launched a renewed tax reference system in which it integrated various se

Feb. 25, 2015

Uncertainty grows as Fed gives unclear rate signal

Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said Wednesday that uncertainty remains for the Korean economy as it is difficult to predict when the U.S. Federal Reserve would start to raise interest rates.In a meeting with economists and researchers, the country’s top monetary policymaker said the Fed calmed the global market by saying that it remained patient in raising rates.At the same time, the U.S. central bank’s statement increased uncertainty, making it much more difficult to predict its monetary policy

Feb. 25, 2015

Seoul shares spike to almost 5-month high on global monetary easing

South Korean stocks rallied for a sixth straight session to reach nearly a five-month high on Wednesday as optimism over monetary easing in the U.S. and the eurozone economies sparked massive foreign buying, analysts said. The local currency gained sharply against the U.S. dollar.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 14.35 points, or 0.73 percent, to close at 1,990.47, marking the highest level since Oct. 1, when it finished at 1,991.54. Trading volume was moderate at 359.4 mill

Feb. 25, 2015

KB to give priority to top execs seeking reappointment

In an effort to secure management stability, KB Financial Group plans to offer priority to the incumbent chair and executives in deciding whether they wish to serve for an additional term.Despite concerns that this may lead to a monopolistic governance system, the banking group, which had suffered from months of leadership feuds and a turbulent power succession last year, decided that management stability is more important.KB Financial recently drafted its governance revision plan, aiming to est

Feb. 24, 2015

S. Korea's terms of trade rise for 5th month in Jan.

South Korean stocks extended their winning streak to five consecutive sessions on Tuesday as investor sentiment remained upbeat from an extended Greek bailout program and eased U.S. rate hike concerns, analysts said. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. greenback.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 7.73 points, or 0.39 percent, to 1,976.12. Trading volume was moderate at 302.7 million shares worth 4.1 trillion won ($3.7 billion), with gainers far outnumbering declin

Feb. 24, 2015

S. Korean banks' financial health somewhat worsens in 2014

The financial condition of South Korean banks has worsened slightly last year from a year earlier due to a sharp rise in risky assets, the financial watchdog said Tuesday.   The average capital adequacy ratio at 18 commercial and state-run banks stood at 13.89 percent at the end of 2014, down 0.54 percentage point from the previous year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.  The ratio, a key barometer of financial soundness, measures the percentage of a bank's capital to its risk-weig

Feb. 24, 2015

S. Korea recoups 65.2 pct of bailout funds in 2014

The South Korean government has recouped 65.2 percent of the public funds it spent to bail out troubled financial firms during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, the financial regulator said Tuesday.  The government has retrieved 109.9 trillion won ($99 billion) of the 168.7 trillion won used from the public funds as of the end of 2014, according to the Financial Services Commission.The recovery rate was up slightly from 63.4 percent at the end of 2013, it added.  Massive amounts of public fund

Feb. 24, 2015

BOK to reset inflation target

The Bank of Korea said Monday it would reset its mid-term inflation target range sometime in the second half of this year, while reiterating that it would maintain its monetary easing for the time being.In a policy briefing to the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee on Monday, BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said that a new target for 2016-2018 would be established after reviewing economic conditions.“We will seek an inflation target for 2016 (to 2018) that reflects the changing economic con

Feb. 23, 2015