South Korean stocks ended lower Tuesday as investors’ sentiment was dented by the on-going civil unrest in Hong Kong, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 6.51 points, or 0.32 percent, to 2,020.09. Trading volume was moderate at 314.73 million shares worth 4.45 trillion won ($4.22 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 439 to 394. Analysts said Seoul shares traded lower as investors took a wait-and-see approach

Sept. 30, 2014

South Korea extended its current account surplus to 30 months in a row in August but by a smaller margin than the previous month, central bank data showed Monday. The current account surplus reached $7.27 billion last month, compared with a revised $7.84 billion in July, according to the preliminary data by the Bank of Korea. The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade.With the August data, the country's current account surplus during the January-August period totaled $54.3

Sept. 29, 2014

South Korea is closely monitoring the won-yen exchange rate that financial authorities say has reached a worrisome range and is encouraging exporters to take some hedging measures, officials said Sunday."The low-yen trend has entered its third year, but it is showing signs of accelerating recently," an official staying close to exchange issues said. "Any lopsidedness in exchange rates can negatively impact the local economy. We are watching the situation very closely."The Korean won traded at 95

Sept. 28, 2014

South Korean stocks ended lower on Friday as foreign investors continued to sell for a seventh straight session amid a growing appetite for safer assets, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dipped 2.47 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,031.64. Trading volume was moderate at 308 million shares worth 3.81 trillion won ($3.65 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers, 498 to 304.“With foreigners in a selling mode, the KOSPI

Sept. 26, 2014

KB Financial Group Inc., South Korea‘s No. 2 banking group, said Friday that its new chief will be picked at a shareholders’ meeting slated for mid November. The Chairman Candidate Recommendation Committee held its second meeting on Friday and decided on the procedure to shortlist candidates, the banking group said. The committee plans to pick about 100 candidates first and then choose 10 of them in the third round of its meeting to be held on Oct. 2, it said. After drawing up a shortlist of fou

Sept. 26, 2014

South Korea's financial watchdog is seeking to revise corporate disclosure rules to require publicly-traded firms to reveal their dividend payout plans and the maximum dividend amount, industry sources said Friday.The government in July had unveiled plans aimed at encouraging companies to distribute more of their profits in wages and dividends, blaming them for holding on to too much cash, cutting the money flow to households and in turn weakening their spending.The new economic team led by Fina

Sept. 26, 2014

The unprecedented leadership strife that has put KB Financial Group under government sanctions has sounded an alarm in the industry about the critical flaws in the current financial holding company system. In order to extricate financial companies, shareholders are urged to more actively exercise their rights, according to Kim Sang-jo, chief of Solidarity for Economic Reform and professor of trade at Hansung University.“The financial holding company in Korea is largely out of order,” he said at

Sept. 25, 2014

Hyundai Group is expected to be able to streamline its cyclical ownership structure with the sale of its logistics unit to be completed next week, raising market confidence in the cash-strapped conglomerate, corporate sources said Thursday.    Insiders said the money generated by the sale of Hyundai Logistics to Japanese private equity fund Orix Corp. will be used by Hyundai chairwoman Hyun Chung-eun and her family to purchase a100 percent stake in Hyundai Global, the holding company for the ent

Sept. 25, 2014

South Korea's top economic policymaker on Thursday expressed his full support for the justice minister's recent controversial remark that the government needs to consider pardoning business leaders convicted of crimes in order to help boost the persistently slowing economy.On Wednesday, Justice Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn said in an interview with a local newspaper that the government needs to seriously think about freeing or pardoning convicted CEOs if it can help turn the economy around.  After his

Sept. 25, 2014

Hanjin Group, owner of South Korea’s flag carrier Korean Air, selected InterContinental Hotel Group as the service operator of its incoming premium hotel in the U.S. The group on Tuesday signed a consignment contract with InterContinental, entrusting the management of the $1.2 billion Wilshire Grand Hotel to open in Los Angeles in 2017. “InterContinental is the right kind of brand which may realize the high-class service on behalf of Wilshire Grand Hotel,” said Cho Hyun-ah, chief of KAL Hotel Ne

Sept. 24, 2014

South Korean stocks closed lower Tuesday as top exporters on the main bourse marked losses amid mixed Chinese industrial data for the month, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 10.36 points, or 0.51 percent, to 2,028.91. Trading volume was high at 421 million shares worth 4.59 trillion won ($4.4 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 505 to 299.Analysts said Seoul shares closed lower as top exporters, such as Sams

Sept. 23, 2014

Hana Financial Group, the nation’s second-largest financial holding firm by assets, will hold a board meeting on Wednesday to announce the merger of its card unit with the Korea Exchange Bank’s credit card division, officials said.Hana is planning to ask for the Financial Services Commission’s approval for the integration this month, which will lead the merged entity to become the sixth-largest card company in South Korea with a combined market share of 7.8 percent.Hana is eyeing to introduce th

Sept. 23, 2014

South Korean banks’ employment rate is expected to jump nearly 19 percent from last year, largely driven by the government’s job creation policies, data showed Tuesday.Five major local banks are planning to hire a total of 1,080 people in the second half of this year, up 18.68 percent from 910 people in the same period in 2013.KB Kookmin Bank is set to hire the most, with 290 new hires, followed by Woori Bank’s 250, Shinhan Bank’s 200, Industrial Bank of Korea’s 200 and NongHyup Bank’s 140. Expe

Sept. 23, 2014

South Korea’s financial watchdog has ramped up pressure on local life insurers to pay contracted money to the families of policyholders who commit suicide, but insurance companies are weighing taking the case to court, industry sources said Tuesday.More than 10 life insurers were ordered by the Financial Supervisory Service to pay the insurance money in arrears by the end of the month, according to the sources.The insurers had sold policies for accidents that cover disaster-caused deaths as well

Sept. 23, 2014