Multicultural marriages fall, birthrate rises

The number of marriages of international couples in South Korea declined for the second consecutive year, while the birthrate for such families continued to rise, according to a government report.Statistics Korea said in its report released on Thursday that the number of multicultural marriages stood at 29,224 in 2012, down 4.8 percent from 30,695 from a year earlier. The figure reached 35,098 in 2010.Data showed that the proportion of multicultural partners out of total marriages also dropped f

Nov. 21, 2013

Three retail giants fined for illegal business activities

Lotte Department Store, Lotte Mart and Homeplus were slapped with fines for illegally exploiting confidential business data of their subcontractors, the Fair Trade Commission said Thursday. Lotte Department Store was ordered to pay 4.6 billion won ($4.3 million) in fines for forcibly requesting sales data from 60 small vendors that also have shops in its rival department stores.The department store demanded extra sales or promotions from small vendors whose stores performed worse than counterpar

Nov. 21, 2013

Household credit hits record high

South Korea’s household credit rose to a fresh record high in the third quarter, but its growth slowed from three months earlier on an expiry of tax benefits from home purchases, the central bank said Thursday.Household credit totaled 991.7 trillion won ($934.5 billion) as of end-September, up 12.1 trillion won from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea.Household credit refers to credit purchases and loans for households that have been extended by financial institutions, including

Nov. 21, 2013

FSC to curb financial units’ funding of parent firms

Financial arms of large enterprises will face tougher restrictions from next year in funding their parent firms against default, the financial regulator said Thursday, in a move to close the loophole through which conglomerates divert their affiliates’ assets to avert liquidity squeeze. Money-lending units affiliated with conglomerates will only be able to offer their largest shareholders loans of an amount equivalent to 100 percent of their equity capital, beginning in the first half of 2014, t

Nov. 21, 2013

Seoul shares fall 1.16 pct on U.S. woes

South Korean stocks closed 1.16 percent lower Thursday as investors' sentiment was dented by rising woes over an anticipated tapering of U.S. quantitative easing moves, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 23.46 points to finish at 1,993.78. Trading volume was low at 281.3 million shares worth 3.24 trillion won ($3.07 billion) with losers outnumbering gainers 576 to 230.Analysts said Seoul shares lost ground a

Nov. 21, 2013

Seoul shares down 0.94 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.94 percent lower late Thursday morning amid the rising woes over a tapering of quantitative easing moves by the United States, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 18.88 points to 1,998.36 as of 11:20 a.m.Shares lost ground across the board, with Samsung Electronics falling 1.84 percent and Hyundai Motor losing 0.39 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO shed 0.15 percent.Builders also traded bearish, with Hyundai Engineering & Cons

Nov. 21, 2013

Won weakens on government forewarning

Officials at the Bank of Korea and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance once again expressed concerns over the Korean won’s appreciation, indicating their intentions to control the won’s strength against the dollar despite cautions from their U.S. counterparts.The exchange rate rose 1.5 won against the dollar to 1,057.9 won on Wednesday as forex officials indicated that it would not rule out additional market intervention to tame the won’s rise.The won has been gaining as foreign investors reall

Nov. 20, 2013

KEB supports typhoon-hit Philippines

Korea Exchange Bank has kicked off emergency relief initiatives to help the Philippines recover from the devastation of typhoon Haiyan.“We share special ties with the Philippines in terms of economic cooperation and a variety of nongovernmental partnerships. We hope for swift recovery of the afflicted country,” the commercial bank said in a statement on Wednesday.The death toll from Haiyan has reached about 4,000, according to the national disaster relief agency. About 1,600 nationals are missin

Nov. 20, 2013

Seoul shares fall 0.71 pct on weak economic outlook

South Korean stocks closed 0.71 percent lower Wednesday, as investors' sentiment was dented by weak economic growth outlooks from home and abroad, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 14.4 points to finish at 2,017.24. Trading volume was moderate at 329.3 million shares worth 4.36 trillion won (US$4.13 billion) with losers outnumbering gainers 416 to 385.Analysts said Seoul shares lost ground as investors' sen

Nov. 20, 2013

Seoul shares down 0.54 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.54 percent lower late Wednesday morning due mainly to losses in technology firms and carmakers, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 11.02 points to 2,020.62 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech shares traded lower, with Samsung Electronics falling 0.81 percent and SK hynix losing 1.79 percent. Samsung Electro-Mechanics, an industrial parts maker, shed 1.04 percent.Carmakers also traded bearish, with No. 1 player Hyundai Motor decreasing 1

Nov. 20, 2013

Seoul shares open lower on U.S. losses

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 7.66 points, or 0.38 percent to 2,023.98 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares lost ground across the board, with tech giant Samsung Electronics falling 1.01 percent and No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor decreasing 0.77 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO shed 0.92 percent.U.S. stocks closed lower Tuesday as investors took a breather after the m

Nov. 20, 2013

Citi Bank scaling down operations in Korea

A South Korean unit of U.S.-based Citi Bank said Tuesday it has reduced nearly 10 percent of its branches here through November, due mainly to its falling profits in the local financial market.Citi Bank Korea said the number of branches in South Korea came to 196 as of this month, compared to 218 tallied at end-December last year.Citi Bank Korea’s net profit came to 27.9 billion won ($26.3 million) in the third quarter of fiscal 2013, down 53.3 percent from a year earlier.South Korea is the bank

Nov. 19, 2013

OECD raises Korea’s 2013 growth outlook to 2.7%

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Tuesday that it revised downward Korea’s 2014 economic growth outlook from 4 percent to 3.8 percent, as Asia’s fourth-largest economy is highly exposed to external factors stemming from unorthodox policies implemented by advanced economies.The OECD, however, raised its initial 2013 growth projection for the Korean economy from 2.6 percent to 2.7 percent on the back of “modest” global recovery.The global economy is expected to grow 2.

Nov. 19, 2013

Seoul shares gain 1.04 pct amid global recovery hopes

South Korean stocks closed 1.04 percent higher Tuesday, as indications that global economies are on the path for recovery boosted investor confidence, analysts said.The local currency inched up against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shot up 20.83 points to finish at 2,031.64. Trading volume was moderate at 397.3 million shares worth 4.24 trillion won ($4.01 billion) with gainers outnumbering decliners 426 to 391. Analysts said global economies showing si

Nov. 19, 2013

Seoul shares up 0.97 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded nearly 1 percent higher late Tuesday morning thanks to bullish large-cap heavy industries and construction shares, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 19.54 points to 2,030.35 as of 11:20 a.m.Samsung Heavy Industries, a major shipyard, surged more than 4 percent, with Daewoo Engineering & Construction hiking 4.3 percent. But shares of telecom companies lost ground. LG Uplus, the smallest mobile carrier here, dipped 3 percent.

Nov. 19, 2013

Seoul shares turn higher after weak start

South Korean stocks turned higher after a bearish start Tuesday, as investors opted to increase bets on blue-chip auto and chemical shares, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 7.58 points, or 0.38 percent to 2,018.39 in the first 15 minutes of trading, after starting some 0.05 percent lower at the opening bell. Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor gained 1.2 percent, with its auto parts-making affiliate Hyundai Mobis rising 1 percent. LG Chem jumped 2.3 percen

Nov. 19, 2013

Korean firms sue IBs in U.S. over FX rigging

A group of Korean companies filed a class action suit against eight global investment banks in the United States on Monday, claiming that the big financial firms manipulated foreign exchange rates.The IBs are Barclays, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, National Association, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS.In their damages claim filed with a court in New York state, the plaintiff including Simmtech Co. said the IBs rigged foreign exchange rates via a cartel and ultimately in

Nov. 18, 2013