Customs authorities have launched an investigation into three casino operators in Seoul and Busan for allegedly engaging in illegal foreign currency trading.The three firms are Paradise Casino Walkerhill, Paradise Casino Busan and the Busan unit of Grand Korea Leisure, according to the Korea Customs Service.Paradise Casino Busan was found to have performed irregular foreign exchange trading worth about 2.5 trillion won ($2.2 billion), followed by Paradise Casino Walkerhill with 500 billion won a

Nov. 13, 2013

South Korean stocks closed 1.6 percent lower Wednesday, as investors took to the sidelines ahead of a key speech by the U.S. Federal Reserve chief, analysts said.The local currency inched down against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 31.92 points to finish at 1,963.56. Trading volume was light at 240.8 million shares worth 3.19 trillion won ($2.97 billion) with losers far outstripping gainers 556 to 242. Analysts said investors are curious to hear

Nov. 13, 2013

South Korean stocks traded 0.9 percent lower late Wednesday morning, as large-cap tech firms and steelmakers widened their losses, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 18 points to 1,977.48 as of 11:20 a.m.Chip giant SK hynix shed 1.1 percent and Hyundai Steel fell 2.7 percent. But domestic-focused shares rose. State-run Korea Electric Power Corp. shot up more than 2 percent, with top mobile carrier SK Telecom advancing 0.5 percent. The local currency w

Nov. 13, 2013

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Wednesday, as investors stayed cautious ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech on the next day (Seoul time). The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 8.64 points, or 0.43 percent to 1,986.84 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Tech firms and steelmakers led the decline, with Samsung Electronics losing 1.2 percent and POSCO sliding 0.8 percent. Analysts said key Fed officials' split views over when the Fed wi

Nov. 13, 2013

Regulatory inspectors have launched a full-fledged investigation into the nation’s four biggest financial groups over allegations of business irregularities.KB Financial, Hana Financial, Shinhan Financial and Woori Financial have been placed under a “simultaneous and extraordinary” probe, officials at the Financial Supervisory Service revealed Tuesday.Main targets of the regulators include former Hana Financial Group chairman Kim Seung-yu and former KB Financial Group chairman Euh Yoon-dae, both

Nov. 12, 2013

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance has announced plans to expand the country’s foreign investor program by awarding residential eligibility status to more foreign businesspeople investing in Korean funds.The ministry said Tuesday that it would boost its budget for the program to set up advisory centers at Incheon International Airport to promote and provide information to foreign investors regarding immigrant investment.The program, which was implemented in May, was part of efforts to boost Ko

Nov. 12, 2013

South Korean banks reported worsening profitability overseas this year, having previously advanced into foreign countries in reflection of the saturated domestic market.The Financial Supervisory Service said Tuesday that 148 operations of Korean banks in 33 countries posted a return on assets, a key index for earnings ratio, of 0.83 percent during the first half of the year.The figure is lower than the 0.96 percent of 2012 (1.13 percent in the first half of 2012) and 1.19 percent in 2011, report

Nov. 12, 2013

Samsung Group, South Korea’s largest business group, ranked the highest among local conglomerates in terms of annual paychecks of executive-level employees last year, data showed Tuesday.The average executive salary of 17 affiliates of the group that includes Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s top smartphone maker, came to 456 million won ($425,373) in 2012, according to the data by market researcher Chaebul.com.SK Group, South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate, ranked second with an average

Nov. 12, 2013

South Korean stocks closed 0.92 percent higher Tuesday, as investors sought after undervalued shares after the market's sharp decline in the previous trading sessions, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 18.18 points to close at 1,995.48. Trading volume was low at 242.5 million shares worth 3.17 trillion won ($2.96 billion) with gainers far outpacing losers 553 to 250.Analysts said Seoul shares gathered gr

Nov. 12, 2013

South Korea's financial watchdog has beefed up its inspections of the four major local banks in an effort to root out alleged irregularities in the banking sector, sources said Tuesday. In a rare move, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has started its probe into Kookmin Bank, Hana Bank, Shinhan Bank and Woori Bank all together in a bid to look into whether they might have been involved in suspected illegal activities."Suspicion over irregularities related to the four banking groups has con

Nov. 12, 2013

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday on the back of an improved industrial data from China, the country's largest trading partner, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14.14 points, or 0.72 percent, to 1,991.44 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics adding 0.98 percent and No. 1 carmaker Hyundai Motor rising 0.61 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO added 0.62 percent.Logistics firms

Nov. 12, 2013

U.S. and British financial firms seem to be applying different strategies in Korea in the field of stock investment and the operation of brokerage branches.Investors from the United States and Britain account for a large proportion of foreign investors on the local bourse. Last month, those firms collectively net purchased Korean stocks worth more than 4 trillion won ($3.6 billion) of the total 5.3 trillion won shares held by foreign investors.However, a growing number of U.S. and U.K.-based fin

Nov. 11, 2013

South Korea will allow foreign currency transactions among brokerages starting next year as part of efforts to enhance their competitiveness and grow the country’s currency markets, the Finance Ministry said Monday.Under current rules, brokerage houses are technically allowed to make transactions in foreign currency, but their trading is restricted to only those with banks.According to the finance ministry, the government will complete the revision of the rules by the end of this year, with an a

Nov. 11, 2013

Eight out of 10 South Koreans reduced the amount of fish they eat over possible safety concerns associated with a leak of radioactive water from Japan’s Fukushima plant, a poll showed Monday.An online poll released by the Korea Rural Economic Institute found that 77.5 percent of those questioned said they reduced their fish consumption by nearly half since August.The institute said it questioned 521 people between Oct. 18 and Oct. 20, and the survey has a margin of error of 3.81 percentage point

Nov. 11, 2013

Sales of whisky products in South Korea fell in the first 10 months of the year mainly due to a protracted economic slump, industry data showed Monday. According to the data, whisky product sales in the January to October period fell 12.4 percent to 1.5 million boxes, compared with the 1.7 million boxes a year ago. A box contains 18 0.5-liter bottles.Diageo Korea Co., the South Korean unit of the British liquor company, sold 578,662 boxes in the period, down 11.8 percent from a year ago, taking

Nov. 11, 2013

South Korea’s exchange-traded funds saw its net assets value jump 23.1 percent through October this year, data showed Monday, as more investors sought after safer investment destinations.The combined net assets of ETFs in South Korea came to 18.78 trillion won ($17.62 billion) at end-October, compared to the 15.25 trillion won tallied at end-January, according to the data by the main bourse operator Korea Exchange.The figure has continued to hover above the 10 trillion won mark since January 201

Nov. 11, 2013

Korea’s securities industry saw its net profit decrease in the first half of this year due to lowered earnings from brokerages and proprietary trading, according to data from the Financial Supervisory Service on Monday.The data showed that 62 securities companies’ net profit stood at 251.6 billion won ($235.7 million) in April-September for 2013, down about 63 percent from 674.5 billion won a year ago.Their profitability measured by return on equity stood at 0.6 percent, down 1 percentage point

Nov. 11, 2013

South Korea’s central bank is likely to freeze the key interest rate for the sixth straight month in November amid signs of economic recovery and tame inflation, a poll showed Monday.All 20 analysts forecast that the Bank of Korea will leave the benchmark seven-day repo rate unchanged at 2.5 percent on Thursday, according to the survey by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency.Experts said that the BOK is likely to take a wait-and-see stance as the local economy is showing

Nov. 11, 2013

The majority of Koreans who took out “jeonse” loans for apartment deposits are middle class and under age 50, according to data from the Bank of Korea on Monday.The data showed that homeowners borrowed more than 60.1 trillion won ($56.3 billion) for jeonse payments in the first half of this year, double that of 2009.About 73 percent of such loans, or 44.1 trillion won, were taken out by those aged below 50 in the mid-income group, the BOK data noted.Jeonse loans to the top 20 percent accounted f

Nov. 11, 2013