The Financial Supervisory Service, the country’s financial regulator, said Sunday that it would co-host a job fair with 17 Korean financial companies in Sept. 28-29 in New York.Dubbed “2013 Fn Hub Korea Finance Job Fair in New York,” the event will offer job consultations and interview potential employees with degrees or experience in finance graduated from U.S. and Canadian universities. Employers plan to recruit those with knowledge and expertise in investment banking, risk management, financi

Aug. 11, 2013

Korean stocks will continue to face choppy trading in the coming weeks as there are no clear and positive signs to support market liquidity and investor confidence, analysts said.External macroeconomic factors such as the tapering of the U.S. quantitative easing and China’s slowdown would be a test for the Korean equity market on whether the benchmark could rise above the 1,900 threshold.With Korea being highly susceptible to external conditions due to its reliance on exports, it is also unclear

Aug. 11, 2013

Deposits at South Korean banks surpassed the 1,000-trillion-won (US$899 billion) mark in the first half of 2013 for the first time amid a surge in the inflow of short-term funds, data showed Sunday.The outstanding amount of deposits at local banks totaled 1,008 trillion won at end-June this year, up 1.8 percent from 990.2 trillion won tallied six months earlier, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea (BOK).It marked the first time for the figure to surpass the 1,000-trillion-won mar

Aug. 11, 2013

Financial authorities recently set up a task force to map out policies to deal with the nation’s fast transformation into an aging society.The move comes after Financial Services Commission Chairman Shin Je-yoon instructed the regulatory staff to establish a new policy paradigm, which would actively foster the pension market amid the so-called centenarian era.“We’ve decided to closely coordinate the administration’s social welfare policy in anticipation of the aging society with the average life

Aug. 9, 2013

South Korean stocks closed marginally lower Friday as institutions and foreigners sold off local equities amid no fresh momentum to fuel the market, analysts said. The local currency edged up against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 3.26 points, or 0.17 percent, to finish at 1,880.71.Trading volume was light at 276.5 million shares worth 3.48 trillion won ($3.12 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 454 to 316. The main index moved in a tight ran

Aug. 9, 2013

South Korean stocks traded slightly higher late Friday morning, as shares of large-cap exporters pared earlier losses, analysts said. In a choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 2.89 points, or 0.15 percent, to 1,886.86 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech giant Samsung Electronics shot up 1.5 percent, with chipmaker SK hynix jumping nearly 3 percent. In contrast, chemical and telecom issues lost ground. LG Chem shed 1 percent, and top mobile carrier SK Telecom slid 0.7 pe

Aug. 9, 2013

South Korean stocks turned lower after starting higher on Friday, led by losses in insurers and oil refiners, analysts said.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slipped 2.16 points, or 0.11 percent, to 1,881.81 in the first 15 minutes of trading.   Leading nonlife insurer Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance fell 1.6 percent, with SK Innovation, a major oil refiner, dipping 1.4 percent.    But top-listed firms went up. Samsung Electronics climbed 1.2 percent, and Hyundai Motor r

Aug. 9, 2013

One in four salaried workers in Korea, or some 4.3 million people, will see their tax burden increase from 2014.The government will also levy taxes on religious leaders, including priests and Buddhist monks, starting in 2015.The changes are part of the 2013 tax code revision proposal unveiled by the Finance Ministry on Thursday to boost the tax revenue base to meet growing fiscal demands.The revision means that workers whose annual income ranges between 40 million won and 70 million won would ha

Aug. 8, 2013

Naver Corp., South Korea’s top Internet portal operator, said Thursday its second-quarter profit jumped 7.5 percent from a year earlier, buoyed by increased revenue from ad and messenger services.Net profit reached 123 billion won ($110 million) in the April-June period, compared with 114 billion won the previous year, Naver, formerly known as NHN, said in a regulatory filing.Revenue rose 26.3 percent on-year to 723 billion won in the second quarter, and operating profit gained 19.6 percent to 1

Aug. 8, 2013

BEIJING (Yonhap News) ― The Chinese affiliate of Samsung Group, South Korea’s largest conglomerate, said Thursday it has been selected as one of China’s most admired companies, citing an annual survey of a Chinese economic daily. China Samsung was included on a list of the six most-admired foreign companies in the survey of Chinese academics and journalists, conducted by the Beijing-based Economic Observer daily, China Samsung said in a statement. Other foreign companies included International B

Aug. 8, 2013

Consumers in Korea pay more for camping equipment than those in the U.S., Japan and Australia despite low satisfaction over quality, research showed on Thursday. A “Smart Consumer Report” by YWCA Seoul showed that camping equipment made by the same outdoor brands was more costly in Korea than in other countries. But 558 campers in Seoul and surrounding areas who participated in the survey said equipment quality did not match the high prices.The Korean camping market has been on a steady rise, ha

Aug. 8, 2013

South Korean stocks closed marginally higher Thursday buoyed by China's upbeat trade data that eased concern on a hard-landing of Asia's No. 1 economy, analysts said.The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 5.64 points, or 0.3 percent, to finish at 1,883.97. Trading volume was moderate at 333.8 million shares worth 3.61 trillion won ($3.24 billion) with gainers outpacing decliners 427 to 335. "China posted fairly good exports,

Aug. 8, 2013

South Korean stocks traded 0.53 percent higher late Thursday morning, led by gains in state-run companies and shipyards, analysts said.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shot up 9.93 points to 1,888.26 as of 11:20 a.m.   The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. soared nearly 5 percent, with Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's biggest shipyard, jumping more than 3 percent.   In contrast, telecom shares fell. Top player SK Telecom lost 1 percent, and LG Uplus slumped 3.5

Aug. 8, 2013

Bank of Korea Gov. Kim Choong-soo said Thursday that Korea might need to brace for rising inflationary pressure toward the latter half of this year as consumer prices were expected to climb further following the rainy season.The BOK chief added that the financial markets would continue to face periodic volatility until the U.S. Federal Reserve completely unwound its quantitative easing as its job market improved in 2014.Kim’s cautionary note came after the central bank’s monetary policy committe

Aug. 8, 2013

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Thursday on a technical rebound led by blue-chip gains, making up for bearish runs in the past few sessions, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) soared 12.02 points, or 0.64 percent, to 1,890.35 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Defensive shares drove up the main index, with state-run electricity provider Korea Electric Power Corp. surging more than 4 percent. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics was up nearly 0.

Aug. 8, 2013

Standard Chartered Plc, the U.K. bank that makes about three-quarters of its earnings from Asia, posted a 24 percent drop in first-half profit after writing down the value of its Korean business by $1 billion.Net income fell to $2.18 billion from $2.86 billion a year earlier, the London-based lender said in a statement Tuesday. Revenue rose 6.6 percent as growth in Hong Kong and India mitigated declines in Korea, Singapore and China.Standard Chartered and HSBC Holdings Plc, which also makes most

Aug. 7, 2013

Credit card holders will be banned from paying back cash advances in installments from next February.Major companies including Hyundai Card, KB Kookmin Card, Samsung Card have already halted the practice.Other players that have not yet done so will end installment-based debt payments before March 2014, according to sources in the industry.The move comes after financial authorities urged credit card firms to stop offering the services to help control the country’s snowballing household debt, espe

Aug. 7, 2013