Korea’s economy to grow 2.6% this year: KDI

SEJONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korea’s economy is expected to grow 2.6 percent this year, a state-run think tank forecast Thursday, revising down its growth outlook amid increasing uncertainty facing the country at home and abroad.The growth estimate by the Korea Development Institute is lower than the 3 percent it predicted in November. The think tank also expected the country’s economy will grow 3.6 percent next year.“The economy will make a steady improvement in 2013 and log a relatively low 2.

May 23, 2013

Woori names its banking unit head as new group chief

Woori Finance Holdings Co. said Thursday it has named Lee Soon-woo, the incumbent head of its banking unit, as the new chief to spearhead South Korea's top banking group.Woori Finance said that it has nominated the 63-year-old Lee, president of Woori Bank, as the group's new chief to replace Chairman Lee Pal-seung who offered to step down on April 12.Lee's nomination needs to receive approval from the group's board members and shareholders. Lee will also continue to serve as the head of the bank

May 23, 2013

Seoul shares dip 1.24 pct on Bernanke remarks, weak Chinese data

South Korean stocks plunged 1.24 percent Thursday as hawkish remarks by the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and weaker-than-expected data from China sapped investor sentiment here, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 24.64 points to finish at 1,969.19. Trading volume was low at 337.4 million shares worth 4.54 trillion won ($4.05 billion) with losers far outstripping gainers 599 to 235."Invest

May 23, 2013

Seoul shares down 0.67 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 0.67 percent lower late Thursday morning due to losses in techs and logistics, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 13.39 points to 1,980.44 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech shares traded bearish, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics losing 0.93 percent and its smaller rival LG Electronics falling 0.84 percent. Samsung SDI, the leading maker of plasma display panels, shed 0.39 percent.Logistics firms also lost ground, with Hyundai Gl

May 23, 2013

Seoul shares open lower on U.S. losses

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street sparked by concerns over a possible reduction in the United States' quantitative easing moves, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 4 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,989.83 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares traded bearish across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 0.73 percent and leading builder Hyundai Engineering & Construction losing 99 percen

May 23, 2013

FSC targets chaebol-owned financial firms

Financial subsidiaries of major business groups are likely to face stern regulatory inquiries over their governance structure, financial authorities said.The chaebol-based financial sectors mostly involve credit cards, insurance and securities, while laws on the commercial banking sector strictly ban the industrial (or non-financial) capital from becoming majority shareholders of banks.Aside from the banking regulations, the Financial Services Commission is poised to bolster shareholder-eligibil

May 22, 2013

OCI admits accounts, Korean Air denies link

OCI chairman Lee Soo-young, former Korean Air vice chairman’s wife Lee Young-hak and DSDL chairman Cho Wook-rae are included on the list of 245 Koreans suspected of creating bogus companies in overseas tax havens.Disclosing the list at a news conference on Wednesday, Kim Yong-jin, head of the Korea Center for Investigative Journalism, said Lee of OCI admitted to the KCIJ about managing such accounts through paper companies. Lee told the KCIJ that the fund merely amounts to some hundreds of thous

May 22, 2013

Hyundai, Kia fare well in Europe despite weak yen

South Korea’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. fared well in Europe in the first four months of this year, industry data showed Wednesday, despite a weak Japanese yen giving an advantage to Toyota Motor Corp. and other Japanese rivals.Hyundai and Kia sold 258,950 vehicles in Europe between January and April, down 0.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data.Still, their combined market share in Europe edged up to 6.2 percent from 5.8 percen

May 22, 2013

Seoul shares up 0.64 pct on stimulus hope

South Korean stocks closed 0.64 percent higher Wednesday as the U.S. Federal Reserve highlighted the necessity to maintain its quantitative easing, boosting investor sentiment here, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 12.74 points to finish at 1,993.83. Trading volume was low at 321.7 million shares worth 4.45 trillion won ($4 billion) with gainers outstripping losers 451 to 348."Seoul shares traded highe

May 22, 2013

Online press unveils list of suspected tax evaders

An independent journalists' group in South Korea on Wednesday exposed a list of high-profile Korean businessmen and their families suspected of running slush funds in tax havens, in what could cause a huge social ripple amid a slew of ongoing probes into secretive money owned by the rich.The Korea Center for Investigative Journalism (KCIJ), a non-profit organization set up by former journalists, disclosed three names of heads of family-owned conglomerates, known here as chaebol, who allegedly ha

May 22, 2013

Seoul shares open higher on stimulus hope

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday as officials from the United States Federal Reserve highlighted the necessity to maintain its quantitative easing down the road, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shot up 8.84 points, or 0.45 percent, to 1,989.93 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech blue chips led the gain, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics adding 0.13 percent and its rival LG Electronics moving up 0.72 percent. Leading chipmaker SK hynix c

May 22, 2013

Korea to rescue 114,000 credit delinquents

The financial regulator said Tuesday that it has decided to relieve about 5 percent from the blacklist of 2.36 million credit delinquents, who were hit by the 1997 Asian foreign exchange crisis.The rescue package for some credit defaulters comes under policy direction of the Park Geun-hye administration to give aid to low-income households, said the Financial Services Commission.Out of the 2.36 million individuals that were blacklisted between 1997 and 2001, the FSC initially screened some 114,0

May 21, 2013

SK Planet to launch online services in Indonesia

SK Planet Co., an affiliate of South Korea’s top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co., is seeking to launch mobile and online services in Indonesia as part of an effort to tap into the country’s growing number of mobile and Internet users, industry sources said Tuesday.SK Planet has recently agreed with Indonesian mobile carrier PT XL Axiata Tbk to set up a joint venture for mobile and online services there, according to the sources.SK Planet and the Indonesian mobile operator each will invest $9.15 mi

May 21, 2013

Woori to unveil nominee for new chief this week

South Korea’s top banking group Woori Finance Holdings Co. is likely to announce a nominee to replace Chairman Lee Pal-seung later this week, officials said Tuesday.Woori Finance is poised to unveil a group head nominee on Thursday as its selection committee recently reviewed the short list of candidates and passed the list to the financial watchdog, according to officials. A group chief nominee is subject to approval from the group’s board members and shareholders.Apparently giving in to mounti

May 21, 2013

Chrysler to recall nearly 1,000 cars in Korea

U.S. automaker Chrysler Group LLC is recalling nearly 1,000 vehicles in South Korea for a defective passenger airbag, the Transportation Ministry said Tuesday.The recall affects 985 units of the 300C luxury passenger vehicle that were produced between April 11 and Dec. 14 of 2011, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The ministry said the front side airbag of the vehicle may not deploy due to faulty wiring.Owners of vehicles subject to the recall may receive free repai

May 21, 2013

Seoul shares open higher on eased currency woes

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday as investors scooped up key exporters amid the eased concerns over the weak Japanese yen, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) increased 4.49 points, or 0.23 percent, to 1,986.92 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech blue chips led the gain, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics adding 0.07 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix climbing 0.16 percent. Samsung Techwin, a defense and precision machinery firm, added 0.76 pe

May 21, 2013

U.S. dollar overtakes yen as top Korea-Japan trade settlement currency

An increasing number of both Korean and Japanese companies are opting to settle their bilateral trade with the world’s key currency ― the U.S. dollar ― over the Japanese yen.This is due to Japan’s weakening currency since the world’s third largest economy launched fiscal stimulus along with aggressive monetary easing to recover from its two-decade-long stagnant growth.A weaker yen would result in foreign exchange losses for those companies trading goods between the two sides as currency deprecat

May 20, 2013

Seoul shares down 0.22 pct on weak yen

South Korean stocks closed 0.22 percent lower Monday as the weak yen continued to weigh down on investors' sentiment here, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 4.38 points to finish at 1,982.43. Trading volume was low at 266.3 million shares worth 4.22 trillion won (US$3.78 billion) with losers outstripping gainers 434 to 383.   "While Wall Street gathered ground in the previous trading session on imp

May 20, 2013