Financial industry union set to strike

Tens of thousands of South Korean financial workers are expected to go on strike for the first time in 14 years this week to protest what they call government interference in the local financial sector, dismissing repeated appeals by authorities to cancel the walkout.“We expect some 50,000 of around 100,000 union members at local banks and state-run financial firms to take part in the strike,” Lee Ji-seop, a public relations official of the umbrella labor group Korea Finance Industry Union, said

Sept. 2, 2014

Korea’s consumer prices grow 1.4% in August

South Korea’s consumer prices grew at the slowest pace in four months in August due in part to the stabilization of farming goods prices, a government report showed Tuesday. The country’s consumer price index rose 1.4 percent last month from a year earlier, decelerating from July’s 1.6 percent gain. This marked the slowest growth pace since April, when consumer prices rose 1.5 percent. The price increase has remained in the 1 percent range since November, when it gained 1.2 percent from a year e

Sept. 2, 2014

Korea’s investments in foreign securities hit record in Q2

South Korea’s institutional investments in foreign securities surged to $90.3 billion as of end-June as asset managers and insurers increased their net buying, central bank data showed Tuesday.The outstanding value of foreign securities held by institutional investors rose by $10 billion in the April-June period, logging the biggest quarterly growth since the global financial crisis, according to the preliminary data by the Bank of Korea.Foreign securities include stocks, bonds and so-called Kor

Sept. 2, 2014

Financial industry union set to strike

Tens of thousands of South Korean financial workers are expected to go on strike for the first time in 14 years this week to protest what they call government interference in the local financial sector, dismissing repeated appeals by authorities to cancel the walkout."We expect some 50,000 of around 100,000 union members at local banks and state-run financial firms to take part in the strike," Lee Ji-seop, a public relations official of the umbrella labor group Korea Finance Industry Union, said

Sept. 2, 2014

Local governments urged to prioritize boosting economy

Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan urged provincial governments Monday to place their top priority on boosting the economy and supporting people’s livelihoods.In his meeting with Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, Choi also said that Seoul City should lead other municipalities in economic stimulus efforts. This marked the first meeting between a finance minister and a mayor of Seoul since 2006. Seoul is the country’s largest city, where more than 10 million people live out of the total population of aroun

Sept. 1, 2014

Insurance fraud increases 11 percent in first half

False insurance claims increased 11.2 percent in terms of payments in the first six months of the year to nearly 300 billion won ($295.77 million), including cases of drunk driving and exaggerated injury, the financial watchdog said Monday.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, insurance fraud scammers took 286.9 billion won through wrongful filings during the January-June period, up from 257.9 billion won a year earlier.The watchdog detected 40,714 suspects over the six-month period, s

Sept. 1, 2014

Korea, China, Japan begin 5th round of FTA talks

Negotiators from South Korea, China and Japan met in Beijing on Monday for a fifth round of talks on a trilateral free-trade agreement, a Seoul delegate said, setting aside diplomatic tensions between Japan and the two Asian neighbors over their shared history. South Korea’s chief negotiator, Assistant Commerce Minister Woo Tae-hee, kicked off the talks at a hotel in Beijing by shaking hands and exchanging greetings with China’s assistant commerce minister, Wang Shouwen, and Japanese Deputy Fore

Sept. 1, 2014

Korea’s trade surplus shrinks in August

South Korea’s trade surplus shrank from a year earlier last month as its exports dropped while imports grew at a steady pace, the government said Monday. Outbound shipments came to $46.28 billion in August, down 0.1 percent from the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports gained 3.1 percent on-year to $42.87 billion.The country’s trade surplus came to $3.41 billion, compared with $4.72 billion in August 2013. “Overall exports decreased slightly from

Sept. 1, 2014

KEB eyes expansion in Europe, Middle East

Korea Exchange Bank has set its eyes on overseas markets, particularly Europe and the Middle East, in an effort to sharpen its competency and future growth. KEB president and CEO Kim Han-jo held an executive meeting Sunday to discuss raising the bank’s overall profit from overseas to 40 percent by 2025. The bank’s profit from foreign operations is currently around 18 percent, of which 15 percent is gained from nine offices in Europe and the Middle East, bank officials said. “We believe European

Sept. 1, 2014

Watchdog to allot tech loan quotas to local banks

The financial watchdog is expected to set tech loan quotas for local banks so that they will mandatorily lend to small and mid-sized companies that have high-end technologies but are short of capital to fund their business, financial sources said Monday.The Financial Services Commission last week announced it will push banks and other financial institutions to increase loans to start-up ventures to help boost the nation’s economy. It said technology credit bureaus will be established to assess e

Sept. 1, 2014

Seoul shares may gain slightly this week

South Korean stocks may gain with a steady flow of foreign funds, but advances are not likely to be large due to lingering geopolitical concerns this week, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index ended at 2,068.54 last Friday, up 4.6 percent from the previous week’s closing. In the beginning of last week, Korean shares picked up as foreigners loaded up on blue-chip stocks on hints of quantitative easing in the eurozone and the continuation of a low-rate policy by the U.S.Fe

Aug. 31, 2014

Samsung SDS spotlighted in new OTC market

Samsung SDS, which filed for preliminary examination last week for an initial public offering, was highlighted in the new over-the-counter market. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, trading volume of the nation’s newly revamped OTC market leaped some tenfold, with shares of Samsung SDS, an IT unit of Samsung Group, making marked gains ahead of its scheduled listing within the year. KOFIA recently eased entry rules and disclosure requirements to widen access to the unlisted

Aug. 31, 2014

Seoul shares may gain slightly next week: analysts

SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korean stocks may gain with a steady flow of foreign funds, but advances are not likely to be large due to lingering geopolitical concerns, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ended at 2,068.54 on Friday, up 4.6 percent from the previous week's closing.  Korean shares started the week on a good note as foreigners loaded up on blue-chip stocks on hints of quantitative easing in the eurozone and the continuation of a low-r

Aug. 30, 2014

Investors take out more loans to buy stocks

Investors are taking on record levels of debts to buy stocks as the South Korean equity market is nearing this year’s high on the back of continued foreign buying and market-friendly policies, data showed Friday.The so-called margin debt, or the amount borrowed to purchase securities, stood at 5.18 trillion won ($5.09 billion) Wednesday, the highest in 2014, according to the data compiled by the Korea Financial Investment Association.The Wednesday figure is up 24 percent from the end of last yea

Aug. 29, 2014

Household debt poses risks to Korean banking sector: analyst

South Korea's sizable household debt and recent policies that eased rules on mortgage lending to prop up the ailing property market may potentially hurt credit risks of local lenders, an analyst said Friday."What is an issue is the disposable income comparison. You have more debt than disposable income," said Ritesh Maheshwari, a lead analytical manager at Standard & Poor's Ratings Services.Standard & Poor's data showed that the country's household debt in comparison to disposable income continu

Aug. 29, 2014

Korea extends anti-dumping duties on Chinese plate glass

South Korea's trade commission said Friday that it has decided to impose anti-dumping duties on Chinese plate glass for another three years to help protect local manufacturers from price-cutting practices. The Korea Trade Commission said it will keep anti-dumping duties of 15.22-36.01 percent on the Chinese products over the next three years. "The decision will help local plate glass makers suffering from low-priced imports improve their competitiveness and production," the commission said. The

Aug. 29, 2014