Most Popular
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Actor Jung Woo-sung admits to being father of model Moon Ga-bi’s child
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Wealthy parents ditch Korean passports to get kids into international school
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Man convicted after binge eating to avoid military service
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First snow to fall in Seoul on Wednesday
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Final push to forge UN treaty on plastic pollution set to begin in Busan
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Industry experts predicts tough choices as NewJeans' ultimatum nears
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Nvidia CEO signals Samsung’s imminent shipment of AI chips
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Korea to hold own memorial for forced labor victims, boycotting Japan’s
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Job creation lowest on record among under-30s
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Opposition chief acquitted of instigating perjury
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KDB to invest W4tr in startups, small firms
Korea Development Bank announced Monday plans to invest 4 trillion won ($3.4 billion) in young people looking to start their own businesses, venture businesses and small and middle-cap companies. KDB is willing to see a 10 percent loss in profits for the plans that will contribute to society, said the bank. “The international trend in terms of management goals is shifting from profit-seeking to customer-seeking. We aim to secure future sources of profit by investing in startups, venture and smal
May 29, 2012
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Financial authorities brace for Lone Star’s international suit
U.S. fund thought to be eyeing suit focused on failed deal with HSBCSouth Korean financial authorities are closely watching the moves of Lone Star as the U.S.-based buyout fund seems to be preparing for an international law suit against them. Financial authorities said on Monday that Lone Star handed in a document to the Korean Embassy in Belgium on the previous Tuesday requesting consultations with the Korean government on the issue of alleged damages to its investors. According to the Financia
May 29, 2012
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KEB opens Hong Kong financial center
Korea Exchange Bank opened a Global Trade Finance and Remittance Center in Hong Kong last week, a first for a South Korean bank. The center is designed to centralize the processing of trade finance and overseas remittance services to match the country’s standing at a time when Korea’s trade volume exceeds $1 trillion a year. The new Hong Kong trade finance center will provide efficient, timely financial services necessary to grow Korea’s international trade. In addition, the Center will enable K
May 28, 2012
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Eximbank seeks to change name to meet expanded role
The Export-Import Bank of Korea is set to have a bill submitted to the 19th National Assembly, scheduled to open this Wednesday, to change its name to reflect its expanded role beyond export financing support. The state-run bank plans to rename itself the Korea Bank for International Cooperation to better represent its capacities as an investment bank, supporter of small-and medium-sized companies, manager of funds to support developing countries and supporter of economic cooperation with North
May 27, 2012
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Seoul on course for growth target: finance minister
South Korea’s growth target for 2012 remains achievable despite mounting downside risks triggered by persistent eurozone woes, the country’s top economic policymaker said Friday.In a press conference, Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan said the developments taking place in the European Union pose greater challenges, but data indicates there may not be any need to change Seoul’s 3.7 percent growth forecast for this year.He stressed that the government is not considering artificial measures to bolster
May 27, 2012
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U.S. accuses Korea of intervening in market
The United States government said Friday it will keep pressing South Korea to refrain from interventions in the foreign exchange market.“The Korean authorities continue to intervene in the foreign exchange market, and the won remains weak compared to its pre-crisis levels,” the Department of the Treasury said in a semiannual report to Congress on international economic and exchange rate policies.“We will continue to press the Korean authorities to limit their foreign exchange interventions to th
May 27, 2012
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Seoul stocks eye technical rebound
South Korean stocks will try to pull off a technical rebound this week, in the face of persistent eurozone uncertainties that have weighed down global economic recovery efforts, local analysts said Saturday.The country’s key stock index, the KOSPI, closed at 1,824.17 points on Friday, up 2.34 percent from a week earlier after China expressed its resolve to stimulate its economy, and U.S. housing market figures showed signs of improvement.The announcement and positive data helped calm market jitt
May 27, 2012
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Consumer sentiment improves
South Korea’s consumer confidence improved for the fourth consecutive month in May on higher economic growth prospects and job market conditions, the central bank said Friday.The consumer sentiment index, which gauges consumers’ overall economic outlook, living conditions and future spending, stood at 105 for this month, compared with 104 tallied in April, according to a survey by the Bank of Korea. This is the highest CSI reading since February 2011.A CSI reading above the benchmark 100 means o
May 25, 2012
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Shares gain on eurozone hopes
South Korean stocks rose 0.53 percent Friday on a European Union move to address its fiscal woes and prevent Greece from exiting the eurozone, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 9.70 points to 1,824.17. Trading volume was light at just 379 million shares worth 3.49 trillion won ($2.96 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 534 to 293.“Investor confidence got a boost from European leaders’ resolve to keep Greece wi
May 25, 2012
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Senior executive of suspended Mirae Mutual Savings Bank found hanged
A senior executive of the suspended Mirae Mutual Savings Bank has been found hanged in an apparent suicide that would be the fourth such case in nine months, police said Friday. The 50-year-old banker only identified by her surname Kim was found hanging by her scarf at a motel room in Seoul Friday afternoon, they said. She checked in the motel around 11:20 p.m. on Thursday and was set to be su
May 25, 2012
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Hana Financial ex-chief may face probe over savings bank scandal
The prosecution’s investigation into irregularities at savings banks is zeroing in on the alleged involvement of Kim Seung-yu, former chairman of Hana Financial Group, in the paid-in capital increase into troubled Mirae Savings Bank last year.The prosecution is looking into why one of the nation’s four largest financial groups decided to invest in a secondary lender on the verge of insolvency. Mirae was suspended early this month with three other savings banks as they failed to meet government s
May 24, 2012
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Korea’s household credit dips
South Korea’s household credit dipped in the first quarter due to a drop in demand for fresh loans and people cutting back on spending, the central bank said Thursday.Household credit totaled 911.4 trillion won ($774.5 billion) as of the end of March, down 500 billion won from a record high of 911.9 trillion won tallied three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. Compared with a year earlier, household credit rose 7 percent in the cited period, marking the third quarter in a row that n
May 24, 2012
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Eurozone woes may hurt Korean exports: think tank
The eurozone’s fiscal troubles could seriously hurt South Korea’s exports and cause a slow down in economic growth, a private think tank said Thursday.The Hyundai Research Institute said persistent fiscal troubles facing European Union countries such as Greece are affecting worldwide trade.“If the EU cuts back on imports, this will have direct bearing on South Korea and could even cause a hard landing for the country’s exports,” it said. Europe accounted for 9.5 percent of South Korea’s trade la
May 24, 2012
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Shares gain on eurozone optimism
South Korean stocks rose 0.32 percent Thursday as investor sentiment was buoyed by a European Union move to tackle its fiscal problems and prevent Greece from defaulting on its debt, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 5.85 points to 1,814.47. Trading volume was light at just 400 million shares worth 3.47 trillion won ($2.94 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 415 to 376.“Conditions surroun
May 24, 2012
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More Korean and foreign firms join bid for ING Life
KB Financial Group, Korea Life Insurance and several foreign bidders, including Hong Kong’s AIA Group, have jumped into the contest to acquire ING Group’s Asian insurance business.Samsung Life, Prudential and Kyobo Life, which had previously expressed interest in ING Life, did not submit letters of intent in the preliminary bid last week.Analysts expect the price tag for the Netherlands-based financial group’s Asia-Pacific operations to rise above $7 billion, which would make it the largest-ever
May 23, 2012
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External risks dent Korean economy: Bahk
The South Korean economy is faced with increasing uncertainty due to external downside risks such as Greece’s possible exit from the eurozone and international sanctions against Iran, Seoul’s top economic policymaker said Wednesday.In a weekly meeting of senior economic officials, Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan said external uncertainties have disrupted the steady pace of the country’s recovery.“There has been an easing of jitters coming into this week, but the global financial market remains uns
May 23, 2012
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Korean investment in China drops sharply
South Korean direct investment in China fell more than 5 percent annually over the past five years, a report showed Wednesday, stoking concern over weaker market presence in the world’s second-largest economy.According to the report by the Korea Center for International Finance, South Korean companies’ direct investment in China shrank at an average annual rate of 5.4 percent between 2007-2012.The decline caused the percentage of South Korea’s direct investment in China to fall from 5.4 percent
May 23, 2012
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Shares fall 1.1% on pre-summit eurozone gloom
South Korean stocks fell 1.1 percent Wednesday on concerns a European Union summit meeting will not be able to resolve mounting eurozone woes and concerns Greece may default, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.EU leaders were scheduled to meet for an informal summit in Brussels on Wednesday, local time.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 20.07 points to 1,808.62, snapping a two-day gaining streak.Trading volume was moderate at 438 million shares worth
May 23, 2012
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European funds account for 72% of capital outflow
European funds accounted for 72.4 percent of all money that left South Korea this month amid mounting market jitters over a Greek exit from the eurozone, the financial regulator said Wednesday.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, British and other European funds sold off various holdings worth 2.38 trillion won ($2.03 billion) in the first 21 days of this month.Overall, foreign investors withdrew a net 3.29 trillion won in funds during the same period, with U.S. investors withdrawing
May 23, 2012
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Prosecutors raid Hana Capital office
Investigators raided Hana Capital headquarters in southern Seoul on Wednesday over allegations of a suspicious deal with the troubled Mirae Savings Bank, news reports said.The search of the financial firm, one of affiliates of Hana Financial Group, came after Mirae Savings Bank chairman Kim Chan-kyung’s testimony to the prosecution that former Hana group chairman Kim Seung-yu was involved in a paid-in capital increase of the savings bank last September, the reports said.Kim Chan-kyung was arrest
May 23, 2012
