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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First snow to fall in Seoul on Wednesday
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Man convicted after binge eating to avoid military service
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Trump picks ex-N. Korea policy official as his principal deputy national security adviser
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Final push to forge UN treaty on plastic pollution set to begin in Busan
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Korea to hold own memorial for forced labor victims, boycotting Japan’s
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S. Korea not to attend Sado mine memorial: foreign ministry
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Nvidia CEO signals Samsung’s imminent shipment of AI chips
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Toxins at 622 times legal limit found in kids' clothes from Chinese platforms
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Consumer prices jump 4.7% in July amid inflation concerns
South Korea’s consumer prices jumped 4.7 percent in July from a year earlier, staying above the government’s target inflation rate of 4 percent for the seventh month in a row amid growing worries over its impact on the overall economy.The year-on-year figure in July marked a bigger jump than the 4.4
Aug. 1, 2011
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Daewoo Securities launches English stock trade program
Daewoo Securities said on Monday it has launched an English-language online home trading system targeting foreign investors interested in the Korean stock market.The new trading software named “Qway ENG” allows foreign investors to handle trades of Korean stocks, KOSPI200 futures and options, aided
Aug. 1, 2011
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IBK seeks to boost assets by 64 percent by 2015
In the long-term, the bank said it would solidify its market position as a comprehensive financial services provider.The state-run Industrial Bank of Korea said Monday it aims to boost its assets to 300 trillion won ($285 billion) and secure as many as 1 million corporate clients by 2015.IBK said th
Aug. 1, 2011
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Korean won’s steep rise feared to hurt exporters
The Korean government is set to face an uphill battle in keeping the Korean won from appreciating at a rapid clip as the U.S. debt crisis is sending ripples throughout financial markets across the world.“The local currency could gain to the 1,000 won level against the greenback by the end of the year,” said Huh In, an international finance analyst at the state-run Korea Institute for International
July 31, 2011
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Korea to host insurance regulators’ meeting
FSS predicts about 200 officials to gather in Seoul in late SeptemberKorea’s financial authorities are making their dispositions as the chair of one of the world’s three major regulatory meetings, slated for Sept. 29-Oct. 1 in Seoul. This is the first time that the nation will host the annual conference of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, which will mark the 18th gathering s
July 31, 2011
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Kang named Hanwha Investment CEO
Kang Shin-woo, chief investment officer of Korea Investment Management, has been designated as the first CEO of the merged entity between Hanwha Investment Trust Manager and Prudential Asset Management.With the appointment of the 50-year-old fund manager, Hanwha Investment is poised to revamp its management structure and has set the goal of becoming the nation’s No. 1 asset management player. Kang
July 31, 2011
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KB Q2 earnings swing back to net profit
KB Financial Group posted a net profit of 817 billion won ($776.9 million) for the second quarter, swinging back into the black after posting a 217 billion won loss in the same period last year. The group attributed the boost to lower loan-loss reserves and provisional cost cuts of more than one-third from a year ago.“The group has been reducing the allowance for bad debts for the past six months
July 29, 2011
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Auto insurers face claims from rain damage
Auto insurers face a sharp increase in claims from rain damage that has caused at least 41 deaths in the capital area since Tuesday.More than 400 millimeters of precipitation was recorded in Seoul between Tuesday and Wednesday, causing a landslide at Mount Woomyeon and at least 16 deaths in the city’s south.Car insurers are expected to see a major decline in profits for the month as they were alre
July 28, 2011
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Brokerage firms set to increase equity capital
But they remain skeptical about M&As at present stageMajor securities firms are moving to meet the regulatory requirements in a bid to attain recognition as large-sized investment banks.The brokerages, such as Daewoo Securities and Samsung Securities, are poised to resort to increasing their equity capital as an initial step rather than pushing for mergers among them.Most of them plan to increase
July 28, 2011
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Insurers brace for rain-triggered car claims
South Korean non-life insurers are bracing themselves for a spike in car insurance claims relating to damage from the record downpours that pounded the capital area, sources said Thursday.Torrential rains have battered Seoul and the surrounding regions since Tuesday, placing thousands of vehicles under water and triggering landslides and flash floods that killed at least 41 people.The Financial Su
July 28, 2011
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Korea’s GDP growth slows to 0.8% in Q2
Export growth eases, inventory tumbles amid rising pricesSouth Korea’s economic growth slowed down in the second quarter, hurt by lower-than-expected exports and a steep decline in inventory amid intensifying worries over rising prices at home and the sovereign debt crisis in Europe. Korea’s economy grew 0.8 percent in the April-June period, down from a 1.3 percent expansion in the previous quarte
July 27, 2011
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KEB faces penalties for irregular lending
Financial regulators have issued a caution against Korea Exchange Bank for unauthorized lending practices and are poised to levy a fine on the lender.The Financial Supervisory Service said Wednesday that it has cautioned the bank for breaching banking laws.The Financial Services Commission is also considering imposing fines of an unspecified value on the bank. It will be holding a panel discussion
July 27, 2011
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Korean currency could grow stronger
Won hits fresh 3-year high on U.S. debt crisis, recording 1,050 against dollarThe won hit a near 3-year high Wednesday, one of a basket of currencies strengthening against the U.S. dollar on jitters Washington may fail to agree on raising its debt ceiling.Investors unloaded dollars on fears of a possible U.S. debt default and sent the won to 1,049.10 by mid-day, its strongest level since September
July 27, 2011
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Banks face harsher stress tests on forex liquidity
South Korea’s top regulator said Wednesday that the watchdog plans to conduct stricter stress tests on local banks’ foreign currency liquidity conditions in a bid to shield the country from a potential financial crisis.Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Kwon Hyouk-se said the financial watchdog plans to make stress tests based on the second-quarter FX liquidity data by taking into account various
July 27, 2011
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August hike puts electricity prices up 4.9%
Tariff raise eases cost burden for KEPCO, complicates inflation fightThe government announced Tuesday it will raise electricity tariffs by an average 4.9 percent starting August to reflect rising energy costs even as inflation remains high.The Economy Ministry said electricity bills will rise 6.1 percent for industrial use but said the raise for home use will only be 2 percent. Finance Minister Ba
July 26, 2011
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Seoul to support M&As among brokerage firms
FSC to benchmark U.S. tolaunch another stock exchangeThe financial authorities have moved again to establish a Korean version of Goldman Sachs and launch another stock exchange in the local securities market.Though Korea had pushed ahead with the project to set up several big investment banks, the 2008 global financial crisis discouraged the nation from promoting mergers and acquisitions among bi
July 26, 2011
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Transfer of wealth via stock gifts rises
The largest shareholders at Korea’s listed firms have reaped huge profits through gifted stocks in the past five years, taking advantage of fluctuations in the financial markets, a local source revealed Tuesday. According to Chaebul.com, which tracks news and data on Korea’s conglomerates, gifted stocks or inheritance by the largest shareholders amounted to 3.3 trillion won ($3.1 billion) in the p
July 26, 2011
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SC First labor, chiefs still poles apart on pay
With no immediate end in sight for a prolonged strike, the labor and management of SC First Bank appear to be playing a game of chicken over its pay system, which could end up in a no-win situation for both sides, analysts said Tuesday.Irked by a management plan to adopt a novel merit pay system, about 2,900 unionized workers at the seventh-largest lender in South Korea have been striking for the
July 26, 2011
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SC First chief pledges to resolve strike this week
Richard Hill, chief of the Korean unit of Standard Chartered, on Monday expressed his “deepest regret” for service inconvenience due to an ongoing strike and pledged his commitment to resolving the dispute over the introduction of a performance-based pay system this week.During a press conference in Seoul, Hill bowed in apology to the Korean public. The news conference was held as the bank’s labor
July 25, 2011
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Strong won pressures BOK on rate policy
The possibility that the Korean currency will rise in value up to nearly 1,000 won against the U.S. dollar is growing with recent stronger position of the won.The dollar has slid to around 1,050 won, the cheapest level in nearly three years due mainly to the combination of a strong trade balance and policy factors. Research analysts say the won’s gain is logical. They cite three reasons in particu
July 25, 2011
