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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Trump picks ex-N. Korea policy official as his principal deputy national security adviser
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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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S. Korea not to attend Sado mine memorial: foreign ministry
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Toxins at 622 times legal limit found in kids' clothes from Chinese platforms
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Korea to hold own memorial for forced labor victims, boycotting Japan’s
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[Weekender] Korea's traditional sauce culture gains global recognition
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BLACKPINK's Rose stays at No. 3 on British Official Singles chart with 'APT.'
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Credit card firms’ 2010 earnings up
Korean credit card companies saw earnings surge 46.1 percent last year from a year earlier due mainly to one-off gains, the financial regulator said Thursday.The combined net profit of six local credit card-only companies reached 2.72 trillion won ($2.4 billion) in 2010, compared with 1.86 trillion won in 2009, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said in a report.The stronger bottom line came
March 10, 2011
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FTC OKs Hana’s purchase of KEB
The Fair Trade Commission ruled on Thursday Hana Financial Group’s takeover of Korea Exchange Bank does not violate competition rules, bringing the nation’s fourth largest banking group a step closer to winning regulatory approval due next Wednesday.The watchdog notified the Financial Supervisory Commission that the planned purchase does not necessarily reduce competition in the industry as the nu
March 10, 2011
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NPS halts trading with Deutsche Bank Korea
Korea’s biggest investor the National Pension Service said Thursday that it would stop placing stock and derivative orders with the Korean branch of Deutsche Bank AG for six months following the regulator’s six-month suspension of the local unit. The pension fund will not trade through the German brokerage “to limit exposure to institutions that received regulatory penalties, in order to reduce th
March 10, 2011
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BOK raises key rate to 3 pct to tame inflation
South Korea's central bank raised the key interest rate on Thursday by a quarter percentage point in a bid to put a lid on growing inflationary pressure sparked by rising oil and food prices. Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Kim Choong-soo and his fellow policymakers hiked the benchmark seven-day repo rate, dubbed the base rate, to 3 percent, following a rate freeze in February. It marked the fourth rat
March 10, 2011
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KRX OKs listing of Hana Financial‘s new shares
Korea’s bourse operator on Wednesday gave the green light to Hana Financial Group Inc.‘s request to list its new shares on the local bourse, a move expected to expedite the group’s takeover of the country‘s fifth-largest lender.Hana Financial’s new shares will start trading on Thursday, the Korea Exchange (KRX) said in an e-mailed statement, adding that the decision was reached upon a comprehensiv
March 9, 2011
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[Herald Interview] Korea hopeful of G20 progress on global imbalance
The Group of 20 major economies are likely to come up with different numerical current account targets for each member nation in April to correct global trade imbalances, said Sohn Byung-doo, director general of the newly established G20 bureau at the Finance Ministry.Updating on the G20 agenda, Sohn said the G20 is on its way to delivering optimum trade surplus and deficit targets that cater for
March 9, 2011
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Regulator to tighten savings bank rules
Korea plans to tighten supervision of savings banks after the government was forced to suspend eight lenders this year because they were unable to meet depositors’ withdrawal demands. The Financial Services Commission will stop setting favorable lending limits for savings banks that have a capital-adequacy ratio of more than 8 percent and a bad-loan ratio below 8 percent, the regulator said in a r
March 9, 2011
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Central bank to focus on inflation
BOK officials point to drop in money supply growth to more than 5-year low in JanuaryThe Bank of Korea said Wednesday it would focus interest rate policy on firmly securing price stability as Asia’s fourth-largest economy will face upward inflation pressures on both the demand and supply fronts.The Korean central bank also said in a policy report to parliament that it would continue its effort to
March 9, 2011
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KB Financial focuses on customer value
Group provides more financial services, upholds transparency in governanceKB Financial Group is stepping up efforts to improve financial services and maximize customer satisfaction to better meet a fast changing business environment. The group was established in September 2008 under a long term growth plan and an extensive stock transfer from major subsidiaries.Its units include Kookmin Bank, KB K
March 9, 2011
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Seoul shares open higher on Wall Street rallies
South Korean stocks started higher on Wednesday as overnight gains on Wall Street lifted investor sentiment, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 0.28 percent, or 5.56 points, to 2,001.88 in the first 15 minutes of trading. A retreat in oil prices bolstered U.S. stocks on Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average rallied 1.03 percent and the tech-foc
March 9, 2011
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Banks' capital adequacy ratio inches down in Q4
The capital adequacy ratio of South Korean banks edged down in the fourth quarter of 2010 from three months earlier due to their payouts of year-end stock dividends, the financial regulator said Wednesday. The average capital adequacy ratio of 18 local lenders, including top lender Kookmin Bank and Woori Bank, reached 14.6 percent as of the end of December, down 0.02 percentage point from end-Se
March 9, 2011
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Regulator to guide firms on cartel laws
FTC to help Korean companies act within tighter U.S., EU regulationsThe Fair Trade Commission on Tuesday cautioned local companies over increasingly tougher anti-trust regulations and surveillance in Europe and the U.S. after Korean companies were slapped with billions of dollars in fines for collusion overseas. The regulator said it will step up efforts to help Korean companies to trade within th
March 8, 2011
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Seoul shares open higher on shipbuilders
South Korean stocks started higher on Tuesday as retail and institutional investors picked up shares of shipyards, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 4.13 points, or 0.21 percent, to 1,984.4 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The world's largest shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries rose about 1.5 percent, helping the key index bounce back from a sharp
March 8, 2011
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Korea’s savings rate far below OECD average
Korea’s household savings rate stayed far below the average for major economies in the world, a report showed Monday, apparently indicating that the latest economic crisis resulted in a decline in income reserved for bank savings. According to the report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Korea’s household savings rate ― the ratio of savings to total disposable income ―
March 7, 2011
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Trade group urges swift Korea-EU FTA approval
The head of Korea’s largest trade organization urged the country’s National Assembly Monday to quickly ratify the free trade agreement with the European Union.SaKong Il, chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, said the Korea-EU FTA is the key to boosting the country’s annual trade volume to over $1 trillion for the first time in its history. SaKong Il“The Korea-EU FTA is expected to
March 7, 2011
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FSS warns of credit card woes
Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Kim Jong-chang speaks during a meeting with chief executives of credit card companies on Monday. (Kim Myung-sub/The Korea Herald)The nation’s chief financial regulator on Monday expressed his strong resolve to tighten supervision of credit card issuers, warning their excessive competition could bring the industry to a new crisis. In his breakfast meeting with CE
March 7, 2011
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China’s focus on stability to create opportunities for Korea
China’s new drive for sustainable growth raised expectations of bigger opportunities for Korean exporters, with some advising more aggressive investment to target mainland consumers.Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao on Saturday pledged to make the country’s growth more sustainable over the next five years with a lower GDP target of 7 percent, a sign Beijing intends to fight inflation and strengthe
March 7, 2011
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Team to combat offshore tax evasion
Tax, customs and financial authorities plan to set up a joint task force to better crack down on offshore tax evasion, sources said Monday.The new body will be established within this year with officials from the National Tax Service, Financial Supervisory Service and Korea Financial Intelligence Unit, they said.The government is seeking to strengthen its fight against tax offenders as a way of in
March 7, 2011
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Korea targets wider Asia bond sales to cut crisis risk
Korea is seeking to sell bonds to a broader range of investors, especially within Asia, to limit the risk of large, swift investment outflows triggering a crisis, a finance ministry official said.“We would like to broaden our bond buyers overseas so that we can avoid a financial crisis caused by the sudden flight by a few,” Woo Hae-young, director of the Government Bond Policy Division at the Mini
March 7, 2011
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Former IBK CEO Yun to head KEB
Hana group nominates veteran financier ahead of acquisitionHana Financial Group chose Yun Yong-ro, former CEO of Industrial Bank of Korea, as president & CEO of Korea Exchange Bank, company officials said Monday.The nation’s fourth-largest financial group is poised to take over KEB and its executive recommendation committee proposed to the group’s board members that Yun head the new banking unit.T
March 7, 2011