S. Korean trade minister to head to Washington to drum up support for her bid to become WTO chief

South Korea's trade minister plans to visit the United States this week to win support for her bid to become the new head of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee will depart for her four-day trip to Washington on Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, where she plans to meet US government and business officials. During the trip, Yoo is also expected to discuss a wide array of issues related to the economic ties between South Korea and the

Sept. 14, 2020

HDC, Asiana shares fall after deal collapses

Shares in HDC Hyundai Development Co. and Asiana Airlines Inc. fell Monday after the property developer's planned acquisition of the debt-ridden carrier collapsed last week amid the COVID-19 pandemic. HDC fell 0.2 percent to 24,700 won ($21) and Asiana plunged 2.5 percent to 3,965 won, far underperforming the broader KOSPI's 1.3 percent gain. But Asiana's parent Kumho Industrial Co. rose 1.2 percent to end at 6,820 won as the deal's rupture was already factored in the stock price. "HD

Sept. 14, 2020

IPOs in S. Korea scoop up investor money this year

South Korean investors have poured a huge amount of money into initial public offerings (IPO) this year amid ample liquidity, industry sources said Monday. Investor deposits for IPO subscription in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 150.9 trillion won ($134 billion) between January and last week, about 1.5 times the full-year figure for 2019. A total of 45 companies have gone public this year, compared with 99 issues last year. This year's amount is also well over the 85 trillion won in

Sept. 14, 2020

S. Korea seeks to begin free trade talks with Uzbekistan by year-end

SEJONG -- South Korea seeks to launch formal negotiations with Uzbekistan by the end of this year to sign a bilateral free trade deal, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Monday. South Korea will complete domestic procedures this month to begin free trade talks with Uzbekistan, Hong told a meeting with economy-related ministers. Hong said Uzbekistan is one of the important partners for South Korea's New Northern Policy aimed at improving the nation's partnerships with countries located north of

Sept. 14, 2020

Watchdog mulls tightening unsecured loans amid sharp demand for property-related funds

South Korea's financial watchdog is considering tightening rules on unsecured loans as more people took out such lending excessively to buy homes or invest in stocks, financial sources said Sunday. The financial regulator has stiffened rules on mortgage lending in a bid to curb rising housing prices, but people rushed to take out credit loans to buy houses amid cheap borrowing costs. A rally in the stock market also prompted people to borrow unsecured loans for stock investments, including pub

Sept. 13, 2020

South Korean shares log 2nd highest gains among G-20 peers

South Korea's key stock index has posted the second-highest profit rate among its Group of 20 peers since this year's bottom, helped by robust buying by individuals, the bourse operator said Sunday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,396.69 points Friday, soaring 64.42 percent from 1,439.43 on March 19. All G-20 countries saw their main stock indices plunge to the year's lowest in mid-March, when investors' fear peaked over the new coronavirus pandemic. The

Sept. 13, 2020

S. Korea to focus on digital infrastructure investment, ‘Data Dam’ project: minister

South Korea will focus on investing in digital infrastructure, including its Data Dam project, to combat future risks stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, the nation’s finance minister said Friday. “Due to the novel coronavirus, our economy and society has been seeing an acceleration of digitalization,” Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said, in an opening speech delivered at the Digital Economy Forum hosted by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. &l

Sept. 11, 2020

Industrial power consumption in July hits 4-year low on virus

South Korea's industrial electricity consumption fell to a four-year low in July amid an economic slump caused by the coronavirus outbreak, data showed Friday. The volume of power consumed by the nation's industrial sector reached 23,468 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in July, down 4.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), South Korea's state-run utility. The figure is the lowest industrial power consumption for July since the 23,238 GWh recorded in

Sept. 11, 2020

S. Korean government vows quick process for COVID-19 allowance payment

South Korea‘s government vowed Friday to apply a speedy process to the payment of special disaster relief subsidies so that those heavily hit by the COVID-19 fallout may receive the money before the Chuseok holiday at the end of this month. “We shall simplify the qualification examination standards, and hand out the subsidies first, and carry out the (detailed) verification afterwards,” said Kim Yong-beom, first vice minister of finance, in an economic policy meeting at Go

Sept. 11, 2020

S. Korea's money supply grows at fastest clip in nearly 11 years in July

South Korea's money supply grew at the fastest pace in nearly 11 years in July as household and corporate lending grew amid a long streak of low rates and the new coronavirus outbreak, central bank data showed Friday. The country's M2 stood at 3,092.8 trillion won ($2.6 trillion) as of end-July, up 10.1 percent from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It accelerated from a 9.9 percent on-year gain in June and marked the fastest on-year rise since 10.5 p

Sept. 11, 2020

Daewoo Shipbuilding to foster ship-related digital technology experts

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. said Friday that it will nurture digital technology workforces to improve the management and production procedure of its shipyards. A program to be run by the software education center of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) will train experts of ship-related digital technologies, the shipbuilder said in an emailed statement. This program will help innovate management and improve productivity in the shipbuilding industry

Sept. 11, 2020

Consumption shows signs of slowing down over virus resurgence: finance ministry

South Korea's consumption has shown signs of slowing down due to a recent resurgence of new coronavirus infections, but the pace of decline in exports eased, the finance ministry said Friday. In a monthly economic report, called the "Green Book," the Ministry of Economy and Finance also flagged the economy's continuing uncertainty stemming from the virus resurgence. "South Korea's indicators of domestic consumption took a turn for the worse because of a resurgence of COVID-19

Sept. 11, 2020

Exports fall 0.2% in first 10 days of September

South Korea's exports fell 0.2 percent on-year in the first 10 days of September amid the economic fallout from the new coronavirus, customs data showed Friday. The nation's outbound shipments stood at $14.9 billion in the Sept. 1-10 period, compared with $15 billion a year ago, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. The daily average exports during the 10-day period dropped 11.9 percent. The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted trade and halted production around the globe, wi

Sept. 11, 2020

KDB chief wins 2nd term amid looming collapse of Asiana deal

The state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) said Thursday its chairman Lee Dong-gull has been named to lead the South Korean policy lender for another three years. Lee's second term, which is set to begin on Friday, comes amid a series of stalled corporate sell-off deals, including how to normalize Asiana Airlines Inc. Major property developer HDC Hyundai Development Co. had sought to acquire the country's second-biggest airline, but the 2.5 trillion-won ($2.1 billion) deal appears likely to c

Sept. 10, 2020

S. Korea issues $1.45b in forex stabilization fund bonds

The South Korean government’s recent issuance of low-yielding foreign exchange equalization fund bonds indicates the credibility for the fundamentals of Asia’s fourth-largest economy, the country’s top fiscal policymaker said Thursday. “We have been able to reconfirm the overseas investors’ positive assessment of Korea’s economic fundamentals,” the fiscal chief said via Facebook. His remark addressed the government’s earlier announcement that

Sept. 10, 2020

Doosan Heavy to join hands with KNOC for offshore wind farms

Power plant builder Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. said Thursday it has signed a preliminary deal with the Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC) to develop a floating offshore wind farm. Under the deal, Doosan Heavy will provide floating wind turbines, while the state-run oil company will work on the overall procedures to build the floating offshore wind farm in the East Sea, the power plant builder said. In July, the government said it plans to start building the floating offshor

Sept. 10, 2020

4th extra budget aims to help small merchants gripped by virus resurgence

SEJONG -- A fourth supplementary budget worth 7.8 trillion won ($6.6 billion) is mainly aimed at helping small merchants and self-employed people cushion the economic impact of a recent resurgence of the new coronavirus. The additional fiscal boost came less than a month after health authorities tightened social distancing rules to contain a new wave of contagion, amid growing concerns that the nation's economic slump may be deeper than expected. Presiding over an emergency economic council m

Sept. 10, 2020

Kakao Games makes splash in KOSDAQ debut

Kakao Games, the game developing unit of South Korean mobile giant Kakao, made a strong market debut Thursday, trading at more than double the initial public offering (IPO) price. As of 10:10 a.m., Kakao Games traded at 48,000 won ($40.49), twice the IPO price, and instantly surged by the daily permissible limit of 30 percent to 62,400 won per share. Its market capitalization stood at 4.6 trillion won, the fifth largest on the secondary, tech-laden KOSDAQ market. The game publisher raised s

Sept. 10, 2020

S. Korea to sell 10-year dollar, 5-year euro bonds

SEJONG -- South Korea plans to sell 10-year dollar and 5-year euro bonds this year as part of its currency stabilization bond scheme, the finance ministry said Wednesday. The value of the bond sale and the yields will be decided later, depending on market situation, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement. Six financial firms, including BNP Paribas, Citigroup and JP Morgan, will arrange the planned sale of bonds, according to the statement. (Yonhap)

Sept. 9, 2020

Hancom acquires local firm to tap into drone, aerospace biz

Hancom Group, South Korea's leading office software developer, said Wednesday it has acquired a local firm as part of efforts to tap deeper into the aerospace and drone businesses. Hancom took over InSpace Co., which develops satellite ground station solutions and drone technologies. The group did not reveal the value of the deal. Hancom said it plans to combine its internet of Things (IoT) and autonomous driving solutions with InSpace's drone technology to launch a drone service platform an

Sept. 9, 2020