Most Popular
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Criminals who drugged teens' drinks with meth sentenced to up to 18 years
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Rival parties unite to form 4-way body to break med school standoff
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Korea to certify safety of EV battery from October
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Wartime sexual slavery victims file for Japanese govt. asset disclosure
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Producer Teddy's girl group Meovv debuts, showcasing dual feline charms
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Farewell summit: Yoon, Kishida pledge to keep momentum in revitalizing ties
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Man to pay W727m for opening plane door before landing
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Two Korean women arrested for stealing tourist's bag in Turkey
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Frieze Seoul sees slower sales, yet confirms stronger art scene in Seoul
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US’ new export controls to have little impact on Korean businesses: ministry
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Mortgage-backed deals rise in Q1, but pace of growth slows
South Korea's residential mortgage-backed securitizations slightly rose in the first quarter of this year, but the pace of quarterly growth slowed because of the government's efforts to curb mounting household debt, official data showed Wednesday. State-run Korea Housing Finance Corp. issued 9 trillion won ($8 billion) in mortgage-backed securities during the January-March period, up 300 billion won from the same period a year ago, the Financial Supervisory Service said in a statement.The s
April 26, 2017
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Stocks open higher on gains in tech, autos
South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday led by gains in tech companies, chemicals firms and automakers.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 7.91 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,204.76 in the first 15 minutes of trading.On Tuesday, the KOSPI closed at a six-year high, driven by continued foreign buying.Market kingpin Samsung Electronics was 0.09 percent down and SK hynix, a major chipmaker, surged 2.48 percent.Hyundai Motor, the No. 1 automaker, moved up 0.36 percent, and AmoreP
April 26, 2017
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Korea's 3rd bourse to ease listing rules
South Korea's stock market for venture firms and start-ups plans to ease its listing rules, allowing more small firms to raise funds via the market, the nation's financial regulator said Tuesday. The Korea New Exchange (KONEX) market opened in 2013 for fledgling businesses to raise funds easier via stock sales rather than having to borrow from banks. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) decided to ease listing rules for the KONEX market as the average daily transaction value for the market ha
April 25, 2017
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Kospi hits a 6-year high on foreign buying
South Korean stocks on Tuesday hit a six-year high, on strong buying from foreign investors with the global stock market rally, brokerage data showed.The nation’s benchmark Kospi closed at 2,196.85, rising by 1.06 percent from the previous session. The figure is the highest since the index closed at 2,200.73 on May 3, 2011, according to the Korea Exchange. The tech-heavy Kosdaq also went up 0.95 percent to close at 632.57.Foreign investors net bought 651.4 billion won worth stocks, pulling
April 25, 2017
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Hyundai Samho lands W300b IMM Private Equity investment
Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, a shipbuilding affiliate of Hyundai Heavy Industries, has landed a 300 billion won ($265.7 million) pre-initial public offering investment with IMM Private Equity. Under the agreement with IMM PE, HSHI said it will issue 5.36 million new convertible preferred shares, with the private equity firm paying out 300 billion won in total to acquire the stocks at 56,000 won per share.The new deal will bring Hyundai Samho’s total market value to 2.5 trillion won.&nbs
April 25, 2017
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Daewoo E&C back in black following record Q1 performance
Daewoo Engineering & Construction has recorded its largest quarterly operating profit in the company’s history, posting operating profits of roughly 22.1 billion won ($19.5 million) and a net income of 191.9 billion won, according to the company Tuesday. Despite recording operating and net losses in the fourth quarter of last year, Daewoo E&C said the profits achieved in its housing and construction sectors rose by 171 percent compared to the same period last year, thrusting t
April 25, 2017
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Mirae's 4 ETFs excel in HK
Mirae Asset Global Investments, an asset management unit under Mirae Asset Global Investments Group, said its four exchange-traded funds have shown their competitive edge against other ETF products on the Hong Kong Exchange.Mirae Asset’s four leverage and inverse ETFs, or L&I ETFs, that traces Hang Seng index comprised of H-shares on the Hong Kong Exchange, ranked second in terms of the market share in L&I ETFs’ accumulated turnover as of April 19 since their listing on the H
April 25, 2017
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Credit card companies’ challenges and responses in the fourth industrial revolution
Since the fourth industrial revolution was discussed in the World Economic Forum in January, 2016, the academic circle and the media have expressed interests in key drivers of the fourth industrial revolution including biometrics, big data and artificial intelligence. In addition, Google DeepMind’s artificial intelligence program AlphaGo came under the spotlight with its unexpected moves in Go games against Lee Se-dol in March, 2016.This helped many agree that the fourth industrial revolut
April 25, 2017
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Korean shares up in late morning trade
South Korean stocks traded higher late Tuesday morning, led by gains in tech and autos.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 9.11 points, or 0.42 percent, to 2,182.85 as of 11:15 a.m.Most large-cap stocks were mixed across the board. Top market cap Samsung Electronics rose 1.84 percent, while SK hynix, a major chipmaker, shed 1.15 percent.Hyundai Motor, the No. 1 automaker, gained 2.12 percent and its smaller affiliate, Kia Motors, fell 0.2 percent.SK Innovation, the No. 1 ref
April 25, 2017
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Foreign buying boosts Korean benchmark index
Foreign investors bought South Korean stocks for a third straight session, fueling expectations that the country's benchmark index could break this year's record high, brokerage data showed Tuesday.Foreign buying between Thursday and Monday came to nearly 700 billion won ($617 million), according to data from Korea Exchange, the local bourse operator. Foreigners' buying spree of local stocks came despite heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula over North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons p
April 25, 2017
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Life insurers to face pressure on adoption of new global accounting standard
The reported capitalization of South Korean life insurers is expected to face pressure if they adopt a new international accounting standard, credit appraiser Moody's Investors Services said Tuesday.South Korean life insurers have been preparing to report financial results under International Financial Reporting Standards 17, which will go into effect in South Korea from 2021. Stella Ng, a vice president of Moody's, said the new global accounting standard will require life insurers to meas
April 25, 2017
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Korea's finance minister talks with head of Citigroup
South Korea's finance minister held talks with the head of global investment bank Citigroup Inc. on Monday (local time) to share his views on global recovery trends and its impact on Asia's fourth-largest economy.At the meeting with Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat in New York, Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said the South Korean economy has managed to pull off modest growth led by brisk exports which posted the fifth straight month of gains since November on the back of increased global demand.The uptu
April 25, 2017
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Sales of 4 credit rating firms edge down in 2016
The combined sales of South Korea's four credit rating companies fell 0.2 percent on year in 2016, due to a decline in sales of corporate bonds, data showed Tuesday. Total sales for four credit rating firms -- NICE Investors Service, Korea Investors Service, Korea Ratings and Seoul Credit Rating & Information -- stood at 82.76 billion won ($73.2 million) last year, compared to 82.95 billion won a year earlier, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service. Last year, sales
April 25, 2017
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Stocks open higher on gains in tech and autos
South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, led by gains in tech firms and automakers.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 2.39 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,176.13 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Most large caps traded higher, with market kingpin Samsung Electronics adding 1.12 percent and SK hynix, a major chipmaker, remaining flat.Hyundai Motor, the No. 1 automaker, moved up 1.06 percent, while AmorePacific, the country's top cosmetics maker, shed 2.91 percent following weak
April 25, 2017
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‘Interest margins drive banks' earnings surprise’
The earnings surprise of major commercial banks in South Korea in the first quarter was partly driven by their improved net interest margins, data showed Monday. The combined net profit of the four major commercial banks -- Shinhan Bank, Kookmin Bank, KEB Hana Bank and Woori Bank -- in the first quarter came to 2.28 trillion won ($2.01 billion), a 22.3 percent rise on-year, according to earnings reports by each bank last week. Excluding one-off profits, such as sell-offs of bank branches or loan
April 24, 2017
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Seoul stocks up on risk-off sentiment
South Korean stocks finished higher on Monday, as investors' concerns over a French presidential election race abated to some degree, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 8.7 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 2,173.74. Trade volume was moderate at 367 million shares worth 4.2 trillion won ($3.72 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 509 to 287.The local stock market opened a tad higher on news that centrist Emmanuel
April 24, 2017
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Korean shares up in late morning trade
South Korean stocks traded higher late Monday morning, led by gains in tech and banking stocks.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 4 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,169.04 as of 11:15 a.m.Most large-cap stocks were mixed across the board.Top market cap Samsung Electronics rose 0.54 percent, and SK hynix, a major chipmaker, climbed 0.96 percent.Shinhan Financial, the country's most profitable banking group, gained 1.68 percent.Hyundai Motor, the No. 1 automaker, remained unchan
April 24, 2017
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Stocks open higher on gains in tech and banking
South Korean stocks opened higher Monday, led by gains in tech firms and banking firms.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 8.12 points, or 0.38 percent, to 2,173.16 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Most large caps traded higher, with market kingpin Samsung Electronics adding 0.69 percent and SK hynix, a major chipmaker, rising 0.96 percent.Shinhan Financial, the country's most profitable banking group, added 1.36 percent, and Posco, the No. 1 steelmaker, soared 1.85 percent.In
April 24, 2017
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KEF urges presidential hopefuls to abide by market economy principles
South Korea's major business lobby Sunday urged presidential hopefuls to observe market economy principles to create an atmosphere favorable to businesses that leads to more investments in facilities and jobs, which it said is the top priority of any presidential hopeful.The Korean Employers Federation (KEF) called on them to introduce measures to help large shareholders defend against hostile takeover bids and use substitute workers during strikes by labor unions. Such measures will be a prereq
April 23, 2017
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Korea’s big 30 market cap up 18.7 percent, driven by Samsung
The market capitalization of Korea’s top 30 conglomerates surged nearly 20 percent from a year ago, driven by Samsung Electronics’ share value rally, according to market data compiled by a local corporate tracker Sunday.According to a survey by CEOScore, the combined market value of the 176 listed firms owned by the country’s 30 largest business groups reached 969.9 trillion won ($853.8 billion) as of Friday, up 18.7 percent from 817.3 trillion won tallied on Jan. 1 last year.&
April 23, 2017