Seoul shares end nearly flat ahead of Fed's rate-setting meeting

South Korean stocks finished almost unchanged Tuesday as investors remain cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve's interest rate-setting meeting and the release of key inflation data. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 0.62 point, or 0.03 percent, to close at 2,372.40. Trading volume was a bit light at 438.75 million shares worth 6.39 trillion won ($4.90 billion), with decliners outstripping gainers 436 to 416. The market op

Dec. 13, 2022

Despite hiccups, regulator keeps distance from crypto listing approval

The Financial Services Commission denied a report that it is considering enforcement power to control the listing of cryptocurrencies through mandating approval from the country's top financial regulator. A local news report claimed Monday that financial authorities, including the FSC and Korea Financial Intelligence Unit, are reviewing to hold the authority to approve crypto firms to float their coins. "The report claiming financial authorities are looking into whether to approve the

Dec. 13, 2022

Seoul shares open higher on US gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, with the US Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate-setting meeting in focus. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 9.36 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,382.38 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US shares finished higher following last week's deep losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.58 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.26 percent. The Federal Re

Dec. 13, 2022

Seoul shares fall ahead of Fed's rate-setting meeting

South Korean stocks finished lower Monday as investors remained cautious about the United States' monetary policy direction ahead of a rate-setting meeting amid deepening recession fears. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 16.02 points, or 0.67 percent, to close at 2,373.02. Trading volume was a bit light at 489.54 million shares worth 5.72 trillion won ($4.37 billion), with decliners outstripping gainers 486 to 363. Instituti

Dec. 12, 2022

Nearly 70,000 under 30s subject to gift tax

More than 70,000 people under the age of 30 are obliged to pay a gift tax for receiving assets in 2021, marking a two-fold increase from the year before, data showed Monday. According to Rep. Jin Sun-mee from the Democratic Party of Korea, 70,115 people under 30 are obliged to pay a gift tax for receiving land, properties or securities in 2021. Jin is a member of the Strategy & Finance Committee at the National Assembly and the data was provided by the National Tax Service. Jin argued the fi

Dec. 12, 2022

Woori Bank offers multilingual service on Sundays

Woori Bank, one of South Korea’s top banks, is offering multilingual services on Sundays at five branches around the country. The five branches -- Ansan, Uijeongbu and Balan in Gyeonggi Province, Gwanghui-dong in Seoul and Gimhae in South Gyeongsang Province -- will be open on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Foreigners can access general banking services in 10 languages, including English, Chinese, Thai and Indonesian. The services include making deposits, withdrawals, overseas transfers an

Dec. 12, 2022

Seoul shares open lower ahead of Fed's rate-setting meeting

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday as investors were cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve's rate-setting meeting this week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slid 10.54 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,378.50 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Several major economic developments from the United States are due this week, as the Fed is to hold a two-day rate-setting meeting starting Tuesday and is likely to deliver a 50-basis point hike. The Fed has raised the interest ra

Dec. 12, 2022

Wemix launches buyback program after delisting fiasco

After being pulled off from the country’s major crypto exchange platforms, Wemix decided to repurchase some $10 million worth of its digital assets and remove them from circulation to increase the value of the token. Wemix was pulled off from Korea’s top crypto exchanges under the Digital Asset Exchange Alliance (DAXA) on Thursday, following a Seoul court’s dismissal of an injunction against the delisting of the cryptocurrency. DAXA owns the nation’s top five crypto excha

Dec. 9, 2022

Seoul shares end higher ahead of key US inflation data

South Korean stocks ended higher Friday, snapping a five-day losing streak, as foreigners and institutions picked up oversold shares amid uncertainty over the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy direction. The Korean won sharply strengthened against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 17.96 points, or 0.76 percent, to 2,389.04. The main index fell 2.6 percent this week through Thursday. Trading volume was moderate at 309.52 million shares worth 7.09 trillion

Dec. 9, 2022

Seoul shares open higher after US gains

Seoul stocks opened higher Friday, tracking gains on Wall Street, as investors await key US inflation data this week for clues as to whether the Federal Reserve could scale down its aggressive monetary tightening. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 4.72 points, or 0.20 percent, to 2,375.80 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Kospi rebounded after a five-day slide. Stronger-than-expected US jobs report and service sector activity released earlier this week weighed on consumer se

Dec. 9, 2022

Jin Ok-dong tapped as chairman candidate for Shinhan Financial

Shinhan Bank President Jin Ok-dong, 61, has been appointed as the final candidate for the new chairman of Shinhan Financial Group, South Korea's No. 2 bank by total assets, Thursday. The group said that nonexecutive directors of the group unanimously voted for Jin at a candidate recommendation meeting held at the firm's headquarters in central Seoul. Other candidates were Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung and Shinhan Card CEO Lim Young-jin. Though it was rumored that cur

Dec. 8, 2022

MBK chairman named 'hero of philanthropy'

Seoul-based private equity house MBK Partners Founder and Chairman Michael Byung-ju Kim has been named one of the 15 “Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy” by US business magazine Forbes for the second year in a row. He was the only Korean to make this year’s top philanthropist list. Kim was one of only three people -- the other two being billionaire brothers Ronnie and Gerald Chan who are the co-founders of Hong Kong’s Morningside Group -- to be recognized for two consecu

Dec. 8, 2022

Seoul shares open lower after US losses

Seoul stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight falls on Wall Street, amid concerns that the US Federal Reserve may continue its aggressive monetary tightening following solid economic data. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 1.05 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,381.76 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The unexpectedly strong US jobs report and service sector activity released early this week bolstered the case for the Fed to keep policy tightening to tame runaway inflat

Dec. 8, 2022

Court denies injunction against delisting of cryptocurrency Wemix

A Seoul court on Wednesday denied an injunction request filed by the operator of cryptocurrency Wemix to block the enforcement of crypto exchanges' decision to delist the coin. In late November, the Digital Asset eXchange Association -- an alliance formed by Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit and Gopax -- announced they will terminate transaction support to the cryptocurrency operated by online games company Wemade, from Dec. 8. They said Wemade had provided false information on the planned numb

Dec. 7, 2022

Seoul shares down for 4th day amid U.S. rate hike woes

Seoul shares extended their losing streak to a fourth day Wednesday amid concerns the Federal Reserve may keep its aggressive monetary tightening following solid U.S. economic data. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index retreated 10.35 points, or 0.43 percent, to 2,382.81. Trading volume was moderate at 323.9 million shares worth 5.9 trillion won ($4.5 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 540 to 311. Institutions and foreigners sold

Dec. 7, 2022

[Newsmaker] ‘Long live the bill’ in cashless society

Banknotes with higher face value have a longer life span, with highest denomination here of 50,000 won ($38) presumed to be used for more than 15 years, a central bank report showed Wednesday. The Bank of Korea announced the results of a study on the average life span of Korean banknotes, making a presumption based on a sample survey of the notes in circulation in 2022. The results showed 10,000-won and 50,000-won bills have much longer lifetimes than bills of a smaller face value. The lifetime

Dec. 7, 2022

S. Korea's key policy rate likely to peak at 3.5 % next year: S&P

South Korea's central bank will continue raising its key policy rate, possibly peaking at 3.5 percent in 2023, an economist at global credit appraiser S&P Global Rating said Wednesday. The Bank of Korea has hiked the rate by a combined 2.75 percentage points since August last year to tame inflation. The rate currently stands at 3.25 percent. "We expect the APAC central banks not to follow very closely the US Fed policy in terms of how quickly, how aggressively to increase interest

Dec. 7, 2022

Seoul shares open lower on Wall Street falls

Seoul stocks opened lower on Wednesday, tracking overnight falls on Wall Street, amid concerns that the US Federal Reserve may continue its aggressive monetary tightening following strong economic data. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 7.11 points, or 0.30 percent, to 2,386.05 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The stronger-than-expected US jobs report and service sector activity released early this week are spooking investors amid concerns that the Fed may not imminently sl

Dec. 7, 2022

Seoul shares down for 3rd day amid US rate hike worries

Seoul shares closed lower to extend their losing streak to a third day on Tuesday as investors remain concerned that the Federal Reserve may continue its aggressive monetary tightening following unexpectedly strong US services data. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index retreated 26.16 points, or 1.08 percent, to 2,393.16. Trading volume was moderate at 359.75 million shares worth 6.3 trillion won ($4.8 billion), with decliners outnumbering ga

Dec. 6, 2022

Seoul shares open lower after Wall Street falls

Seoul stocks opened lower on Tuesday, tracking losses on Wall Street, as concerns grow that the US Federal Reserve may continue its aggressive monetary tightening following strong services data. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 16.19 points, or 0.67 percent, to 2,403.13 in the first 15 minutes of trading. US service sector activity unexpectedly picked up in November, raising concerns that the Fed may not imminently slow down the pace of rate increases. Fed Chair Jerome Powe

Dec. 6, 2022