Hyundai Motor, the world's fifth-largest automaker, on said Thursday its net earnings declined 2.9 percent from 2013 to 2.03 trillion won ($1.95 billion) on account of worsening industry conditions at both home and abroad. Sales and operating profit, however, rose 1.3 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively, to 21.6 trillion won and 1.93 trillion won in the same period, the company said in a regulatory filing.Hyundai officials said the new Genesis, launched late last year, helped bolster sales for

Mobility April 24, 2014

The National Tax Service has slapped UD United Dental with fines worth 9.4 billion won ($8.9 million) for tax evasion, according to industry sources on Tuesday.UD United Dental, which operates a chain of dental clinics, was found to have dodged taxes for three years between January of 2010 and June of 2012.The Korean Dental Association confirmed the irregularities, but the UD United Dental claims that they were due a discrepancy in local tax laws and corporate accounting standards.It also said t

Social Affairs April 22, 2014

The Financial Services Commission on Tuesday unveiled plans to improve the corporate financing environment by easing the regulations on initial public offerings and devising ways for invigorating the moribund local capital market.The regulator said as the first step toward easier IPOs, it will remove hurdles to stock listings and relax the rules on filing and disclosing corporate financial information to the extent that it does not hurt the interests of investors."In order to create a virtuous c

April 15, 2014

South Korea's central bank could discuss raising the key interest rate in a pre-emptive manner if demand-pull inflationary pressure rises, its new chief said Thursday.Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Lee Ju-yeol presided over his first rate-setting meeting, in which the monetary policy committee unanimously held the benchmark seven-day repo rate, called the base rate, at 2.5 percent for the 11th straight month.Lee, a former senior deputy governor at the BOK, replaced his predecessor Kim Choong-soo on Ap

April 10, 2014

The country's authorities are closely monitoring the financial market, the finance ministry said Thursday.The ministry also said it is "undesirable" to see an excessive one-sided movement in currency exchange rates."It is not desirable for market volatility to intensify due to a short-term one-sided movement in any direction," the ministry said in a memo to reporters."Therefore, we are closely monitoring foreign capital flows and transactions situations in the financial markets at home and abroa

April 10, 2014

Local opened higher Thursday following an overnight gain in U.S. stocks, and the Korean currency continued to rally against the U.S. dollar, causing the Finance Ministry to step up monitoring on the exchange rate.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 5.44 points, or 0.27 percent, to 2,003.94 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Exporters started a tad lower on concerns over the strengthening local currency, while defensive shares gathered ground.Top market cap Samsung Electr

April 10, 2014

When someone suspected of a crime or irregularity commits suicide, it usually has multiple effects -- the investigation comes to a screeching halt, and people are left wondering if the allegations were really true, or if possibly the victim sought to claim his innocence through death. The Financial Supervisory Service and Woori Bank are now grappling with these and other questions after a high-ranking bank official was found to have committed suicide amid an illicit loan investigation.On Monday

April 9, 2014

South Korean books and authors is expected to play a significant role in the London book that fair kicked off on Tuesday.South Korea is the Market Focus country, which is the most important guest state, for The London Book Fair 2014 that kicked off at Earls Court, London. The fair will run for three days. The event is considered the second-largest book publishing trade fair in Europe next to the Frankfurt Book Fair. More than 25,000 publishers, booksellers, literary agents, librarians and media

Social Affairs April 8, 2014

Foreign investors of South Korean stocks extended their selling spree for the fifth consecutive month in March as concerns over the slowing Chinese economy and protracted Ukraine conflict kept them from betting on risky assets, the financial watchdog said Sunday.Overseas investors offloaded a net 1.25 trillion won ($1.19 billion) worth of local stocks in March, compared with a net selling of 1.23 trillion won a month earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).The FSS noted tha

April 6, 2014

The Financial Supervisory Service has ordered credit card firms to raise money to adopt integrated circuit (IC) cards to prevent a repeat of personal information breaches, according to market sources on Sunday.Up to eight credit card firms in the country will be obligated to raise a combined fund worth 100 billion won ($94.8 million) to bolster oversight of personal data management, the sources said.Most of the funds will be used in adopting card readers that can accept IC cards, which are consi

April 6, 2014

Prosecutors resummoned the former head of the financially troubled shipping and shipbuilding conglomerate STX Group on Sunday for questioning over his alleged embezzlement and business malpractice.Kang Duk-soo, who headed the group between 2003 and February 2014, is accused of funneling the funds of STX Heavy Industries, a troubled shipbuilder unit, to illegally support other ailing affiliates and misappropriating company money to bribe politicians.The 64-year-old former chairman appeared at the

Industry April 6, 2014