South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as investors took to the sidelines ahead of a meeting of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.75 points, or 0.15 percent, to 3,212.78 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a lackluster start on increased valuation pressure, as investors wondered whether to sell stocks for profit after the KOSPI's three-day gains. Concerns about early post-pandemic inflation re

Market April 27, 2021

K-pop sensation BTS is ready to come back next month with the cheerful summer number "Butter," its agency said Tuesday. The "fun and upbeat summer song," which will be the seven-piece act's second English single following "Dynamite" released last year, will drop globally in a digital version at 1 p.m. on May 21, according to Big Hit Music. The physical version of the new single will be available this summer, the company added, without elaborating on a release date

K-pop April 27, 2021

South Korea's major business lobby groups on Tuesday said they have submitted a petition for the pardon of Lee Jae-yong, the imprisoned de facto leader of Samsung Group, to the presidential office for the sake of the national economy amid a global semiconductor shortage. The five major lobby groups -- the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Korea Enterprises Federation, the Korea Federation of SMEs, the Korea International Trade Association and the Federation of Middle Market Enterprise

Industry April 27, 2021

Sales of derivatives-linked securities in South Korea dropped 30.3 percent on year in 2020, partly due lower demand following the misselling of derivatives-linked funds, data showed Tuesday. The combined value of equity-linked securities (ELS) and derivatives-linked securities (DLS) issued last year came to 91.3 trillion won ($82 billion), down 39.7 trillion won from a year ago, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The products are structured to track the performance o

Economy April 27, 2021

The value of stocks traded on South Korea's over-the-counter (OTC) market has surpassed the 20 trillion-won mark ($18 billion) for the first time in over six years on a recent market rally, data showed Tuesday. The capitalization of the K-OTC totaled 20.07 trillion won as of Monday, up some 215 billion won from the previous session, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association (KOFIA). It marks the first time since Nov. 13, 2014, that the K-OTC's market value has excee

Market April 27, 2021

A British aircraft carrier strike group will make a port call at the southeastern city of Busan later this year, Seoul's defense ministry said Tuesday, as the European country seeks to expand its presence in the Indo-Pacific region. South Korea has accepted Britain's request for its HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier to make a port call at Busan in the second half to boost "bilateral defense cooperation and friendly exchanges," the ministry said. Accompanied by multiple warships an

Defense April 27, 2021

South Korea's economy expanded at a faster-than-expected pace in the first quarter, buoyed by a modest recovery of exports and fiscal policy support, amid signs that the economy is inching closer to pre-pandemic levels, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Tuesday. Gross domestic product expanded 1.8 percent in the three months ended March 31 from a year ago, the BOK said. On a quarterly basis, Asia's fourth-largest economy expanded 1.6 percent, accelerating from a 1.2 percent expansion in the final qu

Economy April 27, 2021

Belgian Ambassador to Seoul Peter Lescouhier on Monday notified government officials here that his wife will soon turn up to face a police investigation over an assault incident. Police have been looking into allegations that Lescouhier's wife slapped an apparel store employee in the face and another employee in the back of her head early this month. The employees had asked the wife if she paid for the clothes she was wearing at the time because the shop was selling the same apparel. The ambas

Foreign Affairs April 26, 2021

South Korea on Monday welcomed the joint statement by Southeast Asian leaders that called for an end to violence in Myanmar and pursuit of a peaceful solution. Nine of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations issued the statement under the name of its secretary general after a summit in Indonesia, demanding its member Myanmar immediately end civilian killings that began after its military seized power in a coup in early February. The statement came as Myanmar's military leader Seni

Foreign Affairs April 26, 2021

The defense ministry said Monday it will launch inspections into growing complaints from soldiers that they were fed poor quality meals while in COVID-19 quarantine. Some service members have raised complaints over the quality of meals they were provided while in coronavirus quarantine upon returning from vacation, posting pictures of food that some even likened to prison meals. Some others also voiced complaints about the bad sanitation of temporary quarantine facilities. "The ministry

Defense April 26, 2021

South Korean stocks closed up for a third consecutive session Monday, as progress in the local vaccination campaign and strong US economic data fueled hopes of a quick economic rebound from the pandemic. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 31.43 points, or 0.99 percent, to close at 3,217.53 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.3 billion shares worth some 15.4 trillion won ($13.8 billion), with gainers outnumbering lo

Market April 26, 2021

President Moon Jae-in's public disapproval rating hit an all-time high, a poll showed Monday, as the ruling bloc continues to struggle with fallout from its recent crushing defeat in local by-elections. In the five-day Realmeter survey conducted through last Friday, Moon's disapproval rating hit 63 percent, up 1.5 percentage points from a week earlier. The latest poll canvassed 2,532 people, aged 18 or older, nationwide. This marks Moon's highest disapproval rating since he took office in May

Politics April 26, 2021

President Moon Jae-in asked South Koreans on Monday not to "politicize" the COVID-19 vaccine issue, as his government is striving to assure them that the country has already secured deals for enough supply of doses and that the overall inoculation program is on track. Doubts have grown over the government's stated scheme to get at least 12 million people here vaccinated in the first half of this year for the sake of achieving herd immunity by November. "If you watch (the situati

Politics April 26, 2021

South Korea may develop two homegrown vaccines against COVID-19 as early as this year or early next year, the country's health minister said Monday. Currently, five local pharmaceutical firms are developing the new coronavirus vaccines, with two of them expected to conduct phase two or three clinical trials by the end of the year, Kwon Deok-cheol said during a radio talk show. "We expect the approval as early as the end of this year or early next year," Kwon said, adding that members

Social Affairs April 26, 2021

Insurance firms in South Korea saw their risk-based capital fall in the fourth quarter of last year, data showed Monday. The risk-based capital (RBC) ratio of local insurance firms stood at 275.1 percent at end-2020, down 8.8 percentage points from three months earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Their RBC ratio fell in the fourth quarter as their funds to hedge against risks increased, the FSS said. A key yardstick of financial stability, the RBC rati

Economy April 26, 2021