The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Thursday its net selling and buying of the US dollar remained on par in the second quarter as part of its efforts to help ease fluctuations in the local currency market. In the first quarter, the BOK sold a net $103 million to stabilize the Korean currency's movement, compared with a net purchase of $11.5 billion three months earlier. The central bank began releasing such data in March 2019 to help boost the transparency of its market stabilization steps. A BOK offic

Market Sept. 30, 2021

South Korean stocks rebounded Thursday after a two-day loss, as investors bought oversold stocks. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 8.55 points, or 0.28 percent, to close at 3,068.82 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 867 million shares worth some 14.5 trillion won ($12.2 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 542 to 316. Foreigners bought a net 35 billion won, while institutions sold 225 billion won. Retail inve

Market Sept. 30, 2021

South Korean banks' lending rates rose in August as the Bank of Korea (BOK) delivered its first pandemic-era rate hike, central bank data showed Thursday. The average interest rate charged on new bank loans came to 2.87 percent in August, up 0.1 percentage point from the previous month, according to preliminary data from the BOK. The BOK cut the key interest rate to a record low of 0.5 percent in May last year after delivering an emergency rate cut of half a percentage point in March to cushion

Market Sept. 30, 2021

POSCO, the world's fifth-largest steelmaker by output, said Thursday it has broken ground on a 120 billion won ($101 million) plant that will extract nickel and lithium, key materials for electric vehicle batteries. The plant by POSCO HY Clean Metal is capable of extracting nickel, lithium and cobalt from 12,000 tons of black mass annually. The recycling plant is set to be completed in the second half of next year in Yulchon Industrial Complex in South Jeolla Province. POSCO said it will receive

Industry Sept. 30, 2021

South Korea's trade ministry said Thursday it is reviewing joining a mega free trade pact comprising Asia-Pacific countries in line with its goal to play a leading role in trade in the region. "South Korea is considered an ideal partner for the CPTPP in terms of its competitiveness in different industries and technologies," Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo said during a meeting with local trade experts. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is the

Industry Sept. 30, 2021

Samsung Electronics Co. said Thursday its latest smartphones, including the Galaxy Z Fold3, will be able to be used as a digital car key for a new electric vehicle from South Korean luxury automaker Genesis. The tech giant said its ultra-wideband (UWB)-based digital car key service with its Galaxy smartphones will be available for the Genesis GV60. At its Unpacked event in January, Samsung said it is working with several automakers, including Audi, BMW, Ford and Genesis, to develop digital key s

Industry Sept. 30, 2021

Ten Army soldiers and an Air Force officer have tested positive for the new coronavirus, raising the total caseload reported among the military population to 1,766, the defense ministry said Thursday. Six soldiers in the northeastern county of Yanggu were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 while in quarantine after a vacation, while four officers -- based in the northern city of Yangju; Inje and Chuncheon, both east of Seoul; and the southwestern county of Damyang, respectively -- were found

Defense Sept. 30, 2021

Public support for the two leading presidential contenders -- former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl of the main opposition party and Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung of the ruling party -- both increased in an opinion poll released Thursday with Yoon leading Lee by a small margin. In the poll of 2,043 voters conducted by Realmeter on Monday and Tuesday, Yoon of the People Power Party (PPP) retook the lead with support from 28 percent of the respondents, closely followed by Lee of the Dem

Politics Sept. 30, 2021

The head of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Thursday stressed the need to maintain caution in approaching President Moon Jae-in's proposal of seeking a declaration to formally end the Korean War. "There needs to be a cautious approach on the end-of-war declaration proposed by the Moon Jae-in administration, which has been reciprocated conditionally by North Korea," PPP Chairman Lee Jun-seok said during a supreme council meeting of the party. Last week, Moon proposed i

Politics Sept. 30, 2021

South Korea's daily coronavirus cases remained in the 2,000s for the fifth day in a row Thursday in the aftermath of last week's extended holiday that has fueled a nationwide resurgence in virus infections. Health authorities will likely extend the current distancing rules, the toughest that have been in place for more than two months, for another couple of weeks. The country reported 2,564 new COVID-19 cases, including 2,539 local infections, bringing the total caseload to 311,289, according

Social Affairs Sept. 30, 2021

DAEJEON -- Unionized city bus drivers in the central city of Daejeon went on strike for the first time in 14 years Thursday, demanding an extension of the retirement age and hikes of pay and other allowances. The strike came after representatives of bus companies and drivers declared a final breakup of their last-minute negotiations at 2 a.m. The unionized city bus drivers in Daejeon, 160 kilometers south of Seoul, have demanded their retirement age be extended by three years to 63, their wage

Social Affairs Sept. 30, 2021

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday as the bond yields in the United States remained high, raising concerns about an early inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 13.57 points, or 0.44 percent, to 3,046.7 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The South Korean main index got off to a muted start after its US stock peers closed mixed. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 0.24 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 r

Market Sept. 30, 2021

Hanwha Q Cells, a solar solutions unit of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group, said Thursday it has completed the construction of a 168-megawatt solar power plant in the United States. Hanwha Q Cells said its US unit has recently begun operation of the solar farm in Fannin County, Texas, which is enough to power about 30,000 households a year. It is the second solar plant with over 100 MW capacity built in Texas, following a 235 MW facility in 2018, the firm said. Hanwha Q Cells has been expa

Industry Sept. 30, 2021

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said cross-border communication lines with South Korea will be restored in early October as part of efforts to improve chilled relations but warned that it is entirely up to Seoul to determine the future trajectory of their ties, state media reported Thursday. In a speech at the second-day session of the Supreme People's Assembly on Wednesday, Kim also said the US' hostile policy toward Pyongyang has not changed at all since the Joe Biden administration took offi

North Korea Sept. 30, 2021

 South Korea's trade ministry said Tuesday it has agreed with Uruguay to make joint efforts to speed up negotiations for a free trade pact with a group of South American countries. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo plans to meet his Uruguayan counterpart, Francisco Bustillo, virtually later in the day to discuss ways to expand economic ties, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. "Uruguay is one of the key partners for South Korea, as the two can make joint efforts to overco

Economy Sept. 30, 2021