South Korean stocks closed higher on Monday as individual and institutional buyers scooped up big cap stocks offseting a selling spree by foreigners amid uncertainties at both home and abroad, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 4.63 points, or 0.20 percent, to close at 2,290.65. Trade volume was moderate at 248 million shares worth 4.58 trillion won ($4.07 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 406 to 393.Foreign

Market May 15, 2017

South Korea's trade promotion agency said Monday it is hosting an event in Seoul this week to promote economic ties with Cuba. In the five-day-long 2017 Cuba Week in Korea that runs through Friday, government officials and business leaders from the two countries will discuss possible ties in the financial, energy and medical fields, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency said in a statement.  Cuba has sent a 16-member delegation made up of officials and businessmen to the second annual

Economy May 15, 2017

South Korean men's hockey earned a promotion to the highest level of competition in the sport last month, an unprecedented feat for a country not exactly known as a hockey hotbed.But if the players are still on cloud nine, then their head coach Jim Paek can't have them back on Earth fast enough.South Korea finished second at the International Ice Hockey Federation  World Championship Division I Group A in Ukraine and clinched a spot in next year's IIHF World Championship. The top-level tournamen

More Sports May 15, 2017

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second largest carmaker by sales, on Monday launched the country's first plug-in hybrid sport utility vehicle model.The Niro plug-in hybrid can travel up to 840 kilometers -- 40 kilometers on a single charge and 800 km on a combined gasoline-battery drive. The 1.6-liter engine model has 141 horsepower on tap and 27.0 kilogram-force meters of torque, the company said in a statement.  (Yonhap)The model is priced at 33 million won and 35 million won ($29,400-$31,100)

Mobility May 15, 2017

South Korean football coach Shin Tae-yong said Monday his side have the perfect preparations for the FIFA U-20 World Cup as they enter the final stretch to get ready for the tournament at home. Shin, who took over the under-20 national football team last December, said South Korea will not disappoint home fans at the U-20 World Cup, which kicks off on Saturday. At the 24-team FIFA tournament, the young Taeguk Warriors are in Group A with Guinea, Argentina and England."We have very good teamwork

Soccer May 15, 2017

South Korea's household loans extended by banks rose 9.8 percent in April from a year earlier due to increased mortgages, central bank data showed Monday.Outstanding household loans from lenders came to 718.6 trillion won ($637 billion) as of end-April, compared with 654.3 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. Compared with March, the amount rose by 4.6 trillion won. Mortgages climbed 3.3 trillion won on-month to 541.8 trillion won in April. In March, mo

Economy May 15, 2017

The dollar-won volatility eased in April from a month earlier in line with eased volatility in the global financial markets, central bank data showed Monday.The session-over-session changes in the dollar-won exchange rates averaged 0.43 percent last month, compared to 0.47 in March, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.  "The won fell against the dollar in April due to geopolitical risks and remittances of dividends by foreign investors," the statement said.Tensions heightened on

Market May 15, 2017

South Korea's promising startups will showcase their technological prowess at a European technology and startup festival in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, later this week, Seoul's ICT ministry said Monday.The Next Web Conference Europe 2017 -- an annual festival that brings together international technology executives, investors and promising startups -- will kick off Thursday for a two-day run. (Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning)The conference, the 12th of its kind, has grown from a 200

Industry May 15, 2017

South Korean shares traded higher late Monday morning as institutional buyers scooped up big cap stocks amid a massive selling spree by foreigners.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 6.35 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,293.37 as of 11:20 a.m.The index opened lower on losses in market heavyweights, including market bellwether Samsung Electronics. However, the local index pared earlier losses as most market heavyweights turned higher.Top cap Samsung Electronics added 0.74 percent,

Market May 15, 2017

Police on Monday raided five offices of Samsung Heavy Industries Co. for a second time over a deadly crane accident that occurred at one of its shipyards earlier this month.On May 1, two cranes collided at the shipyard in the southeastern port city of Geoje, causing a structure to fall from one of the cranes. Six workers at the site were killed and another 25 were injured.  This photo taken on May 4, 2017, shows the site where the deadly crane accident took place at Samsung Heavy Industries Co.'

Industry May 15, 2017

Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., a major shipping firm here, said Monday that its operating loss narrowed in the first quarter from the previous quarter.The operating loss came to 131 billion won ($117 million) in the January-March period, compared to an operating loss of 163 billion won the year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales rose 7 percent on-year to 1.3 trillion won over the cited period, it said.(Yonhap)Hyundai Merchant handled 958,000 twenty-foot equivalent (TEU) contain

Industry May 15, 2017

All-electric vehicle sales in South Korea posted a nearly ninefold jump in the first quarter on improving infrastructure and reasonable prices, industry associations said Monday. Carmakers sold a combined 1,729 electric vehicles in the January-March period, soaring from 193 a year earlier, according to data offered by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association and the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.  (Yonhap)South Korea's electric car market looks pale before three b

Mobility May 15, 2017

The daily turnover of South Korea's main stock market has reached a 22-month high in May on the back of strong foreign buying, data showed Monday.The daily value of shares traded on the main stock market has averaged 6.67 trillion won ($5.92 billion) through Friday this month, up 45 percent from the previous month and 32.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the bourse operator Korea Exchange. In particular, the turnover reached a monthly peak of 9.38 trillion won on May 10, a

Market May 15, 2017

The new Moon Jae-in administration will likely revise tax codes in the second half of the year to finance its election pledges to create jobs, government officials said Monday.On the campaign trail, President Moon promised to focus more on job creation and expanding welfare for young people. In particular, he said his government will create some 800,000 public jobs during his five-year term, grant an allowance to young jobseekers and offer public residence to newlyweds at lower rent. Many estima

Economy May 15, 2017

South Korea posted a trade surplus for 63 straight months in April on a steady recovery in exports, customs data showed Monday.The country's trade surplus came to $13 billion last month, up from a surplus of $8.7 billion tallied a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.Asia's fourth-largest economy has enjoyed a trade surplus since February 2012. It posted $6.57 billion in trade surplus with Southeast Asian countries in April, followed by China with a surplus of $2.6

Economy May 15, 2017