Most Popular
-
1
Opposition-led Assembly unilaterally passes bill to probe Marine's death
-
2
Golden chance to liquidate babies’ gold rings?
-
3
Inflation eases in April, continues bumpy ride
-
4
Seoul to more than double military drones by 2026 to counter NK threats
-
5
Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
-
6
Seoul alerts overseas missions to NK terror threats
-
7
Over 60% of S. Koreans support W100m childbirth incentive: survey
-
8
Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
-
9
‘Inside Out 2’ adds four new emotions, explores teenage life
-
10
Questions raised over fair promotion of RM, NewJeans
-
Seoul shares gain 0.5 pct on eased policy woes
South Korean stocks closed 0.5 percent higher Monday, as eased woes about an early U.S. stimulus tapering and growing expectations from the end-of-year shopping season boosted investor confidence, analysts said. The local currency fell marginally against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 9.75 points, or 0.49 percent to finish at 2,015.98.Trading volume was light at 286.8 million shares worth 3.02 trillion won ($2.94 billion) with gainers far outnum
Nov. 25, 2013
-
Prolonged economic slump puts more firms on selling blocks
A prolonged economic slump is forcing a slew of business groups here to sell their affiliates to tide over cash shortages and shore up their financial status, industry sources said Monday.High-profile deals currently under way include the sales of Dongbu HiTek Co. and Dongbu Metal Co. Dongbu Group said it plans to sell its stakes in the two firms by 2015, and also have its other affiliates sell assets to secure a combined 3 trillion won (US$2.82 billion).LIG Group, a mid-sized business group, is
Nov. 25, 2013
-
Top 10 conglomerates' foreign-exchange losses top 760 billion won
South Korea's 10 largest conglomerates saw their net foreign-exchange losses reach 760 billion won ($716 million) through September this year, amid the won's appreciation against the greenback, data showed Monday.The country's 83 listed firms under the top 10 local business groups lost 16.7 trillion won from foreign-exchange volatilities over the cited period, while gaining 15.9 trillion won, the data compiled by Chaebul.com showed.The latest number marked a sharp decrease from the previous year
Nov. 25, 2013
-
Per capita income to hit record of $24,000
South Korea’s gross national income per capita is projected to set an all-time high of $24,044 (26.4 million won) this year on the back of the U.S. dollar’s cheaper position against the won.After sliding to $17,041 in 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis, the GNI per capita has continued to climb over the past few years ― $20,562 in 2010, $22,489 in 2011 and 22,700 in 2012.Officials at the Bank of Korea said the estimate of record-high per capita income is mainly attributable to fore
Nov. 25, 2013
-
Hyun vows to prioritize recovery, jobs
The economic policies for 2014 will focus on elevating GDP growth and creating more jobs, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok told heads of private think tanks on Monday. “We seek to have every economic bracket explicitly benefit from vitalizing the economy,” Hyun said during a breakfast meeting with the research institute officials. The keywords for the economic framework in 2014 are economic recovery, job creation, stable livelihood and economic fundamentals, he added. The
Nov. 25, 2013
-
Seoul shares open higher on builder, tech gains
South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Monday led by bullish construction and tech companies, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shot up 18.74 points, or 0.93 percent to 2,024.97 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Shares gathered ground across the board, with builders and tech blue-chips leading the climb. Major construction firm Hyundai Engineering & Construction soared 4 percent, with chip giant SK hynix hiking 3.7 percent. The local currency was tra
Nov. 25, 2013
-
GDP growth likely to stay below 1% per quarter
More and more economic research institutes are raising the possibility that Korea’s economic growth will stay below 1 percent per quarter throughout 2014.Their gloomy outlook followed an earlier projection by the Finance Ministry that the GDP growth could continue to post less than 1 percent on a quarterly basis next year.The ministry’s forecast, unveiled in the first half of 2013, had been interpreted among market participants as adding pressure on the Bank of Korea to boost the economy by push
Nov. 24, 2013
-
[Graphic News] Manufacturing competitiveness
According to the competitive industrial performance index released by the U.N. Industrial Development Organization last week, Japan has the strongest competitiveness in the manufacturing sector, followed by Germany, the U.S., Korea and Taiwan. Korea has maintained fourth position since 2005.
Nov. 24, 2013
-
South Korea ranks 10th in 2013 Web Index
South Korea ranked 10th in the 2013 global Web Index on the strength of its solid broadband network and e-government services, the World Wide Web Foundation said on Sunday. Korea’s overall ranking at 10th among 81 countries this year marks an improvement from last year’s 13th. Korea’s Web Index score was 87.4, outpacing other Asian countries such as Japan (86.4), India (32.4) and China (31.1). Among the criteria, Korea ranked fourth in the “universal access” index and sixth in “relative content,
TechnologyNov. 24, 2013
-
Government in push to sell DSME
Financial authorities have begun an earnest push to sell Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, with the aim of retrieving the taxpayers’ money injected into the shipbuilder by the second half of 2014.The scheduled auction plan was mapped out by the Korea Development Bank and the Financial Services Commission, the two main shareholders of DSME.In an initial step, the FSC ― through its executive arm, the Public Fund Oversight Committee ― reduced its stake in the company from 17.15 percent to 1
Nov. 24, 2013
-
[Photo News] Let them share cake
IndustryNov. 24, 2013
-
Insurance organizations warned over customer data leaks
Financial authorities said Sunday that they issued a caution against three insurance-related associations for 8 million cases of customer information transfer due to lax supervision.The authorities said that between April 2009 and May 2012, the Korea Insurance Development Institute was found to have provided insurance companies with information in 4.2 million cases without customer approval.According to the local insurance act, a private entity can send personal data to insurance firms only afte
Nov. 24, 2013
-
Samsung struggles in Japan’s phone market
Samsung Electronics saw its fourth straight quarterly decline in the Japanese smartphone market in the third quarter, according to industrial data. The nation’s leading handset maker sold 1 million units of its overall smartphone lineup in the July-September period, posting a 9.9 percent market share, independent research firm Strategy Analytics said Sunday. The sales figure continued Samsung’s slide from 1.9 million units in the fourth quarter of 2012, 1.4 million in the first quarter of 2013 a
IndustryNov. 24, 2013
-
Samsung to narrow Intel’s lead in semiconductors
Samsung Electronics is expected to retain its No. 2 position in the global semiconductor market for two straight years, narrowing the gap in market share with Intel to 4.3 percent from last year’s 5.4 percent, according to market data.A report on Sunday by market research firm IHS iSuppli said that Samsung’s market share in the semiconductor sector is expected to reach 10.5 percent from last year’s 10.3 percent as its sales are estimated to rise 7 percent to $33 billion. The world’s top semicond
IndustryNov. 24, 2013
-
Financial regulator to ramp up M&As of 10 brokerage houses
South Korea’s financial regulator will come up with measures within this year to promote mergers and acquisitions of local brokerage houses that have been put up for sale, officials said Sunday. About 10 brokerage houses, including I’M Investment & Securities Co., Golden Bridge Investment & Securities Co. and Tongyang Securities Co., have been put up for sale in the local M&A market, but any deal has not been made due to the sluggish stock market. “The government is pushing to offer incentives t
Nov. 24, 2013
-
[Photo News] Social education
IndustryNov. 24, 2013
-
Hyundai E&C’s cumulative overseas orders top $100b
Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co., South Korea’s largest builder, said Sunday that its cumulative overseas orders have topped $100 billion, 48 years after its first inroad into the offshore construction market.HDEC, now affiliated with the Hyundai Motor Group, said it recently won a $1.4 billion contract to build an oil refinery plant in Latin America, raising the amount of its cumulative overseas orders to $101.05 billion (107 trillion won).The milestone has been achieved 48 years after
Nov. 24, 2013
-
Steelmakers urge ASEAN to ease import regulations
South Korean steelmakers’ lobby group said Sunday that it has called on a body representing steelmakers of six Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, to relax their import regulations against steel products manufactured by its members. As of November, there have been 15 cases in which South Korean steel products were regulated and inspected by six members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ― Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Singapore. In the talks w
Nov. 24, 2013
-
Kookmin Bank comes under inspection
The Financial Supervisory Service on Sunday demanded that Kookmin Bank, one of South Korea’s largest lenders, rectify its internal control system, saying special inspections will be under way over three allegations of irregularities involving Kookmin Bank executives and employees.The FSS said it will launch two more special investigations this week into allegations of Kookmin Bank’s illegal interest earnings from guaranteed loans and a suspected embezzlement of 9 billion won ($8.48 million) by K
Nov. 24, 2013
-
Shares likely to move up this week
South Korean stocks are expected to climb at a moderate pace this week, as eased woes about an early U.S. stimulus cut and positive signs in the eurozone and China will spur stable demand for risky assets, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed up 1.97 percent to 2,006.23 last week from a week earlier. The main index was fueled by growing market expectations that the U.S. won’t start trimming the monthly $85 billion bond-buying following dovish remarks by Federal R
Nov. 24, 2013