The Korea Exchange said Tuesday it signed an agreement with the city on Friday to launch a Busan-based professional table tennis team by next month. The envisioned team will take part in the Korea Table Tennis League in the upcoming regular season, which begins in late January. The KRX, South Korea’s bourse operator, said it will help find new talent, foster professionals and contribute to the ...

SEJONG -- Big Korean businesses saw their inventory surge by about 50 percent in the first half on-year, sparking concerns that the piling products left unsold is maybe a sign that South Korea is entering a fog of economic uncertainty. According to the corporate research institute Leaders Index, the inventory assets held by 192 conglomerates came to 147.6 trillion won ($110 billion) in the first...

South Korean stocks fell more than 1 percent Tuesday as investors shunned risky assets amid concerns over further aggressive rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve. The Korean won continued to weaken against the US dollar following a sharp drop in the previous session. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 27.16 points, or 1.10 percent, to close at 2,435.34, extending the losing strea...

Strong trade ties with China contributed to Korea’s thriving exports, but experts warn of growing dependence on Beijing

SK Networks has invested 4 billion won ($3 million) in Com2Verse, a metaverse-specialized subsidiary of South Korean game developer Com2uS, to explore business opportunities in the world of metaverse, officials said Tuesday. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to join forces in setting up and strengthening a metaverse ecosystem. The signing ceremony took place in the Com2Verse...

An absolute majority of bond mavens in South Korea expect the country's central bank to raise its key interest by a quarter point in August in line with the US Federal Reserve's hawkish stance, a poll showed Tuesday. According to the survey of 100 bond experts by the Korea Financial Investment Association, 97 of the respondents forecast the Bank of Korea (BOK) to jack up its policy rate at a pol...

South Korea's stock market opened lower Tuesday as foreigners and institutions unloaded shares following overnight losses amid concerns over the Federal Reserve's monetary tightening. The Korean won continued to lose ground against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 15.39 points, or 0.62 percent, to trade at 2,447.11 points as of 9:15 a.m. Investors are ...

South Korea's inflation expectations declined for the first time in eight months in August, amid hopes that the country's fast-rising inflation hike may peak later this year, a central bank survey showed Tuesday. Ordinary people expected consumer prices will grow 4.3 percent over the next year, which was down from an all-time high of 4.7 percent a month ago, according to the poll conducted by th...

The South Korean won breached the key psychological threshold of 1,300 won per US dollar, weakening to 1,340.2 won before closing at 1,339.8 won in onshore trading Monday -- a new low in 13 years prompted by a hawkish outlook on a US Federal Reserve’s rate hike in September. The 1,300 mark -- last crossed in April 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis before June 2022 when it was touch...

EJONG -- The Yoon Suk-yeol administration would drastically reduce South Korea’s fiscal deficit starting from next year by restricting expansionary policies to improve the nation‘s fiscal soundness. According to government officials on Monday, the Ministry of Economy and Finance has set the goal of slashing the ratio of fiscal deficit to gross domestic product to 3 percent or under -- the first ...

Cryptocurrency airdrop, which refers to a marketing stunt involving sending coins or tokens to wallet addresses, is legally subjected to gift tax, officials said Monday. The Ministry of Economy and Finance’s Tax and Custom’s Office said that crypto issuers delivering coins or tokens to wallets of traders for free is subjected to the nation’s gift tax under the Inheritance Tax and Gift Tax Act. ...

South Korea's exports rose 3.9 percent on-year in the first 20 days of August on robust demand for petroleum products and autos, but the country saw its trade deficit widen on soaring fuel costs, data showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $33.4 billion in the Aug. 1-20 period, compared with $32.2 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Im...

Seoul shares opened lower Monday amid lingering concerns over the US Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary tightening. The Korean won opened sharply lower against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 33.72 points, or 1.35 percent, to trade at 2,458.97 points as of 9:15 a.m. Investors have been wary of the Fed's policy path, as the minutes of its July meeti...

Self-employed people and small businesses who have suffered major economic disruptions due to the pandemic will receive government support in writing off their debts as long as they pass a thorough screening process, the Financial Services Commission said Thursday. The plan -- revealed earlier to help the group repay loans they had taken out since the pandemic -- aims to reduce their debts, whic...

South Korea will expand economic cooperation with African countries and promote local businesses’ advancement into the continent, the nation’s top economic policymaker said Friday. At a ministerial meeting to discuss operation plans for the Economic Development Cooperation Fund in Seoul, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said the nation “is seeking to find new trading part...