The Korea Herald

Seoul stocks dip amid rising geopolitical tension

MarketsJul 4, 2017

South Korean stocks finished sharply lower Tuesday, as investors remained wary of rising geopolitical tension stemming from North Korea's missile launch, analysts said. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. After a choppy session, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 13.96 points, or 0.58 percent, to close at 2,380.52 as uncertainties surrounding North Korea caused investors...
Mortgage loans by young household heads up sharply in past 4 1/2

EconomyJul 4, 2017

Mortgage loans by those in their 20s and 30s have risen dramatically in the past 4 1/2 years, government data showed Tuesday, raising concerns of overdue payments. The average household whose head is in his 20s and 30s had 115 million won ($100,104) in mortgage loans last September, up 37.6 percent from 4 1/2 years earlier, according to figures by the Bank of Korea. Those in their 40s had 116 m...
Korea has greater income gap than 24 European countries: report

EconomyJul 4, 2017

South Korea has a greater income gap at workplaces than 24 European countries, a local think tank said Tuesday. The Korea Economic Research Institute said the average salary earned by Korean workers with a career of 20-29 years in a company was 4.04 times higher than the average wage made by their junior colleagues with a career of less than one year. The result was in sharp contrast with a 1.5...
Korea to boost public sector hiring of young people: panel

EconomyJul 4, 2017

President Moon Jae-in's policy advisory panel said Tuesday that the government will expand hiring of young people in the public sector, the latest in a series of efforts to create jobs. Currently, public companies and other public agencies are required by law to employ a set number of unemployed youths each year. The government will raise the mandatory ratio of hiring of unemployed youths in th...
Korean financial firms expand oversea branches, suffer from

EconomyJul 4, 2017

South Korean financial firms have increased the number of foreign branches over the past five years, but such operations suffer from low profitability, the financial regulator said Tuesday. The number of overseas branches by local banks, credit card and other financial firms rose to 410 in 45 countries at the end of March this year, up 11 percent from the end of 2012, the Financial Supervisory S...
Korean stocks almost flat late Tuesday morning

MarketsJul 4, 2017

Korean stocks traded almost flat late Tuesday morning, as top market cap Samsung Electronics and No. 2 SK hynix attempted to rebound amid heavy losses by automakers. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 1.72 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,392.76 as of 11:15 a.m. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics rose 0.04 percent, and SK hynix, a major chipmaker, remained unchanged. In...
Korea to hold Asian energy cooperation forum this week

EconomyJul 4, 2017

Korea will hold a forum this week aimed at stepping up cooperation in the energy sector among Asian countries, the foreign ministry said Tuesday. The energy cooperation forum will be held in Seoul on Thursday with around 200 experts in the industry, academia and other areas from seven Asian countries, including the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia, in attendance. Three sessions will be held d...
FDI pledges drop 9.1 pct in H1

MarketsJul 4, 2017

New foreign direct investment pledged to come into South Korea fell 9.1 percent in the first six months of the year, amid rising uncertainties at home and abroad, the government said Tuesday. Fresh FDI commitments made in the January-June period came to $9.6 billion, down from $10.56 billion a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The amount of new FDI actually ...
Korea's new govt to unveil its economic plan within the month

EconomyJul 4, 2017

South Korea's new government will unveil a comprehensive macroeconomic road map, including plans on taxation and public finances, later this month, the country's top economic policymaker said Tuesday. "Some day in mid-July, the president and other officials will hold a meeting to discuss the government's fiscal policies and strategies for the next five years," Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said...
BOK to take action to cope with foreign monetary policy changes

EconomyJul 4, 2017

The chief of South Korea's central bank vowed Tuesday to take "appropriate" steps amid signs that major economies could change their monetary policies going forward. Last month, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised key interest rates by 0.25 percentage point, marking up the target range for the federal funds rate to 1-1.25 percent. The move marked the second time the Fed raised rates this year after...
Stocks open slightly higher on overnight Wall Street gains

MarketsJul 4, 2017

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Tuesday on overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 1.34 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,395.82 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics climbed 0.25 percent, and SK hynix was 0.6 percent up. Hyundai Motor, the No. 1 automaker, surrendered 2.75 percent, while AmorePacific, the cou...
Foreign banks upgrade Korea's economic outlook

EconomyJul 4, 2017

Some foreign investment banks have raised their growth forecasts for South Korea's economy this year, thanks to better-than-expected exports and facility investment, a financial research institute said Tuesday. The Bank of Korea has upgraded its growth forecast for the country to 2.6 percent from 2.5 percent, citing improving exports, the Korea Center for International Finance said. The British...
Sales of image sensors set to soar through 2021

EconomyJul 4, 2017

Global sales of image sensors are expected to rise through 2021 in line with the development of virtual reality and wearable devices, industry data showed Tuesday. According to the data compiled by IC Insights, the global market for CMOS image sensors is expected to reach $11.5 billion this year, up 9 percent from $10.5 billion posted a year earlier. Image sensors refer to system chips that det...
Eximbank chief Choi Jong-ku nominated as FSC head

MarketsJul 3, 2017

Choi Jong-ku, CEO of the state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea, has been nominated as the chairman of the Financial Services Commission. Cheong Wa Dae on Monday said it expected Choi to become a game changer in curbing household debt, tackling unemployment, stabilizing people‘s quality of life and seeking efficiency in corporate restructuring. “As a nominee of the FSC chief in charge of craftin...
Korea has OECD’s highest proportion of low-paid women

EconomyJul 3, 2017

South Korea had the highest proportion of low-paid female employees out of its total labor force among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2015, mainly due to the gender pay gap, data showed Monday. “Low paid” was defined as those receiving wages less than two-thirds of the median wage. The proportion of such women was 37.6 percent in Korea in 2015, ...