Hong Ha-hyun, an ad designer in her 30s, has an important Zoom meeting to attend at 5 a.m. every day. The meetings are not about work, but about boosting positivity in her life, she said. With 35 people she met online, Hong reads books, meditates or drinks a cup of tea before dawn. Since September, the online community Dawning Designer has given her a chance to practice “miracle morning” rituals, leaving her feeling empowered and relaxed. “I believe the daily lives o

South Korea’s National Pension Service has adjusted its rules to raise the strategic asset distribution limit for domestic stock holdings by 1 percentage point, Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-cheol said Friday. “The proportion of strategic asset allocation limit for domestic equities has been increased from the current 2 percent to 3 percent,” said Kwon, who also heads the state pension’s asset management committee. Under the revision, the portion of its inves

Foreign investors remained net sellers of South Korean stocks for a fourth month in March on profit-taking and rising US long-term interest rates, central bank data showed Friday. Foreigners' stock investment funds recorded a net outflow of $2.58 billion, the second-largest monthly outflow after February's $2.86 billion, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Offshore investors have remained net sellers of South Korean stocks since December. The central bank said foreign investor

Bond issuance in South Korea shrank in March from the previous month due mainly to a tumble in corporate debt sales, industry data showed Friday. The value of bonds sold in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at slightly over 74 trillion won ($66.4 billion) last month, nearly 720 billion won smaller than a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. Sales of corporate bonds declined by about 4.1 trillion won, and the issuance of currency stabilization

South Korea needs to take preemptive measures to cope with escalating concerns over inflation, a senior government official said Friday. The remark by First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon comes as Asia's fourth-largest economy faces growing inflationary pressure amid signs of an economic recovery. "It is necessary to take preemptive steps to prevent inflationary pressure from constraining an economic rebound and inflicting burdens on ordinary people," Lee told a government policy

South Korean households spent a record-high net 83.3 trillion (74.5 billion) won in stock investment last year, central bank data showed Thursday, but their borrowing also surged to an unprecedented level, indicating where their money for investment came from. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, local households and nonprofit agencies serving households invested a total 63.2 trillion won in Korean stocks and 20.1 trillion won in overseas shares in 2020, according to the preliminary data by the Ba

South Korea's exports are expected to expand 18.1 percent on-year in 2021 to set a fresh record high on the back of global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, a think tank said Thursday. Outbound shipments for the year are estimated at $605.3 billion, rising sharply from the previous estimate of a 10 percent gain in October last year, according to a report by Hyundai Research Institute released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The amount would beat the previous record o

South Korea's state pension operator reduced the number of listed firms in which it has a stake of 5 percent or more in the first quarter of the year, a financial information provider said Thursday. The National Pension Service (NPS) owned 5 percent or more of 261 listed companies as of Wednesday, down 12 firms from three months earlier, according to FnGuide. The combined market value of the NPS stakes in those corporations stood at 167.6 trillion won ($150 billion), up 4.4 percent from the en

Sales of short-term corporate bonds in South Korea sank more than 7 percent in the first quarter of the year amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Thursday. Local companies issued 257.2 trillion won ($230 billion) worth of bonds maturing within one year in the January-March period, down 7.2 percent from three months earlier, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository (KSD). Compared with a year earlier, the amount was also down 12.4 percent. Sales of general short-term bo

Excess funds held by South Korean households and nonprofit agencies more than doubled in 2020 from a year earlier due mainly to an extended slump in private consumption amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the central bank said Thursday. Net financial funds -- the value of financial assets minus financial liabilities -- held by local households and nonprofit organizations serving households amounted to 192.1 trillion won ($172 billion) last year, sharply up from 92.2 trillion won a year earlier, accord

SEJONG -- Average monthly household spending fell 2.3 percent on year in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic hurt private consumption, data showed Thursday. South Korean households spent an average of 2.4 million won ($2,144) per month last year, compared with 2.45 million won per month in 2019, according to the data released by Statistics Korea. Average monthly expenditures on food and nonalcoholic beverages came to 381,000 won last year, up 14.6 percent from a year ago, the data showed. The da

Transactions on online food delivery apps in South Korea last year soared to over 20 trillion won ($17.9 billion), data showed Thursday, as stay-at-home practices amid the pandemic propelled demand for online services. Total transactions on food delivery apps, such as Baedal Minjok, stood at 20.1 trillion won last year, up 43.5 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the Ministry of Science and ICT. The latest data from the ministry's survey on the broader online-to-offline

South Korea's agricultural ministry said Thursday it plans to expand the size of the insects market to 140 billion won ($124 million) by 2025 and foster the segment as a new growth engine for the country's food industry. The targeted market value marks 55 percent growth from 2019, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. "We plan to further speed up the growth of the industry and develop new environment-friendly protein sources using insects, which can contribute

Fitch Ratings has raised the rating outlooks on Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. to stable from negative due to improved product mix and profitability, the ratings firm said Thursday. The revision reflects the companies' "resilient" 2020 performance and their improved profitability, as shown in recent quarters, helped by a better product mix and rebound in global auto demand after a yearlong COVID-19 pandemic, Fitch said in a statement. The ratings firm said the carmakers' "large

SEJONG -- The government will make efforts to revise a set of laws this year to help root out real estate speculation, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday, amid growing public criticism over allegations of property speculation by officials at the state-run housing corporation. Hong said the government will have close consultations with the National Assembly to submit 19 revision bills this month that eventually ban public officials from doing illegal property speculation. Of the 19 bil