Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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ETF trading shoots up on KOSDAQ boom
The trading volume of South Korea's exchange traded funds has jumped more than seven times this month amid the white-hot run of the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market, industry data showed Thursday.The combined trading volume of three ETFs operated by Samsung Asset Management Co. came to 29.44 million shares as of Tuesday, up 7.33 times from the start of November.The net asset value of the three ETFs stood at about 1.2 trillion won ($1.1 billion), the largest among the local ETF markets. Their turnover al
Nov. 23, 2017
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Short sellers target KOSDAQ's two high flyers
Biopharmaceutical firm Celltrion Inc. and biotech company SillaJen Inc. have been the main targets of short sellers on the secondary KOSDAQ market this month after leading the market's recent red-hot run, industry sources said Thursday.The volume of short-sold Celltrion shares came to 3.39 million shares in the first 21 days of this month, the largest among companies registered on the tech-laden stock market.The figure accounts for slightly over 10 percent of the total amount of short-sold share
Nov. 23, 2017
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Savings banks' household loans spike 20% over past year
South Korean savings banks' household lending has soared nearly 20 percent over the past year to top the 20 trillion-won ($18.3 billion) mark despite their high interest, central bank data showed Thursday.Savings banks' outstanding household loans stood at 20.6 trillion won as of end-September, up 19.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.Amid softer property regulations and easier access to credit, such loans had been growing at a fast clip since 2013, with
Nov. 23, 2017
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FSS warns banks' overseas branches on weak risk management
The overseas corporations of major South Korean banking groups have been recommended to build up their pre-emptive risk management capacities, according to financial supervisors.The Financial Supervisory Service recently issued an attention-level management recommendation to Woori America Bank, the US corporation of Woori Bank, asking that it level out its loan portfolio, officials said Wednesday.As the notice is a nonbinding administrative guidance, it is up to the company to voluntarily make t
Nov. 22, 2017
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Seoul stocks end higher on tech gains
South Korean stocks closed higher Wednesday as investors scooped up large-cap tech shares following overnight gains on Wall Street, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 9.81 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,540.51. Trade volume was slim at 254 million shares worth 4.7 trillion won ($4.2 billion), with losers outnumbering advancers 475 to 341.The broad index opened higher taking a cue from overnight gains on Wall Street. On Tu
Nov. 22, 2017
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SC Bank Korea promotes fixed deposit product
Standard Chartered Bank Korea is promoting a fixed deposit product online that offers an interest rate of up to 2.3 percent, before tax, the bank said in a statement Wednesday. The interest rate of the product will go up according to the amount of deposits raised through the promotion. If the product raises more than 100 billion won ($91.7 million), the bank will offer an annual interest rate of 2.3 percent for depositors, with the minimum rate guaranteed at 1.7 percent even if the volume
Nov. 22, 2017
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Market value of KOSDAQ-listed biopharmaceuticals soars
Pharmaceutical and biotech firms traded on South Korea's secondary KOSDAQ market have seen their combined value top 20 percent of the total market capitalization for the first time on jumps in big-cap prices, data showed Wednesday.According to the data from the Korea Exchange, the combined market value of 73 KOSDAQ-listed pharmaceutical and biotech companies stood at 59.2 trillion won as of Monday, accounting for 21.5 percent of the total market cap. The percentage, which came to 17.3 percent at
Nov. 22, 2017
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Game makers help power KOSDAQ boom
South Korean game makers have contributed greatly to the recent boom of the country's secondary stock market as their stock prices are on an upswing on hopes of rising earnings, industry sources said Wednesday.Driven mainly by strong earnings momentum, the tech-laden KOSDAQ market has been recently on a roll with its benchmark price index flirting with the 800-point level. It closed 0.52 percent up at a new all-time high of 789.38 on Tuesday.According to the Korea Exchange, Pearl Abyss finished
Nov. 22, 2017
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Korea to delay opening of FX market by 1 hour on college entrance exam day
The opening of South Korea's foreign exchange market will be delayed by one hour on the day of the college entrance exam this week, the committee in charge of the foreign exchange market said Tuesday.The foreign exchange market is set to open at 10 a.m. and close at 3:30 p.m. Thursday as part of efforts to ease traffic, according to the Seoul Foreign Exchange Market Committee.The committee also delayed the opening of the foreign exchange market by one hour last Thursday due to the college entran
Nov. 21, 2017
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Short-term time deposits soar on rate hike hopes
South Korean banks saw their short-term time deposits jump more than 10 percent on-quarter in the third quarter amid expectations of interest rate hikes down the road, central bank data showed Tuesday.The outstanding balance of short-term time deposits at local lenders came to 221.6 trillion won ($202 billion) as of the end of September, up 19.4 trillion won from three months earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.It was up 10.1 percent from the second quarter, the largest quarter
Nov. 21, 2017
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Local think tank expects won to remain strong next year
The Korean won will remain strong against the US dollar next year, hitting its peak in the third quarter, a local economic think tank said in its report Tuesday.The Hana Institute of Finance predicted that the won will reach 1,130 won per dollar in the last quarter of this year and rise to 1,115 won in the first quarter next year. It will climb more to 1,095 won in the second quarter before ending the third quarter at 1,080 won, according to the institute. The fourth quarter next year will see t
Nov. 21, 2017
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Card loans swing to upturn in Q3
South Korean credit card firms saw their card loans pick up in the third quarter from a slight decline three months earlier, industry data showed Tuesday.The country's six stand-alone card firms -- Shinhan, KB, Woori, Hana, Samsung and Lotte -- extended 9.4 trillion won ($8.6 billion) in combined card loans in the July-September period, up 7.2 percent from a year earlier.The figure marks a turnaround from a slight fall in the previous quarter. Card loans edged down 0.4 percent on-year in the Apr
Nov. 21, 2017
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KB Financial chief clinches second term, hands over bank chief post
KB Financial Group on Monday separated the group chairman post and its flagship bank president role for the first time in three years, signaling its new business momentum as the nation’s top-tier banking group, officials said.The group’s shareholders’ meeting confirmed through an extraordinary meeting that incumbent Chairman and bank chief Yoon Jong-kyoo is to serve for another three-year term, this time as the group’s chairman only. The Kookmin Bank president post is to
Nov. 20, 2017
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Kosdaq roars to 10-year high on biotech boom
South Korea‘s second-tier Kosdaq market hit a 10-year high in its closing mark Monday, riding on a biopharma boom.Kosdaq closed at 785.32 Monday, up 1.22 percent from the previous session Friday. The index jumped by 16.7 percent for the month.The closing mark was the highest in over a decade since Kosdaq, designed in its birth to benchmark US’ tech-heavy Nasdaq, closed at 794.08 on Nov. 7, 2007.A combined market cap of Kosdaq hit an all-time high at 275.5 trillion won ($250.6 billion
Nov. 20, 2017
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Seoul stocks slip on institutional selling
South Korean stocks ended lower Monday as institutional investors dumped major tech stocks to lock in recent gains, analysts said. The Korean won lost against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 6.32 points, or 0.25 percent, to close at 2,527.67. Trade volume was moderate at 400 million shares worth 5.8 trillion won ($5.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 443 to 365.Institutional investors offloaded a net 339.6 billion won worth of local stocks, while indi
Nov. 20, 2017
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Biotech momentum adds more Kosdaq stocks to top 200
Biotech momentum in the second-tier Kosdaq market has led 33 Kosdaq stocks to enter the list of top 200 listed firms in market cap both on the Kosdaq and top-tier Kospi, as of Friday, up from 23 at the end of 2016, data showed Monday. The 10 new Kosdaq-listed firms include biosimilar drug marketer Celltrion Healthcare and antirheumatic drugmaker TissueGene, which made their market debuts in July and earlier this month, respectively, according to data from the Korea Exchange. The firms’ ma
Nov. 20, 2017
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[Monitor] Ups and downs Kospi since 1998
South Korea’s benchmark Kospi closed at 2,533.99 on Friday, making a dramatic growth from 280 on June 16, 1998.For nearly two decades, the Korean stock market fluctuated with major political and economic events. The 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis hit the nation‘s economy hard, dragging the Kospi to 280 points. The stock market again took subsequent hits when the dot com bubble bust in the early 2000s and with the beginning of the global financial crisis in 2008. Despite the nega
Nov. 19, 2017
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Seoul’s average housing cost W100m higher than Tokyo
The cost to purchase a home in South Korea’s capital of Seoul surpasses that of Tokyo and is quickly catching up to New York, according to a report by the National Assembly Research Service on Sunday. The report showed that the price of a Seoul home cost an average of 100 million won ($91,500) more than that of a house in Japan’s capital. The median price for a Seoul home stood at 434.85 million won as of late last year, compared to Tokyo’s 311.36 million won. Purchasin
Nov. 19, 2017
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Sharp growth of tech-heavy KOSDAQ market casts woe about bubble
South Korea's secondary bourse has posted sharp growth on hope for government policies rather than listed firms' financial health, raising concerns about a possible bubble, analysts said Saturday. On Friday, the KOSDAQ market closed 0.56 percent higher at 775.85, mainly led by pharmaceutical companies. The figure marks a whopping 22.7 percent growth from the 632.04 posted in the first session of 2017. Analysts said the growth was mainly attributable to the government's pl
Nov. 18, 2017
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KOSPI forecast to move within tight range next week
Seoul shares are expected to move in a tight range next week as investors remain guarded amid the rising odds of Federal Reserve's interest rate hike and uncertainties over the U.S. tax reform plan, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,533.99 points on Friday, down 0.35 percent from a week ago. The index retreated four sessions on uncertainties over U.S. corporate tax cuts and fluctuating oil prices, which was driven
Nov. 18, 2017