South Korean stocks advanced for the fourth straight session Monday on easing woes over the impact of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 4.92 points, or 0.17 percent, to close at 2,973.25 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 468 million shares worth some 9.1 trillion won ($7.7 b...

SEJONG -- Homeowners will enjoy an increased capital gains exemption when they sell their homes after a law was passed. The National Assembly has passed the bill on raising the upper level for the tax exemption from the current 900 million won to 1.2 billion won. The revised law -- which is not applicable to multiple homeowners but to those owning only one home -- will take effect in the coming ...

South Korean stocks opened steeply lower Monday, tracking losses on Wall Street that stemmed from worries about the omicron variant of the coronavirus. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 30.26 points, or 1.02 percent, to 2,938.07 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks came off to a weak start, led by foreign and institutional sell-offs. The Dow Jones Indust...

Companies are facing a stricter and more standardized ESG business environment. Recently, the Korean state-run bodies have released the K-ESG guidelines, or guidelines for domestic players to abide by. As 2021 ends, reputable ESG rating agencies are publishing ESG scores in Korea. One of the most famous rankers globally is MSCI, and its ESG ratings recently added the new climate change section as...

The United States said Friday that it is keeping South Korea on its list of countries to be monitored for currency practices. The US Treasury Department named 11 other countries, including China and Japan, on the monitoring list in its semiannual report to Congress. It, however, said none of the countries were found to have purposefully intervened in currency markets for unfair gains. "Pursuan...

South Korean stocks are likely to continue to face volatility next week as investors take to the sidelines amid the spreading omicron strain of the coronavirus. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,968.33 points Friday, up 1.09 percent from 2,936.44 points a week ago. The KOSPI plunged Monday and Tuesday in the wake of the first confirmed cases of the omicron vari...

South Korean stocks advanced for a third consecutive session Friday, backed by strong foreign buying. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 23.06 points, or 0.78 percent, to close at 2,968.33 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 478 million shares worth some 10.1 trillion won ($8.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering lose...

State-run Industrial Bank of Korea CEO Yoon Jong-won recently met with corporate clients and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development officials in Europe, while inspecting potential markets the bank is eyeing to enter, the firm said Friday. The meetings and site visits took place during his weeklong business trip to Poland, the United Kingdom and France from Nov. 23-30. In Pola...

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday as health authorities strengthened virus curbs amid spiking cases and the potential spread of the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) had fallen 15.16 points, or 0.51 percent, to trade at 2,930.11 points as of 9:15 a.m. Stocks got off to a lackluster start, as the government has dec...

South Korean stocks rallied for second straight session Thursday on the back of strong foreign buying. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) increased 45.55 points, or 1.57 percent, to close at 2,945.27 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 523 million shares worth some 11.8 trillion won ($10 billion), with gainers outnumbering...

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street that stemmed from worries about the global outbreaks of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 9.42 points, or 0.32 percent, to 2,890.3 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks came off to a weak start, led by foreign and institutional sell-o...

Growing fear over the omicron variant and sooner-than-expected tapering by the US Fed are weighing on the South Korean stock market, analysts said Wednesday, although some say it will take longer to gauge how the impact will play out here. The nation’s main bourse Kospi hit the lowest mark of the year on Tuesday, as short sellers dumped about 1 trillion won ($848 million) on the Kospi and the ju...

A government-led program that aims to give consumers more information and control of their personal finance data was officially launched Wednesday, allowing customers to manage their lives more efficiently. The program dubbed “MyData” allows customers of 53 government-approved financial institutions to receive personal, customized and comprehensive finance data of their spending, all bank accoun...

South Korean stocks rebounded more than 2 percent Wednesday, after plunging to the year's lowest point in the previous session. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) advanced 60.71 points, or 2.14 percent, to close at 2,899.72 points, ending its six-day slide. Trading volume was moderate at about 553 million shares worth some 12.1 tri...

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday on advances in tech and bio shares despite overnight falls on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) inched up 3.57 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,842.58 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 1.86 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite declined 1.55 percent amid growing...