The recent talks between North Korea and the U.S. in New York may not immediately resolve their differences but represent a positive "first step" toward more discussions, a South Korean official said Sunday. The official said the meeting between North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan and Stephen Bosworth, the U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, was "an extension" of an e...

The Korean government is set to face an uphill battle in keeping the Korean won from appreciating at a rapid clip as the U.S. debt crisis is sending ripples throughout financial markets across the world. “The local currency could gain to the 1,000 won level against the greenback by the end of the year,” said Huh In, an international finance analyst at the state-run Korea Institute for Internatio...

With the presidential election slated for December 2012, the Korean administration is likely to focus on firmer fiscal policy and welfare promotions rather than growth-oriented measures in a bid to appease the low-to-mid-income group, Morgan Stanley said. In a new research report titled “2012 Election Year: Market Implications,” Morgan Stanley forecast that the Korean government will not go for ...

The weight of exports in the South Korean economy hit an all-time high in the second quarter, central bank data showed Thursday, underlining the country’s heavy dependence on overseas shipments for economic growth. Seasonally adjusted exports of goods and services amounted to 141.7 trillion won ($134.6 billion) in the April-June period, or 52.68 percent of the gross domestic product, according t...

The largest shareholders at Korea’s listed firms have reaped huge profits through gifted stocks in the past five years, taking advantage of fluctuations in the financial markets, a local source revealed Tuesday. According to Chaebul.com, which tracks news and data on Korea’s conglomerates, gifted stocks or inheritance by the largest shareholders amounted to 3.3 trillion won ($3.1 billion) in the...

With no immediate end in sight for a prolonged strike, the labor and management of SC First Bank appear to be playing a game of chicken over its pay system, which could end up in a no-win situation for both sides, analysts said Tuesday. Irked by a management plan to adopt a novel merit pay system, about 2,900 unionized workers at the seventh-largest lender in South Korea have been striking for t...

Mirae Asset Financial Group, Korea’s major mutual fund manager, on Monday formally denied a local report that it is seeking to take over an Italian luxury brand maker. “There is no truth in the news report,” a spokesman at the company’s fund management division told The Korea Herald. “Although our policy is not to comment on such deals, what I can say is that we are not considering such a takeov...

Banks, major firms expand hiring of high school graduates All eyes are now trained on the corporate sector amid high expectations that South Korean companies at large would hire more high school graduates following an unprecedented move in the banking sector. Last week, Korea’s 18 banks said they would double their hiring quota for high school graduates, largely prompted by the government’s pol...

NTS faces legal roadblock to getting portals to offer info about bloggers The National Tax Service said Thursday it has requested that the country’s major Internet portals provide the personal information of some 1,300 power bloggers on concerns they might be evading taxes. “Early this week, we have asked five to six blog operators including Naver, Daum and SK Communications to offer informatio...

False public disclosures surged on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ stock market this year, the Korea Exchange said on Wednesday. As unfair and misleading disclosures by the listed firms tend to increase volatility and distort stock prices, the KRX had toughened its crackdown on such irregularities last year, resulting in a decrease of incidences. But the practice seems to be returning. In the first half ...

Flawed recruitment methods render system virtually meaningless Outside directors at South Korea’s banks and financial firms have been mostly nominated by their largest shareholders and chief executives, undercutting their roles as corporate watchdogs, financial regulators’ data showed on Sunday. Officially, a neutral committee is supposed to name eligible outside directors, whose primary functi...