A business lobby representing small-sized businesses on Friday filed a complaint against the government's decision on next year's minimum wage hike. Earlier this month, a tripartite commission of the government, labor and management reached an agreement to increase the minimum hourly wage to 7,530 won ($6.68) in 2018, up 16.4 percent from the current 6,470 won. While the decision was hailed by ...

Business sentiments among South Korean manufacturers remained flat at low levels in July, a survey by the Bank of Korea showed Friday, with the auto industry's confidence plunging over sluggish exports. The monthly business survey index, an indicator of the manufacturers' outlook for the coming month, was 78 in July, flat from a month earlier, according to the BOK survey. The index fell for a s...

South Korean plans to sell a combined 6.7 trillion won ($6 billion) in state bonds next month, the finance ministry said Thursday. The government will issue 1.45 trillion won in bonds with a maturity of three years, and 1.65 trillion won in five-year bonds in August. It also plans to sell 1.5 trillion won in 10-year Treasurys and a combined 2.1 trillion won of bonds with a maturity of between 2...

Samsung Securities’ model portfolio, which guides global investment distribution of the equity firm‘s funds, has boasted stability, the firm said Thursday. The core-A type of Samsung Securities’ model portfolio saw a cumulative return of 19.68 percent over the last three years as of the end of June. Of the last 12 quarters, the model portfolio saw a positive rate of return in nine quarters, it ...

Kakao Bank officially began operations Thursday at 7 a.m., becoming the second online-only bank to be launched in South Korea, but it was quickly met with complaints due to the server failure of the bank’s mobile app. Within eight hours of the launch, some 230,000 users had downloaded the mobile app, through which some 103,000 new bank accounts were created, according to the bank. It also drew 2...

South Korea’s economic growth slackened in the second quarter of this year from a year ago due to slower exports, mainly in shipments of transportation equipment, petrochemicals and chemical products, data from the Bank of Korea showed Thursday. Exports declined 3 percent from the previous quarter and 0.1 percent from the previous year. But demand for semiconductors remained strong. Meanwhile,...

South Korean stocks finished higher Thursday, taking a cue from overnight gains on Wall Street as the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, analysts said. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 8.73 points, or 0.36 percent, to close at 2,443.24. Trading volume was moderate at 420 million shares worth 5.3 trillion won ($4.7 bi...

Democratic Party pushes for tax hike, government cautious of industry backlash

South Korean stocks traded higher late Thursday morning, after Samsung Electronics, the top cap here, reported its all-time high earnings for the second quarter. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 6.73 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,441.24 as of 11:20 a.m. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics gained 0.32 percent, while SK hynix, a major chipmaker, was up 3.89 percent. LG Chem, S...

The government will be able to collect about 16 trillion won ($14.3 billion) in additional tax revenues for the coming five years if the tax rate hike for the superrich and top conglomerates advocated by the ruling party are implemented, a parliamentary report said Thursday. Rep. Choo Mi-ae, leader of the ruling Democratic party, has proposed raising tax rates for the super-rich and top-earning ...

South Korean shares opened higher Thursday, boosted by market bellwether Samsung Electronics' strong earnings report. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 12.75 points, or 0.52 percent, to 2,447.26 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics gained 1.2 percent after releasing its second-quarter earnings through a regulatory filing. The tech giant said...

President Moon Jae-in was set to meet with the country's top business leaders Thursday for beer and frank discussions that may help fine-tune his economic policies, officials at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. with what the officials called a 20-minute beer time. The rare meeting involving beer comes at a suggestion from the president himself, accord...

South Korea's economic growth slowed in the April-June period from a quarter earlier due to decreased exports, central bank data showed Thursday. In the second quarter, the country's gross domestic product increased 0.6 percent, down from the previous quarter's 1.1 percent gain, the Bank of Korea said in a statement. Exports -- one of the major pillars for the Korean economy -- fell 3 percent i...

The issuance of asset-backed securities in South Korea rose 15 percent on year in the first half of this year on the back of robust growth in sales of government-led mortgage funds, the financial regulator said Thursday. A combined 31.1 trillion won ($27.7 billion) worth of ABS were issued for the January-June period, compared with 27 trillion won for the same period last year, the Financial Sup...

The new ministry in charge of small and medium-sized businesses officially started work Wednesday amid expectations it will support smaller companies and create new jobs. Earlier this month, the parliament passed a bill to elevate the Small and Medium Business Administration to a ministry for SMEs, venture startups and micro-businesses, as pledged by President Moon Jae-in during the election cam...