World's third-largest retirement fund banks on large-cap tech shares and foreign markets in bid to stave off fund exhaustion

South Korea's exports of passenger cars rose 15 percent on-year in 2022 to reach a record high, data showed Monday, on the back of robust shipments of eco-friendly models. Carmakers shipped passenger cars worth a combined $49 billion in 2022, up from $42.6 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service. The number of cars shipped reached 2.31 million...

Bus, subway, taxi fares set to rise; electricity and gas rates likely to be raised further

Nation’s No. 3 financial group unveils this year's growth strategies

With the Korean government lifting the indoor mask mandate, major banks are to normalize their operating hours to 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Monday. Major commercial banks, including KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Hana Bank, Woori Bank and NH NongHyup, are to normalize their operating hours from the current 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. to 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. as the government has lifted the indoor mask mandat...

South Korea's inflation expectations inched up in January from a month earlier amid the Bank of Korea's continued monetary tightening to bring price growth under control, a central bank survey showed Thursday. Ordinary people predicted that consumer prices will grow 3.9 percent over the next one year, up 0.1 percentage point from what was surveyed the previous month, according to the poll conduc...

A tough road ahead for the seasoned investor as global economy contracts and resistance persists against the pension fund's enforcement of shareholder rights

The Seoul city government will additionally consider raising its subway and city bus fares by 400 won ($0.32), besides its earlier 300-won hike proposal, city officials said Wednesday. The municipal government plans to hold a public hearing next month with the goal of raising public transportation fares in April after a freeze for eight years. It will prepare two fare hike proposals -- 300 won ...

South Korea's exports fell 2.7 percent on-year in the first 20 days of January, data showed Saturday, due mainly to weak semiconductor shipments. The country's outbound shipments stood at US$33.6 billion in the Jan. 1-20 period, compared with $34.5 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports rose 9.3 percent on-year to $43.8 billion during the cited per...

The Korean government will make a fresh attempt to get its sovereign bond to be included in the top grade of global market indices, the country’s top economic policymaker told global investors Friday. Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho revamped local financial rules to adhere to “global standards” so that Asia’s fourth-largest economy could attract more foreign investors. “Starting this year, we wi...

KB Financial Group on Thursday announced that it has made the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World list in recognition of its environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) efforts. It was ranked 68th on the list by Canada-based global research firm Corporate Knights. “Making the top 100 global sustainable companies list is the result of all executives and employees putt...

The number of counterfeit South Korean banknotes touched a record low in 2022, amid a surge in cashless transactions fueled by the coronavirus pandemic, the Bank of Korea said Monday. The number of counterfeit banknotes identified stood at 150 last year, down from the previous record low of 176 a year before. Last year’s number was the lowest ever since the central bank started compiling relate...

BOK juggles high inflation, economic slowdown

The Bank of Korea continued a streak of seven consecutive rate hikes, making the base rate stand at 3.5 percent. The central bank announced Friday it has raised the benchmark rate by 25 basis points, deeming that inflation has yet cooled down. With the hike, the base rate has reached 3.5 percent, the highest figure in more than 14 years, since the rate stood at 4 percent in November 2008. Prior...

The South Korean economy is feared to face a bumpy road ahead on high inflation, slowing domestic consumption as well as sluggish exports, the finance ministry said Friday. "Recently, the South Korean economy's inflation continued to stay at a high plateau, and the recovery of domestic consumption has slowed. The weak economic sentiment has continued on weak exports as well, leading to concerns ...