Seoul shares open lower on recession woes

South Korean shares opened sharply lower Friday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, as the US Federal Reserve's continued push for aggressive monetary tightening deepened concerns about a global economic recession. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 20.39 points, or 0.86 percent, to 2,340.58 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.25 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite sank 3.23 percent, as data showed that ret

Dec. 16, 2022

Seoul shares end lower on hawkish Fed tone

Seoul shares ended lower Thursday after the US Federal Reserve signaled its plans for additional interest rate hikes next year with the warning of an economic slowdown. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 38.28 points, or 1.60 percent, to close at 2,360.97. Trading volume was light at 366.15 million shares worth 6.03 trillion won ($4.6 billion), with decliners outstripping gainers 540 to 307. Institutions and foreigners sold a combined

Dec. 15, 2022

Seoul shares open lower on Fed's hawkish stance

Seoul shares opened lower Thursday tracking falls on Wall Street as the US Federal Reserve signaled that its rate hikes would continue next year. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 11.58 points, or 0.48 percent, to 2,387.67 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4 percent to 33,966.35, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.8 percent to 11,170.89. The drops come after the Federal Open Market Committee raised its benchmark

Dec. 15, 2022

Seoul shares rise to 1-week high on eased US inflation woes

South Korean stocks finished over 1 percent higher Wednesday as a slowdown in US inflation boosted hope for the Federal Reserve's less aggressive monetary tightening. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 1.13 point, or 26.85 percent, to close at 2,399.25, ending a two-day winning streak. Trading volume was light at 402.37 million shares worth 5.59 trillion won ($4.31 billion), with gainers outstripping decliners 632 to 226. The

Dec. 14, 2022

Hana Financial taps CEO candidates

Hana Life Insurance CEO Lee Seung-lyul, 59, was named the final candidate to be considered as the new head of Hana Bank, in Hana Financial Group’s latest leadership reshuffle, which took place earlier than usual. Hana Financial Group said Wednesday it completed CEO nominations for its affiliates Hana Bank, Hana Securities and Hana Card through a recommendation committee meeting held the day before. It was the first CEO reshuffle to be made after the group's chairman Ham Young-joo to

Dec. 14, 2022

Shinsegae chairwoman's W28b mansion is most expensive in Korea: data

Shinsegae Group Chief Lee Myeong-hee’s Hannam-dong residence maintained its position as the most expensive house in Korea for eight consecutive years, government data showed Wednesday. The 2,862-square-meter mansion located in Yongsan, central Seoul, was valued at 28.03 billion won ($21.59 million) for 2023, as assessed by the Land Ministry, down 9.8 percent from this year. The 10 most expensive houses in Korea all saw a depreciation in value, but none moved in rank. The government reports

Dec. 14, 2022

Seoul shares open higher on eased woes over sharp rate hikes

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday on cooler-than-expected inflation data in the United States. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 20.06 points, or 0.85 percent, to 2,392.46 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US shares finished higher after the consumer price index for November rose 0.1 percent from the previous month and 7.1 percent on-year, while economists forecast a 0.3 percent on-month increase and a 7.3 percent on-year rise. The cooler-than-expected

Dec. 14, 2022

Firms with more foreign shareholders more transparent

Companies with higher involvement of foreigners and small investors are more likely to release more detailed corporate governance reports, demonstrating more transparency, the Korea Exchange said Tuesday. The Korea Exchange, the nation's sole bourse operator, released an analysis on the corporate governance reports of companies listed on the local stock market. As companies with assets between 1 trillion and 2 trillion won ($767 million to $1.53 billion) were required to release corporate

Dec. 13, 2022

Seoul shares end nearly flat ahead of Fed's rate-setting meeting

South Korean stocks finished almost unchanged Tuesday as investors remain cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve's interest rate-setting meeting and the release of key inflation data. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 0.62 point, or 0.03 percent, to close at 2,372.40. Trading volume was a bit light at 438.75 million shares worth 6.39 trillion won ($4.90 billion), with decliners outstripping gainers 436 to 416. The market op

Dec. 13, 2022

Despite hiccups, regulator keeps distance from crypto listing approval

The Financial Services Commission denied a report that it is considering enforcement power to control the listing of cryptocurrencies through mandating approval from the country's top financial regulator. A local news report claimed Monday that financial authorities, including the FSC and Korea Financial Intelligence Unit, are reviewing to hold the authority to approve crypto firms to float their coins. "The report claiming financial authorities are looking into whether to approve the

Dec. 13, 2022

Seoul shares open higher on US gains

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, with the US Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate-setting meeting in focus. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 9.36 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,382.38 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US shares finished higher following last week's deep losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.58 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 1.26 percent. The Federal Re

Dec. 13, 2022

Seoul shares fall ahead of Fed's rate-setting meeting

South Korean stocks finished lower Monday as investors remained cautious about the United States' monetary policy direction ahead of a rate-setting meeting amid deepening recession fears. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 16.02 points, or 0.67 percent, to close at 2,373.02. Trading volume was a bit light at 489.54 million shares worth 5.72 trillion won ($4.37 billion), with decliners outstripping gainers 486 to 363. Instituti

Dec. 12, 2022

Nearly 70,000 under 30s subject to gift tax

More than 70,000 people under the age of 30 are obliged to pay a gift tax for receiving assets in 2021, marking a two-fold increase from the year before, data showed Monday. According to Rep. Jin Sun-mee from the Democratic Party of Korea, 70,115 people under 30 are obliged to pay a gift tax for receiving land, properties or securities in 2021. Jin is a member of the Strategy & Finance Committee at the National Assembly and the data was provided by the National Tax Service. Jin argued the fi

Dec. 12, 2022

Woori Bank offers multilingual service on Sundays

Woori Bank, one of South Korea’s top banks, is offering multilingual services on Sundays at five branches around the country. The five branches -- Ansan, Uijeongbu and Balan in Gyeonggi Province, Gwanghui-dong in Seoul and Gimhae in South Gyeongsang Province -- will be open on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Foreigners can access general banking services in 10 languages, including English, Chinese, Thai and Indonesian. The services include making deposits, withdrawals, overseas transfers an

Dec. 12, 2022

Seoul shares open lower ahead of Fed's rate-setting meeting

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday as investors were cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve's rate-setting meeting this week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slid 10.54 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,378.50 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Several major economic developments from the United States are due this week, as the Fed is to hold a two-day rate-setting meeting starting Tuesday and is likely to deliver a 50-basis point hike. The Fed has raised the interest ra

Dec. 12, 2022

Wemix launches buyback program after delisting fiasco

After being pulled off from the country’s major crypto exchange platforms, Wemix decided to repurchase some $10 million worth of its digital assets and remove them from circulation to increase the value of the token. Wemix was pulled off from Korea’s top crypto exchanges under the Digital Asset Exchange Alliance (DAXA) on Thursday, following a Seoul court’s dismissal of an injunction against the delisting of the cryptocurrency. DAXA owns the nation’s top five crypto excha

Dec. 9, 2022

Seoul shares end higher ahead of key US inflation data

South Korean stocks ended higher Friday, snapping a five-day losing streak, as foreigners and institutions picked up oversold shares amid uncertainty over the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy direction. The Korean won sharply strengthened against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 17.96 points, or 0.76 percent, to 2,389.04. The main index fell 2.6 percent this week through Thursday. Trading volume was moderate at 309.52 million shares worth 7.09 trillion

Dec. 9, 2022

Seoul shares open higher after US gains

Seoul stocks opened higher Friday, tracking gains on Wall Street, as investors await key US inflation data this week for clues as to whether the Federal Reserve could scale down its aggressive monetary tightening. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 4.72 points, or 0.20 percent, to 2,375.80 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Kospi rebounded after a five-day slide. Stronger-than-expected US jobs report and service sector activity released earlier this week weighed on consumer se

Dec. 9, 2022

Jin Ok-dong tapped as chairman candidate for Shinhan Financial

Shinhan Bank President Jin Ok-dong, 61, has been appointed as the final candidate for the new chairman of Shinhan Financial Group, South Korea's No. 2 bank by total assets, Thursday. The group said that nonexecutive directors of the group unanimously voted for Jin at a candidate recommendation meeting held at the firm's headquarters in central Seoul. Other candidates were Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung and Shinhan Card CEO Lim Young-jin. Though it was rumored that cur

Dec. 8, 2022

MBK chairman named 'hero of philanthropy'

Seoul-based private equity house MBK Partners Founder and Chairman Michael Byung-ju Kim has been named one of the 15 “Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy” by US business magazine Forbes for the second year in a row. He was the only Korean to make this year’s top philanthropist list. Kim was one of only three people -- the other two being billionaire brothers Ronnie and Gerald Chan who are the co-founders of Hong Kong’s Morningside Group -- to be recognized for two consecu

Dec. 8, 2022