South Korea's two state-run policy banks -- Korea Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Korea -- bounced back into the black in the first-half of this year with their loan-loss provisions falling as the restructuring of the shipbuilding industry nears an end. In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, KDB said it posted a net profit of 1.27 trillion won ($1.12 billion) for the January-June pe...

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday as North Korea's sixth nuke test continued to weigh down on investor sentiment. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 4.19 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,322.43 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Steelmakers got off to a weak start, with No. 1 player POSCO falling 1.61 percent and second-largest Hyundai Steel losing 1.05 percent. Top ca...

South Korea’s stock markets on Tuesday remained under the influence of North Korea’s sixth nuclear test Sunday. The main bourse index Kospi shed 0.13 percent and closed at 2,326.62, while the secondary market index Kosdaq took a 0.33 percent loss. Both markets opened higher Tuesday, but swung back to negative territory with foreign sell-offs emerging from late morning trade. The Kospi opened 0....

South Korean stocks closed 0.13 percent lower Tuesday on concerns over North Korea's nuclear provocations, but the decline slowed compared to previous sessions as investors engaged in bargain hunting, analysts said. The Korean won sharply fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 3.03 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,326.62. Trade volume was moderate at 317...

Banks and other financial institutions should tighten screenings of lending applications by high-risk borrowers, the top financial regulator said Tuesday. Choi Jong-ku, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, made the remarks at a forum in Seoul, as financial authorities are scheduled to announce a fresh package of measures this month to curb the growth of household debt. Choi urged bank...

South Korean stocks traded lower late Tuesday morning as investors took a wait-and-see stance on the geopolitical tension on the Korean Peninsula sparked by Pyonyang's nuke provocations. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 3.11 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,326.54 as of 11:20 a.m. Financial shares lost ground, with Shinhan Financial moving down 2.95 percent and Samsung Life Ins...

South Korea's foreign exchange reserves hit a record high in August due to a hike in the value of non-dollar currencies when converted into the US greenback, central bank data showed Tuesday. As of the end of August, the country's foreign exchange reserves came to $384.84 billion, up $1.08 billion from the previous month, the Bank of Korea said in a statement. Foreign exchange reserves consist ...

Kakao Bank, South Korea's second Internet-only bank, implemented a 500 billion won ($441.9 million) capital increase on Tuesday as a part of a refinancing plan to bolster its lending business. Kakao Bank, launched in late July with paid-in capital of 300 billion won, has attracted about three million accounts and extended loans worth 1.4 trillion won as of Aug. 27. The capital hike was made by ...

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday after suffering a sharp decline in the previous session following Pyongyang's nuclear provocations. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 6.74 points, or 0.29 percent, to 2,336.39 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Sunday, Pyongyang claimed it successfully conducted a test of a hydrogen bomb that can be loaded on an intercontinental...

Markets in South Korea took a downturn Monday in the wake of the most powerful nuclear bomb test by North Korea on Sunday, drawing a mixed forecast on the aftereffect from local analysts. The main bourse index Kospi closed at 2,329.65, down 1.19 percent, while the tech-heavy secondary Kosdaq tumbled 1.68 percent to 650.89. By Son Ji-hyoung ( consnow@heraldcorp.com )

South Korean stocks sank by more than 1 percent Monday as the escalating geopolitical tension following Pyongyang's nuclear test soured investor sentiment, analysts said. The Korean won sharply fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 28.04 points, or 1.19 percent, to 2,329.65. Trade volume was low at 244 million shares worth 4.32 trillion won ($3.81 bi...

South Korean stocks traded lower late Monday morning apparently as investors sought after safer assets on Pyongyang's sixth nuclear test staged over the weekend. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 16.47 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,341.22 as of 11:20 a.m. On Sunday, Pyongyang announced it had successfully conducted a test of a hydrogen bomb that can be mounted on an interconti...

South Korean stocks opened sharply lower on Monday after North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test a day earlier, escalating geopolitical tension in the Northeast Asian region. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index plunged 26.87 points, or 1.14 percent, to 2,330.82 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Sunday, Pyongyang claimed it successfully conducted a test of a hydrogen bomb t...

Security tension is most likely to return to focus in South Korea’s stock markets this week following the North’s sixth nuclear test Sunday, further dampening investors’ sentiment. A 5.7 magnitude tremor was detected in northeastern North Korea on Sunday at around 12:29 p.m., which North Korea claimed to be a test of a hydrogen bomb that can be loaded into its intercontinental ballistic missile....

South Korea's top financial regulator said Sunday it will step up monitoring and carry out probes into money laundering, unauthorized financing and other illicit transactions of digital currencies. Joining Japan, China and other Asian nations in trying to regulate crypto-currencies, the Financial Services Commission warned that the recent transaction volume and volatility of digital currencies a...