Most Popular
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Qoo10 liquidity crisis sparks massive complaints, fears of wider damage
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Yoon urges municipalities to embrace foreigners
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What is happening at Hybe?
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S. Korea to consent to Japan's Sado mines gaining World Heritage status: official
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Korea unveils tax reform bill to spur economy
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Actor’s excessive airport security sparks probe into human rights violations
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Actor Yoo Ah-in accused of sexual attack
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Man who let his father die due to financial difficulties to be released on parole
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S. Korea, China shifting from tensions to cooperation: Seoul
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LG Electronics achieves record earnings in Q2
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Conversions of bonds into equities soar on bull market
South Korean investors' conversion of equity-linked bonds into shares have surged in recent months amid the bull run of the stock market, data showed Friday.Investors converted 187 billion won (US$164 million) worth of convertible bonds (CBs), exchangeable bonds (EBs) and bonds with warrants (BWs) into stocks between April 1 and Thursday, up 31 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository.The number of conversions totaled 496 cases, appr
June 23, 2017
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More households will face default risk with market rate hikes: BOK
South Korea’s central bank on Thursday warned that the number of highly-indebted households at default risk could go even higher with interest rates in the financial market likely to rise in coming years.In a bi-annual financial stability report submitted to the National Assembly, the Bank of Korea said households’ debt-to-disposable income rose to 153.3 percent as of the end of March, up 8.6 percentage points from a year earlier.The BOK projected that a market interest rise by up to
June 22, 2017
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[News Focus] Behind NCsoft’s stocks plunge lies the power of tradable items
Item trading involving cash exchange is often seen as the culprit behind game-related crimes in South Korea, even causing cases of fraud or physical violence among game players. The feature is also behind the popularity of, or the gamers’ obsession with, South Korea‘s first-generation massively multiplayer online role-playing PC game “Lineage.”More recently, item trading has apparently become the deciding factor in the game developer’s stock prices.Ahead of the rele
June 22, 2017
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Korean shares end higher on large-cap gains
South Korean stocks ended slightly higher Thursday as investors scooped up large-cap stocks. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 12.84 points, or 0.54 percent, to 2,370.37.Individuals bought a net 75.68 billion won ($65 million) worth of stocks. Foreigners also turned net buyers of domestic stocks worth more than 17 billion won. But institutions dumped their holdings. Kim Ye-eun, an analyst at Cape Investment & Securities,
June 22, 2017
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KDB’s ‘Next Round’ program targets start-ups
To help startups prepare for the future, Korea Development Bank has been running the “KDB Next Round” program that helps link companies with new investors. First launched in August last year, KDB’s Next Round was introduced in an effort to minimize market friction and promote market expansion in order to further develop startup investments in the wake of the “fourth industrial revolution.” The KDB’s investment platform does not involve a funding model or direc
June 22, 2017
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Korean shares extend gains on tech, airline stocks
South Korean shares extended gains late Thursday morning as foreigners turned net buyers. The won traded higher against the dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 7.19 points, or 0.30 percent, to 2,364.72 as of 11:20 a.m.Individuals bought a net 148.91 billion won ($131 million) worth of stocks. But institutions dumped holdings. Large-cap stocks were mostly trading higher. Technology and airline stocks led gains, helped by rising overseas demand and declin
June 22, 2017
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Value of stocks owned by 100 richest shareholders jumps 21.3%
The combined value of stocks owned by South Korea's 100 richest stockholders has jumped 21.3 percent, helped by a rally in the stock market, industry data showed Thursday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 16.3 percent to 2,357.53 on Wednesday, compared with a closing price of 2,026.16 as of Jan. 2 this year. According to the data by industry tracker Chaebul.com, the value of stocks owned by the 100 richest stockholders stood at 113.2 trillion won ($99.1 billion), up from 93
June 22, 2017
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Mortgage applications soar on anti-speculation steps
South Korea's four major lenders saw mortgage applications jump nearly 11 percent shortly after the government unveiled measures to cool the property market this week, sources said Thursday.The finance ministry announced Monday it will start tightening credit early next month as part of efforts to counter signs of overheating real estate markets in Seoul and several other regions.According to the sources, mortgage applications filed Tuesday with the four largest lenders in the country -- KB Kook
June 22, 2017
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Seoul shares open higher despite US losses
South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday despite overnight losses on Wall Street, led by gains in top cap Samsung Electronics. The won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 1.56 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,359.09. Foreigners turned net buyers after shedding 183 billion won worth of stocks in the previous session. On Wednesday (local time), the Dow Jones industrial average moved down 0.27 percent to end at 21,410.03. Large-cap stocks mostly rose
June 22, 2017
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Probe on NCsoft short selling launched
The financial regulators launched a probe Wednesday on the massive short sellings of the game developer NCsoft the previous day, amid market concerns over alleged insider trading. On Tuesday, a day before the highly-anticipated release of the mobile game “Lineage M,” stocks of its developer NCsoft plunged 11.4 percent in the closing compared to Monday. This came on the heels of a hearsay circulating online at around 2:30 p.m. that the mobile version of the mega-hit PC game “Lin
June 21, 2017
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[Monitor] Nearly half of Korean workers pay no income tax
Nearly half of South Korean workers paid no income tax in 2015, a state-run think tank‘s report showed Tuesday.According to the report by the state-run Korea Institute of Public Finance, 46.5 percent of 17 million wage earners were exempted from paying income tax in the year, jumping from 32.2 percent in 2013. The increase was attributed to the government’s change of income tax deduction programs in 2014 to allow higher deduction rates to low income earners.The proportion in Korea wa
June 21, 2017
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MSCI decision unlikely to dampen Korean stock markets: FSC
South Korea’s stock markets are unlikely to be dampened despite foreign cash flight triggered by the MSCI’s plans to add China A Large Cap shares to its benchmark emerging markets index starting next year, according to the Financial Services Commission on Wednesday.The looming investors’ capital exodus of up to 4.3 trillion won ($3.76 billion) and reduction of their proportion in the emerging markets index by between 0.23 percent and 15.27 percent “will put little pressur
June 21, 2017
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Seoul stocks end lower on foreign selling, US losses
South Korean stocks ended lower on Wednesday as foreigners turned net sellers tracking losses on Wall Street. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 11.70 points, or 0.49 percent, to close at 2,357.53. Trade volume was moderate at 356.21 million shares worth 6.34 trillion won ($5.5 billion), with decliners outnumbering advancers 516 to 296.Foreigners sold a net 180.29 billion won worth of stocks and institutional investors also dumped share
June 21, 2017
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‘Coinless Society’ project gets tepid response
Kim Kyung-min, 27, was not aware of a pilot project by the Bank of Korea to reduce the use of coins until she was told by The Korea Herald.“Things would be convenient if I were able to receive change directly through my bank account,” Kim said, adding that carrying coins “can sometimes be a hassle.” Dubbed “Coinless Society,” the BOK’s project has got a lukewarm response from the public during its two months of operation. The project encourages users to
June 21, 2017
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Korean shares extend losses on foreign selling
South Korean shares extended losses late Wednesday morning as foreigners dumped stocks on profit taking. The won traded lower against the dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 12.58 points, or 0.53 percent, to 2,356.65 as of 11:20 a.m. Foreigners and institutional investors offloaded a combined 182 billion won ($159 million) worth of stocks. But individuals bought a net 163 billion won worth of stocks. Large-cap stocks were mostly trading lower. Market bel
June 21, 2017
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Corporate direct financing dips 27% in May
South Korean companies' equity and debt sales tumbled 27 percent on-month in May due mainly to a plunge in stock issuance, government data showed Wednesday.Local companies raised 14.5 trillion won ($12.7 billion) by selling stocks and bonds last month, compared with 19.8 trillion won in April, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Stock sales, including three initial public offerings, reached some 90 billion won, down a whopping 96.8 percent from the prior month."Sto
June 21, 2017
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Seoul shares open lower on US losses
South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street. The won fell against the dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 13.73 points, or 0.58 percent, to 2,355.50. On Tuesday (local time), the Dow Jones industrial average moved down 0.29 percent to end at 21,467.14, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also declined 0.82 percent to 6,188.03.Analysts expected the addition of China blue-chip stocks to MSCI's emerging markets index from next year
June 21, 2017
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Seoul stocks down on profit-taking, Samsung hits fresh record high
South Korean stocks ended lower on Tuesday as institutions went on profit taking, but top cap Samsung Electronics and second most-valued SK hynix surged to fresh record highs, aided by heavy foreign buying. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 1.67 points, or 0.07 percent, to close at 2,369.23. Trade volume was moderate at 346.16 million shares worth 6.67 trillion won, with decliners outnumbering advancers 618 to 199.Institutional investo
June 20, 2017
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Likelihood of capital outflow low in case of reversal in Korea-US rate gap
The likelihood of a capital outflow from South Korea is low even if the interest rate gap between Korea and the US is reversed, as the local currency is expected to remain strong, an analyst said Tuesday. Kim Jae-chil, a researcher at the Korea Capital Market Institute, said volatility in the local foreign exchange market will likely be limited due to various conditions. South Korea's sovereign bonds are also attractive for investors in Europe, where several central banks slashed interest rates
June 20, 2017
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Naming of new BOK policymaker delayed
The naming of a new member of the Bank of Korea’s monetary policy committee has been delayed, leaving the central bank without a tie-breaking vote in the upcoming rate-setting meeting in July.Jang Byung-wha, senior deputy governor at the BOK and a member of the bank’s seven-member board, is to finish his three-year term as board member Saturday this week. The deputy governor is appointed by the president, based on the recommendation by the BOK governor. However, BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol
June 20, 2017