South Korean stocks opened lower Friday, led by declines in big-cap tech shares amid concerns about an economic slowdown. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) shed 32.29 points, or 1.29 percent, to 2,472.38 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The country's industrial output, retail sales and facility investment all fell on-month in October, deepening concerns about a lack of growth momentum, government data showed. Presenting a bleak growth outlook for 2025, the Bank of K

KB Financial Group’s decision to name its insurance unit head as the next CEO of KB Kookmin Bank has shown its willingness to optimize synergies among pan-KB affiliates. The CEO recommendation committee of KB Financial Group recommended that KB Life Insurance CEO Lee Hwan-ju lead KB Kookmin Bank on Wednesday. “We recommended Lee as a final candidate who can stably pursue substantial growth and drive consistent improvement in corporate and shareholder value through structural improv

South Korean stocks opened a tad lower Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street led by declines in big-cap tech shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) shed 3.05 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,500.01 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Foreigners were on a selling mode, which offset buying by institutions and retail investors. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.31 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite slid 0.6 percent as major tech shares lo

South Korean stocks fell Tuesday as investors sat on the sidelines following sharp gains the previous session, with US President-elect Donald Trump vowing tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 13.98 points, or 0.55 percent, to close at 2,520.36, ending a two-day winning streak. Trade volume was moderate at 434.77 million shares worth 8.51 trillion won (US$6.09 billion), with winners ou

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday, despite overnight U.S. rallies, led by losses in auto and financial shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 11.04 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,523.30 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 0.99 percent to a record high and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.27 percent, as investors welcomed Trump's nomination of Scott Bessent as his treasury secretary on hope that he would gui

South Korean banks will head to Las Vegas next January for CES 2025, with some set to showcase their latest artificial intelligence-driven financial technologies at the world’s largest consumer electronics event. Among the participants will be Shinhan Bank, returning for a third consecutive year to host its own booth at the global expo. This year, the bank will highlight two of its newest innovations -- "AI Investment Mate" and "AI Branch." "AI Investment Mate,&quo

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday, led by gains from top-cap Samsung Electronics and other major tech shares. The benchmark Kospi added 19.51 points, or 0.78 percent, to 2,520.75 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The increase was driven by institutional buying, which offset selling by foreigners and retail investors. On Friday, the Kospi rose above 2,500 points for the first time in 11 sessions following a sharp drop the previous week amid concerns over expected policy changes by the

Woori Bank CEO Cho Byung-kyu is stepping down in disgrace as legal risks surrounding the bank and its parent group intensify. According to industry sources on Sunday, the board of Woori Financial Group, the holding company of Woori Bank, on Friday decided against reappointing Cho following the expiration of his current term at the end of this year. The decision came hours after local prosecutors filed an arrest warrant for former Woori Financial Chairman Son Tae-seung on charges of breach of tru

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Wednesday, led by tech and financial shares, as investors awaited earnings results from U.S. AI chip giant Nvidia. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 8.1 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,480.05 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Nasdaq composite rose more than 1 percent on a 4.9 percent jump in Nvidia as the chipmaker is set to release its quarterly results on Wednesday (U.S. time). In Seoul, tech and bank shares led the

Lotte Group's stock plummeted to record lows on rumors of a liquidity crisis, but experts claim these concerns are overstated and emphasize the need for better debt control. The holding company’s stock closed at 20,550 won ($14.80) on Monday, down 6.6 percent from the previous day, while Lotte Chemical saw the sharpest decline among its subsidiaries, falling 10.22 percent to 65,900 won and reducing its market capitalization to 2.82 trillion won, a 15-year low. Both stocks hit 52-week

More than half of South Koreans living alone have side jobs amid a growing cost-of-living squeeze, a report said Sunday. Among 2,000 economically active men and women aged 25 to 29 living alone in the metropolitan area, 54.8 percent of respondents said they earn extra money through a second job, according to a report by KB Financial Group's think tank. The figure significantly grew from 42 percent in 2022. Among the respondents this year, 38.8 percent said they took on a side gig to save

Shares of local banks are putting up a fight in the bearish Korean stock market, as investors are pricing in expectations that lenders could excel in the second Donald Trump administration under softened regulation and higher interest rates. The KRX Banks index, representing shares of top financial service providers such as KB, Shinhan, Woori and Hana, closed at 913.69 on Nov. 7, up 2.33 percent on-day, after Trump secured his victory in the US presidential election. It was the highest-gaining i

With Donald Trump winning the US presidential election, the “Trump trade” flowed into the South Korean stock market, with shares of defense and shipbuilding firms surging. The value of the local currency against the US dollar dropped to a two-year low. Shares of defense companies jumped, with investors anticipating robust earnings on the potential for escalated geopolitical risks. Furthermore, Korea could face renewed pressure to pay more in its defense cost-sharing arrangement with

South Korean stocks rose more than 1 percent to hit a two-week high Monday led by a sharp rebound in top-cap Samsung Electronics shares. The Korean won gained against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 29.16 points, or 1.13 percent, to 2,612.43, marking the highest closing price since Oct. 15 when the bourse finished at 2,633.45. Trade volume was slim at 327.6 million shares worth 9 trillion won ($6.5 billion), with winners outnumbering losers 615 to 271. Institu

KB Financial Group reported record third-quarter profits driven by increased interest revenues from expanded loans while announcing a plan to enhance shareholder returns linked to its financial stability. The group posted a net profit of 1.61 trillion won ($1.17 billion), a 17.5 percent on-year increase, marking its best performance for the third quarter to date. Cumulatively, the year-to-date net profit reached 4.4 trillion won, up 0.4 percent from the previous year. However, compared to the