SEJONG -- The Korean currency gained against the US dollar on Wednesday, a day after finance ministers from South Korea and the US said they could take actions like supplying liquidity for stabilization of the foreign exchange market. The price of the Korean currency climbed by 0.5 won per dollar from a trading session earlier to close at 1,312.9 won. After peaking at 1,326.1 won last Friday, t...

South Korea's state-run National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) said Wednesday it has reached an agreement with Moderna Inc., a US biotech company, to cooperate in the development of a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine candidate for severe fever and thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS). The institute said the deal, signed Monday, was its first joint project agreement with an overseas pharmaceuti...

The amount of stock settlements here plunged 27 percent in the first half of this year from a year earlier, largely due to a slump in the global stock market, data showed Wednesday. In the January-June period, a total of 203.9 trillion won ($156 billion) worth of stock settlements were made through the Korea Securities Depository (KSD), down 27.3 percent from a year ago, according to the data. T...

The South Korean economy is feared to slow down, as inflationary pressure has mounted and export growth could lose steam amid deteriorating external economic conditions, the finance ministry said Wednesday. Market volatility and global economic downside risks further increased, led by the Federal Reserve's fast rate hikes, China's economic slowdown, and the protracted war between Russia and Ukra...

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 32.69 points, or 1.38 percent, to trade at 2,403.66 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US stocks rallied on better-than-expected corporate earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 2.43 percent, and the tech-heavy Nas...

Major companies in South Korea have seen their total economic contribution soar 20 percent over the past nine years thanks to their robust growth, a corporate tracker said Wednesday. The value of economic contribution created by the country's top 100 firms by sales came to 1,238 trillion won ($950 billion) last year, up 206.5 trillion won from 2012, according to CEO Score. Economic contribution...

South Korea's dependence on Japanese materials and parts fell to an all-time low in the first half of this year, three years after Tokyo's control of exports of key materials bound for Seoul, data showed Wednesday. Imports of Japanese materials, parts and equipment came to US$20.07 billion during the January-June period, accounting for 15.4 percent of South Korea's overall purchase of those good...

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said work-life balance plays a key role in shaping a work environment that is appealing to women, who she described as still underrepresented in workplaces, at a meeting with the Bank of Korea’s female workers held Tuesday in Seoul. “Work-life balance is a tremendous problem. I guess it’s a huge problem here, too,” Yellen said, describing having a family while ...

South Korean stocks snapped their two-day winning streak Tuesday, weighed down by concerns about rate hikes and slower economic growth. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 4.28 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 2,370.97 points. Trading volume was relatively small at about 332 million shares worth some 6.3 trillion won (...

South Korea’s top financial regulator pledged Tuesday to review lowering the regulatory barriers that limit the industrial sector from owning banks, to accelerate digitalization of the economy and global growth. “The goal of our financial regulatory overhaul is to create a new field, so that leading global players like (K-pop band) BTS can be born in our financial industry,” Financial Services C...

South Korea's youth employment rose sharply in May from a year earlier despite the coronavirus pandemic, government data showed Tuesday. The number of employed young people aged 15-29 reached 4.1 million in May, up 196,000 from a year earlier, according to the data released by Statistics Korea. Their employment rate came to 47.8 percent, up 3.4 percentage points from a year earlier. Of the cou...

South Korea's top financial regulator said Tuesday it is necessary to ease a rule that restricts industrial businesses from owning banks, saying that such deregulation could generate mega players like BTS in the financial sector. The government restricts industrial capital from being used to purchase stakes in banks and financial institutions in a bid to make it hard for business owners to take ...

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday, tracking overnight falls on Wall Street amid concerns about rate hikes and slower economic growth. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 12 points, or 0.51 percent, to trade at 2,363.25 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US stocks retreated on spreading concerns about the aggressive monetary tightening, fanned by Apple ...

South Korea’s top financial regulator said Monday that its plan to help low-income earners reduce their debt burdens does not encourage reckless investments in stocks or real estate, amid criticism that young Koreans who have made losses from such investments could repay debts with taxpayers’ money. “We’re not helping those who have had to cut their losses on stocks and cryptocurrencies to pay f...

South Korean stocks soared nearly 2 percent higher Monday, as the US Federal Reserve will unlikely deliver a full-percentage point interest rate hike amid deepening concerns over an economic slowdown. The Korean won gained ground against the US dollar. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 44.27 points, or 1.90 percent, to close at 2,375.25. Trading volume was moderate at 318.99 mil...