Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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Legal battle continues between Mirae Asset and SME head
The ongoing lawsuit raised in 2016 by a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf franchise in China against Mirae Asset Financial Group and Chairman Park Hyeon-joo has become more complicated, as the franchise’s CEO has filed another lawsuit against the group’s private equity CEO and an executive on perjury charges.The legal battle dates back to May 2014 when Kwon Joon, CEO of TNPI HK, sued Mirae Asset Chairman Park Hyeon-joo for “unlawfully” using the franchise’s confidential repo
June 26, 2017
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Crude oil slump casts shadow on monetary tightening
The prolonged slump in crude oil prices may put a damper on the South Korean central bank’s anticipated monetary tightening, industry watchers said Monday. This came after oil prices spiraled to a record-low the previous week and the Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol picked the latest fluctuation on the oil price as one of the “external downside risks” in carrying out its monetary policy.“The prolonged crude slump has dampened the expectations for the inflation and normaliza
June 26, 2017
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FSS’ new data to bring Moon’s attention to self-employed
The Financial Supervisory Service said Sunday it has been in talks with the Financial Services Commission to raise the attention of the debts of the self-employed.The FSS and the FSC are reportedly focusing on breaking down the debts owed by the self-employed and helping the Moon Jae-in administration tackle and contain the rise of household debt. The government is set to announce a comprehensive measure against skyrocketing household debt in August.In doing so, the FSS is currently drawing up a
June 25, 2017
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US dollar likely to strengthen against Korean won in H2: think tank
The US dollar is expected to strengthen against the Korean won in the second half due to uncertainties surrounding trade conditions and rate hikes being undertaken by the Federal Reserve, a local think thank said Sunday.The Korea Institute of Finance said judging by overall supply and demand there is a chance that the greenback could appreciate vis-a-vis the Korean currency after losing ground in recent months.The weak dollar this year can be partly attributed to political uncertainties in the U
June 25, 2017
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[Advertorial] KRX commits to social responsibilities via foundation
Korea Exchange’s Happy Foundation is closing off the first half of this year with expanded social responsibility projects nationwide and overseas, ranging from offering financial education to information technology training.The foundation, set up in March, 2011, operates under the mission of sharing the growth from the capital market and the stock exchange market to ultimately create a positive sentiment towards the KRX. The projects are divided into four parts. One is to offer tailored ed
June 25, 2017
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KB’s job fair completes 12th successful session
From 31-year-old Kim Ka-ram, who landed a marketing job after some 100 tries, to 49-year-old Kim Eun-young, who was hired by a manufacturing company after seeking to rejoin the workforce after raising her children, scores of job seekers have come out satisfied from a job fair hosted by KB Kookmin Bank.They were part of the nation’s largest single job fair, named KB Good Job, held from Thursday to Friday last week at Kintex in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, drawing some 250 companies and over 20
June 25, 2017
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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