Korean stocks plunged 2.64 percent on Monday as foreign investors unleashed holdings on falling risk appetite, analysts said. The local currency dipped against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index plunged 55.79 points to 2,055.71. Trading volume was moderate at 289.8 million shares worth 6.24 trillion won ($5.7 billion), with losers far outnumbering gainers 691 to 146.“F

Bidding competition for debt-saddled ailing savings banks in business suspension will be launched Tuesday, according to the Korea Deposit Insurance Corp.The state-run KDIC has decided to make a public notice for sale of the seven savings banks on Tuesday, aiming to select preferred bidders by July.In a bid to induce close competition and fast conclusion of deals, the government agency will lower t

The government is considering raising public utility prices in the coming months to correct the growing deficit by major public corporations plagued by rising raw material and production costs.Burdened by rising prices in grain, sugar, corn and wheat, food makers are also expected to raise the prices of processed foods in the second half. Seoul is mulling raising subway fares by 300 to 400 won aft

The wage levels of national public servants have been determined based on recommendations by the National Personnel Authority every year since 1948. The system makes up for the restrictions imposed on government workers’ basic labor rights, including the right to strike.Without the NPA’s recommendations, the Kan administration plans to reduce the wages of national public servants. It aims to use t

Northeast Asia, namely China, Japan and the two Koreas, has been engaged in brisk top-level meetings since last weekend to address the increasingly complex issues involving the region. While North Korean leader Kim Jong-il was touring China, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao discussed security, trade and disaster control in a sum

Forcible demolitions will not stop unless local government leaders are made to realize that they have to pay a price for exploiting land to earn revenue. The amended regulations on requisition and compensation for State-owned land took effect on Jan. 21, but only a few local land and resources officials have been punished. The central government, therefore, has to take some strict measures to ensu

It does not seem a very wise move that a group of South Korean lawmakers would visit one of the Kuril islands, the subject of a long-standing territorial dispute between Russia and Japan, as part of their campaign to manifest Korea’s sovereignty over Dokdo islands in the East Sea. First of all, there is little similarity between Dokdo and any of the four islands which have been under Russian juris

President Obama’s recent speech in El Paso, Texas, addressing America’s broken immigration policy was very disappointing to immigrant advocates, the Latino community and anyone concerned about human rights.He offered only a vague assessment of the issue, and ignored calls by leading Latino politicians, most notably Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Illinois, to use his executive powers to take decisive actio

The newest slumlord in Los Angeles is a pillar of German capitalism. Earlier this month, the city attorney’s office filed suit against Deutsche Bank, the world’s fourth-largest bank, for letting many of the more than 2,000 L.A. homes it has foreclosed on descend into squalor and decay.A yearlong city investigation of the properties on which Deutsche Bank foreclosed turned up tenants compelled to l