Goldman Sachs expects the Bank of Korea to raise its benchmark rate twice more in the second half of this year to 1.75 percent, and later continue hikes to 2.5 percent, according to a report published by the US bank Friday. “We continue to expect the rate curve to steepen along with gradual monetary policy normalization,” the report said. Korea continues to see elevated inflation but the risk is contained by moderating import prices, weakening housing prices, and measures to counte

Local bank synthesizes facial features of its human staff to create faces of its virtual staff

New pet chauffeur service to offer full insurance coverage for animal customers during their ride

Companies don’t want to expose themselves to risks associated with geopolitical controversy, say market insiders

HyunAh and Dawn announced via Instagram that they are tying the knot. 　 Late Thursday, Dawn wrote “Marry Me” with a heart, uploading a short video that showed the hands of the couple wearing new rings. HyunAh uploaded the same video on her account saying “Yes, of course.” The rings are custom made by a Korean jeweler and feature chunky iridescent opals as the main stones embellished with a half dozen colorful gemstones. 　 HyunAh debuted as a member of Wonder Girls in 2

North Korea might be indirectly supplied with Iranian crude oil through China, the US Congressional Research Service said in a recently published report, without further details. The report identified that North Korea “has not pledged to abide by international sanctions against Iran,” adding Pyongyang has similarly been “subject to significant international sanctions.” The CRS notably pointed to potential illicit connections between Tehran and Pyongyang in the “

Experts say LG Energy Solution IPO might have faced a series of suits in US for diluting share value of its parent company, but not here

Rescue workers on Friday retrieved the body of one more construction worker from the rubble of a collapsed apartment building in the southern city of Gwangju, with three more people still trapped or missing from the accident last month. The body was pulled from a heap of concrete debris on the 27th floor of the high-rise building in the city, about 330 kilometers south of Seoul, the third person found dead and retrieved from the accident site. The exterior walls of the 39-story building unde

The US Forces Korea (USFK) said Friday its THAAD anti-missile system installed in South Korea is a "safe and reliable" asset, as a political debate has been rekindled here over the ideologically sensitive matter in the run-up to the March 9 presidential election. The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system has emerged as a hot-button issue during the election season, as Yoon Suk-yeol, the presidential candidate of the conservative main opposition People Power Party, pledged

Discrepancy in views on missile defense stems from different approach to US, China

Samsung Electronics could see its first labor strike in the tech giant’s five decades of history after wage talks with labor unions fell apart. Despite months of back-and-forth deliberation, representatives of the unionized workers filed for an arbitration to Korea’s National Labor Relations Commission, a government agency under the Labor Ministry, on Friday at 3 p.m. The move pushes Samsung and its four labor unions to reach a wage agreement within 10 days, which could lead to a

Taegukgi Toscana Korea Association on Thursday announced that this year’s Florence Korea Film Fest will take place at Cinema La Compagnia in Florence, Italy, from April 7 to 15. Some of the movies also will be screened online on the platform Piu Compagnia during the festival. Although the event organizer has not revealed the full list, it said 12 Korean actors, directors and producers will attend the film festival to mark its 20th anniversary. During the last 20 years, over 2,000 Korea

South Korean stocks climbed more than 1 percent on Friday, rising for a three-day winning streak, on the back of tech gains, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. After a choppy session, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) surged 42.44 points, or 1.57 percent, to close at 2,750.26 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 527 million shares worth some 11.1 trillion won ($9.3 billion), with gainers far outnumbering losers 767 to 122. Institutions and

SEJONG -- The nation’s consumer prices climbed 3 percent or more for the fourth consecutive month, despite the Bank of Korea’s three interest rate hikes between August 2021 and January. Statistics Korea said Friday that consumer prices grew 3.6 percent in January, compared to a year earlier. After the growth breached a 3 percent threshold -- 3.2 percent -- for the first time in more than nine years in October, it rose to 3.8 percent in November and 3.7 percent in December. This mar