South Korean stocks are expected to gather ground this week on the back of upbeat U.S. data and signs of an improving Chinese economy, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed up 1.1 percent at 1,923.38 on Friday from the previous week. The main index started off falling below the 1,900 mark on Monday on lack of fresh leads but gained momentum after the Bank of China said it will inject 17 billion yuan ($2.77 billion) worth to avoid a liquidity crunch.U.S. jobless cl

South Korea’s exports to emerging countries in Asia dropped in July from a year earlier, data showed Sunday, casting clouds over the export-reliant country‘s economy down the road.South Korea’s exports to the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which include Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, shed 5.4 percent on-year in July, the Korea International Trade Association data showed.The figure marked the lowest tally since a 25.7 percent on-year drop in August 2009, the data also sh

Philip Morris Korea said Sunday that it would put the summer edition of its Marlboro Fresh lineup on sale for five weeks starting Monday. The summer edition carries a new design in black, with a twist to the classic Marlboro Chevron-shaped logo, adding a vibrant mirror-like surface that reflects light. The Marlboro Fresh lineup comes in four menthol flavors: Marlboro Ice Blast, Marlboro Ice Blast One, Marlboro White Fresh and Marlboro Black Fresh. Marlboro Ice Blast and Marlboro Ice Blast One ha

Global insurance giant ING Group has selected the South Korean private equity fund MBK Partners Ltd. as the preferred bidder for the sale of its South Korean unit, industry sources said Sunday.According to the sources, MBK offered to purchase a full stake in ING Life Korea for around 1.8 trillion won ($1.6 billion), changing its earlier suggestion at buying a 90-percent stake for 1.5-1.6 trillion won.Tongyang Life Insurance Co., South Korea’s fifth-largest insurer, was earlier selected as the ma

The Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone Authority said on Sunday it would launch the first photo contest under the theme of the BJFEZ as part its promotion efforts. To join the photo competition, applicants should send one or two photos with the BJFEZ theme in both hard copy and digital format to the Authority between Oct. 1 and 31. The Authority will offer cash prizes of 9.2 million won ($8,200) for 24 photos. The top award winner will receive 2 million won as a cash prize. The gold medal winner an

Kia Motors America, the U.S. sales arm of South Korea’s Kia Motors Corp., said Thursday that sales of its Cadenza full-size luxury sedan surpassed the 1,000 unit mark for the second time, a development that is widely seen as a successful debut in the U.S.Kia introduced the Cadenza in the United States in April as part of its efforts to enter the country’s premium car market. Kia sold 1,627 Cadenza units in the U.S. in July, bringing the total number of Cadenza units sold this year to 3,155, acco

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest smartphone maker, may roll out its latest phablet, the Galaxy Note 3, at a trade show next month, industry sources said Friday.According to the sources, Samsung is planning to showcase the phablet ahead of or during the IFA Berlin to be held from Sept. 6 to 11.Samsung unveiled its Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note 2, respectively, in 2011 and 2012, at the industrial fair.Specifications on the device were not immediately known, but the phablet will run on th

South Korean stocks closed 0.14 percent higher Friday on better-than-expected economic data from the United States, analysts said. The local currency ended lower against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 2.64 points to close at 1,923.38. Trading volume was low at 293.6 million shares worth 3.98 trillion won ($3.54 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 460 to 321.“The better-than-expected manufacturing data from the U.S. and China added to investor sentiment

Woori Financial Group on Friday posted another earning shock in its second quarterly report this year, marked by disastrous contraction in net profit.Woori Financial earned 148 billion won ($130 million) in net profit in the second quarter, down about 30 percent from last year. Its second-quarter earnings fell 51.4 percent to 358.3 billion won. The damage comes more lucid when combined with the state-controlled financial group’s first quarterly report. In the first half, the company’s net profit

Student loans from high-interest lenders almost halved over the past year on the back of government efforts to encourage students to borrow from less expensive lenders, the state regulator said on FridayThe Financial Supervisory Service said, as of June, total student loans fell to 34.2 billion won ($30.3 million), down 47.5 percent, from a year ago. The FSS data showed that a college student on average borrows about 2.1 million won a year. But the delinquency rate slightly increased to 16.9 per

As part of the government’s move to regularize the underground economy, the Korea Customs Service will seek access to the credit card expenditures of overseas travelers, despite disputes over privacy.Back in March, shortly after the new presidential office kicked off, the KCS submitted a bill to give customs authorities access to overseas credit card use on a monthly basis. Currently, the office only receives a yearly report from the Credit Finance Association.The idea was suggested as a means t

The number of unused credit cards in South Korea has reached 23.1 million as of last month, seldom showing signs of a drop as card firms are reluctant to clear them for marketing purposes, the financial regulator said Friday.The number of dormant credit cards has been falling at a slow clip since the beginning of this year, standing at 23.4 million at the end of April and 23.5 million in January, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service.That roughly means every working Korean h