A financial consumer advocate on Friday criticized financial authorities for glossing over some commercial banks’ alleged rigging of interest rates.“Regulators such as the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service are neglecting their duties,” said a spokeswoman for the Korea Consumer Agency.Her remarks came after the special board, which comprises regulatory officials and lawyers, earlier in the day rejected some 200 borrowers’ call, led by KCA, for the FSS to launch a

Union members at GM Korea approved a tentative agreement on this year’s wage talks in a vote Friday following 27 rounds of meetings with the management since April. Earlier on Tuesday, the management and labor at the Korean unit of General Motors tentatively agreed to an increase of 92,000 won ($83) in monthly salary and lump-sum payments of 4 million won immediately and 6 million won in December. Of the 13,250 union members who voted Friday, 54.3 percent supported the tentative agreement, the c

The number of private moneylenders operating in South Korea fell 6.9 percent in the second half of last year amid tighter business rules and a long streak of low rates, the financial watchdog said Friday.The number of registered private moneylenders and brokers reached 10,895 as of end-2012, compared with 11,702 six months earlier, according to the Financial Services Commission.The fall in such lenders came as the government has toughened rules on the ceiling on interest rates that such money le

Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., South Korea's No. 1 builder, said Friday that its second-quarter net profit jumped 9.7 percent from a year earlier as its margins improved.The company's consolidated net income rose to 129.9 billion won ($116 million) in the April-June period, from 118.4 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.The builder said sales jumped 9.1 percent to 3.4 trillion won, and its operating profit gained 27.4 percent to 200.7 billion won.Shares o

Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea‘s largest auto parts maker, said Friday its second-quarter net profit edged up 1.1 percent from a year earlier due to increased sales and operating profit.Net profit came to 893.6 billion won ($804 million) in the April-June period, from 883.8 billion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.The company said sales jumped 13.1 percent to 8.7 trillion won, and its operating profit gained 2.3 percent to 733.1 billion won.Shares of Hyundai Mobis were

KB Financial Group Co., South Korea‘s No. 2 banking group, said Friday its second-quarter earnings fell 70.4 percent from a year earlier on squeezed profit margin and one-off valuation loss from its investment in a Kazakhstani bank.Net profit amounted to 163.5 billion won ($147 million) in the April-June period, compared with 551.6 billion won the previous year, the group said in a regulatory filing. In the first half, the group’s earnings declined 50.3 percent to 575 billion won.The group‘s bot

South Korean stocks closed 0.06 percent higher Friday on improved economic outlook for advanced countries, analysts said. The local currency traded higher against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 1.2 points, or 0.06 percent, to close at 1,910.81. Trading volume was moderate at 316 million shares worth 3.75 trillion won (US$3.37 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 415 to 384."Seoul shares edged up as the United States, Japan and the euro zone's eco

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest smartphone maker, posted a record shipments in the second quarter of the year, data showed on Friday.According to the data compiled by research firm Strategy Analytics, Samsung Electronics shipped a record 76 million smartphones in the second quarter, compared with 69.4 million in the previous quarter.The South Korean smartphone maker also continued to dominate the global smartphone market in terms of market share, with its stake in the April-June per

South Korean stocks traded 0.18 percent higher late Friday morning following gains in carmakers and retailers, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) edged up 3.39 points to 1,913.00 as of 11:20 a.m.Carmakers led the market gain, with No. 1 player Hyundai Motor adding 0.67 percent and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors climbing 1.32 percent. Samsung Heavy Industries, a major shipbuilder, advanced 2.17 percent.Retailers also traded lower, with Lotte Shopping increasin

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest automaker, said Friday its second-quarter net profit jumped 7.7 percent from a year earlier due to increased profits from its equity investments.Net profit came to 1.18 trillion won (US$1 billion) in the April-June period, compared to 1.09 trillion won from a year earlier, the Seoul-based company said in a regulatory filing.Sales increased 4.5 percent on-year to reach 13.1 trillion won, but operating profit dropped 8.5 percent to 1.1 billion won.Kia

SK Innovation Co., the holding company of South Korea's top refiner SK Energy Co., said Friday that it has returned to profit in the second quarter from a year earlier thanks to good performance by its refinery unit.Net income came to 271 billion won (US$243.6 million) in the April-June period, compared with a net loss of 238.4 billion won a year ago, SK Innovation said in a regulatory filing.Sales, however, fell 10.7 percent to 16.85 trillion won in the period, while the company posted an opera

South Korean stocks opened almost flat Friday as investors took a wait-and-see approach ahead of U.S.Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting slated for next week, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved down 2.23 points, or 0.12 percent, to 1,907.38 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Carmakers traded mixed, with Kia Motors advancing 0.16 percent and top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis remaining unchanged. No. 1 player Hyundai Motor also stayed flat.Market

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top maker of computer memory chips and smartphones, said Friday that its second-quarter profit spiked 49.6 percent from a year earlier, buoyed by robust shipments of its flagship Galaxy S smartphones and higher chip prices.Net profit came to 7.77 trillion won ($6.96 billion) in the April-June period, compared with a profit of 5.19 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing.Revenue soared 20.7 percent on-year to 57.46 trillion won in

South Korea's top central banker said Friday that the country is seen as overcoming the negative impacts of the yen's weakness on the local economy, but weak domestic demand still remains a concern."It seems that (Korea) has weathered well the impacts of the yen's slide (as the second-quarter growth data shows)," Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Kim Choong-soo said before holding a monthly meeting with heads of local banks.The BOK said Thursday that the South Korean economy grew 1.1 percent on-quarter i