Foreigners’ net selling of Seoul shares reached the highest first-half tally this year since the 2008 financial crisis, data showed Monday, as they offloaded local shares amid policy uncertainties.Overseas investors dumped more shares than they bought at 10.2 trillion won ($8.7 billion) over the six-month period on the main bourse, according to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange.The number marks the highest level since 17.6 trillion won tallied in the January-June period of 2008, when forei

Mitsubishi Motors Corp., a Japanese automaker, has temporarily halted its operations in the South Korean market after suffering from sluggish sales here, an industry source said Monday.According to the source, CXC, the local dealer of the Japanese automaker, has temporarily shut down operations of three showrooms in Seoul and its adjacent city.The closure is sparking speculation that Mitsubishi Motors may consider pulling its business from the Korean market, industry watchers said.But an officia

South Korean stocks shed 0.41 percent Monday as investors took a breather after the sharp gain tallied last week, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 7.59 points to close at 1,855.73. Trading volume was low at 217 million shares worth 2.93 trillion won ($2.57 billion) with gainers outpacing losers 465 to 355.Analysts said the decline came as investors turned cautious after the KOSPI jumped 4.64 percent over

South Korean stocks traded 0.29 percent lower late Monday morning as investors took a wait-and-see approach on U.S. economic data slated to be announced this week, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 5.44 points to 1,857.88 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech blue chips led the market decline, with leading Samsung Electronics falling 0.97 percent and top flat panel maker LG Display losing 1.64 percent.Mobile carriers also traded bearish, with SK Telecom falling 2.86 perce

Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee once again topped the list of Korea’s 400 richest individuals of 2013 with total assets standing at 12.8 trillion won.Each of the 28 richest Koreans held assets worth more than 1 trillion won ($875 million) this year, financial information provider Chaebul.com reported on Monday.At nearly half of Lee’s total wealth, or 6.8 trillion won, Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo came in second, while the son of Samsung chairman and the vice chairman of S

The ratio of younger people in South Korea's total working population has dropped sharply over the past three decades, data showed Monday, raising concerns the decline could undermine the country's overall growth potential.According to the data by Statistics Korea, the number of people aged 15-29 stood at 3.82 million in May, accounting for 15.1 percent of the total 25.39 million working population.The ratio is about half the corresponding figure recorded in May 1983 when related data started to

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top maker of smartphones, memory chips and flat-panel TVs, is projected to reap a record 10 trillion won ($8.76 billion) in operating profit in the second quarter thanks to steady sales of its latest Galaxy smartphone line-up and improved display and chip businesses, data showed Monday.Samsung Electronics' operating profit in the April-June period is expected to reach some 10.22 trillion won, according to the data compiled by financial information provider Fn

South Korea's consumer price growth stayed in the 1-percent range for the eighth straight month in June, indicating that inflation remains in a quite stable mode, a government report showed Monday.The country's consumer prices index rose 1 percent on-year in June, unchanged from the figure tallied in the previous month, which was the slowest growth since September 1999, according to the report by Statistics Korea. The June figure represented the eighth straight month since November that the pric

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start Monday, dented by losses in top-listed firms, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 7.98 points, or 0.43 percent to 1,855.34 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Leading carmaker Hyundai Motor fell more than 1 percent, with steelmaker POSCO dropping 1.2 percent. Tech giant Samsung Electronics traded flat. The local currency was trading at 1,143.20 won against the U.S. dollar as of 9:15 a.m., down 1.05 won from Frida

New stock exchange offers opportunity to raise and retrieve capital faster