South Korea’s food watchdog said Wednesday that it has found no unapproved genetically modified wheat and flour in shipments from the U.S. state of Oregon.The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety made the announcement after inspecting a 1-kilogram sample from each shipment of U.S. wheat and flour being stored by South Korean importers and milling companies.The move comes days after the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed unapproved genetically modified wheat had been found in a

Credit card installment purchases fell to a 10-quarter low in the first quarter as a revised financial rule and the economic slump dampened consumers’ sentiment, data showed Wednesday.According to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea, the country’s credit card installment buying came to 20.2 trillion won ($18.1 billion) in the January-March period, down 17.1 percent from three months earlier.In contrast, the amount of single payment purchases edged down 1.9 percent over the cited period to rea

LOS ANGELES (Yonhap News) ― A leading U.S. auto magazine has picked the Kia Cadenza as the best sedan among its American and Japanese rivals, a move that South Korea’s second-largest automaker Kia Motors Corp. will boost its sales in the United States.“A huge value proposition, solid fuel efficiency, near-luxury ride, and pretty sheetmetal make the Kia our near-unanimous choice for first place,” Motor Trend, an automobile magazine, said in its July edition posted on its website.The magazine comp

The capital adequacy ratio of South Korean bank holding companies fell in the first quarter of this year from three months earlier, largely due to a decrease in the amount of capital set aside to counter risk, the financial regulator said Thursday. The average capital adequacy ratio of 10 local bank holding companies, including top player Woori Finance Holdings Co., stood at 13.11 percent as of the end of March, down 0.12 percentage point from three months earlier, according to the Financial Sup

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday announced the renewal of Iran sanctions exceptions for South Korea and eight other nations.The nine nations will be able to continue purchasing reduced amount of Iranian crude oil for the coming 180 days without any penalties under the National Defense Authorization Act."The United States and the international community stand shoulder to shoulder in maintaining pressure on the Iranian regime until it fully addresses concerns about its nuclear progr

The nation’s three investigative agencies on financial transactions and the central bank will collaborate on inquiries into alleged corporate tax evaders via investment in overseas tax havens.Officials at the Financial Supervisory Service said the regulator plans to actively exchange a variety of information on offshore investors with the National Tax Service, the Korea Customs Service and the Bank of Korea.This is the first time in about eight years since 2005 for the agencies to seek joint inv

Samsung Group, the country’s top conglomerate, said Wednesday that it will spend 1.2 trillion won ($1.07 billion) over the next five years to help its business partners and subcontractors.This year alone, Samsung, which has Samsung Electronics and Samsung Display Co. under its wing, will spend 327 billion won for the co-prosperity scheme, it said.Under the group’s plan, technology and financing support will be provided to its business partners. Also, its 11 affiliates such as Samsung Electronics

South Korean stocks sank 1.52 percent Wednesday as lingering uncertainties on monetary policies of major economies made investors jittery, analysts said. The local currency gathered ground against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index retreated 30.32 points to close at 1,959.19. Trading volume was moderate at 326.3 million shares worth 3.93 trillion won ($3.49 billion) with decliners far outpacing gainers 644 to 178. “With the U.S. talking about tapering its quantitati