South Korean stocks closed 0.23 percent lower on Tuesday as investor sentiment remained cautious over a deal to rescue the debt-mired eurozone, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 4.16 points to finish at 1,821.22. Trading volume was light at 208 million shares worth 2.36 trillion won ($2.03 billion) with decliners outstripping gainers 485 to 305.“There’s a perspective that the summit will again stop short at a mere declara

Investment advisory firms in South Korea saw their earnings slump 56.8 percent in fiscal 2011 from a year earlier due to increased losses from investments in securities and derivatives, the financial regulator said Tuesday.The combined net income of 144 local and foreign investment advisers operating here reached 37.9 billion won ($32.6 million) in the fiscal year ended in March, compared with 87.7 billion won a year ago, according to the Financial Supervisory Service .The fall marked the first

KT and the Wireless Broadband Alliance will be holding a conference called Wi-Fi Global Congress from June 26 to 28 in Seoul.KT, Korea’s second largest mobile carrier, said Tuesday that as the host of the international event, the company and some 80 telecom participants will seek ways to boost Wi-Fi roaming and develop new wireless technology via global partnerships.The three-day conference will aim to further make Wi-Fi roaming accessible around the world by the first half of 2013, KT noted.Con

South Korea’s business sentiment for July fell sharply from a month earlier due to persistent eurozone concerns and a slowdown in global economic growth, a poll showed Tuesday.The monthly business survey index for the upcoming month came in at 89.7, down from 98.3 tallied for June, according to the poll by the Federation of Korean Industries, the lobbying group of the country’s large businesses.The drop also marks the lowest BSI reading this year since 91 tallied for February.A BSI reading below

Korea’s auto parts and textile industries have benefited the most from lowered tariffs under a Seoul-Washington trade pact that took effect earlier this year, a report said Tuesday.According to the report compiled by the Korea International Trade Association, the United States imported a total of $1.19 billion worth of Korean products that were subject to tariff cuts in April alone.The bilateral free trade agreement, known as the KORUS FTA, was implemented on March 15, cutting or phasing out tar

A group of real estate experts downplayed the possibility of a Japan-like property bubble burst at a forum hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday.Participants who shared the view that the nation’s property market is different from Japan included professor Choi Hee-gap from Ajou University.Choi said that Japan suffered a property market crash ― “which was initiated by enterprises in the 1980s” ― in the wake of policymakers’ rapid hikes in interest rates in the 1990s.“Unli

Nearly nine out of 10 Korean companies operating in Europe are experiencing difficulties because of the persistent eurozone debt crisis, a poll showed Tuesday.According to the survey by the Federation of Korean Industries, 87.6 percent of 90 European subsidiaries of Korean companies polled said the eurozone crisis is having an adverse impact on their operations.Nearly 83 percent saw their revenues decrease during the fiscal crisis, with 65.6 percent finding it inevitable to revise their targets

South Korea will be forced to halt oil imports from Iran due to European Union sanctions that will ban insurance on Iranian oil shipments from next month, the Seoul government said Tuesday."The country, too, has to suspend oil imports from Iran as the European Union  is set to stop offering any type of insurance on Iranian oil imports while also suspending oil imports from Iran itself from July 1,

South Korean stocks opened a tad lower Tuesday, dampened by concern that this week's European Union summit will not suffice to tame the prolonged crisis, analysts said.The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) declined 1.19 points, or 0.07 percent, to 1,824.19 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares lost ground across the board, with steelmakers and machineries leading the fall.Top-cap Samsu

The nation’s unionized truck drivers walked out of their jobs on Monday, demanding a 30 percent hike in trucking fees and legislation of a guaranted minimum wage and labor rights.Government and industry officials expressed worries over the impact on the economy from the general strike, which comes three years after truckers staged a strike in June 2009.Public officials are also concerned about the possibility that parcel delivery service workers will follow suit.Government officials said about t