South Korea's financial market could withstand a possible U.S. interest rate hike, the central bank said Tuesday, brushing off concerns that the move could trigger a massive outflow of foreign capital.Market watchers expect the U.S. Federal Reserve's first rate hike in almost a decade to come as early as June as the U.S. economy shows signs of recovery. A recent Bloomberg poll showed that 12 percent of the respondents projected a rate hike in June, while a whopping 71 percent predicted the Fed t

The head of South Korea's state-run minting agency said Monday that it is seeking to increase overseas sales as the demand for cash, its key profit source, weakens in tandem with soaring credit card usage in Asia's fourth-largest economy.In the latest move, the Korea Minting, Security Printing & ID Card Operating Corp. has signed a contract with Indonesia media group EMTEK to sell its signature "ORODT" gold bars via a local televised shopping program starting next month."We also have recently si

The number of cigarettes released in the South Korean market plunged more than 40 percent from a year earlier in the first quarter, the government said Monday, possibly reflecting an apparent drop in sales following a price hike.According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the amount of cigarettes released in the local market came to some 519 million packs in the three months, down 44.2 percent from the same period last year.A ministry official noted the number may be different from the numb

South Korea has a high ratio of corporate debt to gross domestic product, a parliamentary report showed Monday, raising concern it could erode the nation's growth potential down the road.According to the report submitted to Rep. Oh Jae-sae and based on data collected from the McKinsey Global Institute, the size of South Korea's corporate debt reached 105 percent of the nation's GDP in the second quarter of 2014.It was the seventh-highest ratio among 15 key member countries of the Organization fo

South Korea will expand economic cooperation with Colombia in the clean and renewable energy sector by launching pilot projects for electric vehicles and energy self-sufficient villages in the South American country, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of Korea said Sunday.Trade-Industry-Energy Minister Yoon Sang-jick inked a memorandum of understanding on renewable energy with Colombia’s Mines and Energy Minister Tomas Gonzalez in Bogota, the country’s capital, Friday.“We see vast possib

The chief of South Korea's central bank said Saturday that Asia's fourth-largest economy could get a boost in growth from an easing monetary policy, but concerted restructuring moves would be key to raising its growth potential.The South Korean economy is currently facing a combination of a low growth trend and low inflation, although the central bank trimmed the policy rate by a total of 0.75 percentage point to a record low of 1.75 percent over the past seven months."A monetary policy is a sho

South Korea's imports of grapes reached an all-time high last year as free trade deals with Chile and other countries spurred the influx of the fruit, data showed on Sunday.According to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service, the country imported 59,260 tons of grapes worth US$189 million last year, an all-time record.Last year's grape imports mark a sharp rise from 28,437 tons in 2009 and 9,970 tons in 2004.During the first quarter of the year, imports of the fruit also surged 24.2 perc

South Korea's two biggest conglomerates have expanded their presence, with their earnings accounting for over 80 percent of the profits of the top 30 business groups last year, data showed Sunday, in the latest sign of their concentration of wealth.Samsung Group and Hyundai Motor Group posted a combined net profit of 34 trillion won ($31.4 billion) last year, down 4 trillion won from the 38 trillion won in 2010, and the earnings from the remaining 28 conglomerates dipped to 8 trillion won from 4

The number of stock-rich shareholders on the country's secondary stock market, the KOSDAQ, surged this year on the back of a bullish run by the tech-laden bourse, data from a corporate tracker showed Sunday.According to Chaebul.com, there were 64 stockholders who have portfolios worth more than 100 billion won ($92.5 million) as of Friday, the highest-ever figure on record.That compares with 46 stock-rich shareholders on the KOSDAQ market earlier this year.Most of the stock-rich were major share

Foreign investors' buying binge of South Korean stocks, backed by expanded global easing policies, has helped send the country's stock market more than 11 percent higher this year, with their net buying reaching some 5.4 trillion won ($4.9 billion), data showed on Sunday.According to the data compiled by the Korea Exchange, foreign investors have snatched up local stocks worth a net 5.38 trillion won this year through Friday.Fueled by the foreign buying spree, the country's key stock index, the

South Korea's outbound shipment growth has decelerated for the fourth straight year as the global economic slump cut demand and weak oil prices lowered the export prices of key products, data showed Sunday.According to the data compiled by the Korea Investment Trade Association, the country's exports increased 4.4 percent last year in terms of volume, well higher than the global average expansion of 3.1 percent.But the 2014 figure compares with a 4.8 percent gain in 2013 and a 5.6 percent rise i

Three investors made bids Friday to buy Pantech Co., the cash-strapped South Korean smartphone maker currently under court protection, industry sources said, reviving hope that the long-pending sale would soon resume after previous attempts ended in a failure due to a lack of interest. The names of the three investors were not immediately known, according to the sources. This is the second public bidding for the defaulted tech company since it went under court receivership in August last year.Th

The South Korean government will make a decision on joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership after U.S.-led multilateral negotiations for the trade deal are completed.“The (Korean) government plans to make a final decision on whether to join the TPP after the trade deal officially concludes and its terms and conditions are unveiled,” the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement Thursday.The ministry’s statement follows claims Wednesday in the Washington Post, which reported that K

South Korea will take additional stimulus measures in the second half of 2015 if the need arises to prop up the slowing economy, the nation's economic czar has said.Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan, who is in Washington to attend a G20 ministerial meeting, made the remarks in an interview with CNBC on Thursday amid growing concern that Asia's fourth-largest economy may lose further ground this year due to falling exports and still anemic domestic demand."We are keeping close tabs on overall econ