More than 80 percent of major South Korean companies are concerned that the ongoing economic slump is not temporary, but a deep-rooted recession, a survey showed Wednesday.  According to a poll of the top 29 conglomerates conducted by the Federation of Korean Industries, 24 companies, or 82.8 percent, replied that South Korea is on the verge of a structural, long-term recession this year, while the rest viewed the slump as temporary.  It also showed that 55.2 percent of the respondents said they

Offshore investors remained net sellers of South Korean stocks for the second consecutive month in January while they turned net buyers of local bonds as the global economy was affected by volatile oil prices and other uncertainties, the financial watchdog said Wednesday.  Foreigners sold a net 949 billion won ($869 million) worth of local stocks last month, compared with a 1.9 trillion won net selling the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.  Their stock ownership cam

South Korea made more of the world's top-selling products in 2013 than a year earlier, raising its ranking by a notch, the country's trade association said Wednesday.  Asia's fourth-largest economy had 65 best sellers in the global market, placing 12th, compared with 63 in 2012 and 61 in 2011, according to a report from the Korea International Trade Association. Its ranking also rose from 14 and 15 in 2012 and 2011, respectively.  China topped the list with 1,538 items that sold the most in 2013

The weight of South Korea's major exporters in the local stock market diminished over the past two years as their earnings were hit by the slow recovery of the global economy, data showed Wednesday.   The combined market capitalization of nine leading firms in tech, auto, chemical and shipbuilding -- the nation's traditional economic drivers -- tallied at 325.78 trillion won ($296.37 billion) as of Jan. 23, down 17.5 percent compared to two years ago, according to data compiled by Dongbu Securit

Local civic groups said Tuesday they have asked the financial regulator to look into allegations that Korea Exchange Bank, South Korea's fifth-largest bank, paid the majority of damages its American stakeholder was ordered to pay for manipulating stocks in 2003.  In 2012, the Supreme Court convicted Lone Star Funds of artificially reducing the share prices of KEB's credit card unit by spreading false rumors of its plans for a capital reduction. The Texas-based equity firm did this so it could bu

South Korea topped China's import market last year thanks to strong demand for its semiconductors, auto parts and computer-related equipment, industry data showed Tuesday.  According to the data provided by the Korea International Trade Association, China imported $1.96 trillion worth of products last year, of which South Korean goods came to $190.3 billion.   That represented a 9.7 percent of China's total imports last year, up from the previous year's 9.2 percent. South Korea kept its top stat

South Korean stocks closed higher Monday as investors expected local exporters to get a boost from weak oil prices, analysts said. The local currency dropped against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 3.42 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 1,952.68. Trading volume was moderate at 357.89 million shares worth 4.3 trillion won ($3.9 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 444 to 365.Analysts said the weak oil prices upped the earnings outlook of exporters such

Terrestrial broadcasters in Korea reported a sharp decline in advertising revenues in 2014, with KBS and MBC showing the biggest drops.According to a report by the Korea Broadcast Advertising Corp. on Sunday, KBS’ advertising revenue in 2014 fell 10.9 percent to 522.9 billion won ($475.3 million) from 580 billion won in the previous year.In the same period, MBC saw an 8.2 percent decrease to 664.8 billion won from 719.2 billion won.The drop in advertising revenue of the two broadcasters is large

South Korea may face an oversupply of rice this year as its output reached a five-year high while rice consumption continues to shrink, government officials said Monday.According to the officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the country's self-sufficiency rate for rice is expected to reach 97 percent in 2015.The country's overall output of rice inched up 0.3 percent on-year to some 4.24 million tons in 2014.South Korea is also required to import at least 408,700 tons

South Korea's exports have been contributing less and less to national economic growth in recent years, a report showed Monday, falling to the lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis.Exports were also not creating as many jobs as before, the same report said.According to the report by the Korea International Trade Association, the rate of exports' contribution to economic growth was measured at 37.7 percent in 2013, down from 51 percent tallied in 2012.This marked the lowest since 2008 when

South Korea ranked 12th among the world's 20 major economies in terms of readiness for the Internet of Things technology, a report showed Monday.Asia's fourth-largest economy was given 52.2 points out of 100 in the National Absorptive Capacity index for IoT, according to the report released by market researcher Accenture. A higher number indicates a more IoT-friendly environment.The United States took the top spot at 64 points, trailed by Switzerland with 63.9 points and Finland with 63.2 points

For the first time in nearly three decades, foreign cigarette makers in Korea outperformed Korean brands in market share on the strength of their low-price strategies, data showed Sunday.According to data from the nation’s two convenience store chains, foreign brands earned about 55 percent market share in sales and 60 percent in volume in January, dethroning the long dominant KT&G, the only Korean cigarette-maker.This is the first time in 29 years that KT&G lost grip of its dominant market shar