South Korea plans to scale down the amount of its foreign currency stabilization fund for next year as part of efforts to reduce mounting losses from its operation, the finance ministry said Monday.According to the ministry, the government set the amount of the money being operated under the fund at 72.07 trillion won ($67.5 billion) for next year, which is down 10.5 percent, or 8.42 trillion won, from this year.The government runs the fund, aimed at protecting the local financial market from ex

  South Korean stocks are expected to rebound next week on hopes that U.S. central bankers will give reassuring signs about putting the stimulus cut on hold in their upcoming speeches, analysts said.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed down 2.23 percent to 1,984.87 on Friday from a week earlier. The main index erased most of the gains from recent rallies, falling to the lowest point in two months and below the psychologically significant 2,000 mark for the first time

Moody's Investors Service said Friday that it has retained its sovereign credit rating on South Korea at "Aa3," citing the country's "strong" fiscal fundamentals and "moderate" debt burden. The global credit appraiser added that it kept its ratings outlook for Korea at stable, also citing its economic resilience, export competitiveness and stabilized geopolitical risks stemming from North Korea."Korea demonstrates strong fiscal fundamentals, as reflected in consistent budget surpluses, a moderat

Chinese make up more than half of 760,000 expat workers

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea jumped 17.8 percent in October from a year earlier, a trade association said Wednesday, in the latest sign of the growing popularity of foreign cars in the Asian country.A total of 14,154 units of foreign-brand cars were sold in October, compared with 12,019 vehicles sold a year ago, according to data compiled by the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.In the first 10 months of 2013, a total of 130,239 foreign vehicles were sold in th

Ruling party and ministry agree to legislate 15 of 100 pending bills during regular Assembly session

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog has launched a probe into two major bed manufacturers for their possible involvement in unfair business activities, government and industry sources said Tuesday.Last week, the Fair Trade Commission sent its workers to the offices of Ace Bed Co. and Simmons Co., the country’s No. 1 and No. 2 bed manufacturers, to secure documents and other information on sales and transactions, according to the sources.The FTC is closely looking into whether the bed makers have be

South Korea's foreign-exchange reserves rose to a fresh record high in October, aided by a weak U.S. dollar and an increase in investment profit, the central bank said Tuesday.The country's foreign reserves totaled a record $343.23 billion as of end-October, up $6.3 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).The October gain also marked the largest monthly growth since October 2011 when the FX reserves rose by $7.59 billion.The foreign reserves rose for the fourth stra

Gangwon Province will establish a huge space camp together with a NASA-affiliated education center and two Korean firms in Chuncheon by 2016, provincial officials said Monday.Representatives from the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Mirinae Development Corp. and Kyobo Securities signed an MOU for the construction of Space Camp Korea, the first of its kind in Asia.The province, in cooperation with Mirinae, has pushed for a NASA-linked space education program in Chuncheon since it signed a licensing ag

The State-run Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power has decided to file for damages against JS Cable for supplying faulty parts to two nuclear power stations.KHNP CEO Cho Seok was quoted as saying on Monday that “we cannot but bring the matter to court to prevent the recurrence of corruption in the nuclear energy industry. But we have not decided yet on the timing of filing a lawsuit and the damages amount.”Industry sources said KHNP is expected to claim more than 100 billion won $94 million in damages gi

Home buyers who signed a contract from Aug. 28 will pay a less property acquisition tax, as the government and the ruling party agreed Monday on the timeline for the implementation of the tax benefit.The property tax cut measure was announced by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance on Aug. 28 in a bid to encourage property transactions in the sluggish real estate market, but the measure floated without a fixed timeline for its implementation due to concerns by local governments over a fall in th