Hanwha Life Insurance said it has strengthened its information security system to better protect personal information of its customers.The nation’s second-largest insurer said it has built a separate information storage system to keep its customers’ information for longer than five years when necessary. Hanwha building in SeoulUnder the current law, a financial firm is obliged to delete all personal information of a customer within five years from the time the firm’s contract with the customer e

False claims for insurance money jumped 9.2 percent to reach a record high last year as hospitals and insurance planners got involved in large-scale insurance fraud, government data showed Tuesday.The amount of false insurance claims climbed to 655 billion won ($564 million) in terms of payments last year, up from 599.7 billion won a year earlier, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said in a statement.Financial Supervisory Service headquarters in Seoul (Yonhap)The value of false insurance c

The need for a rate cut may become stronger for Korea as advanced countries continue monetary easing, but whether it will help improve the real economy is questionable, a report from an economic think tank said Tuesday."The recent monetary easing policy by key nations, rebound in oil prices and softened worries of the Chinese economy's hard landing helped stabilize the global financial market," the report from LG Economic Research Institute (LGERI), authored by senior researcher Lee Chang-seon,

TCC Steel, manufacturer of coated steel plates, said Tuesday that it will resume sale of its subsidiary TCC Bend Korea through an open bid. “The company has not finalized the details about disposing of stake in TCC Bend Korea,” it said in a regulatory filing.TCC Steel’s previous attempt to auction off its subsidiary in September last year failed, due to a lack of interest from potential buyers. Deloitte Anjin was its deal advisor at that time.With the same accounting firm as advisor, TCC Steel w

Tong Yang Inc. said Tuesday it is seeking to acquire Sambu Construction Industrial, a local maker of construction materials. In a regulatory filing, the company said it had submitted a letter of intent to take over Sambu Construction Industrial on March 14.Having graduated from a 28-month period of court receivership last month, Tong Yang sits on a cash pile of nearly 500 billion won after selling assets to repay debt, including a controlling stake in Tong Yang Cement. Tong Yang Inc., whose main

More than half the online consumers in Seoul used mobile phones to shop in 2015, according to a poll on Monday. Government data showed that 66.7 percent of online consumers said they used smartphones for shopping. The figure reflects a 20-percentage point jump from the previous year. The data was based on a survey conducted by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning on people aged 12 or older in 2,973 households in Seoul.Last year, 46.4 percent of people used mobile devices including ph

South Korean share prices opened in the positive on Tuesday following gains in New York. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 4.31 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,994.07 in the first 15 minutes of trading. As of 9:52 a.m., it was trading almost flat at 1991.94 points.  Seoul share prices are displayed on an electronic board at the Korea Exchange. (Yonhap)Overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average inched up 0.12 percent to 17,623.87, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended nearly flat 4,8

Cash-strapped shipper Hyundai Merchant Marine said Monday that it will seek an approval of its creditors for self-rescue measures to improve its financial status.The nation’s second-largest shipping company said in a regulatory filing that “it filed for comanagement with its creditors” to tide over its liquidity crunch through a self-rescue plan.Following the regulatory filing, the stock trading has been halted until 9 a.m. Tuesday.The state-run Korea Development Bank and other creditors are to

Korean shares edged down on Monday as institutional investors sought to lock in their gains, more than offsetting a net purchase by foreigners and retail investors. The local currency lost ground against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 2.36 points, or 0.12 percent, to close at 1,989.76. Trading volume was slim at 320.6 million shares, with losers outnumbering winners 459 to 346. KOSPI (Bloomberg)Local shares opened a tad higher following a three-day r

Two of this year’s most anticipated corporate sales are to enter the final round of bidding in the coming days, but from the way things look now, they may be in for quite different outcomes. The race to take over Hyundai Securities is heating up, with the joining of another strong contender. Meanwhile, Kim’s Club, being put up for sale by E-Land Group, appears to have failed in drumming up interest from potential buyers, industry sources and local reports said. Hyundai Securities (Yonhap)KB Fina

It seems like yesterday that Korea’s shipbuilding trio conquered the world, leading in the number of contracts and orders they secured with well-known shipping companies to build container ships and LNG and bulk carriers.If that was not enough, Korean shipbuilders, whose exports of those ships used to account for more than 8 percent of the total exports starting in the 1980s, ventured into supplying materials and equipment to offshore energy plants and platforms that looked highly “lucrative and

Korea shares traded 0.22 percent lower late Monday morning as institutions sought to lock in on their gains.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 4.39 points to 1,987.73 as of 11:20 a.m.The index opened a tad higher tracking gains on Wall Street last week, but pared earlier gains as institutions and foreign investors turned to selling.As of 11:20, institutional investors offloaded a net 105 billion won ($90 million) while foreign investors sold a net 3.4 billion won. Indiv

Most Korean banks have again lowered their lending rates on household loans to below 3 percent, data showed Monday, a move that could ease burdens on households but also boost household borrowing that is already at a record high.According to data from the Korea Federation of Banks (KFB), the lending rate of Woori Bank on fresh household loans has come to 2.87 percent in February, down 0.23 percentage points from 3.10 percent the previous month. Apartment complex in Seoul (Yonhap)The state-run Ko

Korean stocks opened higher, taking a cue from gains on Wall Street and extending their winning streak to a fourth consecutive session.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 3.75 points or 0.19 percent to 1,995.87 in the first 15 minutes of trading.The rally followed gains on Wall Street last week.On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average added 0.69 percent to close at 17,602.30 with the tech-laden Nasdaq gaining 0.43 percent to 4,695.65.In Seoul, large caps traded mixe