Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan resigned from his post on Tuesday, in preparation for running in the April general elections. “I am returning to the political field to change the economy, just as I did 12 years ago for my political debut,” Choi said in his good-bye address at Sejong Government Complex. Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan delivers a good-bye address at Sejong Government Complex on Tuesday. (Ministry of Strategy and Finance)Choi, who doubled as deputy prime minister, showed confiden

The Bank of Korea’s monetary policy board will meet Thursday for its monthly review of interest rates, but all eyes are on the central bank’s outlook on the local economy this year, expected to be unveiled on the same day. With a rate freeze seen as a near certainty this month, investors are waiting for the central bank’s revised outlook for economic growth, with many predicting a downward revision from its previous 3.2 percent estimate. In October, the BOK revised its growth estimate for Asia’s

Foreign currency dealers work in front of a monitor displaying the Korea Composite Stock Price Index in a dealing room of KEB Hana Bank in Seoul. (Bloomberg)South Korean share prices opened slightly higher on Tuesday following overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 12.24 points, or 0.65 percent, to 1,907.08 in the first 15 minutes of trading.The index was trading about half a percent higher as of 9:56 a.m. Analysts say sentiment is recovering from

The chief executive of Samsung Card on Monday denied market rumors that the company is up for sale, stressing the firm’s strategic importance in Samsung Group’s business portfolio.  Won Gee-chan, CEO of Samsung Card. (Samsung Card)“Samsung Card, with its strength in retail finance, holds an important place in the group’s financial business portfolio,” Won Gee-chan, CEO of Samsung Card, said in a special message to employees. “It is unthinkable that (Samsung Card) could be sold to another company

Korea’s secondary bourse is expected to be bullish in the first half of this year as investors turn their eyes to biotech and pharmaceutical companies, although the momentum will be weaker than last year, according to market analysts. A man looks at a monitor displaying stock prices at the Daishin Securities headquarters in Seoul. (Bloomberg)Investors are likely to try to lean toward companies on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ market to hedge risks from adverse global business conditions, local strategis

(123RF)Insurers are moving to raise motor insurance premiums as the government has vowed to relax its tight control on prices. 　Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance Co. is slated to raise motor insurance prices for individual, corporate and business users by 2 percent within January, the latest in a chain of price hikes for small and medium-sized car insurance companies.　Hyundai Marine & Fire had been suffering from a high loss rate in the auto insurance sector, undermining the company’s overall perf