The nation’s top financial watchdog has vowed to root out what it called the “five evil financial practices” including financial fraud.The other four are illegal private loans, illegal credit collection, forced purchases of financial products and insurance swindling.“Unless we cut out these financial malpractices right now, (consumers) will continue to feel uneasy about financial transactions and consequently distrust financial services in general,” Seo Tae-jong, senior deputy governor for coord

The country’s major conglomerates created fewer jobs last year in a reflection of the lackluster economy, market research firm CEO Score reported Wednesday. The firm, which specializes in chaebol data, revealed that 274 subsidiaries of the top 30 conglomerates, including LG, Hyundai, Samsung and SK, recruited just over 1 million employees as of late 2014, down 0.3 percent from a year ago. Last year’s hiring accounted for only a 1.3 percent rise in the total number of employees. “It is very worri

South Korea's top financial regulator said Wednesday it will allow local credit card firms to issue mobile-only credit cards, rather than conventional plastic ones, to clients later this month as part of efforts to improve convenience and speed in electronic transactions.  Under the current law, mobile cards have played second fiddle to conventional magnetic strip-based credit cards due to person-to-person authentication and authorization regulations.  The Financial Services Commission said cred

The South Korean stock market has advanced sharply this year on increased appetite for risky assets, but it remains undervalued due to a lack of confidence in corporate earnings and economic fundamentals, data showed Tuesday.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index ended at 2,045.4 points as of April 3, up 6.8 percent from the start of this year, as it made some gains after having been outshone by the tech-laden KOSDAQ earlier this year, according to data compiled by the Korea Exchange

South Korean stocks and currency are making a strong showing after Iran reached a provisional nuclear deal with the United States and several major economies on April 2.Financial market insiders share the view that their favorable performance is attributable to eased worries over the recent bounce-back of international oil prices ― as high prices usually undermine both industries and private consumer sentiment.The KOSPI surpassed 2,050 points for the first time this year during the Monday sessio

The government is planning to lessen the financial burden of low-income households by slashing the interest rate on microfinance products. The Financial Services Commission, the country’s financial regulator, said Monday that it is seeking measures to lower the interest rate on several trademark loan products for young adults and the low-income households, such as Smile Microcredit Program, Sunshine Loan and New Hope Loans. The plan aims at helping the low-income debtors, who borrowed money from

A recently implemented loan transfer program may alleviate the interest burden for mortgage loan borrowers but is also expected to considerably cut back on banks’ annual profits, financial analysts said Monday.Taxpayers, too, may eventually suffer the consequences, as the state-run Korea Housing Finance Corporation will inevitably increase its capital in order to meet loan transfer demands.Under the government-backed loan scheme which closed last Friday, 33.9 trillion won is to be converted from

South Korea’s central bank is forecast to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged this month following a surprise rate cut in March that sent the policy rate to a record low of 1.75 percent, analysts said Monday.Nineteen out of the 20 analysts and economists surveyed by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency, projected the Bank of Korea to hold the base rate at 1.75 percent at its upcoming policy meeting on Thursday. The respondents said that while room for another rate

South Korea's central bank is forecast to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged this month following a surprise rate cut in March that sent the policy rate to a record low of 1.75 percent, analysts said Monday.Nineteen out of the 20 analysts and economists surveyed by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency, projected the Bank of Korea to hold the base rate at 1.75 percent at its upcoming policy meeting on Thursday.The respondents said that while room for another rate c

Financial authorities and the securities industry predict small investors will increase their participation in the stock market, as officials are poised to open a registered space to trade over-the-counter stocks and vitalize funds for overseas investment.The optimism is backed by the recent improved performance of overseas equity funds, which is seeing its highest investment levels in seven years, and the scheduled widening of the scope of nonlisted share trading.In cooperation with the operato

South Korean stocks are expected to move in a tight range next week as investors wait for the upcoming earnings season that will start with Samsung Electronics' earnings estimate later in the week, analysts said.The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 2,045.42 on Friday, up 1.3 percent from a week earlier. The index started off on a positive note on anticipation that Beijing will take additional measures to spur growth. It slipped on Thursday as both institutions and foreigners u