South Korean stocks closed slightly lower Tuesday as institutions dumped shares after the quarter-end buying in the previous session, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 3.21 points, or 0.16 percent, to 1,999. Trading volume was low at 233.8 million shares worth 2.9 trillion won ($2.8 billion), with gainers outpacing decliners 490 to 303.Analysts saw the fall as a temporary downturn that comes after fund managers’ quarte

The average amount of credit card spending per purchase plunged to the lowest level in history last month, indicating a change in patterns of credit card usage among South Korean consumers.South Koreans spent an average of 45,319 won ($44.80) per purchase last month, down 9.5 percent on-year, the Credit Finance Association of Korea said on Tuesday.The decreased credit card spending was driven by a change in the way consumers use their cards ― spending less per transaction with debit cards, the C

The use of mobile devices for stock transactions has continued to rise sharply as more retail investors use their smartphones and tablet PCs for trading, the bourse operator said Monday.In terms of daily value, stock trading via mobile gadgets has made up some 9.73 percent of the total transactions on the country’s main bourse so far this year as of June 23, compared with 9.28 percent tallied in 2013, according to the Korea Exchange.Market watchers said such a rise matches the increase in the nu

The nation’s top financial watchdog is poised to censure a local insurance company for denying benefits to families of policyholders who committed suicide, according to officials from the Financial Supervisory Service on Monday. The move is expected to have deep repercussions on the South Korean life insurance sector, the officials said. ING Life Insurance Co. was found to have denied payouts of accidental benefits worth 20 billion won ($19.7 million) in some 90 suicide cases, citing erroneous p

South Korea's financial watchdog will censure a local insurance company for denying benefits to families of policyholders who commit suicide, which will have a far-reaching impact on the country's life insurance sector, officials said Monday.According to the officials, ING Life Insurance Co. was found to have denied payouts of accidental benefits worth 20 billion won (US$19.7 million) in some 90 suicide cases, citing erroneous provisions in their contracts with policyholders.Before 2010, local l

South Korean stocks finished lower on Friday as weak U.S. data prompted foreign investors to sell, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 6.54 points, or 0.33 percent, to 1,988.51. Trading volume was low at 212.7 million shares worth 2.96 trillion won ($2.92 billion), with gainers outpacing decliners 424 to 359. “Institutions continued to buy. Foreigners, who have been shifting in and out of selling mode, turned to selling

The South Korean won advanced sharply to the U.S. dollar on Friday, hitting a fresh yearly high as the country’s current account surplus widened to a seven-month high in May.The local currency was quoted at 1,014.30 won as of 11 a.m., up 1.90 won from the previous session’s close. The country’s current account surplus reached $9.3 billion last month, compared with $7.12 billion in April, according to preliminary data by the Bank of Korea. The current account is the broadest measure of cross-bord

A state-funded local fisheries cooperative has been reprimanded for extending billions of won in loans to a church by inflating its financial status and the number of members, the watchdog agency said Friday. A branch of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives in 2008 allegedly raised the church’s credit rating without carrying out due diligence on the debtor’s repayment ability, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. The NFFC extended an additional 15 billion won ($14.79 mill

Bank lending rates in South Korea again fell to the lowest level in May from the previous month as interest rates continued to stay low in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, central bank data showed Thursday.The average rate of new loans to households and firms stood at 4.40 percent last month, down 0.02 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. The May figure marks the lowest level since the central bank began compiling related data in 1996.The BOK explained that an

From auto financing to expat services, major lenders bank on expanding customer bases

South Korea's antitrust watchdog is investigating Japanese and German bearing producers on suspicions that they have colluded in fixing prices of parts being supplied to local manufacturers, a government source said Thursday.The companies under investigation include Japanese bearing makers such as NSK, JTEKT, NTN and MINEBEA and Germany's Schaeffler, he added."We have sent our investigation reports to each suspected company, which will later submit its own response to us," a Fair Trade Commissio

The Financial Supervisory Service, after looking into alleged illegal business dealings by Woori Bank, will likely impose a sizeable penalty against the lender for opening hundreds of false-name accounts linked to CJ Group’s slush funds, sources close to the investigation said Tuesday.The financial regulator launched last year a special investigation into the bank, which is the main creditor of CJ Group, to look into the allegation that the bank was involved in building up the conglomerate’s slu