South Korean stocks closed lower Thursday as institutional investors unloaded tech shares and the central bank froze its key interest rate as expected, analysts said. The South Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 0.15 percent, or 3.02 points, to 2,011.65. The trading volume was moderate at 246.89 million shares worth 4.15 trillion won ($4.1 billion) with gainers leading losers 487 to 330. The market started lower and maintained the bearis

Faced with an urgent need to find new sources of revenue to help drive up their sluggish profit, local banks are now focusing on strengthening online and mobile services. This is mainly because customers are quickly embracing such services, with mobile banking users in South Korea surpassing the 50 million mark in the first quarter of this year, according to data compiled by the Bank of Korea. Despite these fast-changing trends, most of the major lenders here still use an outdated security syste

South Korea’s central bank froze the key interest rate for the 13th consecutive month on Thursday as it measures risk factors at home and abroad amid the country’s moderate recovery trend.The monetary policy committee, led by Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol, unanimously decided to keep the benchmark seven-day repo rate at 2.5 percent as widely expected.“Given various indicators, the current rate level seems to be adequate enough to support the recovery trend,” Gov. Lee said in a news conference.H

South Korea's central bank froze the key interest rate for the 13th consecutive month on Thursday as the local economy is slowly recovering amid tame inflation. The monetary policy committee, led by Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Lee Ju-yeol, kept the benchmark seven-day repo rate at 2.5 percent as widely expected.The policy decision is in line with an earlier poll conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. Eighteen analysts unanimously forecast the BOK to hold the base

Financial regulators are expected to soon announce additional penalties for Hana Bank CEO Kim Jong-jun in a move that is expected to apply further pressure on Kim to step down from his post.“We are not yet permitted to discuss the result (of an ongoing probe into Hana Bank) but given the seriousness of the Hana Bank case, the CEO is most likely to be subject to penalties,” an FSS official said Tuesday.In July, the Financial Supervisory Service will hold a disciplinary committee to decide on the

Global index provider MSCI has dropped South Korea from the list of candidates for developed market status in its reclassification review released on Wednesday, saying the nation has not made enough effort to improve market openness to graduate from being an emerging market. MSCI, the research arm of U.S. banking group Morgan Stanley, said South Korea meets most of the criteria to be included in the developed markets in terms of economic development, market size and liquidity, but Korean authori

South Korean stocks finished higher Wednesday as foreign investors snapped up shares like Samsung Life Insurance, while market leader Samsung Electronics lost ground on mixed views on Samsung Group’s plan to set up a holding firm. The South Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished at 2,014.67, up 2.87 points, or 0.14 percent, from Tuesday’s close. The trading volume was moderate at 234.72 million shares worth 3.81 trillion won ($3.8 billio

Earnings at South Korean banks’ overseas branches surged in the first three months of this year from a year earlier as they increased business loans in big markets, industry data showed Wednesday.Woori Bank’s 64 foreign branches recorded $69.54 million in operating profit for the January-March period, soaring 116.6 percent from $32.1 million on year.The operating profit of Shinhan Bank’s 68 overseas offices vaulted 40.5 percent on-year to $39.01 million over the cited period, while Korea Exchang

South Korea will reveal names of public companies found to have been involved in illegal and unfair business practices later this year, the finance minister said Wednesday.The move is aimed at eradicating deeply rooted practices in the public sector, such as giving business favors to companies that have hired former executives or employees of public firms, and big firms abusing their market dominating power over smaller businesses. "The government will make a thorough review of such cases until

Financial authorities decided to impose a severe penalty on the top-ranking officials of KB Financial Group and KB Kookmin Bank in what appears to be a warning to other financial companies.Late on Monday, the Financial Supervisory Service informed key officials of KB Financial Group, including group chairman Lim Young-ho and bank president Lee Kun-ho, that they have been subject to severe punishment for the group’s recent internal feud.The final decision will be made at an FSS disciplinary commi

South Korea can sustain export-led growth despite mounting concerns that the strong local currency could hurt the price competitiveness of Korean products, according to HSBC.The Korean won has strengthened rapidly in recent months on the back of a strong current account surplus. This prompted worries among Bank of Korea and Finance Ministry officials as the stronger won poses “downside risks” to the country’s export outlook, according to HSBC.But the bank added that the Korean economy can sustai

South Korean stocks closed higher Tuesday as affiliates of Samsung Group, which make up nearly 28 percent of the main bourse’s market capitalization, gained ground amid rising hopes over its restructuring plan. The South Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index edged up 21.76 points, or 1.09 percent, to 2,011.80. Trading volume was low at 230 million shares worth 3.8 trillion won ($3.78 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 545 to 263.Analysts sai