South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday as the rising woes over an earlier-than-expected tapering of U.S. quantitative easing dented investors' sentiment, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 9.62 points, or 0.48 percent, to 1,999.74 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech shares traded lower, with No. 1 Samsung Electronics moving down 1.03 percent and its rival LG Electronics falling 0.75 percent. Flat panel maker LG Display shed 1.05 percent.Shipbuilder

The nation’s top financial watchdog urged foreign financial firms operating in Korea to strengthen their internal controls to prevent financial wrongdoings.Financial Supervisory Service Governor Choi Soo-hyun issued the call when he met a group of CEOs of foreign financial companies in Seoul on Tuesday.“Foreign financial firm CEOs need to pay attention to in-house control and involve themselves directly in the efforts to prevent financial mishaps,” he said, adding that the misconduct and wrongdo

Government to downsize plan to provide cheaper apartments to low-income households

The Green Climate Fund will kick off its operations in Korea on Wednesday, with a fund-raising operation on a similar scale to that of the International Monetary Fund.In late 2012, Songdo in Incheon was chosen as the permanent home to the environment-oriented fund, beating two major competitors ― Geneva, Switzerland, and Bonn, Germany ― in the competition to host the secretariat.Its total fund-raising is estimated to reach $800 billion (880 trillion won) in the coming years, approaching the leve

South Korean stocks sank more than 1 percent on Tuesday on concerns that the U.S. Federal Reserve may start reducing its stimulus measures earlier than expected on robust economic data, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 21.42 points, or 1.05 percent, to 2,009.36. Trading volume was low at 290 million shares worth 3.59 trillion won ($3.38 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 223 to 588.Analysts said the

South Korean stocks traded 0.63 percent lower late Tuesday morning amid woes that the United States may start tapering its economic stimulus moves earlier than expected, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 12.80 points to 2,017.98 as of 11:20 a.m.Carmakers traded lower, with No. 1 Hyundai Motor falling 4.21 percent and top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis decreasing 3.53 percent. Kia Motors shed 4.87 percent.Brokerage houses also lost ground, with Samsung Sec

KB Financial Group made its bid Monday to buy two affiliates of Woori Finance Holdings Co., as the government moves a step closer to privatizing the state-run banking group, officials said.The second-largest South Korean banking firm submitted its bid to take over Woori F&I Co., the debt investment unit, and auto insurance arm Woori Financial Co., according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and bank officials familiar with the matter.Four other financial companies, including local broke

Government officials warned that Korea will face a catastrophic effect equivalent to the U.S. government shutdown in October if the National Assembly does not pass the 2014 budget bill by year-end.Lawmakers failed to pass the budget by the legal deadline on Monday due to political strife between the ruling and opposition parties over key national and economic issues, including tax revision and the appointment of an audit chief.Korean lawmakers have not passed the annual budget for 11 straight ye

South Korean stocks closed lower Monday as investors sat on the sidelines on weaker-than-expected Black Friday sales in the United States, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 14.09 points, or 0.69 percent, to 2,030.78. Trading volume was low at 224.3 million shares worth 3.2 trillion won ($3.02 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 525 to 299.Analysts said the local stock market lost ground as the weaker-t

South Korean stocks traded 0.15 percent lower late Monday morning due to the lack of growth momentum in the market, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 3.14 points to 2,041.73 as of 11:20 a.m.Tech shares lost ground, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics falling 0.27 percent and its smaller local rival LG Electronics losing 0.88 percent. Flat panel maker LG Display also decreased 0.61 percent.Logistics firms also traded lower, with Hyundai Glovis moving

Korean brokerage houses and card companies are feared to face worsening profitability as the Federal Reserve's possible tapering of monetary stimulus will jack up borrowing costs, the top central banker said Monday.Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Kim Choong-soo said that an internal stress test showed that rises in market rates, triggered by the tapering of the Fed's quantitative easing (QE), is not likely to pose a threat to financial stability, but local securities companies and card firms are feared

South Korean stocks opened higher Monday due mainly to gains by carmakers and financial firms, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 2.38 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,047.25 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Carmakers gathered ground, with No. 1 Hyundai Motor rising 0.6 percent and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors adding 0.17 percent. Auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis rose 0.98 percent.Financial firms also traded bullish, with Shinhan Financial moving up 2.13

Lawmakers of the Strategy and Finance Committee of the National Assembly have called for tougher measures against 12 state-run enterprises whose debt has nearly doubled over the last five years.In a report by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance submitted to the committee, the aggregate debt of 12 state-owned enterprises reached about 305.2 trillion won ($288.4 billion) at the end of last year, up from 158.6 trillion won in 2008.Korea Land & Housing Corp. had the highest debt of about 100 trilli