The Korean won has gained the most to the U.S. dollar among 30 currencies of developed and developing economies in a month, putting financial authorities on alert against further appreciation of the won, industry sources said.The won strengthened nearly 5 percent as of Wednesday with the exchange rate falling below 1,100 won on increased volatility stemming from a weak yen driven by Japan’s aggressive monetary easing. Few restrictions governing foreign exchange transactions in the country are fu

Financial regulators are set to crack down on irregular business practices committed by financial service companies to help prevent consumers from being bullied.The supervisory policy toward enhanced consumer protection comes after angry citizens recently criticized an employee of Namyang Dairy Products for verbally abusing a wholesaler in the manufacturing sector.The irregular practices in the financial sector include commercial banks allegedly demanding unreasonable conditions in loan issuance

South Korean stocks rallied 1.18 percent Thursday as the central bank's decision to cut its key interest rate boosted investor sentiment here, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 23 points to finish at 1,975.45. Trading volume was moderate at 324.8 million shares worth 4.9 trillion won (US$4.56 billion) with gainers outnumbering decliners 521 to 291.   Analysts said the rise came as South Korea's central

The South Korean won has strengthened against the U.S. dollar at the fastest clip compared with other currencies in the last few weeks, spawning concerns over a sudden in and outflow of foreign funds, data showed Thursday. The local currency has soared 4.9 percent to the greenback in the last four weeks, closing at 1,086.50 won as of Wednesday, breaching the 1,100 won mark for the first time since Sept. 29, 2008, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK) and the Seoul foreign exchange market. The won

South Korean stocks traded 0.93 percent higher late Thursday morning on the central bank's decision to cut its key interest rate, analysts said.   The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 18.13 points to 1,974.58 as of 11:20 a.m.   Shares gathered ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics rising 1.08 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix climbing 1.75 percent. Top steelmaker POSCO added 0.62 percent.   South Korea's central bank delivered the first in

The combined foreign ownership of shares listed on South Korea's main bourse fell to an eight-month low as of Tuesday, apparently due to the protracted economic slowdown, data has showed.  Overseas investors held 34.02 percent of the total market value, marking the lowest number since 33.98 percent tallied in September last year, according to the Korea Financial Investment Association data that came out Thursday. Foreigners' presence on blue-chip exporters fell, with their stakes in Samsung Elec

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street on rising hopes for an economic recovery, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 8.05 points, or 0.41 percent, to 1,964.50 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Shares gathered ground across the board, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics rising 0.81 percent and top steelmaker POSCO moving up 0.16 percent. Leading builder Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. advanced 0.6

The nation’s securities regulator said Wednesday that it had filed a complaint against Woongjin Group chairman Yoon Seok-keum with the prosecution on charges of attracting investment while concealing its poor financial status.Though Woongjin Group had lost its ability to pay back its debt in the aftermath of a credit rating downgrade, Yoon raised funds by issuing commercial paper worth 100 billion won ($91 million) from July to August 2012, said the Securities and Futures Commission.According to

SEJONG (Yonhap News) -- South Korea is closely watching financial market conditions amid worries that market volatility could intensify down the road, the finance ministry said Wednesday.The ministry also worried that there is a possibility that the market could see a repeat of the so-called "herd behavior" similar to what was witnessed late last year."The level of alert has been rising recently against foreign capital flow in and out of bond markets and movements in foreign exchange rates," the

More than 110 to attend two-day meeting in Seoul

Chiefs of the nation’s loss-generating public agencies raked in performance-based benefits worth about 3 billion won ($2.7 million) in total last year.According to financial info provider Alio, CEOs of 104 state-funded agencies that failed to log a net profit in 2012 received a combined 2.98 billion won in bonuses.The state-run companies that posted net losses or reaped zero net profit included Korea Finance Corp., Korea Deposit Insurance Corp., Korea Credit Guarantee Fund, Korea Electric Power

South Korean banks’ household loans rose for the second straight month in April on the back of the government’s measures to revitalize the sluggish property market, the central bank said Wednesday.Local banks’ household loans, including home-backed and credit loans, reached 462.5 trillion won ($425.6 billion) as of the end of April, up 924.9 billion won from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea.Banks’ home loans grew by less than 1 trillion won for the second straight month in Apri