The United States government said Friday it will keep pressing South Korea to refrain from interventions in the foreign exchange market.“The Korean authorities continue to intervene in the foreign exchange market, and the won remains weak compared to its pre-crisis levels,” the Department of the Treasury said in a semiannual report to Congress on international economic and exchange rate policies.“We will continue to press the Korean authorities to limit their foreign exchange interventions to th

South Korean stocks will try to pull off a technical rebound this week, in the face of persistent eurozone uncertainties that have weighed down global economic recovery efforts, local analysts said Saturday.The country’s key stock index, the KOSPI, closed at 1,824.17 points on Friday, up 2.34 percent from a week earlier after China expressed its resolve to stimulate its economy, and U.S. housing market figures showed signs of improvement.The announcement and positive data helped calm market jitt

South Korean stocks rose 0.53 percent Friday on a European Union move to address its fiscal woes and prevent Greece from exiting the eurozone, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 9.70 points to 1,824.17. Trading volume was light at just 379 million shares worth 3.49 trillion won ($2.96 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 534 to 293.“Investor confidence got a boost from European leaders’ resolve to keep Greece wi

A senior executive of the suspended Mirae Mutual Savings Bank has been found hanged in an apparent suicide that would be the fourth such case in nine months, police said Friday.   The 50-year-old banker only identified by her surname Kim was found hanging by her scarf at a motel room in Seoul Friday afternoon, they said.   She checked in the motel around 11:20 p.m. on Thursday and was set to be su

South Korea’s household credit dipped in the first quarter due to a drop in demand for fresh loans and people cutting back on spending, the central bank said Thursday.Household credit totaled 911.4 trillion won ($774.5 billion) as of the end of March, down 500 billion won from a record high of 911.9 trillion won tallied three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea. Compared with a year earlier, household credit rose 7 percent in the cited period, marking the third quarter in a row that n

The eurozone’s fiscal troubles could seriously hurt South Korea’s exports and cause a slow down in economic growth, a private think tank said Thursday.The Hyundai Research Institute said persistent fiscal troubles facing European Union countries such as Greece are affecting worldwide trade.“If the EU cuts back on imports, this will have direct bearing on South Korea and could even cause a hard landing for the country’s exports,” it said. Europe accounted for 9.5 percent of South Korea’s trade la

South Korean stocks rose 0.32 percent Thursday as investor sentiment was buoyed by a European Union move to tackle its fiscal problems and prevent Greece from defaulting on its debt, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.After choppy trading, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 5.85 points to 1,814.47. Trading volume was light at just 400 million shares worth 3.47 trillion won ($2.94 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 415 to 376.“Conditions surroun

KB Financial Group, Korea Life Insurance and several foreign bidders, including Hong Kong’s AIA Group, have jumped into the contest to acquire ING Group’s Asian insurance business.Samsung Life, Prudential and Kyobo Life, which had previously expressed interest in ING Life, did not submit letters of intent in the preliminary bid last week.Analysts expect the price tag for the Netherlands-based financial group’s Asia-Pacific operations to rise above $7 billion, which would make it the largest-ever

The South Korean economy is faced with increasing uncertainty due to external downside risks such as Greece’s possible exit from the eurozone and international sanctions against Iran, Seoul’s top economic policymaker said Wednesday.In a weekly meeting of senior economic officials, Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan said external uncertainties have disrupted the steady pace of the country’s recovery.“There has been an easing of jitters coming into this week, but the global financial market remains uns

South Korean direct investment in China fell more than 5 percent annually over the past five years, a report showed Wednesday, stoking concern over weaker market presence in the world’s second-largest economy.According to the report by the Korea Center for International Finance, South Korean companies’ direct investment in China shrank at an average annual rate of 5.4 percent between 2007-2012.The decline caused the percentage of South Korea’s direct investment in China to fall from 5.4 percent

South Korean stocks fell 1.1 percent Wednesday on concerns a European Union summit meeting will not be able to resolve mounting eurozone woes and concerns Greece may default, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.EU leaders were scheduled to meet for an informal summit in Brussels on Wednesday, local time.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 20.07 points to 1,808.62, snapping a two-day gaining streak.Trading volume was moderate at 438 million shares worth

European funds accounted for 72.4 percent of all money that left South Korea this month amid mounting market jitters over a Greek exit from the eurozone, the financial regulator said Wednesday.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, British and other European funds sold off various holdings worth 2.38 trillion won ($2.03 billion) in the first 21 days of this month.Overall, foreign investors withdrew a net 3.29 trillion won in funds during the same period, with U.S. investors withdrawing

Investigators raided Hana Capital headquarters in southern Seoul on Wednesday over allegations of a suspicious deal with the troubled Mirae Savings Bank, news reports said.The search of the financial firm, one of affiliates of Hana Financial Group, came after Mirae Savings Bank chairman Kim Chan-kyung’s testimony to the prosecution that former Hana group chairman Kim Seung-yu was involved in a paid-in capital increase of the savings bank last September, the reports said.Kim Chan-kyung was arrest