South Korean stocks closed 0.85 percent lower Wednesday on overnight Wall Street falls and growing concerns that France and Greece may reverse course on fiscal austerity measures, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI lost 16.72 points to 1,950.29, a turnaround from a gain in the previous session. Trading volume was moderate at 462 million shares worth 4.90 trillion won ($4.29 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 537 to 306.U.S. stocks fell to a tw

Kim Seok-dong, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, on Wednesday stressed that the government will go ahead with its plan to privatize Woori Financial Group despite warnings of a strike by the Woori union.The labor union of Woori warned on Monday that it will launch a general strike if the government takes steps to merge the nation’s largest financial group in assets with rival KB Financial Group. “The privatization of Woori Financial Group is not something people can protest against,”

Sets May 18 deadline for bids to manage sale of suspended banksThe state-run Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. has begun the procedure to sell off four suspended savings banks ― Solomon, Mirae, Korea and Hanju.The KDIC announced Wednesday on its website that it will receive bids from select companies to manage the sale and provide legal advice.The requests for proposals should be submitted to the KDIC headquarters in Seoul by 5 p.m. on May 18. The selected sale manager and legal consultancy will hav

NEW YORK (AP) ― Rattled investors took refuge in U.S. government bonds after stock markets dropped around the world.Investors were alarmed by the deepening political turmoil in Greece, which threatens to undermine that country’s financial rescue program.The leader of a left-wing party declared that Greece was no longer bound by its pledges to impose steep spending cuts in return for relief from international lenders. Alexis Tsipras is struggling to form a new government two days after Greek vote

South Korean stocks closed 0.54 percent higher Tuesday as investor sentiment got a boost from gains in U.S. and European markets, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI moved up 10.57 points to 1,967.01, a turnaround from a three-session losing streak. Trading volume was moderate at 484 million shares worth 4.10 trillion won ($3.61 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 544 to 276.Market watchers said investors were buoyed by overall gains in the U.S.

The issuance of asset-backed securities in South Korea surged 63.8 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, led mostly by state-run firms, the country’s financial regulator said Tuesday.ABS sales by local financial firms and mortgage agencies totaled 8.94 trillion won ($7.86 billion) in the January-March period, compared with 5.46 trillion won the previous year, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.The spike came as public firm Korea Land and Housing Corp. and Korea Housing Fi

Listed companies belonging to South Korea’s top 10 conglomerates account for nearly 60 percent of the local stock market’s total capitalization, a report showed Monday.The Korea Exchange report showed the aggregate market capitalization of the affiliates stood at 737.17 trillion won ($648.91 billion) as of end-April, up 14.72 percent from the end of 2011. The figure translates into 59.21 percent of the stock market capitalization, up 3.21 percentage points from the end of last year. Samsung Grou

The bad debt ratio of South Korean lenders rose in the first quarter from the three months earlier as new non-performing loans were reported in shipbuilding and real estate areas, the financial watchdog said Monday.Non-performing loans at 18 local banks totaled 20.9 trillion won ($18.3 billion), or 1.51 percent of their total lending, at the end of March, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. The figure marks a 0.15-percentage point gain from the previous quarter.Compared with a year e

South Korean stocks fell 1.64 percent Monday as investors were spooked by election results in Europe and weaker than expected U.S. employment data last week, analysts said.The local currency declined against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI lost 32.71 points to 1,956.44, in its the third straight session of decline. Trading volume was moderate at 527 million shares worth 4.69 trillion won ($4.12 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 622 to 211.“The market retreated as investors felt uneasy

Financial Industry Union demands government to give up mega bank planThe labor union of Woori Financial Group on Monday called on the government to stop its attempt to privatize the state-controlled company by selling it to another major banking group.The government’s plan to privatize Woori is likely to result in an acquisition by or a merger with a rival bank, creating a “mega bank” which would pursue high-risk business and limit consumers’ choice of financial services, the union said in a pre

Prosecutors said Monday they have raided four savings banks to investigate alleged irregularities that led to their operations being suspended a day earlier.Investigators raided the head offices of Solomon Savings Bank, Mirae Savings Bank, Korea Savings Bank and Hanju Savings Bank, along with the homes of each bank's executives, prosecution officials said.In total, more than 30 locations, includin