South Korean stocks closed 2.08 percent lower on Thursday as foreign investors dumped local stocks on nagging concerns about Europe’s debt crisis, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar for the sixth straight session.The benchmark KOSPI trimmed 38.64 points to 1,819.11. Trading volume was moderate at 402.3 million shares worth 5.31 trillion won ($4.57 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 658 to 178.“Contagion fears about Europe’s debt crisis gripped investor sentiment.

South Koreans’ capacity to repay debt worsened to the lowest level in more than two years in the third quarter as falling share prices cut the value of their assets amid growing debt, the central bank said Thursday.The ratio of financial assets held by households and nonprofit organizations to debt, a gauge of their capacity to redeem debt, came in at 2.07 as of the end of the third quarter, down from 2.15 in the second quarter, according to the Bank of Korea.The third-quarter data marked the lo

Korea’s non-bank financial firms rapidly increased their share in the household loan market, seeing their combined total reach nearly 300 trillion won ($259 billion) and even outpacing banks, data showed on Thursday. The non-bank financial companies refer to savings banks, credit card operators, and insurance firms, and their household loan expansion in recent months is viewed by authorities as an additional risk factor to the country’s broader household debt situation. The size of non-bank fina

FSC follows court’s ruling to publicize U.S. fund’s eligibilityThe Financial Services Commission has made public its records on Lone Star Funds from the eight years since the regulator approved the fund’s takeover of Korea Exchange Bank in 2003.On Thursday, the FSC sent related documents on Lone Star to the civic group Solidarity for Economic Reform.The documents involve the regulator’s ruling as to whether the U.S.-based fund was eligible to own KEB between September 2003 and June 2006.After a

FSC follows court’s ruling to publicize U.S. fund’s eligibilityThe Financial Services Commission has made public its records on Lone Star Funds in the eight years since the regulator approved the fund’s takeover of Korea Exchange Bank in 2003.On Thursday, the FSC sent related documents on Lone Star to the civic group Solidarity for Economic Reform.The documents involve the regulator’s ruling as to whether the U.S.-based fund was eligible to own KEB between September 2003 and June 2006.After a fo

FSC follows court’s ruling to publicize U.S. fund’s eligibilityThe Financial Services Commission has made public its records on Lone Star Funds in the eight years since the regulator approved the fund’s takeover of Korea Exchange Bank in 2003.On Thursday, the FSC sent related documents on Lone Star

Steelmaker’s share stages tenfold growth on solid performancePOSCO shares attracted public attention again on Wednesday, one day after its founder and honorary chairman Park Tae-joon died. The country’s representative steelmaker is the No. 3 stock on KOSPI, with its market capitalization valued at 34.2 trillion won, easily outpacing other blue-chip shares. POSCO, whose shares closed up 500 won at 390,000 won on Wednesday, is widely regarded as one of the favorites for investors at home and abroa

South Korean households with monthly spendings of 4 million won ($3,450) or more are on the rise as prices for essentials increase, a report showed Wednesday.According to Statistics Korea, such households in the highest spending bracket accounted for 10.51 percent of all households in the third quarter of the year, exceeding the 10-percent mark for the first time.The comparable figure for 2010 was 8.79 percent, the statistics agency said, adding that spending on a vast array of goods and service

South Korean stocks closed 0.34 percent lower on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve failed to lay out new stimulus measures to prop up the economy, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark KOSPI fell 6.31 points to 1,857.75. Trading volume was moderate at 396.6 million shares worth 4.36 trillion won ($3.77 billion), but gainers outpaced losers 433 to 381.“The market was largely lackluster. The Seoul bourse started weaker due to a lack of the Fed’s fresh economic

SC First Bank, the local unit of the British banking group Standard Chartered, plans to accept the request of all 813 workers who applied for early retirement, the bank said Wednesday, cutting 13 percent its workforce as part of cost cutting reforms.“We plan to accept all 813 applications for voluntary redundancy. They will work until the end of the month,” a spokeswoman at the bank said.The bank started taking applications for voluntary redundancy from those who are aged 35 or more and have wor

Report says 2003 documents were written by regulators, not accounting firmFinancial regulators are suspected of fabricating documents on Lone Star Funds in 2003 when Korea Exchange Bank was acquired by the buyout fund, according to a news report.At least over the past few months, the Financial Services Commission (then the Financial Supervisory Commission) has argued that the records, submitted by an accounting firm, prove that Lone Star was eligible to own a Korean bank.But the documents were a

Opposition lawmakers call for parliamentary probe into FSC over KEB dealFinancial regulators are expected to make public their stance on Lone Star Funds this week as to whether the U.S.-based fund was eligible to own Korea Exchange Bank between 2003 and 2006.“The Financial Services Commission has notified that it would send related documents on Lone Star to us on Dec. 15,” a researcher of the Solidarity for Economic Reform said Tuesday.The regulator’s coming move reflects a Nov. 24 ruling by the

Opposition submits proposal to investigate into regulator’s OK of fund’s takeover of KEBFinancial regulators are expected to make public their stance on Lone Star Funds this week as to whether the U.S.-based fund was eligible to own Korea Exchange Bank between 2003 and 2006.“The Financial Services Commission has notified that it would send related documents on Lone Star to us on Dec. 15,” a researcher of the Solidarity for Economic Reform said Tuesday.The regulator’s coming move reflects a Nov.