After four failed attempts, the Korean financial regulator came up with a revised measure to privatize state-owned Woori Bank on Monday, in a bid to make the sale successful this time. In the fifth attempt, the Financial Services Commission and its Public Fund Management Committee decided to sell a total of 30 percent out of a 48.09 percent stake held by the Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. to multiple investors, splitting the shares into 4 to 8 percent chunks. The committee expects a minimum of fo

Hugel, a runner-up in the Botulinum toxin market, was in the spotlight last week, as it attracted the largest funds from foreign investors on the Kosdaq this year. According to a report by the Korea Exchange, the pharmaceutical firm received a total of 202.2 billion won ($181 million) in foreign investments as of Aug. 10, marking its rise as a new Kosdaq star. The company’s share price jumped from 180,100 won in late 2015 to 439,900 won as of Friday. Its stocks were flying high Friday as investo

South Korean tax authorities can't track down about 27 percent of self-employed people's income, data showed Monday, as they evade taxation through a range of expedient means.According to the National Tax Office and the Bank of Korea, self-employed South Koreans filed tax returns for only 72.8 percent of their total income estimated at 120.4 trillion won ($107 billion) in 2014.This means that local tax authorities couldn't keep tabs on the self-employed's remaining income and collect taxes from

South Korea announced another attempt Monday to privatize Woori Bank, a leading lender in the country, saying the possibility of a successful sale is "higher than any other time."The government has agreed to sell off 30 percent of its stake in the bank to several different buyers by the end of this year, according to the Financial Services Commission."It's judged that potential demand for investment has been confirmed on a level (enough) to push for the sale," FSC Chairman Yim Jong-yong said at

South Korea’s monthly household real income and spending stayed flat in the second quarter compared to last year amid a protracted economic slowdown, a government report showed Friday.According to Statistics Korea, household disposable income showed a 1 percent increase year-on-year in the second quarter of the year, however its real income had no change during the same period.Consumer spending remained unchanged over the same period, pushing down the proportion of disposable income to consumpti

The South Korean financial regulator will announce a set of confirmed measures to privatize Woori Bank, the single state-owned commercial bank, on Monday. It is the fifth attempt by the Financial Services Commission and its Public Fund Management Committee to sell a controlling stake in the bank, currently held by the Korea Deposit Insurance Corp.  (Yonhap)The KDIC holds a 51 percent stake in Woori Bank. The Korean government established Woori Bank by merging five struggling banks with a total o

The total market capitalization of South Korea’s 10 biggest business groups surged nearly 30 trillion won ($27 billion) in August alone, according to data provider FnGuide Sunday. According to the online financial information provider, the total market cap of the top 10 groups listed on the Kospi as of Friday stood at 690.2 trillion won, up 29.8 trillion won or 4.5 percent from late July. Samsung Group`s head office in Seocho-dong, southern Seoul (Samsung Group)The market cap of Samsung Electron

South Korea’s producer prices in July dropped slightly from the previous year on a large cut in prices of coal and petroleum products, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea on Friday.

Powered by better-than-expected market responses for the new Galaxy Note phablet, expectations for a continued recovery of earnings have propelled shares of Samsung Electronics Co. to an all-time high, after surging more than 30 percent this year. Shares of Samsung, the world's largest maker of smartphones, jumped 4.7 percent on Thursday to close at 1,640,000 won ($1,480), a record closing high, and traded at a new intraday record of 1,643,000 won per share in early Friday trade. The stock rally

Overseas card spending by South Koreans expanded more than 5 percent in the second quarter of 2016 despite a decline in the number of outbound travelers, central bank data showed Friday.Their credit, check and debit card purchases abroad rose 5.2 percent on-quarter to $3.47 billion during the April-June period, according to the Bank of Korea.It marks a 4.5-percent increase from the $3.32 billion recorded a year earlier.The rise came in spite of a fall in the number of people traveling abroad. It

CEO Cho Hwan-eik of Korea Electric Power Corp. (left) talks with Vice Industry Minister Woo Tae-hee during a government-ruling party meeting in Seoul on Thursday on a controversial plan to cut monthly electricity bills for households, which are expected to be excessive due to the record-breaking summer heat. (Yonhap)

Samsung Electronics’ Samsung Electronics shares soared to an all-time high Thursday on expectations of the better performance of the Korean electronics giant for the rest of the year, not only in smartphones, but also in chips and display panels. The shares closed at 1.64 million won ($1,481) apiece on Seoul’s main stock exchange, up 4.73 percent from the previous day. It was the highest closing price for the stock since Jan. 3, 2013 when it recorded 1,576,000 won. The market bellwether opened h

South Korean shares ended higher on Thursday helped by increased buying by foreigners and pension funds. The local currency climbed against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 11.72 points, or 0.57 percent, to 2,055.47.The rise followed overnight gains on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.12 percent, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index climbing 0.03 percent."Robust earnings of Samsung Electronics Co. also helped the main index, and eas