South Korean banking groups have been picking up the pace of expansion in Vietnam, eyeing financial clout in one of the fastest growing Asian economies. Shinhan Financial Group, South Korea’s No. 2 bank by total assets, is at the forefront of the movement. Its flagship commercial bank’s Vietnam subsidiary, Shinhan Bank Vietnam opened three more branches in a single day on July 29. Shinhan Bank Vietnam currently operates 46 branches across Vietnam. Shinhan Bank Vietnam plans to open f

Retail sales in South Korea rose 9.7 percent on-year in July amid eased COVID-19 curbs and the growth in people's outdoor activities, the industry ministry said Tuesday. The combined sales of 25 major offline and online retailers came to 14.17 trillion won ($10.48 billion) last month, compared with 12.9 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It marked the fifth consecutive month of on-year growth. Sales from offline stores

The Bank of Korea (BOK) will not change its current monetary policy of pushing for "piecemeal" rate increases to combat inflation despite US Fed Chair Jerome Powell's hawkish remarks at the recent Jackson Hole meeting, its top official said Tuesday. At the annual conference held over the weekend in Wyoming, Powell hinted at continuing the Federal Reserve's rate hikes for some time to rein in runaway inflation, a comment interpreted in the market as raising the possibility of

South Korea on Tuesday proposed a budget of 639 trillion won ($473.5 billion) for next year in the slowest spending growth in six years as it seeks to implement a belt-tightening policy to improve fiscal health. The proposal represents a 5.2 percent hike from this year's budget of 607.7 trillion won and compares with an 8.9 percent on-year increase for the 2022 state budget. But it marks the slowest growth since a 3.7 percent rise for the 2017 budget and a 6 percent on-year fall from this year's

South Korea's tax revenue grew 37.3 trillion won ($27.8 billion) in the first seven month of this year from a year ago as the collection of corporate and income taxes amid the economic recovery, the finance ministry said Tuesday. Tax revenue amounted to 261 trillion won in the January-July period, compared with 223.7 trillion won the previous year, according to the ministry. In July alone, tax revenue increased 800 billion won on-year to 42.7 trillion won. South Korea has posted a surplus o

South Korea's stock market opened higher Tuesday, as investors digested the possibility of the US Federal Reserve continuing its aggressive monetary tightening. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 16.05 points, or 0.66 percent, to trade at 2,442.94 as of 9:15 a.m. The market has faced renewed fears about aggressive rate hikes since last Friday when Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at the annual Jackson Hole meeting that the US central bank will keep rates at an elevated

SEJONG -- The number of self-employed people without employees came to the highest in 14 years in South Korea amid the surge in food deliverymen and business startups among retirees, state data showed Monday. The nation’s self-employed is split into two groups: those who hire several workers as micro-business owners, and those who do not hire any employees. The latter are also called own-account workers. According to Statistics Korea, the number of own-account workers, who work alone, re

South Korean stocks tumbled Monday as investors grappled with renewed concerns over the US central bank's aggressive monetary tightening. The Korean won dropped to its lowest level against the US dollar in 13 years. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 54.14 points, or 2.18 percent, to close at 2,426.89, ending its three-day rise. Trading volume was moderate at 441.63 million shares worth 7.79 trillion won ($5.77 billion), with losers far outnumbering winners 822 to 86. Ins

Executives from financial firms were reaping astronomical salaries and bonuses amid increasing embezzlement, a lawmaker said Monday, quoting data. Data submitted by the Financial Supervisory Service to Rep. Yang Jung-suk showed that a total of 327 embezzlement cases worth a total of 170 billion won ($126 million) had occurred at 78 financial firms from 2017 to August this year. According to the data, the amount of damage caused by embezzlements in the financial sector was increasing every yea

As Kospi, won tumble further, Seoul tries to downplay risks, while brokerages express heavy concerns

FSS clamps down on shorting stocks amid jumpy market

South Korea's financial watchdog has launched an inspection into Morgan Stanley as part of efforts to intensify monitoring of stock short selling that has been blamed for excessive market swings, industry sources said Monday. The inspection came about two weeks after Lee Bok-hyun, the head of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), underlined the need to keep tabs on illegal short selling, saying his agency is preparing to inspect brokerages where such transactions have been concentrated d

South Korea's stock market opened sharply down Monday, tracking Wall Street's rout last Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reaffirmed the US central bank would continue its fight against four-decade high inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 57.55 points, or 2.32 percent, to trade at 2,423.48 as of 9:15 a.m. "Restoring price stability will likely require maintaining a restrictive policy stance for some time," Powell said duri

South Korea plans to take measures to stabilize the financial market if there is excessive herd behavior in the wake of the US central bank's annual Jackson Hole meeting, a senior government official said Monday. First Vice Finance Minister Bang Ki-sun also said the government will closely monitor Korea's currency and bond markets with "extra" caution as the domestic market has moved in tandem with US markets. US stock markets nosedived Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell

The Bank of Korea will tighten policy to corral inflation but cannot end it before the US Federal Reserve, BOK Gov. Rhee Chang-yong said Saturday at the annual Jackson Hole meeting in Wyoming -- a three-day global economic retreat of central bankers held in-person this year after a pandemic hiatus in 2020 and 2021. “We are now independent from the government, but we are not independent from the Fed,” Rhee said on the last day of the gathering, in an interview with Reuters, noting th