South Korean shares snapped a two-day winning streak Monday as investors took to the sidelines amid woes about a recession and possibly lackluster corporate earnings. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 10.34 points, or 0.44 percent, to close at 2,340.27 points. Trading volume was relatively small at about 369 million shares worth some 6.1 trillion won ($4.7 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 569 to 295. Institution

Six in 10 South Koreans planning to buy homes believe house prices will start to fall in the second half of this year, as rising interest rates will worsen repayment burdens, according to a survey by local property technology firm and listing platform Zigbang. In a survey conducted on 1,727 Zigbang app users from June 20 to July 4, 1,069 respondents (61.9 percent) said they expect the prices of houses in their neighborhood to fall, amid speculation over a sharper-than-expected rate hike the cen

Banks in South Korea will likely maintain a mitigated lending stance for households in the third quarter but credit risks for them were expected to rise amid increasing borrowing costs, a survey showed Monday. According to the poll of officials handling credit affairs at financial institutions, including 18 banks, conducted by the Bank of Korea (BOK), the index gauging bank's attitude toward home-backed loans and unsecured household lending stood at 14 and 19, respectively, for the July-Sep

Card spending surged more than 20 percent in May compared to the same month last year, according to data from the Credit Finance Association of Korea (CREFIA). CREFIA said Monday in a report that total card spending, including credit, debit and corporate cards, amounted to 99.3 trillion won ($76.3 billion) in May, when COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. This is a 20.7 percent increase from the 82.3 trillion won spent in May 2021. During the same period, the value of personal card spending so

Bond issuance in South Korea dipped in June from the previous month amid increasing interest rates at home and abroad, industry data showed Monday. The value of bonds sold in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 71.4 trillion won ($54.9 billion) last month, down 4.4 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. Sales of corporate bonds were similar to the previous month's level, but those of state, special and financial bonds

South Korea and Ecuador will resume official talks on the formation of a bilateral free trade deal Monday after a six-year hiatus, Seoul's trade ministry said. The two nations launched negotiations for the strategic economic cooperation agreement, a type of free trade pact, in 2016 and held five rounds of talks that year. The sixth round will begin on the day and continue through July 21, and will be held both in in-person meetings and via teleconferencing, according to the Ministry of Trad

South Korea's finance ministry and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), a regional development bank, agreed Monday to expand their joint loan program in a bid to bolster cooperation. The agreement calls for raising the ceiling of the joint loan facility by $200 million to $340 million, and extending its operation by three years until January 2025, according to the finance ministry. The deal was reached as CABEI opened its office in Seoul in an effort to bolster ties w

South Korean shares opened a tad higher Monday, buoyed by strong advances in tech and auto heavyweights. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had added 4.92 points, or 0.21 percent, to trade at 2,355.53 points as of 9:15 a.m. KOSPI's top cap Samsung Electronics moved up 1.02 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix increased 0.53 percent. The country's largest automaker Hyundai Motor advanced 1.69 percent, with its smaller affiliate Kia jumping 3.52 percent. The local c

South Korea's exports rose 4.7 percent on-year in the first 10 days of July on demand for chips and petroleum products, but the country suffered a trade deficit on soaring fuel costs, data showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $15.8 billion in the July 1-10 period, compared with $15.1 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports grew 14.1 percent on-year to $21.3 billion during the cited period, resulting in a trade deficit of

Eco-friendly vehicles accounted for more than 30 percent of South Korea's total car exports in the first five months of the year on strong overseas demand and the debut of two major electric vehicles made by local automakers in the US market, data showed Monday. The value of exported green cars amounted to $20.45 billion in the January-May period of this year, taking up 30.3 percent of the country's total auto exports, according to the data from the Korea International Trade Associatio

South Korea's electricity transaction volume touched a new all-time high in the first half of the year due to eased social distancing restrictions and an early heat wave, data showed Monday. The volume of power traded in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 269,432 gigawatt-hours (GWh) in the January-June period, up 3.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. and the Korea Power Exchange. It marks the highest tally for any firs

　 The Korea Exchange (KRX) on Friday disapproved an initial public offering by Kyobo Life Insurance Co., citing discord among major shareholders. 　 　After reviewing the insurer‘s second application filed in December, the bourse operator declined to approve its IPO before its management is stabilized. 　 　Kyobo Life had been seeking to complete an IPO within the first half of this year to diversify its funding sources in preparation for the introduction of a new accounting rule for insuranc

SEJONG -- Economic policymakers on Friday unveiled a policy of adding a zero-percent quota tariff on some imported daily necessities, including livestock products, in an attempt to tame the recent spike in consumer prices. The policy drawn by a group of ministries including the Ministry of Economy and Finance, was finalized during a meeting attended by President Yoon Suk-yeol in Seoul earlier in the day. It will be implemented via enforcement ordinances later this month. According to the Finan

Korea Exchange CEO Sohn Byung-doo said Thursday that the bourse operator will set out guidelines on the way listed companies should report their progress on environmental, social and governance issues. The sustainability disclosures become mandatory as early as 2025. “The ESG initiative is one of the four goals we plan to see take place. We will refer to the global guidelines,” Sohn said at a forum, held to discuss the ways Korean companies can better navigate the low-carbon transit

A top financial regulator on Friday called on savings banks in South Korea to intensify efforts to keep their asset management in good shape in the face of the rising possibility that their debt holdings could go sour amid fast-rising interest rates. Lee Bok-hyun, the head of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), made the remark in a meeting with CEOs of major savings banks in Seoul, the latest in a series of gatherings he has held with financial leaders since taking office last month. "