Major foreign investment banks have revised down their targets and ratings on South Korea’s benchmark Kospi, which has been coping with market volatilities stemming from growing inflationary pressure and the prolonged Russia-Ukraine War. Japan-based Nomura Securities lowered its investment rating on the Korean market from “overweight” to “neutral” last week, suggesting investors to hold and not buy shares. Nomura cited the recent slowdown in the expansion of the

South Korea’s household debt topped 104 percent of gross domestic product, marking the highest level among 36 major economies, the Institute of International Finance’s data showed. Korea’s household debt fell to 104.3 percent of GDP in the first quarter of this year from 105 percent in the same period a year earlier, still outrunning rivals by a large margin, according to the report the Washington-based private financial industry association released May 18. Household debt l

Hana Financial Group has announced a set of mid- to long-term strategic goals for 2030 as it reorganized its corporate culture and strategy departments to better prepare for future industries such as the metaverse and blockchain. For the past 11 months since June last year, some 12,000 staffers of Hana Financial took part in a bottom-up project called “New Vision” consisting of staff surveys, in-depth interviews, metaverse workshops, collecting customer opinion, outside expert inter

The weekly average prices of gasoline and diesel in South Korea both climbed for the fourth consecutive week on a continued energy crunch around the world, industry data showed Saturday. The average retail price of gasoline stood at 2,013 won per liter from May 29-June 2, up 19.3 won from a week ago, according to Opinet, a website operated by the state-run Korea National Oil Corp.  In Seoul, where oil prices are usually higher than other regions, the average retail price of gasoline

KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo and the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy’s Deputy Minister Garry Grimstone discussed partnership in achieving net-zero carbon emissions and green investment, the South Korean bank said Friday. In the meeting held Friday, Grimstone called for KB’s active cooperation with UK businesses in investment of renewable energy, according to the firm. He noted the growing importance of renewable energy in achieving the join

South Korean stocks rebounded Friday from the previous session's sharp fall, amid eased inflation concerns after the group of major oil exporting countries announced a plan to increase the crude supply and the US job market showed weaker-than-expected growth. The local currency rose sharply against the US dollar. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed up 11.66 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,670.65. Trading volume was moderate at 552.2 million shares worth 7.45 trillion won (US$

SEJONG -- Korea’s inflation surpassed 5 percent on-year last month in the wake of an ongoing glitch in global supply and rapid growth in domestic demand amid normalization from the pandemic, state data showed Friday. According to Statistics Korea, consumer prices climbed 5.4 percent in May compared to a year earlier. This posted the highest figure in more than 13 years, dating to August 2008, when 5.6 percent growth in prices was reported. This also marked the first time that on-year inf

KB Financial Group said Friday it had produced and launched a video highlighting the impact of the declining bee population on the environment for the upcoming World Environment Day. The video titled “Warning of the Bees” portrays how climate change and excessive exposure to pesticides threaten the existence of bees, as well as the alarming consequences for humanity. It also paints the stories of people contributing to the effort to revive the bee population. The video is part o

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday, tracking the overnight US rally partly fueled by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' decision to increase the oil supply that helped ease inflation concerns. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 17.09 points, or 0.64 percent, to 2,676.08 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The OPEC Plus decided Thursday (local time) to add 648,000 barrels per day to the market next month, raising the size from the 432,000 barrels per

South Korea's consumer prices rose at the fastest clip in almost 14 years in May due to high energy and food costs over the protracted war between Russia and Ukraine and the economic recovery, data showed Friday. Consumer prices jumped 5.4 percent last month from a year earlier, accelerating from a 4.8 percent on-year spike in April, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the steepest on-year increase since August 2008, when consumer prices soared 5.6 percent. Inflation grow

Central banks should think about what they should do besides keeping prices stable as emerging economies including South Korea struggle to avert anemic growth once persistent inflation caused by the pandemic cools off, Bank of Gov. Rhee Chang-yong said Thursday at a conference. “To escape a low growth, low inflation trap, should emerging market economies, or Korea for that matter, follow the same advice professor Paul Krugman gave to central bankers in advanced economies, to ‘credib

SEJONG -- South Korea’s fiscal chief on Thursday called on businesses to refrain from raising product prices and wages amid lingering fears of rising inflation. The comments from Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho came during his meeting with heads of the nation’s six business lobby groups in Seoul. “Given that hikes in price tags and wages could bring about a vicious circle in inflationary pressure, (the government would like to ask you) to internally

South Korean stocks retreated Thursday, snapping a three-day gaining streak, as worries about the world economy possibly going into a recession continued to weigh on investor sentiment. The local currency fell sharply against the US dollar. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 26.91 points to close at 2,658.99. Trading volume was light at 513.1 million shares worth 7.6 trillion won ($6.06 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 520 to 322. Institutional investors unloaded a n

Brokerages join forces to end Korea Exchange’s decades of monopoly

Central banks need to do more than their obligation of maintaining price stability as calls for them taking more social responsibility will continue to rise in the post-pandemic era, Seoul's top central banker said Thursday. At an international conference in Seoul, Rhee Chang-yong, head of the Bank of Korea (BOK), said South Korea and other emerging countries are facing a likelihood of returning to a "very low inflation" and "very low growth environment" after current hi