The South Korean stock market fell for the sixth consecutive day Tuesday to hit a 17-month low, as investors fretted about high inflation and a global economic slowdown amid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and China's lockdown of major cities over COVID-19. The local currency hit its lowest point against the US dollar in more than two years. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 14.25 points, or 0.55 percent, to close at 2,596.56, extending losses to the sixth session in a row. It is

SEJONG -- Almost 1 out of every 2 state-funded agencies in South Korea were in the red last year, state data showed Tuesday, in the wake of the ongoing pandemic and soaring oil prices. Of the 362 public agencies surveyed, 170, or 46.9 percent, suffered operating losses in 2021, according to Alio, a system that publicizes management information of public agencies. They included the Korea Electric Power Corp. and the Incheon International Airport Corp. Kepco posted the largest deficit with an op

South Korea’s financial authorities recently returned over 61.4 billion won ($48.84 million) owed to Iran’s Dayyani Group, the amount that was stolen in an embezzlement scheme here between late 2012 and 2018, sources said Tuesday. The policymaking Financial Services Commission has returned most of the total 73 billion won owed to Dayyani’s consumer electronics arm, Entekhab, as compensation over the Iranian business’ failed takeover of Daewoo Electronics back in 2010.

Bond issuance in South Korea decreased in April from the previous month due to concerns about the US-led tapering, industry data showed Tuesday. The value of bonds sold in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 69.8 trillion won ($54.6 billion) in April, down 900 billion won from a month ago, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. The KOFIA attributed the issuance fall to the US Federal Reserve's hawkish signal to raise the policy interest rates to rein in the high

South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Tuesday, tracking an overnight crash on Wall Street, on concerns over high inflation and a global economic downturn. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 46.77 points, or 1.79 percent, to 2,564.04 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US shares tumbled as investors remained worried about inflation and the Federal Reserve's monetary tightening, which would slow the economic recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 1.99 percent

South Korea continued to post a current account surplus for nearly two years in a row in March, but the surplus contracted as soaring oil prices drove up import costs, central bank data showed Tuesday. The Bank of Korea (BOK) worried there is a possibility of the country posting a "temporary" current account deficit in April due to mounting energy bills and a rise in corporate dividend payouts in the month. According to the preliminary data from the BOK, the current account surplus rea

Almost half of South Koreans in their 20s said they would prefer to be part of a couple that does not have children after marriage in 2020, in a jump from 2015, when only 3 in 10 Koreans backed the idea, a local think tank said Monday. In 2015, 29.1 percent of Koreans in their 20s said raising children was not a must, whereas in 2020, 52.4 percent said yes to the same idea, according to the Korea Development Institute. Meanwhile, the number of those who said they would have children after marr

SEJONG -- More than 100,000 temporary jobs in the public sector have been converted into regular jobs during the Moon Jae-in administration, whose term expires Monday midnight, state data showed. According to Alio, a system for publicizing management information of 370 public agencies, 101,720 nonregular jobs were converted into regular jobs between May 2017 and May 2022. The outgoing president had pledged to have “zero irregular jobs” in state-funded agencies. The new permane

Ahead of the scheduled South Korea-US summit next week, some lawmakers and experts have been calling for a revival of the bilateral currency swap as a countermeasure to the growing signs of a weakening won, reports said Monday. South Korean market was rattled on Friday when its local currency hit its lowest point in over two years, trading at 1,272.7 won against the US greenback at around 3:30 p.m. It eclipsed the previous low of 1,285.7 won against the US dollar reached in March 19, 2020 when

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday on concerns over a global economic downturn amid high inflation and the prolonged shutdown of major Chinese cities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 5.32 points, or 0.20 percent, to 2,639.19 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Friday, US shares fell as investors were worried about the Federal Reserve's belt-tightening to curb inflation and the subsequent impact on the economic growth. The Dow Jones Industri

Concerns grow over runaway inflation, policy discord with BOK’s rate hike, debt risks

Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byeong met with the UK Environment Minister Zac Goldsmith and British Ambassador to Korea Colin Crooks to discuss the role of the finance sector in combating climate change and biodiversity loss, the firm said Sunday. In the meeting held Friday, Goldsmith was briefed on Shinhan’s Zero-Carbon Drive, which includes the banking group’s goal to reduce carbon emissions by 46 percent in 2030 and 88 percent in 2040 in line with the landmark 2016 P

US central bank’s half a percentage point rate hike to speed up BOK’s monetary tightening, add volatility to Kospi

SEJONG -- Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon on Friday reiterated policymakers’ willingness to intervene promptly to stabilize the capital and currency markets.　 During a meeting to take countermeasures against the US Federal Reserve’s monetary tightening, Lee said that “there is a high possibility that Korea’s financial and foreign exchange market will react sensitively to external factors for the time being.” His remarks came after the Fed raised the US base rat

The Seoul city government said Friday it will invest a total of 612 billion won ($479.7 million) over the next four years to beef up the city's public medical services, including the construction of three new city-run hospitals. The project was launched amid growing calls for an expansion of the public health system to deal with health crisis situations, such the COVID-19 pandemic, and meet the needs of the less privileged, city officials said. Under the plan, a 600-bed capacity general hospital