South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Monday, as investors here are concerned about a sharp dip on Wall Street last week that stemmed from weaker-than-expected earnings reports from market heavyweights and persistent woes over the Fed's aggressive tightening. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 21.35 points, or 0.79 percent, to trade at 2,673.7 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Friday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 4.17 percent on investors' fears about the tightening US m

South Korea's exports rose 12.6 percent in April from a year earlier on the back of brisk demand for chips and petroleum products, but the trade deficit widened on soaring global energy prices, data showed Sunday. Outbound shipments stood at $57.69 billion last month, up from $51.23 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It is the highest tally for any April since the ministry began compiling related data in 1956. The previous reco

Worries rampant over high volatility in exchange rates, but some say won still at optimum level

National Tax Service has hosted an in-house video contest in which contestants submitted short clips designed to help people understand complicated tax procedures, officials said Friday. The contest was held to make the agency’s digital tax service more user-friendly for those unfamiliar with online services. In videos one to five minutes long, NTS officials introduced key services such as, income tax, corporate tax, and year-end tax adjustment. The winning videos can be watched on the

South Korea plans to take steps to curb the Korean currency's "excessive" fall against the US dollar, a senior government official said Friday. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon also dismissed the possibility of a sharp outflow of foreign capital, citing the country's strong economic fundamentals. "Volatility in the won-dollar exchange rate has amplified amid fears about the Federal Reserve's aggressive rate hikes and economic growth concerns due to China's COVID-19 lockdow

Prices of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in South Korea will increase more than 8 percent in May amid rising global energy prices, the industry ministry said Friday. LNG rates for households and commercial users will go up between 8.4 percent to 9.4 percent starting May 1, leading to the users' extra payment of around 2,450 won ($1.93) per month on average, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The government has frozen LNG prices for households and general purpose since July 202

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Friday, tracking an overnight rally on Wall Street fueled by upbeat earnings from major technology companies. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 16.43 points, or 0.62 percent, to trade at 2,683.92 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Estimate-topping results by Apple Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. sent their stocks higher, helping the key US indexes erase recent losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.85 percent and the tech-heavy Nasd

Home transactions in South Korea plunged 47.6 percent on-year in March on the government's tough lending curbs and rising interest rates, data showed Friday. The number of homes changing hands nationwide stood at 43,179 units last month, compared with 102,109 deals made a year ago, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The March figure also marked a 38.2 percent decrease compared with the average transactions logged over the past five years. The number of

South Korea's industrial output rebounded in March after two straight months of decline, but retail sales fell on-month amid the fast spread of the omicron variant, data showed Friday. Industrial production increased 1.5 percent in March from the previous month, compared with a 0.3 percent on-month drop in February, according to the data from Statistics Korea. Compared with a year earlier, industrial output rose 3.1 percent. Asia's fourth-largest economy has been on a recovery track on the back

SEJONG -- Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Thursday sent a signal that the financial authority would move to intervene in the foreign exchange market as the Korean currency sharply lost value against the US dollar recently. During a meeting to map out countermeasures against the current economic situation in Seoul, Hong said the won lost ground against the dollar at a fast pace this week. The rising dollar prices were attributed to the possibility of faster-than-expect

Retail sales in South Korea rose 7.1 percent in March from a year earlier on the back of growing demand for foodstuff, daily items and luxury goods amid the worst wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry ministry said Thursday. The combined sales of 25 major offline and online retailers reached 13.69 trillion won ($10.81 billion) last month, up from 12.8 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Sales from offline stores rose 6.

South Korea's exports of autos declined for the first time in seven quarters in the January-March period amid global supply chain disruptions and Russia's war with Ukraine, customs data showed Thursday. The country's outbound shipments of cars came to $10.93 billion in the first quarter, down 0.6 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Autos accounted for some 7 percent of South Korea's exports. It marked the first on-year fall since the second qu

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Thursday as worries about an economic slowdown from the US Federal Reserve's widely expected interest rate hikes sapped investor appetite despite reports of sound corporate earnings this week. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 9.57 points, or 0.36 percent to trade at 2,648.63 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Shares traded mixed across the board. Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics was up 0.15 percent to 65,100 won, after reportin

South Korea's top economic policymaker said Thursday the government plans to take measures to stabilize the foreign exchange market, if needed, as the Korean currency has fallen against the US dollar at a fast pace. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki made the verbal intervention as the Korean currency hit an over two-year low against the greenback Wednesday amid heightened external economic uncertainty. "The government is closely monitoring the FX market in a bid to curb (the won's) excessive o

The Korea Exchange said Wednesday that Osstem Implant would begin trading Thursday, lifting a trading suspension put on Jan. 3, when the dental implant maker reported insider theft amounting to 221 billion won ($175 million). “The decision is based on the fact that the company has improved its corporate governance and internal oversight and had it checked up by outside experts,” the KRX said in a statement. The bourse operator said such improvement was necessary for the implant ma