South Korea's household debt reached a fresh high in the fourth quarter of last year, but it grew at a slower pace from the three months earlier amid tightened lending rules, central bank data showed Tuesday. Household credit came to 1,862.1 trillion won ($1.56 trillion) as of end-December, up 1 percent, or 19.1 trillion won, from three months earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The gain slowed from a 1.9 percent on-quarter increase in the third quarter. Household credit

South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Tuesday as Russia sent in forces to parts of Ukraine. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 42.05 points, or 1.53 percent, to 2,701.75 points as of 9:15 a.m. Investors dumped local stocks following reports that Russian dispatched what it called "peacekeeping forces" to eastern Ukraine. Most large caps slumped in Seoul, led by foreign sell-offs. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics decreased 1.89 percent, and No. 2 chipmak

Mounting concerns over Russia’s possible invasion of Ukraine are increasingly weighing on an already jumpy local stock market, as investors price in a full-blown geopolitical crisis that could send foreigners holding Korean shares fleeing back home. The benchmark Kospi tumbled to 2,743.80, down 0.03 percent or 0.72 points from Friday’s closing. Foreigners, whose holdings account for a little over 30 percent of all Korean stocks, and institutions were net sellers, offloading 64 billi

5.2% of Korean workers paid over 8 million won a month

South Korean stocks closed almost unchanged Monday after paring most of its earlier heavy losses due to hopes of a summit between the United States and Russia over the Ukraine crisis. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) slipped 0.72 points, or 0.03 percent, to close at 2,743.8 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 484 million shares worth some 7.8 trillion won ($6.5 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 430 to 399. Instit

Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea dropped for the second straight month in January due mainly to decreased corporate deposits, central bank data showed Monday. Residents' outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits reached $93.17 billion as of end-January, down $4.1 billion from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It represents the second consecutive month of on-month decline. In December, the country's foreign currency deposits decreased

South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Monday, as investors took to the sidelines over the Ukraine risk, which stemmed from concerns about Moscow's potential invasion of Ukraine. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) lost 43.15 points, or 1.57 percent, to 2,701.37 points as of 9:18 a.m. Most large caps traded lower in Seoul due to foreign and institutional sell-offs, with tech and chemical sectors leading the KOSPI's retreat. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics decreased 2.

South Korea will hold its annual consultation meetings with global rating agency Moody's Investors Service this week over the country's economic conditions, Seoul's finance ministry said Monday. The Moody's credit rating team, led by Gene Fang, associate managing director of the agency, will hold a series of meetings with the finance ministry, the central bank and other agencies starting Monday through Feb. 28. During the meetings, the two sides will discuss the country's recent economic situati

South Korea's exports grew 13.1 percent on-year in the first 20 days of February on the back of demand for chips and petroleum products, customs data showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $34.30 billion in the Feb. 1-20 period, compared with $30.34 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports rose 12.9 percent on-year to $35.98 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $1.68 billion during the cited period, the data showed. By sector, ou

South Korea’s fiscal deficit reached over 100 trillion won ($83 billion), while national debt logged a deficit of 240 trillion won, as the country was bogged down by COVID-19 woes in the past two years, data from the Finance Ministry showed Sunday. With an additional 70 trillion won in fiscal deficit and 100 trillion won of national debt projected to be added this year, based on the size of the supplementary budget currently being discussed by officials and lawmakers, onlookers are expre

Be aware of excessive hype, metaverse’s goal of building twin lives in virtual worlds is still just a concept, experts say

SillaJen, a local biotech company that was given a one-year grace period and avoided delisting in November 2020 over embezzlement accusations involving its key executives, will be put on another six-month grace period, the Korea Exchange said Friday. A 22-month trading halt that began in May 2020 will remain in place. The KRX, which decided to take the firm off from the junior Kosdaq board a month ago after the initial grace period had ended, said SillaJen will be required to prove to have live

SEJONG – Economic policymakers are moving to tame consumer prices under their assessment that inflationary pressures would continue this month, Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said Friday. Several policy measures set to be taken include making price tags of food products at large-scale dining franchises publicized and extending fuel tax redemption. “Prices of dining out increased by 5.5 percent in January on-year. This marked the highest growth (in almost 13 years) since 5.

South Korean stocks edged up on Friday after choppy trading amid expectations of a US-Russia meeting next week about the standoff over Ukraine. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 0.43 point, or 0.02 percent, to close at 2,744.52 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 506 million shares worth some 8.4 trillion won ($7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 622 to 225. Institutions bought a net 103 billion won and reta

Global DRAM shipments dropped nearly 6 percent in the fourth quarter from three months earlier, a report showed Friday, amid sluggish demand from manufacturers that had hoarded up the key consumer electronics component over continued chip shortages. DRAM shipments during the October-December period were valued at $25 billion, down 5.8 percent globally from the previous quarter, according to the data provided by industry tracker TrendForce. Declining purchasing momentum, it said, also led to a dr