The chief of South Korea’s KB Financial Group said Thursday that the adoption of environmental, social and governance values is gaining traction, and asked for cooperation between the Korean public and the private sector to make headway in the global race. “ESG values are growing around the world with irreversible speed,” KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo said in a special luncheon talk hosted by the National Assembly. “The manufacturing sector accounts for a

Loans extended by banks to households declined for the second straight month in January due to a hike in lending rates and tightened rules, central bank data showed Thursday. Outstanding bank loans to households came to 1,060.2 trillion won ($887.6 billion) as of the end of January, down 400 billion won from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korean (BOK). This marked the second straight month that the banks' household loans have declined following a 200 billion won fall

Service output rose in all 16 provinces and major cities for the third straight quarter in the fourth quarter of last year amid the vaccine rollout and the economic recovery, data showed Thursday. Service output grew 5.4 percent in the October-December period from a year earlier, accelerating from a 3.9 percent on-year gain in the third quarter, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It marked the third consecutive quarter of gains since the second quarter of 2021, when service output incr

Foreign investors continued to purchase more shares than they sold in South Korea's stock markets for the third straight month in January, central bank data showed Thursday. Foreigners picked up a net $1.81 billion worth of local stocks last month, according to the data provided by the Bank of Korea. The amount, however, was halved from their net purchases in December of $3.69 billion, the data showed. Foreigners' net stock purchases here came despite the increased risk-averse tendency amid expe

Bond issuance in South Korea rose sharply in January from the previous month in the wake of rising interest rates, industry data showed Thursday. The value of bonds sold in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 66.6 trillion won ($55.7 billion) last month, up 21.6 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. Sales of government bonds jumped by 10.8 trillion won, and corporate bond sales expanded by 8.8 trillion won. The issuance of fi

South Korea's advertising market grew at the fastest-ever pace in 2021 on a surge in digital advertisements amid the coronavirus pandemic, a report showed Thursday. Advertising expenses in Asia's fourth-largest economy amounted to 13.99 trillion won ($11.7 billion) last year, up 20.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the report from Cheil Worldwide Inc. It represented the largest on-year increase rate since data tracking began in 1973. The country's top advertising agency said last year'

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 10.23 points, or 0.37 percent, to trade at 2,779.08 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite jumped 2.08 percent on tech gains, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.86 percent. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 0.67 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix advanced 1.98 percent. I

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday he will meet with the central bank chief and the top financial regulator this week to discuss policy coordination, volatility in the financial market and economic risk factors. Hong plans to hold a meeting Friday with Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Lee Ju-yeol; Koh Seung-beom, chairman of the Financial Services Commission; and Jeong Eun-bo, chief of the Financial Supervisory Service. The finance minister said the main agenda will include how to coordinate fis

South Korea's current account surplus was halved in December from a year earlier as imports grew at a much faster pace than exports amid higher energy and raw material prices, central bank data showed Thursday. The current account surplus amounted to $6.06 billion in December, compared with a surplus of $12.06 billion a year earlier, according to the preliminary data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade. The December figure was also smal

South Korean stocks closed higher for a second day in a row on Wednesday amid hopes of strong corporate earnings. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 22.38 points, or 0.81 percent, to close at 2,768.85 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 530 million shares worth some 10.2 trillion won ($8.5 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 757 to 125. Institutions bought a net 197 billion won and foreigners purchased 239 b

South Korea’s Hana Financial Group has nominated Vice Chairman Ham Young-joo, who led its flagship lender’s smooth operation and business rebranding after its grueling acquisition of Korea Exchange Bank seven years ago, to be the next chairman of the banking group. On Tuesday, the firm’s chairman nomination committee tapped Ham as the sole nominee for the position, citing his performance in generating profit and bolstering stability in business. Ham has also shown “extra

An increase in the value of assets owned by senior citizens results in a rise in the possibility of their early retirement, causing a decline in labor supply to the economy, a central bank report showed Wednesday. According to the report by the Bank of Korea, a 10 percent increase in the value of assets such as homes owned by senior people leads to a 1.8 percentage point fall in their economic participation rate and a 6.1 percent decline in hours they worked. Such asset value increase also raise

The South Korean economy is on a recovery track, but external economic uncertainty remains high amid soaring energy costs and monetary policy shifts by the US Federal Reserve, a state-run think tank said Wednesday. The manufacturing industry has extended solid growth and the latest spike in COVID-19 cases appears to have had limited impacts on the service sector, compared with previous waves of the pandemic, the Korea Development Institute (KDI) said in a monthly economic assessment report. &quo

South Korea on Wednesday asked the chief of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to have additional discussions on its global tax deal to prevent exporters from shouldering an excessive burden, Seoul's industry ministry said. South Korea's Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook made the request during a meeting with the organization's Secretary-General Mathias Cormann held in Seoul. In October, the OECD announced that 136 nations had agreed upon a sweeping reform of the int

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 23.53 points, or 0.86 percent, to trade at 2,770 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite added 1.28 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.06 percent. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 1.36 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix advanced 2 percent. Internet porta