South Korean stocks opened lower Friday, largely as investors worry over the escalating coronavirus situation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 3.02 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,977.25 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Kospi started off weak amid losses on the chemical and tech heavyweights. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics edged down 0.14 percent, No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix traded flat, and internet portal operator Naver lost 1.13 percent. Pharmac

Foreign ownership of South Korean land expanded 1.3 percent in the first half of the year from six months earlier, the land ministry said Friday. Foreigners owned 256.7 square kilometers of land here as of end-June, up 3.39 million square meters from the end of December last year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The amount accounts for 0.26 percent of South Korea's total land area and is slightly more than four times the size of Manhattan in New York. The valu

Dunamu, the operator of cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, said Wednesday that it sold its first NFT art: two paintings by the famous Korean pop artist Jang Koal. The first art piece, “Mirage Cat 3,” started its bidding price from 0.0416 bitcoins, worth 2.8 million won ($2,350), and was sold on Wednesday on the Upbit NFT Beta platform to a bidder who had offered 3.5098 bitcoins, or about 240 million won, the company said. The nonfungible token, digital counterparts of real-world asse

SEJONG -- The number of paid jobs for South Koreans in their 30s has declined for a seventh consecutive quarter. This could indicate a lack of job security for the core working age bracket, despite recent improvement in hiring indexes for other age groups. Statistics Korea said Thursday that the tally for salaried jobs increased by 681,000 on-year for all age groups in the second quarter. By age, the figure decreased only among those aged between 30-39. Those in their 60s and older topped the

South Korean stocks closed lower to extend their losing streak to a third day Thursday as the country's central bank raised its key policy rate to fight inflation and household debt. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 14.02 points, or 0.47 percent, to close at 2,980.27 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 587 million shares worth some 9.3 trillion won ($7.8 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 642 to 228. Foreigners and institutions offloaded a ne

NongHyup among Korean lenders jumping on digital bandwagon, but resistance persists

South Korea's chief economic policymaker said Thursday the country will come up with measures to win developed market status from Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI). South Korea has been pushing for the upgrade from the current position on the emerging markets list, as the global index provider will have its annual review in June next year. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki earlier said the country deserves to win the developed market status "in light of its economic situation and fo

South Korean insurance firms' earnings jumped more than 37 percent in the first nine months of this year amid the coronavirus pandemic and a bullish stock market, data showed Thursday. The combined net profit of insurance companies operating in South Korea came to 7.63 trillion won ($6.4 billion) in the January-September period, up 37.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Life insurers saw their combined net profit expand

BOK chief hints at another rate hike soon, saying current rate remains dovish

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday as investors attempted to cash in gains from the recent rally. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 7.35 points, or 0.25 percent, to 2,986.94 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The KOSPI got off to a lackluster start, apparently on the back of losses in tech heavyweights. Top cap Samsung Electronics fell 0.53 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix lost 0.42 percent. Leading chemical firm LG Chem shed 1.2 percent and

South Korea's international tax competitiveness has fallen nine notches over the past five years, a report said Thursday, pointing to a need to lower tax rates and simplify its tax system. The country's tax competitiveness ranks 26th in the world in 2021, compared with 17th five years earlier, according to the report from the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI). It marks the sharpest drop among the Group of Five major economies, as well as 37 members of the Organization for Economic Coope

South Korea’s economy will grow 3.2 percent next year on consumer spending and strong exports, with pandemic restrictions expected to have eased, a local think tank said Wednesday. The benchmark Kospi will also maintain its growth momentum and hit a record high, it added. “We will see a clear surge in consumer spending early next year as the coronavirus curbs are eased. … Exports will be strong, propped up by a global economic recovery,” said Jang Geun-hyuk, a seni

South Korea said Wednesday it plans to more than double the ceiling on the country's low-interest rate loans to Indonesia over the next five years in a bid to strengthen bilateral cooperation. Under the agreement between the two nations, the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) will be expanded to US$1.5 billion in 2022-2026 from the existing $600 million set aside for 2016-2021, according to Seoul's finance ministry. South Korea launched the EDCF program in 1987 in an effort to suppor

SEJONG -- The tally of those subject to the comprehensive real estate holding tax -- individuals or corporations -- exceeded 1 million this year for the first time since the nation introduced the tax in June 2005. According to the National Tax Service, almost 1.03 million individuals and corporations are supposed to pay comprehensive real estate taxes in 2021. The figure consists of 947,000 homeowners and 79,600 landowners. This shows that the number of comprehensive real estate holding tax ta

South Korean stocks closed slightly lower Wednesday as investors took to the sidelines ahead of the central bank's monetary policy meeting. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) slipped 3.04 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 2,994.29 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 540 million shares worth some 10.7 trillion won ($9 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 477 to 373. Institutions sold a net 592 billion won, while f