South Korea plans to allow delivery workers and designated drivers to receive benefits from the employment insurance system starting next year as the government seeks to expand the labor safety net, a senior government official said Friday. It is part of the government's plan to expand the employment insurance scheme to all working people as the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the job market. The government plans to enable some platform workers, including delivery workers and designated

South Korea said Friday it will refrain from injecting public funds into overseas coal projects starting in October, in line with the global initiatives to gradually phase out traditional energy sources and go carbon neutral by 2050. Under the new guideline to be implemented next month, all public organizations will no longer disburse funds to overseas coal power plants, while private businesses in which the government has a stake will also be induced to follow the measure, according to the Min

South Korean stocks opened higher Friday on overnight US rebound that stemmed from easing fears over China Evergrande Group's debt crisis. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 11.37 points, or 0.36 percent, to 3,138.95 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks came off to a solid start as investors are monitoring the risks from the massive $310 billion debt of China's Evergrande Group. Market fears eased somewhat after the giant property developer announced t

South Korea's corporate direct financing fell 7.9 percent on month in August due to a decline in sales of bonds, data showed Friday. Local companies raised a combined 19.35 trillion won ($16.4 billion) by selling stocks and bonds in August, down 1.66 trillion won from a month ago, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Corporate stock sales rose 10.3 percent to 4.05 trillion won, with the value of initial public offerings jumping 27.4 percent to 4 trillion won.

South Korea's producer prices gained 0.4 percent on-month in August due to a modest rise in prices of food and energy, extending their monthly gains for the 10th straight month, central bank data showed Friday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, stood at 110.72 in August, compared with 110.28 a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The July index advanced 7.3 percent from the previous year, the BOK data showed. The prices of agricultural goods

As regulatory and stakeholder issues heighten around environmental, social and governance factors, companies must now oversee the associated risks more strategically. Unfortunately, ESG issues are sensitive to public choices, rely on future scenario-based materiality and require longer time horizons. Thus, the challenge in quantifying ESG risks has prompted companies to adopt different risk management procedures. Since ESG risks can turn to sizable negative impacts throughout a company’s

South Korean companies’ climate targets are not grounded in scientific evidence, a study showed Thursday, indicating that ambitious goals to achieve carbon neutrality for a sustainable future lack substance. This heightens calls for the country, which recently unveiled its ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, to have its companies take more concrete action to cut greenhouse gas emissions -- a major culprit behind global warming -- ahead of the Group of 20 Summit in October, acc

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki will hold a four-party meeting next week with the governor of the central bank and two chiefs of financial regulatory authorities to discuss household debt and other economic issues, officials said Thursday. Hong will preside over the gathering on Sept. 30 with Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Lee Ju-yeol, Koh Seung-beom, new head of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), and Jeong Eun-bo, new chief of the Financial Supervisory Service, according to the finance ministry.

South Korea’s stock market retreated Thursday, hit by the growing debt crisis faced by Evergrande Group, one of China’s biggest property developers, as financial authorities vowed to closely monitor the situation’s impact on the market. The benchmark Kospi lost 12.93 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 3,127.58 points. The secondary tech-heavy Kosdaq shed 9.86 points or 0.94 percent to close at 1,036.26. Trading volume was moderate at about 612 million shares worth some 13.

South Korean stocks retreated Thursday after the three-day Chuseok holiday in the face of comments by the US Federal Reserve's chief that it could start tapering its stimulus as early as November, as well as growing woes over a default of a giant Chinese real estate developer. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 12.93 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 3,127.58 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 612 million shares

Panic-buying in the property market continues despite tougher lending regulations

South Korean stocks opened steeply lower Thursday after the three-day Chuseok holiday, following comments by the US Federal Reserve's chief that it could start tapering its stimulus as early as November and growing woes over a default of a giant Chinese real estate developer. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 17.83 points, or 0.57 percent, to 3,122.68 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The key stock index plunged as investors digest the overnight US FOMC mee

South Korea plans to closely monitor financial markets as China Evergrande Group's debt problems and uncertainty about the Federal Reserve's tapering issue could increase market volatility, a senior government official said Thursday. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said the government will also pump up efforts to slow the growth of household debt in a bid to ease financial imbalances. Global financial markets were rattled this week ahead of the Fed's policy meeting and due to concerns

South Korea's exports rose 22.9 percent on-year in the first 20 days of September on the back of robust demand for chips, petroleum products and autos, customs data showed Thursday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $36.1 billion in the Sept. 1-20 period, compared with $29.4 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports increased 38.8 percent on-year to $35 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $1.12 billion during the cited period, the data s

South Korea's listed companies are likely to see their earnings spike nearly 50 percent in the third quarter on brisk exports, a market tracker said Thursday. The combined operating income of 246 listed firms is expected to reach 59.6 trillion won ($50.6 billion) for the July-September period, up about 49 percent from a year earlier, according to FnGuide. The operating profit outlook still remains high though it is much lower than forecasts of 118 percent and 91 percent for the first and secon