Stock transactions in South Korea spiked more than 70 percent in 2020 amid an investment craze among retail investors, data showed Friday. The value of stock trading in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 35,397.3 trillion won ($30.2 trillion) last year, up 70.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The on-year growth rate is much higher than the 6 percent increase recorded the previous year. In the first six months of the year alone, stock

The South Korean economy is facing continued uncertainty about the recovery of domestic demand as the latest resurgence in COVID-19 cases is denting person-to-person service sectors, the finance ministry said Friday. In its monthly economic assessment report, the ministry said the country's exports have extended solid growth momentum and the job market has improved despite the fourth wave of the pandemic. "But uncertainty over domestic demand has continued, centering on face-to-face service

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday ahead of the holiday as investors weigh the pace of an economic recovery from the pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 14.08 points, or 0.45 percent, to 3,116.01 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks retreated as investors took to the sidelines to digest mixed US economic indicators, such as weak price and strong retail sales in August, and their impact on the global economy. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial

Female golfers will gather Friday to play in a Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association tournament hosted by OK Savings Bank, which returned this year after being canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The KLPGA’s OK Savings Bank Pak Se-ri Invitational – which takes its name after the legendary South Korean golfer – is scheduled from Friday to Sunday at Sejong Silkriver Country Club & Gallery in the city of Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. Some 120 playe

Should Hyundai Card leave Hyundai Motor, card issuer likely to face increased debt financing costs, experts say

  A green fund jointly invested in by two South Korean banking giants -- KB and Shinhan-- will partly finance a renewable energy project in Sweden, officials said Thursday.  The financial holding firms invested a combined 80 billion won ($68.4 million) in the Global Green Energy Partnership Fund set up in April last year. Korea Midland Power, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and Sprott Korea Investment also joined the fund designed to facilitate development of renewable energy across

South Korea's trade watchdog said Thursday it has decided to recommend the government extend anti-dumping duties on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film imported from Taiwan, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates, citing substantial damage to the local industry. The Korea Trade Commission said it has advised the finance ministry to set duties of 3.19 percent to 60.95 percent on PET film coming from the countries for the next five years. The country already had been applying tariffs of around

The delinquency rate for South Korean banks' won-denominated loans rose in July due to an increase in overdue corporate loans, the financial regulator said Thursday. The rate for bank loans more than 30 days overdue stood at 0.27 percent at the end of July, up from 0.25 percent the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Compared with a year earlier, the rate was down 0.09 percentage point in July. The delinquency rate for corporate loans rose 0.03 percentage poi

South Korea's public account surplus turned to deficit in 2020 as the government increased fiscal spending to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Thursday. In 2020, the country's public account deficit came to 50.6 trillion won ($43.3 billion), according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The deficit compared with a 14.7 trillion won surplus in 2019, when the country's public account balance continued to stay in the black for the fifth consecut

South Korea's exports of fishery products rose nearly 18 percent on-year in the first eight months of 2021 amid the pandemic, data showed Thursday. Outbound shipments of fishery products reached $1.74 billion over the January-August period, compared to $1.48 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The ministry attributed the growth to more people visiting restaurants around the globe compared to the previous year, which boosted the demand for seafood

South Korea's trade ministry said Thursday it has been maintaining robust trade with Britain on the back of their free trade agreement (FTA), which was revamped earlier this year, despite London's divorce with the European Union. South Korea and Britain held their first meeting of the trade committee of goods virtually to discuss a wide array of commerce issues and follow up on the bilateral FTA, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The two countries implemented the pact i

South Korean stocks opened flat Thursday amid easing concerns about a global economic recovery. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 1.84 points, or 0.06 percent, to trade at 3,151.56 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics declined 0.26 percent, with No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix losing 1.86 percent. Internet portal operator Naver added 1.5 percent, but giant pharmaceutical firm Samsung Biologics decreased 1.6 percent.

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday that state-backed funds will extend loan maturity and rollover interest payments again for smaller firms and merchants hit hard by the pandemic. State-run agencies and funds set up to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro business owners will extend the measures by another six months until March next year, Hong said. The move follows similar measures taken by local banks as part of efforts to support smaller companies and merchant

Consumer financing firms in South Korea saw their combined net profit jump 50 percent on-year in the first half, supported by strong gains from stock rallies and a modest gain in interest income, data showed Thursday. The combined net profit of 114 credit-specialized financial firms stood at 1.99 trillion won ($1.69 billion) in the first half, compared with a profit of 1.33 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Their interest income ro

Cyworld, the once-popular social networking service, signed a strategic partnership with Hancom, an office suite software developer in South Korea, according to both companies on Wednesday. The partnership comes as Cyworld gears up to jump into the market with its metaverse-powered service Cyworld Z. The metaverse refers to a virtual world in which individuals can interact as avatars through different kinds of virtual technology such as augmented reality and virtual reality. The partnershi