More than half of adults in South Korea tend not to review the effects of inflation on real estate prices when making housing transactions, a phenomenon known as the “money illusion,” according to a report from the Bank of Korea. Money illusion is a term coined by the American economist Irving Fisher in the late 1920s to describe people’s tendency to view their wealth and income in nominal dollar terms, wrongly believing that they have a fixed value, rather than recognize thei

South Korea's exports are expected to surge more than 17 percent on-year to surpass the $600 billion mark in 2021 on the back of the global economic recovery, a report said Monday. The country's overseas shipments are likely to come to $601.7 billion this year, up 17.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the report from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). It will mark the second time after 2018 that exports of Asia's fourth-largest economy will exceed $600 billion per year.

Investment advisory firms in South Korea bounced back to a profit in fiscal 2020 as the local stock market remained bullish, data showed Monday. The 228 investment advisers reported a combined net profit of 242.6 billion won ($215 million) in the fiscal year of 2020, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). It marks a sharp turnaround from a total net loss of 37.7 billion won recorded the previous year. The financial watchdog attributed the stellar performance to in

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Monday on increased valuation pressure after the key stock index closed at an all-time high the previous session. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) edged up 1.45 points, or 0.04 percent, to trade at 3,304.29 points as of 9:15 a.m. The Kospi finished the previous session at a record high of 3,302.84 points, fueled by a massive infrastructure package in the United States. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics inched up 0.12

South Korea's exports are forecast to soar 35.8 percent on-year in June on brisk demand for chips and automobiles from major economies, a poll showed Monday. Outbound shipments are estimated at $53.2 billion this month, according to the survey of eight brokerage houses by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News Agency. Imports are projected to swell 34.7 percent from a year earlier to $48.2 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $5 billion. The country's exports rose 29.5 perc

KaKakaoBank, South Korea’s leading mobile-only bank, said Sunday that it would join forces with industry partners to launch a credit scoring service specialized in mom-and-pop stores as a means to expand loans for low credit holders. The lender will be a major shareholder in a new credit-scoring company, with a 33 percent stake. Korea Credit Data -- provider of Cash Note, business management software for small and medium-sized businesses that has 800,000 users -- will own 43 percent.

Kospi rises 7th-sharpest among G-20 bourses amid exports recovery

Banks in South Korea have asked the financial authorities not to hold them responsible for money laundering or other fraud involving digital coins, at a time when they are under pressure to screen the digital exchanges for authenticity amid high volatility. The banks apparently remain reluctant to issue real-name accounts for local cryptocurrency exchanges’ virtual asset customers. A recent amendment to the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information requires t

This is the second installment of a series of articles investigating financial activities of seniors during rapid digitalization of the finance industry. —Ed. Three years ago, a 32-year-old software developer surnamed Park bought an individual retirement pension plan, not knowing exactly what his corporate pension plan was as an employee. Holding a portfolio mix of stock funds and a bond fund, with one of the stock funds returning as high as 43 percent since inception, the private retir

South Korea's stock market reached an all-time high for the second consecutive day Friday, in sync with a global stock rally that stemmed from hopes of a quick economic rebound and a massive US stimulus package. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 16.74 points, or 0.51 percent, to close at 3,302.84 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.2 billion shares worth some 18.4 trillion won ($16.3 billion), with gainers outnumb

South Korea’s Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki on Friday voiced opposition to a new round of COVID-19 emergency cash handouts for all nationals, promoted by the ruling Democratic Party and the government. “It is inappropriate to hand out emergency relief funds to people in the upper income brackets. The US government doesn’t even offer tax rebates for the upper class,” Hong said at the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee meeting. “Spending money

South Korea’s top financial regulator said Friday it will lift the current 20 percent dividend cap imposed on local lenders and financial holding firms on July 1, raising the possibility of interim dividends in the second quarter.  The decision came as most of Korea’s major banks and financial holding companies were found to have maintained financial soundness amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. They passed the authority’s latest stress test, conducted between May and

A group of South Korean researchers on Friday announced a method to produce environment-friendly fuels utilizing remains of high-fat infects, which is expected to lend support to the country's efforts to go carbon neutral by 2050. "Black soldier flies have great potential to be used to produce biodiesel, considering they feed on food waste and have a high fat content," the Korea Petroleum Quality & Distribution Authority (K-Petro) said in a statement. It added the method is signi

South Korea‘s first-tier stock bourse index Kospi hit an all-time high Friday to close at over 3,300 points, maintaining a winning streak for the fourth consecutive day. This is the first time the composite benchmark index representing the Korea Exchange’s main board exceeded 3,300 points since its birth in 1980. The Kospi closed at 3,302.84 points on Friday, up 0.5 percent from the previous day. Its 808 listed companies‘ combined market cap stood at 2,311.6 trillion won ($2

South Korea's overseas direct investment declined 21.6 percent on-year in the first quarter amid the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Friday. The value of investments made by South Korean companies reached $11.2 billion in the January-March period, compared with $14.3 billion the previous year, according to the data by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Such investments declined after a 4.7 percent on-year increase in the fourth quarter of last year. The country's overseas direc