South Korean stocks lost for the second consecutive session Monday as investors' concerns about the increase in bond yields reduced their appetite for risky assets. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.07 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 3,035.46 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 903 million shares worth some 13.1 trillion won ($11.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 456 to 389. Foreigners sold a net

South Korean investors‘ net capital inflow into Coupang shares came to $87.5 million in its first week on the New York Stock Exchange, data showed Monday. The figure was the highest among foreign stocks during the cited period, according to data from the Korea Securities Depository. Among Korea-based foreign stock traders, Coupang in its first five trading days was hotter than US electronic devices giant Apple, US gaming firm Roblox, SoftBank’s internet subsidiary Z Holdings and e

More than half of South Koreans believe that the nation’s labor market will further deteriorate this year, compared with the conditions before the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey conducted by a think tank here showed Monday. Some 77 percent of Koreans said in the survey commissioned by the Korea Economic Research Institute that the nation’s job market is likely to worsen compared with conditions in 2019. Of the 77 percent, 44.6 percent believe that the market will “extremely deter

South Korea’s household income surplus increased sharply last year as people tightened their belts to weather the protracted economic slowdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, data showed Monday. The nation’s household income surplus rate posted 32.9 percent, 32.3 percent, 30.9 percent and 30.4 percent, respectively, in the first through fourth quarters of 2020, according to a report from Statistics Korea. The figure has surpassed 30 percent only five times since 2003, when the

Sales of imported commercial vehicles in South Korea fell 24 percent in February from a year earlier on lower demand amid the extended coronavirus pandemic, an industry association said Monday. The number of newly registered imported commercial vehicles fell to 261 units last month from 344 a year earlier, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. Sales of all imported commercial vehicles declined last month as COVID-19 containment measures and u

South Korea said Monday it plans to raise 400 billion won ($354 million) through 2024 to support businesses seeking to innovate their products and services by utilizing high-end technologies. The first batch of the digital technology innovation fund, amounting to 102 billion won, will be rolled out throughout this year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The amount surpassed the original target of 80 billion won. The fund, raised jointly by the public and private financ

South Korea said Monday it will seek to expand the size of the local pet fish market by 35 percent through 2025 by developing more homegrown species while encouraging the public to adopt them. Under the goal, the size of the local pet fish market will reach 657 billion won ($581 million) in 2025, up 35 percent from 487.3 billion won tallied in 2020, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Over the period, the number of farms raising pet fish will increase to 186 from the current 151

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday, as investors' concerns about the bond yields hike reduced their appetite for risky assets. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 1.8 points, or 0.06 percent, to 3,037.73 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks turned lower after a choppy start, due to increasing bond yield concerns over earlier-than-expected post-pandemic inflation. The yields of the 10-year US Treasury finished last week at the highest levels in about

South Korea's exports rose 12.5 percent on-year in the first 20 days of March on robust shipments of chips and autos amid the pandemic, customs data showed Monday. The country's outbound shipments stood at $33.9 billion in the March 1-20 period, compared with $30.1 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Imports increased 16.3 percent on-year to $33 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $820 million during the cited period, the data showed. By sector,

The number of listed cryptocurrencies has soared in the past four years, as the rapid rise of the price of Bitcoin attracts investor attention to digital assets. However, investors should be cautious as digital coins easily get listed and delisted. Upbit, one of the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, launched in October 2017 with only one digital token -- Bitcoin -- but it now has 114 coins trading on the platform. Bithumb had eight digital coins in May 2017, but now it trades 1

South Korean bankers under four major lenders here saw an average median pay increase of over 8 percent in the past three years, making nearly 100 million won ($88,500) on average last year despite a shrinking workforce due to digitalization, data showed Sunday. The average annual income gained 8.6 percent from end-2017 to 98 million won as of end-2020, data provided by the four major banks – KB Kookmin, Hana, Woori and Shinhan – showed. Of the banks, employees under KB Kookmin re

Kim Jung-tai tasked with smooth succession, digitalization, overseas expansion in his final year at Hana

The use of undisclosed information accounted for the largest share of 112 unfair trading practice cases caught by South Korea’s sole bourse operator last year. According to the Korea Exchange on Sunday, the number of suspicious cases reduced by eight from 2019, but several different types of market disturbances took place in the local stock market. About 79.5 percent of unfair trading cases occurred on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market, followed by 17 percent on the main bourse Kospi market

South Korea's main airport operator said Sunday it will participate in a 600 billion-won ($530 million) airport development project in Indonesia. The Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) has formed a consortium with Indonesia's state-run airport operator PT Angkasa Pura 1 (AP1) and local construction firm PT Wijaya Karya Tbk (WIKA) to expand the Hang Nadim Batam airport by 2024, the IIAC said in a statement. "(Incheon airport) will invest in a 30 percent stake in the 600 billion-wo

The volume of cargo processed at South Korea's seaports declined 2.3 percent in February from a year earlier, data showed Sunday, amid economic jitters caused by the new coronavirus pandemic. Local seaports handled 118 million tons of cargo last month, compared with 121 million tons posted a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. Processed export-import cargo, meanwhile, rebounded after 14 months of decline, rising 0.4 percent on-year. The ministr