NPS is world’s 11th-largest coal investor, NongHyup is Korea’s top coal-financing bank, data shows

  Kim Jung-tai, the incumbent chairman of Hana Financial Group, was officially tapped by board members to lead the banking giant for another year, the group said Thursday.  Hana Financial Group’s recommendation committee for CEO nominations had recommended Kim as the sole candidate for the next president, allowing him to clinch a fourth term in office.  Once the appointment is confirmed during a general meeting of stockholders and board of directors slated for March, Kim

South Korea's fisheries output hit a four-year low last year due largely to sluggish aquaculture production and a fall in consumption amid the pandemic, data showed Thursday. The total fisheries output amounted to 3.71 million tons last year, up 3.8 percent from the previous year, according to Statistics Korea. The tally marked the smallest since 2016, when such output reached 3.26 million tons.Last year, the output from seaweed and oyster farming remained sluggish amid long rainy seasons. Fis

The number of jobs for wage workers in South Korea increased on-year in the June-August period of last year, but those in their 20s and 30s suffered extended employment slumps amid the pandemic, data showed Thursday. The number of paid employee jobs reached 19.1 million in the cited period, up 369,000 from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The quarterly tally was higher than an increase of 211,000 in the March-May period of 2020, when such jobs rose by the sma

US credit rating agency Fitch Ratings said on Wednesday that the near-term performance of South Korea's four major banks will be supported by loan-loss provisioning already made in 2020 and sustained relief measures introduced by the regulator. The pressure on their financial profiles, however, may persist as the ramification of last year’s pandemic-induced recession is likely to linger and affect the banks' asset quality and profitability, according to the company. “The prelimina

South Korea's central bank on Thursday held its benchmark policy rate unchanged at a record low of 0.5 percent, as the third wave of the new coronavirus undermined the scope of sustaining an economic recovery. As widely expected, the monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea (BOK) voted to leave the base rate steady in this year's second rate-setting meeting. The Bank of Korea (BOK) also maintained its growth outlook for the year at 3 percent but hinted it may revise up the figure depending

South Korean stocks opened steeply higher Thursday as the US Federal Reserve chairman's comments soothed inflation worries. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 47.82 points, or 1.6 percent, to 3,042.8 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks lifted largely on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's overnight reiteration that the world's largest economy still has a long way to go to recover from the pandemic's fallout. The rebound came a day after the key

South Korea’s public pension fund, the National Pension Service, has logged a 9.7 percent return last year to gain 72.1 trillion won ($65 billion) in its preliminary estimate, the government said Wednesday. Health Minister Kwon Deok-chul, who chairs NPS’ Fund Management Committee, added that the world’s third-largest pension fund was managing 833.7 trillion won worth of assets as of end-2020, in a committee meeting held in Seoul. The estimate will be finalized in June, accordi

South Korea’s patent protection agency is seeking to sharpen the nation’s industrial edge by overhauling intellectual property policies amid the rapid digital transformation brought on by the COVID-19 era. Artificial intelligence and data have emerged as essential means of generating intellectual property, but uncertainties surrounding related laws and a lack of institutional support are hindering the use of such technologies. The acceleration of the transition to a digital econo

Price plunges more than 20% within two days

South Korean stocks tumbled by more than 2 percent to dip below the 3,000-point threshold Wednesday on massive foreign selling, largely due to concerns over a US bond yield hike that drove the key stock index down for the past few sessions. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dipped 75.11 points, or 2.45 percent, to close at 2,994.98 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.5 billion shares worth some 16.7 trillion won ($17.7

The entire volume of commercial real estate investments in the South Korean market is forecast to reach 17 trillion won ($15.3 billion), similar to last year’s level, analysts predicted. “Foreign investors are paying keen attention to the local market due to the country’s relatively successful containment of the pandemic, and Seoul was named in the top three most attractive markets, according to CBRE’s 2021 Asia Pacific Investor Intentions Survey,” said Don Lim,

The chief of the nation’s intellectual property office vowed Wednesday to reinforce intellectual property rights protection of digital inventions to contribute to South Korea‘s efforts to become a pacesetting nation in the digital era.  “In the era of digital economy, business realms driven by digital intellectual property are forecast to expand rapidly. A transition to digital economy depends on active creation of patents for innovative digital technologies across indus

The number of newly established companies in South Korea climbed more than 15 percent to a new high in 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Wednesday. A total of 1.48 million new businesses were set up last year, up 15.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Startups. The ministry attributed the surge to a sharp increase in the number of real estate firms in the wake of a requirement for the registrat

South Korea’s Finance Minister said Wednesday that the state tax benefit program for “good landlords” – those who voluntarily reduce rent to ease burden on tenants – would be extended by another six months to support businesses hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The voluntary program – launched in April last year – has been rewarding landlords with a tax credit of 50 percent-to-reduction of rent. The program’s deadline has been already extended once f