South Korea's electricity consumption climbed more than 6 percent in January from a year earlier due to a severe cold wave, data showed Thursday. Asia's fourth-largest economy used 49.89 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of power in January, up 6.1 percent from a year ago, according to the data from the Korea Power Exchange. The exchange said the solid increase resulted from the cold wave and more working days in spite of the business slump caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Last month, the avera

South Korea's chicken exports touched a new high in 2020 amid growing worldwide demand for ready-to-eat products and the popularity of Korean pop culture, a report showed Thursday. Overseas shipments of processed chicken came to $21 million last year, up 59.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the report from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA). KITA said the jump came as exports of packaged traditional chicken soup, or "samgyetang," and chicken breast spiked due

South Korea's top financial regulator said Wednesday it would be better to keep SsangYong Motor Co. afloat as its bankruptcy would result in massive job losses. Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Eun Sung-soo made the remark during a meeting of the National Assembly National Policy Committee, answering a lawmaker's question about the fate of the financially troubled carmaker. "It will be a demanding task to financially support SsangYong Motor's subcontractors. It appears to be

South Korean investors holding $550.3 million worth of shares in Chinese drone maker EHang Holdings appear to be left in disarray as the Nasdaq-listed firm’s stock price plummeted on a short seller report on Tuesday. EHang Holdings was the ninth-largest stock listed on the United States bourse to be in custody of the Korea Securities Depository until last week, according to the latest data by the KSD. It was also the seventh-most active US-listed stock this year, as Korean individuals a

The head of the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development said Wednesday that targeted support programs for low-income earners and small businesses will be more effective tool for South Korea to counter the economic fallouts from the coronavirus pandemic than a universal provision of relief funds. “Targeted support measures on those who need it most will have greater multiplier effects, imparting a greater boost to private consumption compared to across-the-board support to

The nation’s fiscal chief said Wednesday that housing prices had cooled down since the government announced new supply measures earlier this month. At a meeting with related ministers, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the government would speed up its housing supply plan, unveiled earlier this month, by selecting potential locations for new apartments by June and by strengthening monitoring to prevent illegal housing transactions and tax evasion. “To prevent confusion in the ma

Despite commitment, proportion of US coal stocks in KIC’s portfolio remains larger than its peers

The South Korean stock market ended its three-day winning streak Wednesday amid strong foreign and institutional selling that stemmed from concerns over a US yield hike. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 29.52 points, or 0.93 percent, to close at 3,133.73 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.8 billion shares worth some 16.6 trillion won ($15 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 422 to 417. Foreigners sold a

South Korea’s surging money supply fuels concerns of inflation, but experts are divided on the matter

Although the insurance industry fared well overall last year in terms of profit amid the coronavirus pandemic, its performance in the foreign alternative investment segment was disappointing, according to data announced Wednesday. Mirae Asset Life Insurance saw its operating profit drop 17.7 percent on-year to 115.8 billion won ($104.56 million) in 2020, although it secured a market share of more than 50 percent in the variable insurance segment. Its profit fell as the value of its alternati

Zero Pay, a mobile payment app developed by Seoul City, is considering a partnership with China’s financial platform UnionPay International, the company’s official said Wednesday. “We’re negotiating with UnionPay and other payment apps abroad but it is very early stage,” an official from Korea Easy Payment Foundation, which operates Zero Pay, said. “But it is our firm goal to expand our network beyond Korea so that users can pay with our app overseas,&rdqu

Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo said Wednesday that there were no political considerations at play in the regulator’s latest decision to extend its temporary ban on short selling, stressing that the practice a “necessary” trading tactic. “Even tough retail investors have voiced against short selling, the authorities reached a conclusion that short selling is a necessary trading tactic in the stock market,” Eun said at a parliamentary briefing,

Shares of MP Group, the South Korean company that controls pizza restaurant franchise Mr. Pizza and coffee chain Manoffin, have been suspended from trading, nearly two months after resuming transactions on the nation’s secondary bourse. The Korea Exchange’s Kosdaq Market Committee decided Wednesday to halt trading of MP Group shares as the firm has been suffering operating losses for six consecutive years. The decision came to “protect investors from a possible delisting,&rdqu

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Wednesday it will file complaints with the prosecution against four steelmakers for colluding to fix the purchase price of steel scrap. Last month, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) decided to fine seven steelmakers, including No. 2 player Hyundai Steel Co., a combined 300 billion won ($270 million) for price fixing. The corporate watchdog said it has decided to file complaints with the prosecution against Hyundai Steel and three other steelmakers, n

South Korean stocks opened steeply lower Wednesday amid strong institutional and foreign selling, led by tech and auto losses. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 27.65 points, or 0.87 percent, to 3,135.6 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks came off to a lackluster start as the KOSPI's three-day gain increased valuation pressure, in addition to the yield hike concerns on Wall Street. Top cap Samsung Electronics lost 1.41 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix she