South Korean banks' household loans continued to grow at a faster pace in January, driven by the strong growth of mortgage loans, central bank data showed Wednesday. The value of outstanding bank loans to local households came to 996.4 trillion won ($892.8 billion) as of end-January, up 7.6 trillion won from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The January reading compares to a 6.7 trillion-won gain in December last year. The BOK said the rise in lending was

Mistaken transactions made through mobile payment apps will be subject to aid from a state-run deposit insurer after a revision of a depositor protection legislation takes effect later this year. Starting on July 6, the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation will help reverse error remittances that have occurred not only in accounts of financial institutions but also in mobile payment services such as Toss and Kakao Pay, according to amendments to the Depositor Protection Act. However, transact

South Korea's corporate watchdog said Wednesday it has approved a move by SK Telecom Co.'s mobility spinoff to launch a taxi-hailing joint venture with Uber Technologies Inc. T Map Mobility, wholly owned by SK Telecom, the country's biggest mobile carrier, plans to set up a taxi-hailing joint venture with US ride-hailing company Uber in April, as it seeks to strengthen its business in the connected mobility sector. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) said it has given the green light to the

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street amid hopes for progress in US stimulus. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 2.55 points, or 0.08 percent, to 3,087.22 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.14 percent to a new record high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.03 percent. Large caps traded mixed in Seoul. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics fell

The issuance of high-risk derivatives-linked securities (DLS) in South Korea plunged 31 percent in the first half of 2020 amid the fallout from a misselling scandal, data showed Wednesday. The local market for DLS, which doesn't guarantee the principal, came to 12.7 trillion won ($11.4 billion) as of end-June last year, compared with 16.1 trillion won six months earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. A DLS tracks the performance of interest rates, currency value

South Korea's central bank said Wednesday it has provided a net 4.75 trillion won ($4.25 billion) in liquidity to the financial sector to help the flow of money ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. The Bank of Korea (BOK) said it decreased its money injection by 15.7 percent this year from a year earlier because of social distancing rules amid the coronavirus pandemic. Health authorities have called on people to refrain from traveling for family gatherings to contain the spread of the virus. A

South Korea reported the largest job loss in January since 1998 as a flare-up in new coronavirus cases, along with continued virus curbs, dealt a heavy blow to jobs in the service sector, data showed Wednesday. The number of employed people reached 25.8 million last month, 982,000 fewer than a year earlier, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the sharpest on-year fall since December 1998, when the country lost 1.28 million jobs in the wake of the 1997-98 Asian financi

South Korean stocks finished lower for a second straight day Tuesday, as uncertainties increased, with investors seeking to take profits ahead of the expiration of stock options. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 6.57 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 3,084.67 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 2.1 billion shares worth some 18.1 trillion won ($16.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 362 to 474. Foreigne

Bitcoin prices hit a record high on Tuesday, as US electric vehicle maker Tesla unveiled it had purchased $1.5 billion in bitcoin. Bitcoin prices inched closer to 50 million won ($44,800) each in Korean exchanges on Tuesday, while exceeding that threshold in overseas exchanges. Bitcoin in South Korean exchanges were being traded at a discount of more than 3 percent on Tuesday, due to different market environments such as regulations and trading volume.  In its latest annual report Monday

A top researcher of the world’s largest asset manager BlackRock expressed regrets on Tuesday over the retaliation aimed at hedge funds for taking short positions in the United States’ stock market in the GameStop saga. Henny Sender, managing director of the asset manager‘s internal think tank BlackRock Investment Institute, said it was “a sad thing” that retail stock traders had directed their anger at hedge funds. Ensuring hedge funds are given an option to perce

South Korean pension funds extended stock sell-offs to a 31st straight session, setting a record selling spree in local market history, data showed Tuesday. The combined net sales of the pension funds came to nearly 10.47 trillion won ($9.38 billion) -- 10.02 trillion won on the main bourse Kospi and 450 billion won on the tech-heavy Kosdaq -- in the period from Jan. 4 to Tuesday, according to the Korea Exchange. Their selling volume stood out even more when compared to other major trading gr

The Financial Services Commission said Tuesday it will draft a policy framework this month to allow local platform operators, including Naver and Kakao, to enter the insurance market to expand customer access to digitized financial products. Under the envisioned plan, the financial regulator will ease the current regulations to enable the internet companies to develop and sell micro insurance products, in accordance with its “sandbox” program. The regulatory framework is aimed a

South Korea's tax revenue fell 7.9 trillion won ($7.1 billion) in 2020 from a year earlier as corporate tax earnings declined amid the pandemic, the finance ministry said Tuesday. The country collected 285.5 trillion won in taxes last year, compared with 293.5 trillion won the previous year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Last year, the collection of corporate taxes declined 16.7 trillion won on-year to a four-year low of 55.5 trillion won, as business activity remained slug

Combined service output declined in 15 provinces and major cities in South Korea in the fourth quarter of last year as the pandemic hit the segments providing face-to-face services, data showed Tuesday. Except for Seoul, six cities and nine provinces posted an on-year fall in service output in the October-December period, according to Statistics Korea. Service output in Seoul -- home to about one-fifth of the country's 51.6 million population -- rose 0.9 percent on-year in the fourth quarter,

The delinquency rate for South Korean banks' won-denominated loans fell in December last year from the previous month, the financial regulator said Tuesday. The rate for bank loans more than 30 days overdue stood at 0.28 percent at the end of December, down 0.07 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Compared with a year earlier, the bank loan delinquency rate was also down 0.09 percentage point. Banks' loan delinquency rate remains sta