Some analysts optimistic about upward direction of South Korea's main bourse, but others warn of its speed

Female foreign residents’ figure tops 10% for 1st time

The recent news of e-commerce unicorn Coupang going public as early as March has boosted stocks of partner companies in South Korea on Tuesday. Dongbang, a logistics firm that handles Coupang’s delivery services, saw its stock jump by a daily upper limit of 29.96 percent to reach 3,915 won ($3.56) in intraday trading on Tuesday. It also soared by the same percentage point a day earlier to close at 3,015 won. Media content platform company KTH’s stock also jumped by the daily limit

South Korean stocks closed lower for the second straight session Tuesday as institutional and foreign investors cashed in gains amid concerns of an overheated market. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dropped 22.5 points, or 0.71 percent, to close at 3,125.95 points, falling for the second consecutive session. Trading volume was high at about 1.37 billion shares worth around 31.1 trillion won ($28.3 billion), with losers outnumb

South Korea is likely to overtake Italy in gross national income per capita as its economic growth rate fared well compared to the European economy, according to the Bank of Korea Tuesday.  The nation’s GNI per capita last year is estimated to have decreased from $32,115 in 2019 to reach around $31,000 as its nominal gross domestic product growth rate hit zero amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.  However, South Korea’s GNI per capita is to outpace the Eu

South Korea will begin its annual meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this week on the country's overall economic situation and its response to the new coronavirus outbreak, the finance ministry said Tuesday. The ministry will hold video conferences with an IMF team, led by Andreas Bauer, Korea mission chief at the international organization, from Wednesday to Jan. 28, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Every year, IMF delegations visit South Korea to discuss the

South Korea's ICT ministry said Tuesday it will invest 125.3 billion won ($114.1 million) this year to support the development of neural processors, up 75 percent from last year. Neural processing units refer to high-performance and low-powered logic chips that specialize in artificial intelligence (AI) services, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. The government placed big bets last year on next-generation chip technology, including neural processors, with a plan to spend 1 trillion

Foreign direct investment (FDI) pledges to South Korea dipped 11 percent in 2020 from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday, as the unprecedented virus pandemic has dealt a harsh blow to business activities around the globe. Asia's No. 4 economy received $20.7 billion worth of FDI commitments last year, compared with $23.3 billion logged in 2019, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The amount of investment that actually arrived here also dropped 17 percent over the cited per

South Korea said Tuesday it will allocate 205 billion won ($186.3 million) to adopt eco-friendly technologies for the local maritime industry in line with the country's green energy drive. Under the project, the country will seek to build a total of 39 eco-friendly ships this year, including 23 for the public sector, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The latest move came in line with the government's vision to operate around 530 eco-friendly ships by 2030. To promote the use

South Korea's tax revenue declined 2.1 trillion won ($1.9 billion) in November 2020 due largely to a fall in value-added and transportation tax earnings, the finance ministry said Tuesday. The country collected 14 trillion won in taxes in November, compared with 16.2 trillion won the previous year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The fall in tax revenue was mainly attributable to a decline in value-added and transportation tax earnings, as the government has extended the dead

South Korea's environment-friendly vehicle sales jumped 54 percent to exceed 200,000 units in 2020 from a year earlier on subsidies and an improvement of charging infrastructure, industry data showed Tuesday. Carmakers sold a total of 213,264 eco-friendly models last year, up from 138,957 units the previous year, according to data from companies and the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA). It was the first time for automakers to report annual sales of more than 200,

South Korea's payments for foreign service imports fell for the 11th consecutive month in November last year amid pandemic-induced travel restrictions, central bank data showed Tuesday. Asia's fourth-largest economy paid $8.59 billion for imports of foreign services in November, down 18.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). South Korea's service payments have been declining on-year since January last year, when the country reported its first confirmed

Total sales transactions in South Korea’s housing market last year crossed the 300 trillion-won mark for the first time over abundant liquidity and low interest rates, according to a report released by property platform operator Zigbang on Monday. The report, based on the data of real transaction prices of houses last year, showed the sales volume reached an all-time high of 360.8 trillion won ($328.6 billion) in value, up from 246.2 trillion won in 2019. The previous record was 262.8 t

South Korea's finance minister instructed his officials Monday to accelerate efforts to draw up measures to increase housing supply, saying that stabilizing housing prices is the most pressing issue. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki called for mobilizing all policy efforts to tame soaring home prices, after President Moon Jae-in apologized for the issue earlier in the day amid mounting public criticism over housing policy. "As the property market issue is the most pressing one in terms of peo

South Korean stocks slipped Monday after choppy trading, roiled by foreign and institutional investors who sought to take profits before their stock options expire later this week. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 3.73 points, or 0.12 percent, to close at 3,148.45 points, breaking its two-day winning streak. Trading volume was exceptionally high at about 1.7 billion shares worth some 44.1 trillion won ($40.2 billion), with