South Korea‘s producer prices were unchanged in November as a rise in prices of livestock and fishery goods was offset by falling prices of farm goods, central bank data showed Tuesday. The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, stood at 103.06 in November, according to the Bank of Korea. The flat reading marked a fresh indication of lackluster demand in South Korea. Compared with a year earlier, the index fell 0.3 percent, the BOK data showed. In October, So

Sales of South Korea's service industry grew at the slowest pace in six years in 2019 due to weaker oil prices and consumer sentiment, government data showed Tuesday. Service sector sales came to 2,188 trillion won ($1.98 trillion) last year, up 2.2 percent from the previous year, according to the data from Statistics Korea. It was the lowest growth rate since the 0.8 percent increase in 2013 and hovered well below the average annualized increase of 7.2 percent between 2009 and 2019 "In

Fraudulent insurance claims rose 9.5 percent in terms of payments in the first half of this year, partly due to a rise in minor fraud by jobless people as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the economy, the financial regulator said Tuesday. According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), insurance scammers took a record 452.6 billion won ($409.4 million) through wrongful filings during the January-June period, up from 39.2 billion won a year earlier. The regulator detected 47,417 suspects in

South Korea's technology trade reached an all-time high of $31.6 billion last year, up 10.1 percent from 2018, government data showed Tuesday. Technology trade refers to the country's international technology transactions, such as the use of patents, licenses and technical services, as opposed to tech products, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. The ICT ministry said outbound technology transfers amounted to $13.8 billion last year, compared with imports of $17.9 billion, leading to

Exports of South Korea's key industries are expected to grow nearly 12 percent in 2021 thanks to economic rebounds in major economies, a business body said Tuesday. The Korea Industry Alliance Forum (KIAF) projected overseas shipments of chips, automobiles and nine other major business sectors to expand 11.9 percent on-year to $422.2 billion next year. Annualized growth forecasts are 14 percent for ships, 10.3 percent for automobiles, 6.4 percent for machinery and 3.9 percent for electronics.

South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday as investors are wary of COVID-19 that is spreading at home and abroad. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 8.24 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,770.41 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a weak start after the benchmark index closed at an all-time high the previous session. Global recovery hopes weakened over the new strain of the coronavirus in Britain, reportedly up to 70 percent more transmissible than the or

Kia Motors Corp.'s union has agreed on a tentative wage deal for the year as the coronavirus pandemic continues, the company said Tuesday. Kia's 30,000-strong union tentatively accepted the company's proposals, including 1 1/2 months of merit-based remuneration, 1.2 million won ($1,080) in special COVID-19 allowance and 1.5 million won in gift certificates per person, instead of freezing wages for the year, the company said in a statement. The company also agreed to restore the 25-minute extra

Loans extended by South Korean insurance companies rose 2 percent in the third quarter from a quarter earlier, the financial regulator said Tuesday. Insurers' outstanding loans totaled 245.8 trillion won ($222 billion) as of the end of September, up 4.9 trillion won from the end of June, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said in a statement. Their loans to households increased by 1.5 trillion won to 121.6 trillion won in the third quarter from a quarter earlier, while lending to companie

The company says its new security system reacts to potential theft by reversing transactions

South Korean stocks closed at a record high Monday as pharmaceutical heavyweights posted strong gains amid the surging new coronavirus cases. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 6.47 points, or 0.23 percent, to close at 2,778.65. Trading volume was high at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 18.7 trillion won ($17 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 428 to 415. Foreigners sold a net 8 billion won, while institutions pu

Central bank predicts jobless recovery in post-COVID era

JB Financial Group’s commercial banking units -- Jeonbuk Bank and Kwangju Bank -- are strengthening their capacity to integrate robotic process automation technologies within banking services, the group said Monday. RPA uses artificial intelligence and machine learning software to automate repetitive business processes. Jeonbuk Bank has recently extended the use of RPA, from the bank’s headquarters to local branches, in a step to reduce employees working hours and provide better se

Mirae Asset Global Investments said Monday that its US exchange-traded funds provider subsidiary Global X has launched two products to be traded on the London Stock Exchange starting Friday. The thematic ETFs -- Global X Telemedicine & Digital Health UCITS ETF and Global X Video Games & Esports UCITS ETF -- mark the first ETFs of a Korean-owned company to be listed on a European exchange. According to data from market researcher ETFGI, the total size of listed ETFs and exchange-traded

The International Finance Corp. said Monday it plans to provide a loan of up to $50 million to KB Finansia Multi Finance, an Indonesian subsidiary of South Korean credit finance company KB Kookmin Card. The loan will contribute to a sustainable and inclusive economic recovery in Indonesia by addressing the liquidity squeeze in the nation’s multifinance sector, the IFC said. Multifinance companies like KB Finansia Multi Finance are considered the main source of funding for micro, small an

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday on increased valuation pressure, after the benchmark index closed at an all-time high the previous session despite surging new coronavirus cases. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.18 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,768.0 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a weak start as foreigners and institutions are set to lock in gains as the country's soaring COVID-19 cases increased concerns of stronger social distancin