A day after South Korea’s measures to ensure fiscal soundness for 2025 drew immediate flak from experts and the public alike for its time frame and "loopholes," the nation’s fiscal chief came to the defense of the rules Tuesday. The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced Monday that it aims to maintain the national debt-to-gross domestic product ratio below 60 percent, and its consolidated fiscal balance at minus 3 percent in 2025. The rules are to be exempted in a time

Kyochon F&B, South Korea’s largest fried chicken franchise, will go public next month, aiming to secure up to 71.3 billion won ($61.4 million) of funding. According to the company’s securities report submitted to the Financial Services Commission on Monday, the fried chicken franchise will issue 5.8 million shares that are forecast to be priced at between 10,600 won and 12,300 won. Based on these share prices, the market capitalization of the company after the IPO is anticipated

SEJONG -- South Korea held a videoconference with member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Tuesday during which they shared their experience in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, the finance ministry said. The conference was organized by a Southeast Asian office of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement. During the conference, South Korea briefed ASEAN members about measures to se

South Korean shares closed higher to extend their winning streak to a fifth session Tuesday, as investor sentiment was buoyed on hopes for new economic stimulus in the United States. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 7.90 points, or 0.34 percent, to close at 2,365.90. Trading volume was moderate at 847 million shares worth 10.8 trillion won ($9.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 426 to 400. Foreigners scooped up a

In OECD, Korea ranks 4th in growth of personal income tax

Effect may be temporary as increase driven by effect of heavy rain on food prices

Doosan Corp., the holding company of South Korea's Doosan Group, said Tuesday that it will increase sales of unmanned forklifts in the country. Industrial Vehicle, a business division of Doosan, has been discussing ways to provide its automated guided forklifts to about 20 companies, Doosan said. Last year, Doosan launched its first-ever unmanned forklifts in the local market. "To meet growing demand for automated forklifts, we plan to expand our product lineup to pallet trucks known

Analysts say investors’ response didn’t quite live up to market anticipation

SEJONG -- South Korea's antitrust regulator on Tuesday accused Naver Corp., the nation's biggest search engine, of manipulating search algorithms in favor of the company's online shopping site and imposed a 26.7 billion-won ($22.9 million) fine. The fine, announced by the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC), is the nation's first that the regulator has levied on a technology platform operator for making algorithmic changes that favor a certain business. The accusation is also expected to unde

South Korean stocks traded higher late Tuesday morning heading toward a fifth consecutive day of gains as investor sentiment was spurred by an overnight rally on Wall Street after improvements to US President Donald Trump's condition and stimulus hopes in the world's largest economy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 13.17 points, or 0.56 percent, to 2,371.17 as of 11:20 a.m. Wall Street rallied overnight after uncertainties cleared over reports of Trump, who tested

South Korean shipbuilders took the top spot in new global shipbuilding orders in the third quarter of the year, beating their Chinese rivals, industry data showed Tuesday. According to the data provided by global market researcher Clarkson Research Service, Korean shipbuilders' new orders came to 1.42 million compensated gross tons (CGTs), taking up 45 percent of the total orders amounting to 3.19 million CGTs in the July-September period. The South Korean shipbuilders were followed by Russi

South Korea's exports of agricultural products rose 6.5 percent on-year in the January-September period, data showed Tuesday, on the back of strong overseas demand for kimchi and other traditional fermented products. Outbound shipments of agricultural goods reached $5.51 billion over the first nine months of 2020, up $5.18 billion posted over the same period a year earlier, according to the data released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. By category, outbound shipments o

South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. said Tuesday that it has gotten the nod for its ammonia-powered ship from Lloyd's Register, a British quality assurance and risk management company. Daewoo Shipbuilding plans to commercialize the ammonia-fueled 23,000 TEU container carrier by 2025, the company said in an emailed statement. TEU stands for twenty-foot equivalent unit, a measurement of a ship's cargo capacity. In a bid to develop the ammonia-propelled container car

Hyundai Glovis, a logistics unit of Hyundai Motor Group, said Tuesday it has signed a seven-year delivery deal with a Kazakhstan beverage company as part of its expansion strategy. Hyundai Glovis will deliver RG Brands JSC's beverage products from the Kazakhstan firm's warehouses to wholesale and retail stores in the central Asian country, the company said in a statement.  The company did not reveal the value of the contract. RG Brands is the second-biggest beverage producer in Kazakh

Big Hit Entertainment, the management agency of K-pop superstar BTS, is set to close a two-day subscription Tuesday for its initial public offering (IPO) next week in what could be the biggest stock sale in South Korea. Since Monday, the company has allowed retail investors to subscribe to around 1.43 million shares, or 20 percent of its 7.13 million new stocks to be issued under the IPO scheduled for Oct. 15. The IPO price is 135,000 won ($116). Reflecting the global popularity of the K-pop b