South Korea’s composite consumer index shed the most points in six months in September, feeling the impact of stricter social distancing rules following the COVID-19 resurgence, central bank data showed Friday. The index dropped 8.8 points on-month to 79.4 in September, which also marked the sharpest dip in six months and the first decline since April, according to data released by the Bank of Korea. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. The September reading broke th

South Korean shares closed higher Friday, as investor sentiment was improved by hopes for a new stimulus package for the US economy. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. After trading in a choppy session, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 6.09 points, or 0.27 percent, to close at 2,278.79. Trading volume was moderate at about 687 million shares worth some 9.9 trillion won ($8.4 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 530 to 318. Foreigners sold a net 90 bil

South Korea will impose punitive statutory damages of up to three times upon breaches of trademark righs and design rights, starting in April 2021, in continued efforts to enhance knowledge-based intangible assets, the country’s intellectual property office said Friday. The revision bills of the Trademark Act, Design Protection Act and the Unfair Competition Prevention and Trade Secret Protection Act have been approved by the National Assembly, the Korean Intellectual Property Office s

Lotte Insurance said Friday that it would not consider delisting itself from the country’s main bourse Kospi, refuting rumors by some local media reports. Followed by the nation’s sole bourse operator’s call for explanation on the delisting rumors, the insurance firm made its official announcement via DART -- the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure board. “This is to confirm that we are not considering to be delisted from the local market,&rdquo

South Korea will spend a total of 94 billion won ($80.3 million) this year to help local firms develop homegrown vaccines and treatment drugs to fight the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Friday. The government also plans to set aside 260.4 billion won next year to develop vaccines and treatment drugs against the new coronavirus, officials said. The plan came after senior officials held a pan-government meeting with executives from pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms earlier in the day.

South Korea's terms of trade rose for the fifth straight month in August, as import prices fell at a faster pace than export prices, central bank data showed Friday. The country's net terms-of-trade index for goods -- a gauge of trade terms -- came in at 96.75 in August, up 6.7 percent from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the fifth straight month of an on-year rise since April, when the trade terms posted the first on-year gain in over two

Sales of imported commercial vehicles in South Korea rose 2.3 percent last month from a year earlier on robust sales of Mercedes-Benz trucks, an industry association said Friday. The number of newly registered imported commercial vehicles rose to 318 units in August from 311 a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. "Increased sales of Mercedes-Benz and Scania trucks helped the monthly results," a KAIDA official said. &

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a plunge in South Korean consumers' spending at department stores, cinemas and other large indoor facilities, an expert said Friday. In contrast, consumer spending at outdoor and small facilities, including neighborhood grocery stores and camping sites, has gone up, said Lee Jae-ho, head of the Digital Economy Institute of Kakao Mobility. "The COVID-19 outbreak has caused the frequency of visits to duty-free shops and department stores and large di

South Korean shares opened higher Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street helped by a US tech rebound.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 12.68 points, or 0.56 percent, to 2,285.38 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The index got off to a strong start after a 2.59 percent plunge the previous session. Stocks lifted despite uncertainties from the US presidential election in November, thanks to a rebound in tech heavyweights, such as Apple and Microsoft

Prosecutors on Thursday raided KEB Hana Bank‘s headquarters in Seoul in an apparent move to add fresh fuel to the investigation of Optimus Asset Management’s private equity fund misselling. KEB Hana Bank was one of trustee banks of the disputed funds. According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, investigators searched the lender’s consignment sales unit to seize computer drives and documents related to the case. The main purpose of the search is to fi

London-based Standard Chartered Group CEO Bill Winters said South Korea has the potential to rise as Asia’s key financial hub in a meeting with the head of the financial regulator here, the lender’s Korean subsidiary said Thursday. “(Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo and Winters) agreed on the potential of Seoul as Asia’s financial hub given the size of the Korean economy and Korea’s presence in global trade,” Standard Chartered Bank Korea

Major South Korean lenders’ decision to invest some $100 million in a hotel and retail project at 20 Times Square in New York in 2018 has come back to bite them two years later, with the property’s foreclosure last year continuing to wreak havoc amid the coronavirus pandemic, sources said Thursday. In 2018, French Bank Natixis syndicated to local banks KB Kookmin, Hana and NH Nonghyup -- three of the five major lenders here -- and other Korean institutional investors. Some combined

South Korea’s vice finance minister on Thursday warned that the local foreign exchange market may face higher volatility amid external factors such as the COVID-19 resurgence in Europe and the reignited US-China conflict. “There are currently various factors which may increase volatility in the global financial market, including the resurgence of COVID-19 in Europe and the escalating tension between the US and China ahead of the US presidential election,” said Kim Yong-beom

Shin & Kim LLC, South Korea’s fifth-largest law firm by number of lawyers, said Thursday that it has enhanced its international tax practice by hiring four leading experts. Sunny Kim, a senior foreign attorney and expert in international tax and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, was named head of the international tax practice, the company said in a release. Kim frequently serves as a consulting expert for the Korean government on issues such as consolidated tax regime, partn

Kasa Korea, a property technology startup, said Thursday it has raised some 9.2 billion won ($7.8 million) in a pre-series B funding round. The latest funding was led by the state-run Korea Development Bank. Silicon Valley venture capitals and domestic investment firms, including Northern Light Venture Capital, and Kona I Partners, participated in the fundraising round as financial investors and interior firm Kukbo Design was involved as a strategic partner. The proptech startup has so far