Agencies handling the Moon Jae-in administration’s ambitious measures to cool down the heated real estate market revealed Wednesday that they are not all on the same page over the possibility of lifting the construction ban in greenbelt areas. In an interview with local news outlet MBC on Tuesday, Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki said the government is open to the possibility of lifting the construction ban in certain designated greenbelt zones to resolve the nation

The state-run Industrial Bank of Korea said Wednesday it plans to launch a new mobile untact -- non face-to-face contact -- mortgage product for customers. The product, designed to support self-employed or small business owners, will be extended through IBK’s mobile banking app I-One Bank. Users will be required to submit only basic personal information, instead of actual paper documents. The time tied to the process of receiving the mortgage will be shortened, as borrowers will b

Seoul-based property investment house Mastern Investment Management said Wednesday it plans to invite 110 billion won ($91.6 million) in South Korean retail money through its new real estate investment trust to take over part of equities in an office building in the suburb of Paris. Mastern plans to list the REIT’s 22 million shares, each priced at 5,000 won, on Korea’s main bourse Kospi in August. The listing schedule will be determined after an initial public offering that is set

The South Korean real estate market ranked 30th in terms of transparency, a survey showed Wednesday. According to Jones Lang LaSalle Korea, the country climbed one notch in its Global Real Estate Transparency Index, a benchmark of real estate market transparency that covers 99 countries. The index studies 210 indicators, including the level of sustainable management, resilience to economic crisis and technological advances of respective countries.  Officials of the global real estate se

SEJONG -- South Korea plans to expand the coverage of its employment insurance program to self-employed people, as part of efforts to boost social safety nets in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, a senior official said Wednesday. Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom, in an interview with Yonhap News TV, said the labor ministry has started initial work to expand the insurance's coverage to self-employed people. Kim made the remarks a day after the government announced details of expanding

Sales of equity-linked securities in South Korea tumbled in the first half of the year as the coronavirus pandemic weighed on major stock markets, data showed Wednesday. The value of ELS issues came to 31.6 trillion won ($26.3 billion) in the January-June period, down 39.6 percent from six months earlier, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository. The figure was also down 33.8 percent from the 47.7 billion won floated during the same period a year earlier. ELS refers to hyb

South Korea's money supply grew by a record amount in May on increased loans to households and firms amid the coronavirus pandemic, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's M2 stood at 3,053.9 trillion won ($2.55 trillion) as of the end of May, according to preliminary data by the Bank of Korea (BOK). The amount represents an increase of 1.2 percent, or 35.4 trillion won, from April, which is the biggest on-month gain since data tracking began in December 2001. From a year earlier,

SEJONG -- Foreign direct investment (FDI) pledged to South Korea dipped 22.4 percent on-year in the first half of the year as the global virus pandemic limited trades across borders amid a global economic slump, data showed Wednesday. South Korea received $7.66 billion worth of FDI commitments from January to June, falling from $9.87 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The country posted a record high FDI in the same period of 2018 at

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, buoyed by progress toward a new coronavirus vaccine. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 32.14 points, or 1.47 percent, to 2,215.75 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investor sentiment improved following new reports that the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Moderna Inc. showed progress. The US biopharmaceutical firm's vaccine produced antibodies in all patients during an initial safety trial, according to the reports. T

South Korea's export prices rose for the second consecutive month in June on rising international oil costs, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's export price index, in terms of the local currency, rose 0.3 percent in June from the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It represents the second straight on-month gain. In May, won-based export prices increased 0.6 percent from the prior month. From a year earlier, however, the index fell 6

SEJONG -- South Korea lost about 352,000 jobs in June, marking the fourth consecutive monthly decline in the number of employed people as the coronavirus pandemic hammers job markets, data showed Wednesday. The country's jobless rate rose by 0.3 percentage point on-year to 4.3 percent in June, and the number of employed people fell to 27.05 million, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It was the first time since October 2009 that the nation lost jobs for the fourth straight mo

Moon says it will mark country’s paradigm shift, new blueprint for next 100 years

South Korea’s Land Minister Kim Hyun-mee on Tuesday refuted growing criticism over the government’s focus on raising taxes rather than dealing with housing supply shortage. In its latest effort to curb the heated real estate market, the Moon Jae-in administration rolled out its 22nd set of policy actions dubbed the “July 10 measures” last week, which centers on increasing taxes for multiple-home owners. But it was immediately hit with waves of criticisms from both

South Korean stocks closed marginally lower Tuesday amid concerns over a global resurgence in new coronavirus outbreaks, despite a massive stimulus package and rising demand in China. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 2.45 points, or 0.11 percent, to close at 2,183.61. Trading volume was high at about 800 million shares worth some 11.4 trillion won ($9.5 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 477 to 356. Foreigners sold

Seoul-based joint venture NH-Amundi Asset Management said Tuesday that it named Nicolas Simon as the deputy chief executive officer of the France-based asset management house’s South Korean arm on Monday. Simon is formerly a deputy CEO of State Bank of India Funds Management, a joint venture of State Bank of India and Amundi to lead Amundi’s Indian operation. He served the term for five years until March. The start date has yet to be determined, according to NH-Amundi. Simon wi