The government announced Thursday it will sell additional state bonds to finance blanket payouts for all South Koreans in a proposed coronavirus relief package. The finance ministry also said those who choose not to apply for the handout -- set up to help those in dire straits due to the COVID-19 pandemic -- or who donate their share will receive tax deductions. The ministry said political parties and the government have reached a consensus on this particular measure, designed to encourage

Limited access to data, lack of measurement tool, low interest are hurdles in Korea

Economy contracts 1.4% in Q1, likely to log negative or zero-growth in 2020

The state-run National Pension Service could lose up to 25 trillion won ($20.3 billion) from its investments in the South Korean stock market this year, local reports said on Thursday.　 A asset management report compiled in late January showed that the maximum amount of potential losses of the overall financial assets stood at 40.8 trillion won as of late January, which amounts to 53.6 percent of a limit of 76.2 trillion won. The figure increased by 300 billion won from late November. Poten

Extended youth jobless rates stay above 20% since May 2017

South Korean stocks ended higher for the second straight session Thursday on improved investor sentiment over rebounding oil prices. The Korean won gained ground against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 18.58 points, or 0.98 percent, to 1,914.73. Institutions bought a net 99.5 billion won ($81 million) worth of stocks, offsetting combined net sell-offs valued at 121.3 billion won by foreigners and individuals. Foreigners continued to offload local s

South Korean listed firms' dividend payouts fell nearly 2.9 percent from a year earlier in 2019 amid sluggish earnings, the bourse operator said Wednesday. Combined dividend payments by 528 out of the 761 companies closing their books in December came to 20.7 trillion won last year, down 2.88 percent from the previous year, according to the Korea Exchange (KRX). The number of companies that paid cash dividends was down from the 545 recorded the previous year. Their average payout ratio, refe

The daily foreign exchange (FX) turnover by local and foreign banks in South Korea reached an all-time high in the first quarter of the year amid the coronavirus outbreak, central bank data showed Thursday. The daily FX turnover came to an average $59.37 billion in the January-March period, up 9.2 percent from the previous quarter, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The amount marks the highest since 2008, when the central bank began tracking related data. The central bank s

South Korean genetic technology firm Solgent has picked local brokerage Mirae Asset Daewoo as an underwriter for its initial public offering, buoyed by sales of its diagnostic kits for the novel coronavirus, the company said Thursday. The Daejeon-based company and the underwriter are in the nascent stages of the IPO process, which precedes its listing on the development bourse Kosdaq. Details as to when the company will be listed and which option it will go for have yet to be determined. &ldqu

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, as investors took some comfort from rebounding oil prices and signs of a slowdown in the coronavirus pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 10.34 points, or 0.55 percent, to 1,906.49 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The main index ended up 0.9 percent at 1,896.15 on Wednesday after shedding 1.8 percent in the previous two sessions. The KOSPI's rebound will be limited, howe

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Thursday the coronavirus pandemic is expected to have a bigger impact on the nation's economy in the second quarter, as the virus has crippled global supply chains and consumer demand. Hong made the remarks shortly after the Bank of Korea reported that South Korea's economy shrank 1.4 percent on-quarter in the first quarter of this year, marking the sharpest quarterly contraction since the fourth quarter of 2008. The first-quarter gross domestic product (GD

South Korea's economy shrank 1.4 percent on-quarter in the first quarter of this year, as the coronavirus pandemic crippled industrial output, consumer spending and job markets, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Thursday. It marked the sharpest quarterly contraction since the fourth quarter of 2008, when the nation's economy sank 3.3 percent on-quarter. The first-quarter gross domestic product, however, was above market expectations. A survey conducted by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of

The Korea Exchange (KRX) on Wednesday warned investors about the possibility of total losses of their investments in leveraged West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures exchange-traded notes. The nation’s market operator will suspend trading for local ETN products with an excessive disparate ratio of over 30 percent -- Shinhan Leverage WTI Futures ETN(H) and MiraeAsset Leveraged Crude Oil Futures ETN(H) 9 -- on Thursday and Friday. It has planned to resume single-valent trading for the

Seoul stocks closed higher Wednesday, snapping a two-day losing streak, as investors reacted to the government's stimulus packages and await corporate earnings results amid coronavirus woes. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 16.77 points, or 0.89 percent, to close at 1,896.15. Trading volume was moderate at 805 million shares worth 9.3 trillion won ($7.5 billion), with gainers outpacing losers 435 to 404. The main index end

South Korea’s credit card loans soared 25.6 percent on-year in March, amid the prolonged economic fallout of the COVID-19 outbreak, industry data showed Wednesday. Seven major credit card service providers -- Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Woori, Hana, Samsung, Hyundai and Lotte -- extended 4.3 trillion won ($3.47 billion) in new loans last month, up 882.5 billion won from a year earlier. The corresponding figures for January and February were up 1.6 percent and 16.6 percent, respectively. The