The number of subscribers to the 5G mobile network in South Korea passed the 5 million mark in February, 10 months after its commercialization, government data showed Wednesday. Nearly 5.37 million South Koreans subscribed to the top-of-the-line wireless network as of end-February, up 8.1 percent from the previous month, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT. The nation's three mobile carriers -- SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. -- have been aggressively

South Korean individuals' investments into private equity funds declined for an eighth straight month in February following two major investment fiascos last year that undermined consumer trust, data showed Wednesday. Retail investors' monthly cash inflow into private equity funds came to 22.7 trillion won ($18.6 billion) in February, down 2.1 percent from a month ago, according to the Korea Financial Investment Association. After peaking at 27.3 trillion won in late June, the investment siz

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's national flag carrier, said Wednesday it will suspend flights on the Incheon-Washington route from mid-April due to the impact of the coronavirus. Korean Air plans to stop serving flights from Incheon to Washington, D.C., starting April 13, with the suspension scheduled to last through the end of this month, a company spokeswoman said over the phone. The company currently flies from Incheon to US cities such as Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago

The global TV market is expected to contract for the first time in three years in 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, a report said Wednesday. In its latest market report, Omdia, formerly IHS Markit, predicted global TV shipments to decline 8.7 percent on-year to 203.5 million units this year. The projection is down from 9.7 percent from an estimate of 225 million units made at the start of the year. Global TV shipments fell to 217 million units in 2017 from 222 million a yea

Retail investors in Korea are most active stock traders in Asia, outside China

Statistics office warns of further headwinds in Q2

Kyobo Life Insurance said Tuesday it has filed a complaint with the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board against accounting firm Deloitte Anjin for faulty appraisal of corporate value. It has alleged that that Deloitte Anjin, the local subsidiary of global accounting and consulting group Deloitte, wrongly assessed the fair market value of financial investors’ put options -- which could affect the management rights of current Kyobo Chairman Shin Chang-jae. “Deloitte Anjin

The Bank of Korea (BOK) may further cut its policy rate to help minimize the economic fallout from the new coronavirus pandemic, BOK minutes showed Tuesday. The central bank delivered a surprise rate cut in an emergency meeting of its monetary policy board held March 16, slashing the policy rate by a half percentage point to a new record low of 0.75 percent. "A rate cut itself may not be expected to promote consumption and investment by easing travel restrictions, but it is expected to he

Six major banks in South Korea paid a combined 4.7 trillion won ($3.86 billion) in dividends to shareholders last year, which was nearly 20 percent up from the previous year, their annual reports showed Tuesday. The total dividend payouts by KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, Hana, Standard Chartered Bank Korea and Citibank Korea in 2019 marked the largest amount since 2016. Comparable data was only available from 2016 as the current Hana Bank was a result of a 2015 merger between Hana Bank and Korea

Asset manager sells W1tr bonds to meet debt guarantee rules

South Korea’s Mirae Asset Financial Group said Tuesday that Chairman Park Hyeon-joo has donated his dividends for 10 years in a row -- amounting to 25 billion won ($20.5 million). In 2019, as a shareholder of Mirae Asset Global Investments and Mirae Asset Capital, Park earned a combined 1.7 billion won. The donations went to Mirae Asset Park Hyeon-joo Foundation, dedicated to scholarships for exchange programs for Korean college students. According to the firm, over 5,800 students have

Amid plunging crude oil prices, the nation’s gasoline retail prices dipped below 1,400 won ($1.15) per liter, the lowest level in a year, industry data showed Tuesday.  As of March 30, nearly 12,000 gas stations here are selling gasoline at 1,398 won per liter on average, the lowest since April last year when the South Korean government cut the fuel tax, according to the Korea National Oil Corp.’s oil information provider Opinet.  The weekly gasoline prices also continu

Foreign investors on Tuesday continued to sell local stocks for the 19th consecutive session amid the coronavirus scare, data showed, with offshore investors offloading a net 72.8 billion won ($59.7 million) worth of local stocks. Since March 5, foreigners have net sold a total of 11.6 trillion won in stocks. They sold a net 1.31 trillion won on March 9, marking the biggest sell-off on record. Despite foreigners' continued selling binge, South Korea's benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Ind

South Korean stocks closed sharply higher Tuesday, extending earlier gains on hope for massive economic stimulus measures in major economies, such as China and the United States, to minimize the fallout from the new coronavirus outbreak. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) surged 37.52 points, or 2.19 percent, to close at 1,754.64. Trading volume was high at slightly over 1 billion shares worth 13.6 trillion won ($11.2 billion),

Lending rates on fresh loans extended by banks in South Korea continued to drop from a month earlier in February, central bank data showed Tuesday. The average interest rate on all new bank loans came to 3.08 percent in the month, down 11 basis points from 3.19 percent tallied in January, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The rate on all outstanding loans came to 3.35 percent, down 0.03 percentage point over the cited period. The rate on fresh loans has been on a decline sin