South Korea and Japan plan to hold another meeting this week to discuss their monthslong trade dispute, but they are unlikely to reach a compromise anytime soon as the global outbreak of the new coronavirus has led to more jitters in the bilateral relationship. The two Asian neighbors are set to hold their first trade meeting in around three months on Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. While the meeting was planned to be held in Seoul, it was later replaced with

The outbreak of the new coronavirus here may further undermine South Korea's economic growth if it is lasts for a significant amount of time, reports suggested Monday, while some said the virus may already have nearly halved the country's economic growth. "Household spending in Japan and Korea are set to weaken further and slower growth in the US and Europe will add to external headwinds," S&P Global Ratings said in an article titled "COVID-19 Now Threatens More Damage to As

Assuming the worst-case scenario regarding the ongoing new coronavirus outbreak, South Korea could see its GDP contract by as much as 1 percent this year, according to the Asian Development Bank. In its latest report “The Economic Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Developing Asia,” the multilateral agency suggested four possible scenarios to assess the economic fallout that the fast-spreading epidemic may have on major Asian economies. The categories were classified into

With the nation’s stock market plummeting and investors offloading shares en masse, tens of thousands have flocked to sign online petitions calling for a ban on short selling. As of Sunday afternoon, over 49,000 Koreans have signed 10 online petitions from end-January, demanding that the short selling of local securities be abolished or at least temporarily banned when stock indexes drop over 10 percent. Short selling is a strategy of borrowing, selling and repurchasing stocks to return

The coronavirus fear is increasing financial burdens on listed South Korean venture firms as they are facing more calls for cash redemption from investors. Investors in firms listed on Korea’s development bourse Kosdaq have cashed out their combined 361.3 billion won ($303.4 million) investment in mezzanine bonds -- convertible bonds and bond warrants -- from January until Friday, prior to their due maturity date, according to regulatory filings. This marked a 48.4 percent increase on-y

In contrast with the slump in major global stock markets amid the continuing spread of the new coronavirus, gold trading in South Korea has posted stellar returns this year, local experts said Sunday. According to data compiled by Daishin Securities, gold has recorded the highest investment earnings rate so far this year. The price of a gold bar at the Korea Gold Exchange -- a private gold exchange here -- stood at 64,010 won ($53.80) per gram as of Friday, surging 13.21 percent from the end

Applications to register trademarks reminiscent of the deadly novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, are on a rapid rise in Korea, according to data from the Korean Intellectual Property Office. Since the government reported the first confirmed case of the acute respiratory disease on Jan. 20, a total of eight trademarks christened “corona” have been applied for at the patent office -- from both individuals and companies.  The growth in applications of such trademarks coincided wi

FSS’ lack of legal authority creates uncertainties in the financial sector

South Korea’s state pension fund said Friday that it would exercise its voting rights at Hanjin KAL, the holding firm of logistics conglomerate Hanjin Group, an apparent move to intervene in an ongoing leadership feud among the founding family members. “The National Pension Service has decided to exercise its voting rights at Hanjin KAL and GIIR on its own after retrieving them from its proxy agents,” said the state-run pension fund operator after a meeting among its commit

As the deadly coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) is sparking fears of a global pandemic, investors in South Korea are flocking to safe haven assets, gold in particular, according to data Friday. The accumulative transactions of gold in the first two months of this year at the Korea Gold Exchange, a private gold exchange here, stood at 27,243, up 192 percent from the same period last year. The exchange said investors’ increasing preference toward safe haven assets is behind the drastic gro

Shinhan Bank, KEB Hana Bank to decide stance Friday

The US subsidiary of South Korea’s Lutronic is facing a lawsuit for allegedly misappropriating trade secrets through former employees of Cutera it hired recently, according to documents reviewed by The Korea Herald. Aesthetic laser equipment maker Cutera -- listed on Nasdaq -- claimed that forensic research results showed that Lutronic Aesthetic had poached 13 employees, encouraging them to steal trade secrets and destroy evidence until February. In return, they were rewarded with stock o

Critics blame central bank for ‘complacent’ approach to coronavirus crisis

SK Networks shares rose sharply Thursday on anticipations that its decision to divest its energy retailer unit for 1.3 trillion won ($1.1 billion) would improve the balance sheet. Its shares closed 14.5 percent higher on Kospi bourse compared to the previous session. Analysts said the price was buoyed by expectations that SK Networks would mitigate its debt burden from its acquisition of AJ Rent A Car in December 2019, carry out a 100 billion won share buyback and overhaul the trading firm&rsq

Unexpected rejection likely to further undermine money-losing K bank’s businesses