South Korea's export prices fell from a month earlier for a third consecutive month in November, partly due to the strengthening of the local currency against the US dollar, central bank data showed Friday.The export price index, in terms of Korean won, came to 97.11 in the month, down 1.8 percent from the revised 98.87 the month before, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.From the same month last year, the index dropped 6.2 percent, marking a sixth consecutive month of on-year

South Korea said Thursday that it has decided to allow banks to sell equity-linked trusts worth less than 40 trillion won ($33.7 billion) in total in the latest move to better protect individual investors.The Financial Services Commission said ELTs whose underlying assets should be the KOSPI200, the S&P500 and three other major indices, and which are issued through public offerings, can be sold at banks. Three other stock indices are the Euro Stoxx 50, the HSCEI and Japan's Nikkei 225.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance will make preparations to swiftly spend next year's budget to prop up a slowing economy and support the welfare sector, a senior official said Thursday. Vice Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol told a meeting on fiscal spending that the government plans to begin implementing next year's budget from Jan. 1 next year, when the nation's fiscal year starts. Earlier this week, the National Assembly passed next year's state budget of 512.3 trillion won ($431.5 billion),

Among emerging market stocks, South Korean shares were most offloaded by overseas investors last month as a result of Asia’s fourth-largest economy’s reduced weighting in the Morgan Stanley Capital International emerging markets index, a report by a local brokerage said Thursday.According to Yuanta Securities, foreigners net sold South Korean shares worth nearly $3 billion in November alone, which marked the largest volume among 10 major emerging markets during the same period. 

More than 40 percent of newlywed couples had no children last year, reflecting the country's chronically low birthrate and late marriage trend, data showed Thursday.According to the data compiled by Statistics Korea, 1.32 million couples got married in the five years up to November 2018, down 4.2 percent from a year ago, with 79.6 percent consisting of first-time brides and grooms.Of that total, 40.2 percent of newlywed couples had no kids last year, up 2.6 percentage points from the previous ye

The Financial Supervisory Service on Thursday warned that even foreigners who are accomplices to voice phishing crimes will be subject to punishment amid escalating financial crimes.Announcing a plan to tighten its grip over bank account transactions, the watchdog shared campaign materials -- in Korean and Chinese -- to help prevent voice phishing, reflecting the involvement of Chinese and Korean Chinese in such crimes.Recently, an increasing number of foreigners were caught for participating in

Chubb Group, the world’s largest property insurer based in the US, has named Albert Kim as the new chief executive officer of Chubb Life Korea, its life insurer subsidiary operating here, officials said Thursday.Throughout his 25-year career, Kim has worked in various global insurers including AIG, Allianz and AXA. Until recently, he served as vice president in charge of sales and management at AIG Korea.“We are glad to announce that Albert Kim will henceforth lead Chubb Life Korea,

Kyobo Life Insurance Chairman Shin Chang-jae has won an international prize for humanistic management, becoming the first winner of the newly established award, the company said Thursday.The International Council for Small Business, the world’s oldest and largest nonprofit organization devoted to small and medium enterprises, has selected the South Korean insurer chief as winner of its Humane Entrepreneurship Award.The awards ceremony took place on the sidelines of the SME World Forum 2019

South Korea is still faced with continuing uncertainties, but the levels may have somewhat eased, a senior official at the Bank of Korea said Thursday."As the US Federal Reserve chairman said in a press conference, uncertainties have not disappeared. I understand he noted there always exist uncertainties and that he will carefully monitor them," BOK Dep. Gov. Yoon Myun-shik told reporters, hours after the US Fed unanimously voted to keep its policy rate frozen at a range of 1.50 percen

The price of palladium, a metal used to reduce harmful emissions in vehicle exhaust, has surged to a record high, making it a precious metal more expensive than gold.According to the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of palladium futures for December delivery closed Tuesday at $1,871.30 per ounce, 0.67 percent higher from the previous session. The figure rose nearly 49.2 percent from the price on Dec. 31 last year, which was $1,253.90 per ounce. Its growth rate far surpassed those of other

Most key job indexes improve while retail, manufacturing sectors still struggle

Kakao Pay, a South Korean mobile payment platform, said Wednesday that it has started its payment service on the Google Play Store and YouTube Premium.Through the service, users can purchase any paid content on both applications by choosing Kakao Pay as a payment method. Users can also purchase various services such as YouTube Movies, Channel Membership and Super Chat on YouTube. Once users choose Kakao Pay to make payments on the Google Play Store, they can automatically use it for tr

Household debt extended by banks in South Korea continued to increase at a steady pace in November, while fresh bank deposits spiked at the highest level in nearly five years amid lack of viable places to park their money, central bank data showed Wednesday.Fresh bank loans extended to households came to 7 trillion won ($5.9 billion) in the month, slightly slowing from a 7.2 trillion-won increase the month before, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.Outstanding home-backed loans added 4

South Korea's exports rose 7.7 percent in the first 10 days of December, thanks to rising demand for wireless equipment and passenger cars, customs data showed Wednesday. The country's exports stood at $12.9 billion in the December 1-10 period, up $920 million from the same period last year, according to the Korea Customs Service.By product, exports of wireless equipment and passenger cars gained 18 percent and 10.9 percent, respectively. However, outbound shipments of semiconductors, a key expo

South Korea's jobless rate fell to 3.1 percent in November, and job additions came to over 330,000, data showed Wednesday.The unemployment rate decreased 0.1 percentage point on-year, and the number of employed people reached 27.5 million in November, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea.The unemployment rate for young adults -- those aged between 15 and 29 -- also fell to 7 percent last month from 7.9 percent tallied a year earlier.It marked the fourth straight month that the numb