Despite the Moon Jae-in government’s eighth and latest set of measures to curb real estate prices in the fall, prices of houses and those for lease have shot up, according to data by the Korea Appraisal Board.The house price index and lease price index for last month surged to the highest level in 14 months since the Sept. 13 measures, which aims to block home-based loans in most popular housing areas and hinder those with at least two homes from buying more. The house price index refers t

Ministry cites pangovernmental reserve funds as reason

South Korea and Cambodia have signed a double taxation avoidance pact, in a move to boost bilateral economic cooperation, Seoul's finance ministry said Tuesday.  The pact was signed last week in Busan, South Korea at bilateral talks between South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Cambodian counterpart, Prak Sokhonn, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement.   The pact is expected to help ease tax burdens for South Korean firms doing businesses in Cambod

SK Holdings slips from No. 1

3 in 5 workers say they won't be able to use remaining vacation time before it expires at the end of the year

Loans by insurance companies in South Korea rose 4.6 percent in September this year from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday.Outstanding lending by insurance firms totaled 229.3 trillion won ($193 billion) as of Sept. 30, compared with 219.1 trillion won during the same period of last year, according to the data released by the Financial Supervisory Service.Loans extended to households edged up 0.5 percent on-year to 120.4 trillion won, while their corporate lending increased 9.6 percent to 108.

The South Korean economy expanded 0.4 percent from three months earlier in the third quarter as earlier estimated, the Bank of Korea said in its latest revision released Tuesday.The third quarter growth estimate remained unchanged from preliminary figures released in late October despite slight upward revisions to consumer spending and overall exports as a large drop in construction investment offset the gains, it said.Domestic spending grew 0.2 percent from three months earlier in the July-Sept

Kakao Bank, South Korea's second internet-only bank, said Monday that it swung to a net profit in the first nine months of 2019 from a year earlier, further distancing itself from its only rival, K-Bank, in terms of profitability.The bank posted a net profit of 15.4 billion won ($13 million) in the January-September period, shifting from a net loss of 15.9 billion won a year earlier, according to data posted on the website of the Korea Federation of Banks.The bank posted a net profit of 6.6 bill

South Korea’s financial market watchdog on Monday expressed concerns over financial firms’ tendency of seeking short-term gains, referring to the recent disputes on the mis-selling of high-risk derivatives.“The conventional business practices, which led to the derivative-linked fund controversies, inflict heavy losses on both investors and financial firms,” said Yoon Suk-heun, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service.The FSS chief was speaking during a luncheon at Co

SEJONG -- More than 3 million of the working-age population, aged 15-64, in South Korea have been de facto out of work, while the government highlighted that the nation’s jobless people stayed under 1 million (864,000) last month with official unemployment rate falling to 3 percent.According to the Supplementary Index for Employment III, a database held by Statistics Korea, the extended (or sentiment-reflected) jobless rate posted 10.6 percent as of October 2019.The figure is generated fro

The chief executives of around 10 major brokerages in South Korea are set to end their terms in the first quarter of 2020, data from the Financial Supervisory Service showed Monday, signaling an industrywide leadership reshuffle. But market watchers also expect many of them to extend their average two-year terms based on their performance. CEOs who led strong earnings this year are likely to retain their positions due to the lack of major issues that usually prompt a reshuffle, according to Hwan

South Korea’s Mirae Asset Global Investments said Monday it has sold a premium authority building in Germany for 500 million euros ($551 million), earning a hefty profit.The asset management unit of Mirae Asset Financial Group has signed a deal to sell Cologne City Hall building -- the third-biggest building in the city, the company said in a press release.Mirae had acquired the building in February 2016 for 365 million euros through an overseas real estate blind fund. The firm’s div

Co-CEO Yeo Seung-joo to lead the insurer

South Korea has completed repayment of a total of 48.7 trillion won ($41.2 billion) worth of Treasury debts sold for this year, the finance ministry said Monday. By repaying 1.5 trillion won worth of the debt last Thursday, the government bought back all Treasury bills that were sold for this year, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement.  Such debts are usually sold to raise money to cover short-term financial shortfalls, and thus are generally sold with a maturity of less

South Korea's consumer prices rose 0.2 percent on-year in November, marking the first gain in four months, the statistics agency said Monday.The consumer price index stood at 104.87 in November, compared with 104.71 for the same month last year, Statistics Korea said in a statement.The November reading was followed by zero growth in October and the first negative inflation rate in September that sparked fears of deflation.However, the November inflation rate was below market expectations. A surv