Overseas card spending by South Koreans slightly dropped from three months earlier in the second quarter, partly due to a decrease in the number of people going abroad, central bank data showed Thursday.In the April-June period, overseas card spending came to $4.67 billion, down 0.1 percent from $4.68 billion in the first quarter, according to the data from the Bank of Korea. On an annual basis, the second-quarter card spending overseas gained 0.1 percent, marking the slowest on-year growth at l

South Korea has struck a free trade deal with Israel as part of efforts to strengthen economic ties with the Middle Eastern country and cope with the growing protectionism around the globe, Seoul’s Trade Ministry said Wednesday.In Jerusalem, Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee and her counterpart, Eli Cohen, declared their bilateral free trade agreement around three years after the two held the first round of negotiations in 2016.The deal is expected to take effect in the first half of 2020, as i

Addressing growing calls in South Korea to ease firewall and outsourcing regulations, senior officials from global financial institutions on Wednesday highlighted the need to allow firms more choice in setting the scope of their data protection. Growth prospects of the financial sector have apparently been curbed by “stricter-than-necessary” legal barriers that restrict the transfer of information between certain financial parties and outsourcing regulations set by the financial auth

The world's big three memory chip makers saw their revenues decline over 30 percent in the first half of the year due to weak demand and steep price declines following a two-year boom, a report said Wednesday. The Big 3 memory suppliers -- Samsung Electronics and SK hynix of South Korea and Micron of the United States -- grappled with slumping sales in the first six months of the year compared with a year ago amid weak memory chip markets, according to the report from IC Insights. Samsung and SK

Marking one year since Mirae Asset Group Chairman Park Hyeon-joo became global investment strategy officer of the firm’s brokerage unit Mirae Asset Daewoo, the brokerage’s overseas businesses reported robust earnings for the first half of the year. According to an earnings report recently released by the brokerage, the combined net profit of Mirae Asset Daewoo’s overseas branches reached 82.7 billion ($80 million) in the January-to-June period, up nearly 70 percent compared to

The combined volume of loans extended by Japanese lenders operating here fell 5.4 percent on-month as of late June, data showed Tuesday. Meanwhile, loans taken out by local conglomerates accounted for more than half of the total volume, a report by the Financial Supervisory Service showed.According to the report submitted to a main opposition lawmaker, the volume of loans stood at 23.4 trillion won ($20 billion) as of late June, down 5.4 percent from 24.7 trillion won the previous month.  A

Seoul shares closed higher Monday after US President Donald Trump vowed to call his Chinese counterpart in a move to settle the escalating American-Sino trade dispute. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 12.73 points, or 0.66 percent, to 1,939.90. Trading volume was moderate at 472 million shares worth 3.68 trillion won ($3.12 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 633 to 207.The prospects are growing that the trade row between the w

South Korean banks and brokerages are in hot water for selling high-risk derivatives-linked securities and related funds to their customers, mostly retail investors, allegedly without providing sufficient warnings or instructions. According to the watchdog Financial Supervisory Service on Monday, eight major financial institutions here sold a combined 822.4 billion ($678.8 million) worth of DLS and funds that use the high-risk product to 3,654 individual investors and 188 businesses as of Aug. 7

A shadow of global recession looms over key economies as major markets have been dealing with some of their worst days in recent weeks. This is sparking concerns that chances of recession may also be growing on home turf, in South Korea. Last week, the yields on US 10-year Treasurys fell below two-year yields for the first time since 2007 – a phenomenon known as an inverted yield curve. Investors and experts alike are regarding such trend with wariness -- every recession in the last 60 yea

Amid the ongoing boycott of Japanese products in the midst of the South Korea-Japan trade row, a Korean brand is gaining recognition for its “Yes. We are a Korean brand” campaign. Thavma, a luxury bag brand known for its simple designs, variety of colors, quality materials and reasonable prices, has succeeded in making itself stand out from other foreign name brands, according to industry sources. The most popular model is Christa.Thavma products are currently sold at the company&rsq

Samsung Electronics Co. was responsible for 20 percent of South Korea's total exports in the first half of this year, showing its heavy influence on the national economy, its financial report showed Sunday.  The South Korean tech giant raised 75.2 trillion won ($62 billion) in sales in the first six months of this year, with 86 percent coming from abroad, its semiannual report said.  The overseas revenue accounted for 20.6 percent of total exports of Asia's fourth-largest economy that

South Korea has notified Japan in advance of its plan to remove Tokyo from its list of trusted trading partners and is willing to talk with Japan further if needed, the trade minister said Saturday.South Korea decided on Monday to remove Japan from its "whitelist" of countries that receive preferential trade status amid a bilateral trade row sparked by Tokyo's July export curbs against Seoul and its subsequent removal of the South from a list of trusted buyers. "The governmen

South Korean shares are likely to remain subdued next week amid lingering concerns over a global economic slowdown prompted by the US-China trade row, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 1927.17 points on Friday, up 0.34 percent from a week ago. The index suffered a 3 percent decline last week. Analysts said the market direction for next week will largely depend on developments in the US-China trade spat, although the latest moves from the world'

South Korean stocks closed lower Friday morning as investors remained worried over a global economic slowdown amid the protracted US-China trade war. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 11.20 points, or 0.58 percent, to 1,927.17. Trading volume was moderate at 413 million shares worth 4.18 trillion won ($3.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 644 to 203.The index dropped to as low as 1,911.72 at one point in the morning session

Shinhan Bank Vietnam, the local subsidiary of South Korea’s major lender, opened four new branches in the Southeast Asian country this week, officials said Friday.It also became the first Korea-based bank there to run a complete nationwide network that covers the central region, with a branch in the popular tourist city of Da Nang. Shinhan Bank CEO Jin Ok-dong attended the opening ceremony on Thursday, along with key officials from the local government and the country’s central bank,