South Korea’s financial authorities said Wednesday they plan to launch a consultative body by the end of the month to help local firms seeking mergers and acquisitions that could reduce the country’s dependency on imported materials from Japan. The plan is in line with the government’s contingency plans -- announced a few days ago in response to Japan’s decision to remove Korea from its list of trusted trade partners -- including financial support for firms eyeing a foray

South Korea will take swift and bold steps if necessary to help stabilize the financial markets, the country's finance minister said Wednesday, assuring that the country's economic fundamentals remain strong despite what he called "temporary risks."In an emergency meeting with other top financial officials, including the head of the Bank of Korea, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the increased volatility in the market was the result of "short-term risks" that happened to ove

　With Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet removing South Korea from its list of trusted export destinations last week, attention has been drawn to what materials will become subject to import restrictions.　According to the Korea Strategic Institute, which oversees management of strategic goods for the Korean government, 159 materials were selected as items of concern to be subject to the Japanese restrictions for security reasons. 　Among those materials that Japan claimed could be

CarrieSoft announced Tuesday that it plans to get listed on South Korea’s secondary bourse Kosdaq on Aug. 23.The firm first began with the YouTube channel “Carrie and Toys” in 2014 and exclusively produces kids’ contents. It is home to the iconic character “Carrie,” who reviews popular toys and goods. The character has evolved and now has own branded products.  Last year, CarrieSoft’s sales reached 10 billion won ($8.25 million) with an operating lo

Authorities say they will intervene in FX market if necessary

Market anxiety escalates with Korea-Japan, US-China trade wars, NK missile tests

The South Korean won continued to sink to new lows against the US dollar Tuesday amid escalating trade tensions between the world's two largest economies that now appear to be set to include a currency war.After opening at 1,220.00 won, the local currency was changing hands at 1,217.45 won with the US dollar as of 9:37 a.m., down 2.15 won from the previous session's close.On Monday, the won closed at 1,215.30 to the dollar, the lowest in over three years.The won's continued decline came after Be

South Korea's current account surplus reached an eight-month high in June on a goods account surplus and record high returns from foreign investment, central bank data showed Tuesday.The country's current account surplus came to $6.38 billion in the month, the highest since October when the country posted a $9.35 billion surplus, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The reading also marks the second consecutive month of surplus after the country posted its first current acco

South Korea’s secondary bourse Kosdaq sank below the psychologically important 600-point threshold for the first time in 17 months on Monday, triggering the stock exchange to temporarily halt trading as investor sentiment plummeted due to the escalating trade spat between Seoul and Tokyo. The Korean won also traded at a three-year low against the US dollar, breaking its own significant 1,200-won mark. It closed at 1,215.30 won after hitting 1218.30 won at 10:40 a.m., marking its lowest lev

Government unveils road map to enhance local industrial competitiveness amid worsening trade ties

Program trading of shares listed on South Korea's secondary Kosdaq market was briefly halted Monday as the market's index plunged over global trade disputes, the bourse's operator said.  Program trading was halted for five minutes starting at 2:09 p.m. after the Kosdaq index slipped more than 6 percent, the Korea Exchange said in a statement. It was the first time since June 24, 2016, that the "sidecar" was activated according to exchange rules.South Korea's currency and stocks lo

The South Korean won traded at a three-year low against the US dollar on Monday on concerns that the escalating trade row between the United States and China, and more recently South Korea's own conflict with Japan, could further cast a pall on its economy. The won was changing hands at 1,212.30 to the greenback as of 10:56 a.m., down 14.3 won from the previous session's close, after easily breaching the psychologically significant level of 1,200 won.After opening at 1,203.60, the local currency

South Korea said Sunday that it will set aside more than 1 trillion won ($833 million) in next year's budget to cope with Japan's unilateral economic restrictions.In a senior-level tripartite meeting of the government, the ruling party and the presidential office, officials agreed to do their best to minimize the fallout from Tokyo's decision on Friday to remove South Korea from its list of preferred trading partners."Placing a top priority on strengthening competitiveness of the materials,

Growth figures likely to dip further throughout the year amid Japan factor

Ruling party, govt agree to add at least W1tr to next year’s state budget in counteraction