The US Commerce chief has submitted a report to US President Donald Trump on the topic of imported cars, news reports said Monday, as South Korea renews efforts to win exemption for its cars from possible tariffs.The Commerce Department did not make public any details on its recommendations to Trump.Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross presented his recommendations to Trump, Bloomberg news reported, citing the department's statement. Reuters news agency carried a similar story, while the French news a

Woori Financial Group Inc. expressed its intent to buy an asset management company on Monday, industry sources said, as the financial group seeks to diversify its revenue sources.Woori submitted a letter of intent to buy HI Asset Management to Deloitte Anjin, a sales manager, according to the sources. HI Asset Management is an affiliate of HI Investment & Securities Co. which came under DGB Financial Group's wing last September.Woori Financial Group has vowed to proactively seek mergers

Kwon Young-soo, chief operating officer of LG Corp., will be appointed an executive director of the board of LG Electronics at a shareholders meeting next month, the electronics company said Monday. Kwon is a close aide to LG Corp. Chairman Koo Kwang-mo.  Koo Bon-joon, Chairman Koo’s uncle, will not be reappointed as a board member, and the industry views his departure to make room for younger successors as part of the LG family tradition. LG Electronics will hold its shareholders mee

Reflecting the market response to the government’s real estate regulations, the home purchase sentiment has dwindled to the lowest level in nearly six years, data showed Monday.According to the Korea Appraisal Board, Seoul’s weekly apartment supply-demand index stood at 73.2 as of Feb. 11, the lowest since March 11, 2013, when the index hit a record-low of 71.8.The index, referring to the ratio of apartments available for transactions, is measured on a scale of zero to 200. While 100

South Korea’s telecom stocks have been underperforming this year, and analysts point out that the commercialization of 5G network services, likely to start in March, will impact their price.According to the Korea Exchange, the nation’s top mobile operator SK Telecom’s share price plunged 5.2 percent since the beginning of the year, as of Friday’s closing. KT and LG Uplus shares dropped 4.2 percent and 15 percent, respectively, in the same period.  Foreign investors,

Foreign investors in South Korea continued to purchase more locally listed stocks while offloading bonds last month, the latest data on foreign investors’ stock and bond ownership by the Financial Supervisory Service showed Monday.Foreign investors net purchased some 3.73 trillion won ($3.32 billion) in locally listed stocks during January, continuing the transition to net buying observed in December last year, according to the FSS.By region, Europe net purchased 1.7 trillion won in stocks

The price of sugar rose 11 percent in January from a year earlier as the cost of widely consumed processed foods increased overall, the Korea Consumer Agency said Monday.A survey of 26 items in the measured basket of foods for the month showed price hikes for 18 and drops for six. Prices for two remained the same. The agency normally reviews inflation for 30 items, but four were left out this time as the subjected items are being adjusted.Compared with January last year, the price of sugar jumpe

South Korea should encourage the establishment of an independent research body that produces unbiased securities reports to guide investors, suggests a latest report by the Korea Institute of Finance.According to a KIF report Sunday, the proportion of “sell” opinions for Korean companies that were adopted by local securities companies between September 2017 to September 2018 stood at a mere 0.1 percent.During the same period, the proportion of “sell” opinions adopted by f

On Thursday last week, LG Uplus’ board of directors approved a plan for the company to purchase 50 percent plus one share of CJ Hellovision from its holding company, CJ ENM.LG Uplus will become the nation’s second-largest pay TV operator with a 24.4 percent market share, up from fourth place, with the deal worth 800 billion won ($711 million).The acquisition is to be confirmed in a shareholders meeting next month and also requires approval from the Fair Trade Commission, which has up

Fast-paced technological advancement and mounting challenges in the global trade environment have been pushing companies to reinforce their supply chain system and governments to innovate their customs clearance procedures.As a technology pioneer, South Korea is seeking to add momentum to its customs administration through blockchain, artificial intelligence, big data and drone technology, according to officials of the Korea Customs Service.“It is the KCS’ goal to create a safe trade

South Korea's imports of coffee declined last year for the first time since 2012, suggesting that the boom of coffee shops might have peaked, data showed Sunday. Imports of coffee fell to 143,000 tons in 2018, down 2,600 tons from a year ago, according to data by the Korea Customs Service. It was the first time in six years that the annual volume of coffee imports fell, the data showed.  South Korea's coffee imports had been on a steady rise in recent years, with inbound shipments stood at

South Korean stocks are unlikely to to gain ground next week amid gloomy corporate estimates and looming signs of economic slowdown, analysts said Saturday.The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 19.04 points, or 0.87 percent, to 2,196.09 on Friday, from 2,177.05 points a week ago. The index rallied for the first four days of the week on rising expectations that a trade deal could be forged between Washington and Beijing.It jumped nearly 25 points to hit a four-month high on Thur

South Korea’s current account surplus extended its surplus for 21 years straight in 2018, on the back of improved service accounts and record-high exports, central bank data showed Friday.The monthly figure for December, however, hit an eight-month low amid falling prices of semiconductors and the consequent blow on exports. The country’s current account surplus for 2018 stood at $76.41 billion, up $1.18 billion from a year earlier and marking the 21st consecutive year in the black s

South Korea's monthly current account surplus hit an eight-month low in December on slowing exports, central bank data showed Friday.The country's current account surplus came to $4.82 billion in December, slightly up from $4.49 billion a year earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The tally marks the 80th consecutive month of the balance being in the black based on a revised statistics criteria, but it represents the smallest monthly surplus since April when it