A year into his five-year term, President Moon Jae-in is finding public support for his economic policies far lower than his high approval ratings.A survey of 1,002 Korean adults conducted by Gallup Korea earlier this month showed 83 percent gave a positive appraisal of his overall job performance.But only 47 percent said he was doing well in the economic area, down from 52 percent six months after his inauguration on May 10 last year.What should be taken more seriously by Moon and his economic

The Mongolian Stock Exchange chief hailed South Korean financial companies’ engagement with its fledging stock market as a “positive catalyst” in its search for increased attention from foreign investors. Speaking in an interview with The Korea Herald, Altai Khangai, chief executive officer of the MSE, cited the initial public offering of LendMN, Mongolia’s first financial technology company that began trading in March, as well as another upcoming IPO involving Korean inv

South Korea's financial regulator said Sunday its accounting oversight panel will hold the first meeting on Samsung Biologics Co.'s alleged violation of accounting rules next week.The Accounting Oversight Deliberation Committee under the Securities & Futures Commission will hold the meeting on May 17 and review the issue, according to the Financial Service Commission. The SFC, a subcommission of the financial regulator, is responsible for the oversight of the securities and futures markets.L

The transaction volume of Samsung Electronics Co. among retail investors jumped nearly six times as the tech giant's stock split lowered the entry bar, the bourse operator said Sunday.The amount of Samsung Electronics shares traded by individual investors on Friday -- after a three-day hiatus to lower its face value from 5,000 won ($4.64) to 100 won -- came to 1.17 trillion won, up from a daily average of 205 billion won before the split, according to the Korea Exchange (KRX).Transactions made b

South Korea will push to revive a currency swap deal with Japan that was suspended over diplomatic feuds, Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol has said.During a news conference on the sidelines of a regional forum in Manila on Friday, Lee expressed expectations that the two sides will start negotiations in the near future.In January last year, the Tokyo government broke off the negotiations with Seoul to reopen the currency swap agreement, citing Seoul's move to let a statue symbolizing the victims of

South Korean shares are expected to move in a tight range next week due to a possible US rate hike next month and the ongoing trade dispute between Washington and Beijing, analysts here said Saturday.Market watchers forecast the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) to trade between 2,459 and 2,530 in the coming week after shedding 1.2 percent this week to close at 2,461.38 on Friday."Investors will likely adopt a wait-and-see attitude as the US Federal Reserve is set to raise

South Korea's credit default risk has hit a yearly low amid rising hope for reconciliation between the two Koreas after Seoul and Pyongyang successfully held a summit last month, data showed Satuday. The credit default swap premium for South Korean foreign exchange stabilization bonds with a five-year maturity reached 42 basis points as of Friday, according to the data by the Korea Center for International Finance.It is the first time the figure has reached 42 basis points since Jan. 11, wh

Even after the two previous leaders’ terms ended amid disputes, the next candidate tapped as chief of the financial market watchdog is, again, another reformative nonbureaucrat, reflecting the administration’s determination for financial reform.President Moon Jae-in on Friday approved Yoon Suk-heun as the new governor of the Financial Supervisory Service. Yoon is a visiting professor of business administration at Seoul National University and chairman of the FSC’s Financial Adm

South Korean President Moon Jae-in called for joint efforts to boost economic cooperation between his country and Saudi Arabia Friday, stressing the need to expand their bilateral cooperation to other areas, including the health and cultural sectors.While meeting with the visiting energy minister of Saudi Arabia, Khalid A. Al-Falih, Moon also sought to promote his country's nuclear energy technology, noting the country has safely built and operated nuclear power plants for over four decades, the

South Korea and Saudi Arabia discussed ways to step up cooperation in the energy sector as Seoul seeks to tender a bid for the Middle Eastern nation's nuclear power project, the industry ministry here said Friday.Paik Un-gyu, South Korean minister of trade, industry and energy, met with Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid Al Falih in Seoul to explore ways to expand collaboration for "Saudi Vision 2030."Under the economic blueprint, the Middle Eastern kingdom has been pushing to reduc

MANILA -- Finance chiefs from South Korea, China and Japan on Friday warned against growing protectionism trends and stressed the importance of promoting an open and rule-based trade framework."We stressed the importance of resisting all forms of protectionism, ensuring an open and rule-based multilateral trade and investment system, and of strengthening resilience against external shocks, and agree to further enhance communication and coordination among China, Japan and Korea," they s

Even after the two previous leaders’ terms ended amid disputes, the next candidate tapped as chief of the financial market watchdog is, again, another reformative nonbureaucrat, reflecting the administration’s determination for financial reform.The Financial Services Commission said Friday that it had nominated Yoon Suk-heun as the new governor of the Financial Supervisory Service. He is a visiting professor of business administration at Seoul National University and chairman of the

South Korea‘s personal loans increased by over 1 trillion won ($929 billion) to 99.7 trillion won in April, pushing the overall household loans to grow at the fastest speed in five months in April, data by five major commercial banks showed Thursday.The banks include KB Kookmin, Shinhan, KEB Hana, Woori and NH Nonghyup.It is the first time since November last year for personal loans to increase by over 1 trillion won, a trend attributable to the government’s tougher rules on mortgage

South Korea’s reliance on trade climbed in 2017 for the first time in six years, data from the Bank of Korea showed Wednesday.The share of the country‘s trade to its gross national income came to 84 percent last year, up 3.1 percentage points from the previous year. It is the first on-year increase since 2011.The share had remained in the 60 to 70 percent range before jumping to 104.5 percent in 2008 in the wake of the global financial crisis. It further increased to 113.5 percent in

South Korea saw more jobless people seek financial assistance from the state pension fund in the first quarter of this year amid the country's worsening unemployment situation, data showed Thursday.According to the data from the National Pension Service, 129,000 unemployed people applied for the so-called unemployment credits in the January-March period, up 12 percent from the same period a year earlier.Unemployment credits are the pension operator's financial support for those who receive unemp