Woori Bank, South Korea's No. 3 retail lender, said Friday it will announce candidates for the bank's new chief executive job next week, without publicly taking applications for the post. The decision to skip receiving applications, which was made at the bank's chief executive nomination committee earlier in the day, is aimed at swiftly appointing a new chief executive, sources said.Next week, the bank will unveil a list of candidates, who have been recommended by headhunters, for the job and gu

Former Director-General of the World Trade Organization Pascal Lamy expressed concerns over increased threats posed by the United States' protectionism. He said the US is also attempting to disturb the WTO's trade dispute settlement function."I think countries intending to export to the US may face some difficulties in the future. I have worries about that," Lamy said in a press conference here Friday.He was the WTO's director-general from 2005-2013 and is currently visiting Seoul to p

South Korean stocks closed slightly lower Friday as institutions and retail investors dumped local stocks offsetting a buying spree by foreign traders. The South Korean won extended its rally against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slipped 0.8 point, or 0.03 percent, to close at 2,533.99. Trade volume was moderate as 355.21 million shares worth 6.46 trillion won ($5.88 billion) changed hands, with gainers barely beating losers 404 to 394.The index started higher on

South Korea's finance minister renewed his calls for innovative growth across the country Friday in the latest appeal to bolster Asia's fourth-largest economy.Kim Dong-yeon also said the government should put in place infrastructure to support innovation and asked relevant officials in different ministries and government agencies to produce tangible outcomes of innovative growth.South Korea has taken a series of steps to boost innovation in recent years. Kim's comments came amid intensifying glo

The home ownership rate in South Korea came to 55.5 percent in 2016, data showed Friday.The annual data released by Statistics Korea said 10.7 million households out of 19.36 million across the country owned homes in 2016.Statistics Korea said 26.9 percent of 10.07 million households owned two or more homes last year, up 1.5 percentage points.The average price of houses came to 227 million won ($207,000) and the average area of a dwelling is 86.3 square meter. The data also showed that the total

The Pohang earthquake on Wednesday that has rekindled national anxiety over the safety of nuclear power plants -- mostly located in the southeastern part of the Korean Peninsula -- is likely to add momentum to the Moon Jae-in government’s nuclear-free energy road map.Anti-nuclear groups here anticipate the agenda may even rethink the recent decision to continue with the construction of new reactors.“Earthquakes in Korea are all the more dangerous as they may hit upon nuclear power pl

The number of residents with foreign nationalities and those who have naturalized living in South Korea has reached 1.76 million as of 2016, 3.4 percent of the entire population, data by Statistics Korea released by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security showed. This is a 3.1 percent increase from 2015, and a threefold surge from 2006 when the first set of statistics was gathered.Most, or 32.4 percent, were residing in Gyeonggi Province followed by 22.9 percent in Seoul and 6.5 perce

One third of foreign expatriates residing in Busan were found to be low-skilled laborers with insufficient capacity to spend, a report by the Bank of Korea’s Busan office showed Thursday. A spokesperson from the BOK Busan voiced the opinion that the influx of foreign residents should be selective to encourage contributions to local economic growth.According to report by the central bank office, in 2015, Busan -- as Korea’s second-largest city -- had 3.5 percent of the total foreign p

Kim Young-joo, who was officially elected as the new chairman of the Korea International Trade Association on Thursday, said he would focus on helping Korea’s small and medium-sized enterprises thrive on a global level.  　“Korea’s SMEs account for a small share of exports compared to other advanced countries,” said Kim, during a press conference held at the InterContinental Seoul Coex on Thursday.　“We will seek various support measures to enable SMEs and start-

South Korea's finance minister said Thursday that he will take into account the business community's ideas in crafting policy, calling entrepreneurs "partners for economic development."Kim Dong-yeon made the pledge to Park Yong-maan, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, during their meeting in central Seoul.The policymaker also praised businessmen as key people behind innovative growth. Park delivered the business community's proposals on the current economic situati

South Korea's top economic policymaker on Thursday met with the Chinese ambassador to Seoul to discuss ways to bolster economic cooperation following the latest efforts to improve bilateral relations."I highly anticipate that the economic ties between South Korea and China will become stronger," Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said in a meeting with Beijing envoy Qui Guohong.Seoul-Beijing relations have been at its lowest ebb due to China's protest against the deployment of the THAAD mi

South Korea's top conglomerate Samsung and two other major business groups took the lion's share of listed firms' earnings this year as their subsidiaries posted stellar performances, data showed Thursday.According to the data from the Korea Exchange, 29 listed companies belonging to Samsung, LG and SK groups registered a combined net profit of 56.2 trillion won ($50.7 billion) in the first nine months of the year, 2.1 times the amount during the same period a year earlier. The figure accounted

South Korea and Canada clinched a standing bilateral currency swap deal that will help expand financial exchanges between the two countries, Seoul's central bank said Thursday.Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol and his Canadian counterpart Stephen S. Poloz signed the agreement at a ceremony at the Bank of Canada's head office in Ottawa, on Wednesday, according to the BOK. The liquidity swap arrangement does not stipulate any ceilings. "The arrangement allows for the provision of liquidity i

Global ratings agency Moody’s on Wednesday forecast that South Korea’s economic growth and its companies’ credit conditions will remain stable in 2018 on the back of synchronized growth throughout the globe.“For the first time since the global financial crisis, we expect growth in all major areas next year,” Christian de Guzman, vice president and senior credit officer of Moody’s sovereign risk group, said in a media briefing.The press event, held jointly by M

More than half of South Korean people think the effect of 1997 Asian financial crisis still has an influence on society and their daily lives, a survey by the Korea Development Institute showed.South Korea suffered a slump in its currency and sharp devaluation in its stock markets and asset prices in 1997, eventually forced to turn to a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund. In the survey, 57.4 percent of the 1,000 respondents said the financial crisis was the most difficult perio