South Korea's trade minister said Friday that he will consider all possibilities when renegotiating the terms of the free trade agreement with the United States, so as to protect the country's interests and not give in to unilateral demands. Last week, the two nations agreed to begin the long-anticipated process of amending the FTA at Washington's request. US President Donald Trump has blamed the five-year-old deal for America's growing deficit in goods trade with South Korea. But Seoul has argu

South Korea's benchmark stock index traded slightly higher after swinging between gains and losses late Friday morning, as foreign investors turned net sellers of local stocks and top cap Samsung Electronics retreated. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 2.93 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,477.69 as of 11:20 a.m. after falling as low as 2,469.75 at one point. Samsung Electronics fell 0.55 percent, and global chipmaker SK hynix declined 2.15 percent.Hyundai Motor slipped 1.92

About one-fifth of listed affiliates of the nation's top 10 family-run business conglomerates, or chaebol, have posted public disclosures of their corporate governance, a report showed Friday. Of the 88 listed affiliates of the major business groups, only 17 affiliates made a public disclosure of their governance structure as of September, according to the report by the Daishin Economic Research Institute.  The nation's stock exchange operator maintains that listed firms should disclose the

South Korea's national tax revenue continued to increase in the first eight months of this year on a modest recovery pace of Asia's fourth-largest economy, the finance ministry said Friday.The government collected 189.5 trillion won ($167.4 billion) in taxes in the January-August period, up 17.1 trillion won from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. The amount collected is equal to 75.5 percent of this year's tax revenue target of 251.1 trillion won, incl

South Korean shares opened higher Friday, with institutional investors net buyers of local stocks. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 1.98 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,476.74 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Most large caps had mixed trading, with market kingpin Samsung Electronics falling 1.72 percent.Top automaker Hyundai Motor declined 0.96 percent, while top steelmaker POSCO rose 1.6 percent.The local currency was trading at 1,133.40 won against the US dollar, down 0.2

Key debate pivots on K bank’s alleged licensing irregularities, business fund issues

The record-high closure of South Korea’s main bourse this week appeared to prove once again that foreign appetite for the market’s tech giants amid a global tech super cycle tends to precede uncertainties from geopolitical tension. Some analysts also highlighted the contrasting trend of large and small cap shares.The main bourse Kospi on Thursday extended a record streak for two days, closing at 2,474.76, up 0.68 percent from Wednesday. On Wednesday, the Kospi hit an all-time high, 2

Scores of children of the owners of nine conglomerates in South Korea have more than 100 billion won ($88.2 million) worth of stocks in related companies, government data showed Thursday, amid the owners preferring the early transfer of assets to their offspring to reduce inheritance tax down the road.The amount of stocks held by 25 children of the nine chaebol, or family-run conglomerates, reached 103.2 billion won as of the end of September, according to data by the Fair Trade Commission.The f

The South Korean government is gearing up to expand and systemize support for industries to lead in the “fourth industrial revolution” that is anticipated to bring about some 40 trillion won ($35.3 billion) in economic effects. On Tuesday, President Moon Jae-in attended the first session of the presidential Commission on the Fourth Industrial Revolution, during which he pledged to introduce a “regulatory sandbox” for new industries, allowing companies to test innovative i

The South Korean economy is enjoying a steady uptick in overseas sales and a modest improvement in manufacturing production in recent months, but the pace of recovery is being hurt by lukewarm private consumption caused by rising uncertainties, a state-run think tank said Thursday.In the latest monthly economic report, the Korea Development Institute said that Asia's fourth-largest economy is being led by brisk exports and output of semiconductors.Industrial output rose 2.6 percent in August fro

Banks in South Korea are likely to maintain strict rules on extending loans to households in the fourth quarter, central bank data showed Thursday, amid the government's efforts to stabilize the overheated housing market.The overall index measuring banks' "attitude" in extending loans to households came to minus 20 for the October-December period, compared with minus 7 a quarter earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.A reading below zero means banks will tighten rules in extend

South Korean shares traded slightly higher late Thursday morning, aided by foreign buying.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 2.73 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,460.89 as of 11:20 a.m.Top cap Samsung Electronics fell 0.84 percent, and global chipmaker SK hynix declined 1.01 percent. No. 1 automaker Hyundai Motor fell 1.29 percent, and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors traded 2.3 percent lower. POSCO, the No. 1 steelmaker, fell 0.95 percent.Naver, the operator of the country'

The amount of agricultural and fishery products smuggled into the country has risen sharply in recent years, with nearly half of them coming from China, customs data showed Thursday.The amount rose to 123.9 billion won ($109.3 million) last year from 40.3 billion won in 2014 and 67.7 billion won in 2015, according to findings released by the Korea Customs Service. By country, China accounted for 108.5 billion won, or 46.8 percent, of the 231.9 billion won worth of goods smuggled into the country

Foreign investment banks predicted South Korea's economy will not be able to achieve 3 percent growth this year, according to a report released Thursday by a South Korean institute.Nine foreign investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, Nomura and Barclays, said that Asia's fourth-largest economy could grow by 2.8 percent on average, according to the Korea Center for International Finance. The center -- set up under the auspices of the South Korean government and the Bank of Korea -- closely mon

The electricity production cost will surge sharply in the coming decades as the Moon Jae-in administration's plans to halt construction of new nuclear power plants in pursuit of eco-friendly energy, an opposition lawmaker said Thursday.The liberal Moon government has announced plans to decommission several aging nuclear power plants earlier than expected and scrapped plans for the construction of several nuclear power plants.Moon also pledged to close several coal-fired power plants so the count