South Korea didn't raise issue with China's trade barriers against South Korean companies during a World Trade Organization meeting earlier this month, sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday, a decision that may reflect a rise in tension with North Korea and talks to extend the bilateral currency swap deal. During a meeting of the WTO Council for Trade in Services in Geneva on Friday, the South Korean officials did not point out Beijing retaliatory actions in the tourism and retail indu

Foreigners hold about 12 percent of South Korean stocks, valued at 34 percent of the market cap, an indication that they own high-priced portfolios, data showed Wednesday.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, offshore investors held 9.158 billion stocks in the main and secondary markets as of the end of August, equal to 12.3 percent of the total. Their holdings break down as 7.129 billion stocks, or 17 percent, in the main market KOSPI and 2.029 billion stocks, or 6.3 percent, in the t

South Korean shares opened higher Wednesday, tracking Wall Street's strong showing overnight.  The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 7.34 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,441.15 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Most large caps traded mixed, with market kingpin Samsung Electronics gaining 1.44 percent.Top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.66 percent, while top steelmaker POSCO fell 1.09 percent.The local currency was trading at 1,132.85 won against the US dollar, up 2.25 won from t

The monthly salary for the country's top 0.1 percent earners averages 54.58 million won ($48,088), a sum equal to the total earned income by 2.95 million people in the bottom 27 percent, statistics from the tax agency showed Wednesday. The annual salary for the top 0.1 percent, fewer than 20,000 people in number, totaled 11.35 trillion won last year, accounting for 2.02 percent of the 562.59 trillion won paid to all workers. These figures were provided by the National Tax Service to ruling party

The 64 trillion won ($56 billion) currency swap deal between South Korea and China ended on Tuesday as the two countries failed to agree on terms of deal extension within due time.While tension remained up to the last minute, neither country came up with an official announcement after midnight, which was the expiration point.But possibilities remain that the two countries will carry on with their negotiations and resume the swap at a later stage.South Korea's currency swap with the United A

South Korea‘s main bourse saw the largest foreign net purchase of its stocks in over four years Tuesday, while the market index approached the record-high in its closing, overshadowing escalating verbal war threats between North Korea and the United States. The Kospi closed at 2,433.81 Tuesday, the highest since July 27, when the index closed at 2,443.24. Kospi went up 1.64 percent from the previous trading day on Sept. 29, the highest rise in five months since 2.3 percent surge on May 8.

Global investors may adjust their portfolios by exiting their capital from South Korea in case of a prolonged security risk on the Korean Peninsula, a central bank monetary board member said Tuesday.The unidentified member of the Bank of Korea monetary policy board has called for close monitoring of foreign investors as he issued the warning about a possible outflow of funds, according to the minutes of a September meeting.In August, foreign investors offloaded South Korean stocks and bonds wort

South Korea's finance minister plans to stress the country's solid fundamentals and financial stability during the upcoming global economy conference in Washington, officials said Tuesday.Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon is set to deliver the message later this week when he meets with his counterparts and central bankers from the Group of 20 leading economies.Geopolitical tensions have heightened on the Korean Peninsula in recent months as North Korea has fired intercontinental ballistic missiles

Following the decision to begin talks of amending the Korea-US free trade agreement last week, South Korea’s political parties are bracing for a full-fledged debate during an audit beginning this week, with the opposition lambasting the government for “failing to dodge” the US’ calls.　The National Assembly’s Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee is set to open its audit and inspection session Friday, focusing on the overall effects of the now five-yea

South Korean stocks closed higher Tuesday as Samsung Electronics and other tech stocks advanced on expectations of healthier earnings. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 39.34 points, or 1.64 percent, to close at 2,433.81. Trade volume was moderate at 218 million shares worth 7.25 trillion won ($6.37 billion). After closing for 10 days for Chuseok and other public holidays, the local stock market opened higher. South Korean offi

South Korea's Cabinet on Tuesday approved raising fines that can be slapped against financial firms over violations in public disclosures, state regulators said. Under the tougher rules, fines will be raised by about two to three times their current levels from Oct. 19 if financial firms violate relevant laws on public disclosures or obstruct probes by financial authorities, the Finance Services Commission said in a statement. Along with the tougher regulation, the Cabinet approved nine other re

The government said Tuesday it has revised regulations to require manufacturers of recalled products to provide consumers with timely information of problems found through SNS messages and TV commercials.The new regulations also stipulate automobiles, livestock products, manufactured goods, bottled water, cosmetics and consumer chemical products should have health hazard classification, the Fair Trade Commission said.Only foods, medicine, medical equipment and health foods are currently subjecte

China's imports of consumer goods from South Korea all shrank except for a handful of products despite a rise in demand for similar goods made in other countries, a report from a trade group said Tuesday.The report from the Beijing office of the Korea International Trade Association said South Korea accounted for 3 percent of all consumer goods imported by China in the January-July period of this year. Detailed data for the top 20 consumer products showed that global shipments to China during th

South Korea's finance chief expressed thanks to a Confucian leader Tuesday, following a positive response to the idea of levying taxes on local clergy.Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon delivered his appreciation in Seoul to Kim Young-geun, head of Sung Kyun Kwan, a body that advocates for Confucianism. Sungkyunkwan was a Confucian academy in the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Kim also said he will listen to any concerns about the religious taxation that is set to take effect in January. The polic

South Korean shares traded sharply higher Tuesday, boosted by technology stocks as investors displayed optimism over third-quarter earnings. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 46.54 points, or 1.94 percent, to 2,441.01 as of 11:20 a.m.Top cap Samsung Electronics, scheduled to release its third-quarter earnings guidance later this week, jumped 4.45 percent, and global chipmaker SK hynix soared 8.08 percent. Top automaker Hyundai Motor rose 0.66 percent, and its smaller affilia