Accounting firms in South Korea saw their combined sales rise 8.5 percent annually in the 2016 fiscal year, helped by a modest gain in revenues from their audits and consulting businesses, data showed Tuesday. The combined sales of 165 accounting firms stood at 2.67 trillion won ($2.37 billion) in fiscal 2016 that ended March of this year, compared with 2.46 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service.The nation's top four accounting firms -- Samil PwC

Bank lending rates on new household loans inched up in July and interest rates paid by banks on new deposits slightly fell, central bank data showed Tuesday.The average interest rates on fresh household loans extended by local banks came to 3.46 percent in July, up 0.05 percentage point from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. The BOK data came amid South Korea's efforts to tackle rising household debt.  South Korea's overall household debt came to 1,388.3 trillion won

South Korea's financial regulator said Tuesday it will curb existing bonus policies for senior executives at financial firms from December. Starting Dec. 4, a financial executive will be given an annual bonus equal to 60 percent of the total with the rest to be paid over the next three years, the Financial Services Commission said in a statement.  If the financial executive incurs a loss during the three-year period, the rest of the executive's annual bonus will be cut. If the loss is huge,

South Korean stocks traded sharply lower Tuesday morning as market sentiment was spooked by North Korea's latest missile launch that could further escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 34.32 points, or 1.45 percent, to 2,335.98 as of 11:15 a.m.North Korea lobbed a ballistic missile over Japan earlier in the day in a move that could pose serious security challenges for Northeast Asia. Reflecting the concern, market kingpin Samsung Electroni

South Korea said Tuesday it will take measures to stabilize the financial market, if needed following the latest North Korean missile launch that has further spiked tensions in the region.The Finance Ministry said it is monitoring financial markets at home and abroad and the South Korea's economy around-the-clock to effectively cope with risks posed by Pyongyang.The government "will take necessary steps in a timely manner" in case of financial volatility, the ministry said after a join

The South Korean government will hold an annual consultation with Moody's this week on the country's credit valuation, the finance ministry said Tuesday.Led by Steffen Dyck, senior credit officer at Moody's, the delegation will be in South Korea for three days through Thursday for meetings with officials from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, the Bank of Korea and the state-run Korea Development Institute. They will look into South Korea's macroeconomic policies of the new Moon Jae-in govern

South Korea's major banks saw mortgage applications surge early last week ahead of the implementation of tougher screening rules, market sources said Tuesday.The five leading lenders -- KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, KEB Hana and Nonghyup -- notched up mortgage applications of more than 3,200 last Monday and Tuesday, respectively. The average number stayed in the 2,000 range in the first 20 days of this month.The amount of applied mortgages came to 419 billion won ($373 million) and 366 billion won

South Korean stocks opened lower on Tuesday, as investors remained worried over North Korea's latest missile provocation that could further escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 11.94 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,358.36 in the first 15 minutes of trading. North Korea lobbed a ballistic missile over Japan earlier in the day in a move that can sharply escalate tensions in Northeast Asia.Market kingpin Samsung Electronics was 1.08 percent dow

South Korea's government will inject some 19.6 trillion won ($17.8 billion) in research and development next year, with the majority of the budget earmarked for the science and technology sectors critical for fostering new growth engines, the ICT ministry said Tuesday. The Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning said next year's science and technology budget, which is subject to parliamentary endorsement later this year, has been set to gain 1.9 percent on-year from 2017.Of the total, 6.5

The head of South Korea's central bank on Monday lashed out at recent comments by a presidential aide that the low key rate is problematic. Officials "should be careful in making comments that could affect the financial markets," Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said in a parliamentary session. It marked the second time this month that Lee has made a thinly veiled criticism against the presidential economic aide, who said in a recent interview with a newspaper that the low key rate is to

Hyundai Card, the credit card issuer affiliated with Hyundai Motor Group, has launched an artificial intelligence-based chatbot service to respond to customer inquiries, as part of its vision to evolve beyond finance into a digital company, according to officials.Buddy, the virtual agent available through Hyundai Card’s mobile application or website, offers users a real-time conversation with two personas -- Fiona and Henry. The service kicked off earlier this month as a beta version and i

After years of overcoming a series of economic challenges, global investors led by private equity funds are now ready to step back into the merger and acquisition market, especially in new technology sectors, data showed.According to a survey conducted by Ernst & Young Han Young, the Korean office of the London-based accounting firm, the number of global M&A deals signed in January-June this year stood at 18,363, up 4 percent from the same period last year.Topping the market in amount wa

The South Korean government said Monday it recovered 709.1 billion won ($633 million) of bailout funds in the second quarter, mostly used to help financial institutions hit by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The retrieval of taxpayers' money mainly derived from dividends from stake investments, the sale of shares in Woori Bank, and interest income, the Financial Services Commission said in a statement. The government has spent a total of 168.7 trillion won since November 1997 to purchase non-pe

South Korean stocks finished lower on Monday, as foreign investors cashed in recent gains due to the local currency's strength against the US dollar and a decline in Samsung affiliates, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 8.21 points, or 0.35 percent, to close at 2,370.30.Trade volume was light at 224 million shares worth 3.94 trillion won ($3.53 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 438 to 361.The local stock market

Amid soaring apartment prices, data showed Monday that management fees for apartment residents in South Korea have risen roughly 24 percent over the past five years. 　According to data from the Bank of Korea and Statistics Korea, the housing price index for apartment living increased to 108.68 in the second quarter, a 24.3 percent increase from 87.4 in 2012. The jump is about quadruple the 6.3 percent consumer price index inflation rate. 　By the end of July, housing management fees rose 3.8 perc