The South Korean government on Thursday reacted cautiously to the US’ formal request to hold a joint meeting to revise the Korea-US free trade agreement within the next month, saying the timeline may not be realistically possible and that searching for the real cause of the US’ trade deficit was a priority. 　The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy also said that it would call on its US counterpart to first review the root causes of the trade imbalance between the two countries. Th

Driven by high corporate earnings and expectations of a global economic recovery, foreign ownership of Korean stocks reached over 602 trillion won as of Tuesday, hitting a record high, according to Koscom, the systems manager of Korea Exchange.It accounts for 34.04 percent of the total market cap of listed stocks, marking the first time for the figure to surpass 34 percent since June 20 of 2007.

The main bourse of South Korea leaped to another record-high Thursday, surpassing the 2,400 closing mark for the first time in history. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 0.74 percent to close at 2,409.49 Thursday from Wednesday’s closing at 2,391.77.The top-tier stock market continued its record run, a day after it retreated 0.18 percent from the previous record high at 2,396.00 Tuesday.Foreign investors showed a strong buying trend, recording net purchase of 372.9 billi

An official demand by US trade representatives to amend a bilateral free trade agreement with South Korea unnerved major exporters here Thursday over the potential impact on their businesses.Cars and steel products made in Korea are expected to be up for discussion first, as US President Donald Trump views the FTA as having benefitted such local companies the most, not those in the US. The US has also been slapping anti-dumping tariffs on Korean steel products, saying their entry into the US mar

South Korea’s central bank on Thursday raised its 2017 growth forecast to 2.8 percent, up 0.2 percentage point from its April projection, and to 2.9 percent in 2018, on the back of upbeat macroeconomic data at home and abroad. Meanwhile, the Bank of Korea decided to hold its policy rate steady at an all-time low of 1.25 percent for the 13th consecutive month on weak domestic consumption readings and continuing external uncertainties. Consumer price inflation was projected to stand at 1.9 p

South Korean stocks closed at a record-high level on Thursday as investors' sentiment was boosted by overnight gains on Wall Street. The Korean won gained against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index soared 17.72 points, or 0.74 percent, to close at a fresh record high of 2,409.49. Trade volume was low at 284 million shares worth 6.05 trillion won ($5.32 billion), with gainers slightly outnumbering losers 397 to 396.The index reached an all-time intraday high of 2.422.26

South Korea's exports of petroleum products and refined oils rose sharply in the first six months of the year on rising crude prices, customs data showed Thursday.A total of $16.69 billion worth of petroleum products were shipped overseas during the January-June period, up 36.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service. The volume of such exported goods also rose 1.7 percent to 32.93 million tons over the cited period.Asia's fourth-largest economy saw its en

Sales of variable insurance policies more than doubled in the first quarter of this year as local stock markets reported robust gains, industry data showed Thursday. The first premium for variable insurance policies, which invest part of the funds they control in stocks and bonds, rose to 545.5 billion won ($477.2 million) during the January-March quarter, compared with 215.2 billion won for the same three-month period last year, according to the data by the Korea Life Insurance Association.&nbs

Samsung Electronics Co.'s market cap has grown to exceed that of the entire secondary bourse and more than make up for the company's erased stocks this year, data showed Thursday.The market cap of the tech firm as of the end of trading Wednesday was 362 trillion won ($316.7 billion), including preferred shares. Ordinary shares accounted for 326 trillion won.According to the Korea Exchange, the sum is equal to 23.27 percent of the main bourse KOSPI. It is 1.72 times bigger than the entire market

South Korea's central bank on Thursday held its key rate steady for July to support the country's growth. In a widely expected move, the monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea voted to keep the key rate at 1.25 percent, extending its wait-and-see approach for the 13th consecutive month.In June last year, South Korea's central bank made a surprise rate cut, citing a need to stimulate the lackluster economy amid a prolonged economic slowdown. (Yonhap)

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday taking a cue from overnight Wall Street gains, led by tech and chemical shares.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 13.65 points, or 0.57 percent, to 2,405.42 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market cap Samsung Electronics continued to rise, moving up 0.92 percent and chipmaker SK hynix increased 0.58 percent. LG Display gained 1.38 percent. Chemical shares gathered ground, with industry leader LG Chem rising 4.01 percent and top cosm

A conspicuous change in the country’s employment structure over the past decade is that the proportion taken up by the service and distribution industries has continued to grow, just as the manufacturing and construction sectors’ share has fallen.A recent study by a local economic research institute, based on data from all listed Korean firms, showed the number of service and distribution jobs rose by 153,000 from 2007 to 2016, expanding their share of total employment by 2.5 percent

South Korean stocks closed slightly lower Wednesday on profit-taking after the key index hit a record-high in the previous session. The Korean won gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index moved down 4.23 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 2,391.77. Trade volume was low at 266 million shares worth 5.3 trillion won ($4.62 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 541 to 267.Seoul shares closed lower as investors took a breather after the market rose to a re

South Korea's mobile stock trading has witnessed sharp gains in the past few years as the country emerged as having one of the highest smartphone penetration numbers in the world, industry data showed Wednesday.South Korea's smartphone penetration rate stands at 85 percent, compared with the global average of 51 percent.The proportion of mobile stock trading in the secondary KOSDAQ market surged to 34.49 percent during the first six months this year from 3.12 percent in 2010, according to the fi

The number of newly employed workers in June saw the smallest increase in five months, according to data released by Statistics Korea on Wednesday. 　Last month, the number of employed people hit 26.86 million. While the figure marks a 301,000 increase compared to a year earlier, it also represents the lowest monthly increase since January’s 243,000.　The country’s unemployment rate for June was 3.8 percent, an increase of 0.2 percentage point from the same month last year. 　The s