South Korea's exports shot up nearly 40 percent in the first 10 days of this month from a year earlier on robust overseas demand for semiconductors and ships, customs data showed Tuesday.Total outbound shipments reached $14.3 billion from July 1-10, up 38.5 percent from $10.3 billion tallied over the same period last year, according to numbers compiled by the Korea Customs Service.The sharp increase was led by a 574.4 percent on-year surge in exports of vessels and a 50.4 percent gain in chips,

South Korea ranked second among emerging economies in the amount of stocks purchased by foreign investors during the first six months this year, market data showed Tuesday.Foreigners net bought $9 billion worth of South Korean stocks during the January-June period, the second largest only after Taiwan's $9.4 billion, according to the statistics by Yuanta Securities.India came in third with $8.5 billion, followed by Brazil at $1.4 billion, Indonesia at $1.3 billion, the Philippines at $408 millio

The South Korean economy is experiencing a feeble recovery as brisk exports and investment were offset by flaccid private consumption and weak service sector growth, a government report said Tuesday."On the back of an upturn in global trade, upbeat exports and investment pushed up the South Korean economy to a large extent, while domestic demand remained weak due to sluggish private consumption and service sector output," the finance ministry said in its monthly economy assessment repo

Local egg prices still are high despite the arrival of eggs imported from Thailand following the latest outbreak of bird flu, data showed Tuesday.The Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade said a carton of 30 eggs was priced at an average 7,969 won ($6.94) as of Monday, up slightly from last month. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, 970,000 eggs imported from the Southeast Asian country arrived in South Korea via ship last week. The government has been dealing with

South Korean stocks opened higher on the back of gains from steel and chemical shares Tuesday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 2.29 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,384.39 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Top steelmaker POSCO advanced 2.17 percent, and Korea Zinc climbed 0.22 percent. Hyundai Steel added 1.79 percent.AmorePacific increased 2.31 percent, and LG Household & Health Care rose 0.98 percent. LG Chem moved up 0.34 percent.The local currency was trading at 1,148.

Korea has seen foreign direct investment slump and investments by local companies abroad balloon over the past few years.According to data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Korean firms’ investments overseas amounted to $276.1 billion for a decade through 2016, nearly tripling $94.7 billion invested by foreign businesses in the nation over the same period.Last year alone, Korean companies invested $35.2 billion abroad, up 14.2 percent from the year before, strengthening effo

Drivers who are less at fault for a car accident, will pay lower auto insurance premiums in a change from the current system, the financial regulator said Monday. The change, which will go into effect from September, is aimed at adjusting the degree of balance between at-fault drivers and those who are much less responsible for an accident after reporting the case to an insurance firm to get compensation. Currently, if a driver is 80 percent responsible for an accident with the other driver bein

South Korea‘s stock markets modestly gained Monday helped by robust job data of the United States that replaced geopolitical tension from North Korea’s missile launch and global tapering woes.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,382.10, up 0.09 percent Monday compared to the Friday closing, on the back of institutional buying. Institutional investors showed a net purchase of 77.2 billion won ($67.2 million), offsetting net sales of offshore investors at 58.1 bi

Banks, insurers and card companies have charged a total of 59.9 trillion won in service fees since 2013, according to the Financial Supervisory Service in its report to the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.The banks have raised profits from the commission amounting to some 6.4 trillion won ($5.6 billion) annually. This year, the banks are expected to raise some 6.8 trillion won.The service fees charged for money transfer and using an ATM had been lowered in 2011 but they continued to rise in the

South Korean stocks closed nearly flat Monday as investors took a wait-and-see stance on second-quarter earnings of listed firms, although Samsung Electronics closed higher on its robust performance estimate, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index edged up 2.23 points, or 0.09 percent, to close at 2,382.10. Trade volume was low at 277.3 million shares worth 4.87 trillion won ($4.23 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 583

Multicultural families will be able to enjoy exemptions in international wire transfer fees and discounts in currency exchange when using Woori Bank, it said Monday.  The families will be exempt from paying transfer fees – up to 25,000 won ($21.70) for outgoing wire and 10,000 won for incoming wires of over $100 -- if they submit identification and at their nearest Woori Bank branch.Also, multicultural families will be offered a narrower foreign exchange spread, by as much as 80 perce

　Home purchases are becoming increasingly unaffordable and prices and loan interest rates have reached their highest level in four year and three months, the Korea Housing-Finance Corp. announced Monday. 　In the first quarter of this year, the Korea-Housing Affordability Index rose to 59.3, a 0.4 percentage point increase compared to the previous quarter, according to data. The figure marks the highest average rate in more than four years since reaching 59.9 in the fourth quarter of 2012.　The K-

More corporate CEOs are becoming less optimistic about the immediate future of the global economy compared with last year, an international survey said Monday.   The poll carried out by consulting firm KPMG International said that out of 1,261 CEOs from 10 countries who were canvassed between Feb. 21 and April 11 this year, 65 percent were confident about global economic growth for the next three years. Although still a majority, the number lags behind the 80 percent tallied last year.

South Korean stocks traded higher late Monday morning as market behemoth Samsung Electronics gathered ground on the back of its robust second-quarter earnings outlook.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 4.18 points, or 0.18 percent, to 2,384.05 as of 11:15 a.m. Tech shares continued to trade higher, with Samsung Electronics increasing 1.34 percent and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix moving up 0.45 percent.Top steelmaker POSCO also advanced 0.84 percent, and Korea Zinc moved up 0.11 pe