South Korea’s economy grew at a faster pace in the first three months of the year on the back of robust exports and stronger-than-expected investment in construction and facilities, the central bank said Thursday.According to the Bank of Korea, the nation’s gross domestic product expanded 0.9 percent in the first quarter from the previous quarter, beating market expectations of 0.7-0.8 percent. The quarterly growth in the first quarter was faster than the 0.5 percent on-quarter growt

K-Bank, South Korea's first Internet-only bank, has achieved more than half of its full-year target of attracting deposits just 24 days after launching operations, the nation's financial regulator said Thursday. The pace of growth in K-Bank's deposits is much faster than expected and the Internet-only bank is fueling increased competition with traditional banks, the Financial Services Commission said in a statement. K-Bank, formed by a consortium of KT Corp., Woori Bank and 19 other compani

South Korean stocks got off to a weak start on Thursday, led by losses in Samsung Electronics and its affiliates and automakers.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 4.74 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,203.10 in the first 15 minutes of trading.On Wednesday, the Kospi closed at a fresh six-year high, driven by continued foreign buying.Investors also seem to be tempted to cash in gains.Market kingpin Samsung Electronics was 0.47 percent down and Samsung C&T, the de facto holding

South Korea's economy grew at a faster pace in the first quarter than three months earlier due to increased construction investment and exports, central bank data showed Thursday.In the January-March period, the country's gross domestic product increased 0.9 percent from the previous quarter, improving from a 0.5 percent on-quarter expansion three months earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea.The on-quarter growth is the fastest since the second quarter of last year.From a

As of October last year, some 1.11 million women were hired in restaurant businesses, taking up 9.8 percent of the total working women. When adding bars and other beverage outlets, the proportion reached 12.0 percent, becoming the No. 1 industry in which women were employed, Statistics Korea data showed Tuesday.Half of the employed Koreans earned 2 million or less per month. When grouped by industry type, the number of employees was the largest in retail.

South Korea’s stock market stayed bullish, with its benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index crossing the 2,200 mark for the first time in six years Wednesday, amid world market rallies and the earnings parade of local corporations. The main bourse closed at 2,207.84 Wednesday, up 0.5 percent, or 10.99 points compared to the previous day. It surpassed the 2,200 mark for the first time after May 4, 2011, when the market ended at 2,201.69. It opened at 2,202.37 Wednesday, up 5.52 points,

South Korea's top tax official and his Indian counterpart agreed to avoid double taxation between the two countries, the government said Wednesday.National Tax Service chief Lim Hwan-soo and India's Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia also agreed to create stable tax conditions for investments during their meeting in Seoul, according to the NTS.The bilateral double taxation avoidance pact was reached in September last year, creating a mutual foundation to address double taxation issues facing South

Payouts by private pension savings accounts to investors significantly fell short of needs for post-retirement life, official data showed Wednesday.The average monthly payout by private pension savings stood at 260,000 won ($231) last year, down 20,000 won from a year earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Including an average monthly payout by the National Pension Service, an investor received a total of 600,000 won in pension last year.The payout is compared wit

The following is the third in a series of articles breaking down the presidential candidates’ major economic pledges in a simulated question-and-answer format by gathering their answers from official websites, media interviews, public speeches, books and more. The third installment delves into their proposals on increasing taxes and enhancing welfare. -- Ed.South Korea’s tax code is likely to reach a turning point upon the May 9 presidential election, as the majority of the president

Standard Chartered Bank Korea announced Wednesday it plans to hold a forum dedicated to financial technology at its main branch in Korea on May 17.Michael Gorriz, group chief information officer at the London-based Standard Chartered Bank and Lim Jung-wook, managing director of Startup Alliance in Korea, will deliver keynote speeches at the forum.Under the theme of “Digital Technology Reshaping the Banking Industry,” the forum will involve sessions on the innovation of financial serv

The head of South Korea's central bank called Wednesday for efforts to better reflect the rapidly changing economic reality in the gross domestic product.GDP -- the broadest measure of an economy's performance -- is the total value of goods and services produced within the economy in a given period. It has been used as one of the major indicators in economic policy-making. Still, some critics say GDP does not properly reflect new activities such as digital or economic sharing. They also say GDP

Bank lending rates on new household loans inched up in March and interest rates paid by banks on new deposits remained unchanged, central bank data showed Wednesday.The average interest rates on fresh household loans extended by local banks came to 3.43 percent in March, 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 outstanding household credit -- which is composed of h

South Korean stocks traded at a six-year high early Wednesday morning, led by gains in tech companies, chemicals firms and automakers.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 10.01 points, or 0.46 percent, to 2,206.86 as of 11:15 a.m.Market kingpin Samsung Electronics was 0.09 percent down and SK hynix, a major chipmaker, surged 2.19 percent.Hyundai Motor, the No. 1 automaker, moved up 0.69 percent, and AmorePacific, the country's top cosmetics maker, remained unchanged.SK Innovation

A total of 642 listed firms in South Korea have sought the practice of shadow voting this year to meet quorum requirements for approval at their annual meetings of shareholders, sharply up 40 percent from a year ago, data showed Wednesday. Shadow voting, or mirror voting, is a practice under which companies can ask stocks registered with the Korea Securities Depository to vote in the same proportion as voters who participate in an annual shareholder meeting.Introduced in 1991, the practice is se

South Korea’s benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index topped 2,200 points, for the first time in six years when it opened Wednesday.The main bourse soared 5.52 points, or 0.25 percent, to reach 2,202.37 at 9 a.m. After 36 minutes of trading, it reached 2,206.22, up 9.37 points, or 0.43 percent. 　The Kospi closed at 2,196.85 Tuesday. This is the first time in six years that Kospi has surpassed the 2,200 mark. On May 4, 2011, the market closed at 2,201.69. The first-tier stock market has