The won's movement against the dollar widened slightly in March from a month earlier, central bank data showed Wednesday.The session-over-session changes in the dollar-won exchange rate averaged 0.47 percent last month, compared to 0.39 in February, the Bank of Korea said. "The won rose against the dollar in March due to increased exports and inflows of foreign capital into local stock markets," the BOK said in a monthly report on international finance.Meanwhile, the South Korean curre

The South Korean financial and foreign exchange markets have remained stable for days despite escalating tensions over North Korea's missile and nuclear threats, the finance ministry here said Wednesday."As the recent US attack against Syria sparked volatility in the local financial market, some raised concerns over the geopolitical risks stemming from North Korean issues," the finance ministry said in a release. "But the impact of such possible risks has been limited, given that

A recent report on tax policy designed to reduce income inequality, released by the parliamentary finance committee, has rekindled debate on how to reform the country’s taxation system.Authored by two professors at the University of Seoul at the request of the committee, the report proposed raising corporate tax rates and eliminating tax breaks for wage earners. The previous conservative governments led by President Park Geun-hye and her predecessor Lee Myung-bak did not consider a tax inc

South Korean stocks traded a tad higher late Wednesday morning, but the gain was limited by geopolitical tension surrounding the Korean Peninsula.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index inched up 2.2 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,126.05 as of 11:20 a.m.Top tech giant Samsung Electronics continued to gain ground, rising 0.43 percent.Mobile carriers lost ground, with No. 1 SK Telecom falling 0.61 percent and KT losing 1.27 percent. LG Uplus, the smallest player, shed 2.46 percent. &nbs

A number of big companies are encouraging their employees to use their vacation days in early May to connect with holidays, which would give them up to nine days off, corporate officials said Wednesday.Hanwha Group officials said the conglomerate has made May 2 and 4 collective vacation days at most of the affiliates. With two weekends and three holidays amid the two days, employees will be free from work for nine days. May 1 (Monday) is Labor Day, and May 3 is Buddha's Birthday. May 5 is celebr

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday on the back of robust gains by tech firms and steelmakers.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 0.23 percent to 2,128.81 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market behemoth Samsung Electronics added 0.67 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix moved up 0.61 percent. LG Electronics advanced 0.43 percent.Steelmakers also continued to gain ground, with POSCO rising 0.37 percent and Korea Zinc adding 2.2 percent. Hyundai Steel moved up 0.18

WASHINGTON -- The US Commerce Department decided Tuesday to impose antidumping tariffs up to nearly 25 percent on oil country tubular goods imported from South Korean steelmakers.The department announced that it will levy 24.92 percent tariffs on OCTG imports from Nexteel, 2.76 percent on SeAH Steel and 13.84 percent on Hyundai Steel and other South Korean steelmakers. The final rates to be be applied to product are higher than the preliminary tariffs determined in October and are roughly on par

South Korea's seven financial holding companies saw their combined net profit gain 19.6 percent on year in 2016, helped by solid interest income and lower debt provisions, government data showed Wednesday. The combined net profit of financial holding firms stood at 7.5 trillion won ($6.5 billion) in 2016, compared to a profit of 6.2 trillion won in 2015, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service.  Banking units of the financial holding firms have expanded assets, led by mor

South Korean stocks closed lower Tuesday, marking the sixth consecutive session drop amid rising concerns over a potential nuclear test by Pyongyang, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 9.47 points, or 0.44 percent, to close at 2,123.85. Trade volume was moderate at 460.2 million shares worth 4 trillion won ($3.49 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 409 to 384.Analysts attributed the drop to the escalating concern that the North will soon press ahead with an

South Korean companies are increasingly being subject to import restrictions, the Korea International Trade Association said Tuesday.Import control measures include antidumping duties, countervailing duties, safeguards and double imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties.Compared to the end of last year, the number of restriction cases increased by three, meaning Korea faced an average of one new case each month this year.KITA advised firms to thoroughly monitor the situations and to a

Despite optimism growing over South Korea’s exports outlook, buoyed by strong outbound shipments of auto and chip products, domestic demand continued to remain low this month, further weakening business confidence among local manufacturers, data and reports showed Tuesday.According to data compiled by the Korea Customs Service, total outbound shipments reached $11.2 billion in the first 10 days of April, a 6.1 percent increase from a year ago.Led by strong overseas sales of semiconductors

South Korea's financial regulator said Tuesday geopolitical concerns won't impact financial market stability, while warning that it will sternly deal with spreading unfounded rumors. Jin Woong-sup, chairman of the Financial Supervisory Service, held an emergency meeting earlier in the day as the nation's stocks and currency lost ground over uncertainties centered on North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.In a statement, the regulator said the financial markets have remained "stable with

A majority of South Korean manufacturing companies expect their business conditions to improve in the second quarter of the year amid signs of a recovery in exports, a poll showed Tuesday.According to the survey of 645 manufacturers conducted by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, the manufacturing sector business survey index stood at 100 for the April-June period, coming in lockstep with the median figure of 100.A BSI reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists.T

The money supply in South Korea jumped 5.9 percent in February from a year earlier, the central bank said Tuesday.The nation's "M2" totaled 2,420.2 trillion won ($2.1 trillion) in February, compared with 2,285.3 trillion won a year earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.Month-on-month, the money supply gained 0.3 percent, the statement said.M2 is a measure of the money supply counting the currency in circulation, including bank debentures and deposits with a maturity of less th

South Korean stocks traded lower late Tuesday morning following losses from carmakers and mobile carriers.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 9.46 points, or 0.44 percent, to fall to 2,123.86 as of 11:20 a.m.Carmakers continued to lose ground, with Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors losing 1.71 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively. Top auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis slid 1.8 percent.Mobile carriers also lost ground, with SK Telecom sliding 3.76 percent and KT decreasing 2.79 percent.