South Korea’s per capita gross national income has remained below $30,000 for more than a decade since it surpassed the $20,000 mark for the first time in 2006.A survey conducted by a local pollster days before the May 9 presidential election showed most people here are pessimistic about the possibility of their country passing what is regarded as the threshold for joining the club of wealthy advanced states anytime soon. Of about 1,000 Korean adults polled, a mere 0.1 percent said the $30

K-Bank, South Korea's first Internet-only bank, said Wednesday it has achieved 76 percent of its full-year target of attracting deposits just 45 days after launching operations. K-Bank, which was launched on April 3, has attracted 380 billion won ($339.2 million) in deposits, compared with this year's target of 500 billion won. K-Bank has also made loans worth 310 billion won, compared with this year's target of 400 billion won, the bank said.  The pace of growth in K-Bank's deposits and lo

Some 300 contract employees of Citibank Korea will unconditionally become full-time within 2017, the bank said Tuesday. The benefiting employees are office clerks and bank tellers, currently under unlimited term contracts. Previously, each year the Korean unit of the New York-based bank converted the contract employees into permanent positions through a set of screening processes, which accounted for one-fifth of the newly employed full-timers.The bank, however, has not determined the exact date

The daily foreign exchange turnover by local and foreign banks in South Korea rose 11.9 percent in the first quarter from the previous quarter, the central bank said Wednesday.The daily FX turnover averaged $49.98 billion in the January to March period, compared to the previous quarter's $44.66 billion, according to the Bank of Korea. The daily trading volume of foreign exchange spots reached $19.41 billion in the first quarter, up 11.8 percent from the previous quarter.By currency type, the dai

South Korean stocks traded 0.14 percent lower late Wednesday morning, led by losses in brokerage and utility firms, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index slipped 3.25 points to 2,292.08 as of 11:20 a.m. NH Investment & Securities, a leading brokerage house here, dropped 1.8 percent, with state-run utility firm Korea Electric Power Corp. falling 1.7 percent.But large-cap tech and auto companies edged up. Top-cap Samsung Electronics added about 0.08 percent and leading

South Korea's credit card spending jumped nearly 14 percent in March from a year ago on higher oil prices and a rise in the number of outbound travelers, data showed Wednesday.Credit card purchases totaled 66.4 trillion won ($59.5 billion) in March, up 13.7 percent from the same month a year earlier, according to the data from the Credit Finance Association. The surge was attributed largely to increased consumer prices, including oil costs, and higher demand for South Koreans' overseas trips.&qu

South Korea's export prices hit a record eight year high in April due to strong demand for electric and electronic products as well as petrochemicals, central bank data showed Wednesday.In local currency terms, export prices rose 8.7 percent on year last month, according to preliminary data provided by the Bank of Korea. The dollar came to an average of 1,132.73 won in April, down 0.2 percent from a month earlier the latest findings showed.For exporters, the won's gain means decreased income as

Foreign investors remained net buyers of South Korean stocks for the fifth consecutive month in April, government data showed Wednesday. Offshore investors bought a net 1.26 trillion won ($1.12 billion) worth of South Korean stocks last month, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service.   Boosted by foreign buying and healthier corporate earnings, South Korea's main stock index has rallied in recent sessions. In comparison, foreign investors bought a net 3.29 trillion w

South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday, driven by a fall in major steelmakers and insurance companies, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index was down 6.01 points, or 0.26 percent, to trade at 2,289.32 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Top steelmaker Posco slipped 1.3 percent and No. 1 insurer Samsung Life Insurance lost 1.7 percent. But shares of tech blue-chips moved upward. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 0.17 percent, with smaller rival LG Elect

Credit ratings agency Moody’s maintained a negative outlook on the South Korean banking industry, citing worsening business environment amid weak domestic consumer sentiment and banks’ asset quality.Sophia Lee, vice president and senior credit officer at Moody’s, said in a report that the change in administration under President Moon Jae-in brings uncertainty around policy direction on household debt and corporate restructuring, which weighs on the banks’ operating enviro

Expectations of strong policy drives by President Moon Jae-in are leading to forecasts of a further Kospi rally and a stronger local currency, offsetting rising worries about geopolitical risks.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index extended rallies for two days, even after North Korea fired a ballistic missile Sunday. The Kospi closed at 2,295.33, up 0.2 percent Tuesday, despite the loss of earlier gains in morning trade that pushed the index above 2,300.The local currency also strengt

The Financial Supervisory Service issued last Thursday a disciplinary warning on stock brokers for short selling using insider information, the regulator said Monday.The FSS said a team of stock traders from SK Securities had failed to avoid conflicts of interest and used unpublished information obtained on duty, both considered breaches of law. It issued cautionary discipline and ordered the securities firm to take autonomous action on the traders.The traders allegedly short sold stocks after a

Hit by the prolonged slump, South Korean shipbuilders and related businesses cut 8,670 or 14.8 percent of their workforce last year, data by industry tracker Chaebul.com showed Tuesday.The data based on 2016 business reports from 1,831 listed firms showed that their combined workforce reached 1.51 million at the end of last year, down 5,915, or 0.4 percent, from a year ago.Samsung Group slashed part of its workers as its flagship Samsung Electronics and other major subsidiaries implemented large

South Korea’s anti-trust watchdog said it has fined France’s BNP Paribas and Germany’s Deutsche Bank a combined 176 million won ($157,000) for colluding on foreign exchange forward bids.The Fair Trade Commission said officials at the two bank’s Seoul branches colluded on prices of foreign exchange forwards, prior to 44 rounds of bidding worth $224 million for two local companies from April to July in 2011. The FTC did not reveal the names of the two local firms. The two E