SEJONG -- South Korea's big conglomerates have reported sales of some 12 trillion won ($10.3 billion) from collusion and price-fixing practices over the past six years, a report showed Monday. The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) found that 21 business conglomerates colluded a total of 162 times between 2015 and August this year. The conglomerates reported sales of 11.7 trillion won from collusion during the period, the KFTC said in the parliamentary audit report. The KFTC fined them 654

South Korean carmakers are set to launch aggressive promotions to boost sales with new vehicles in the fourth quarter to offset weak sales in the previous three quarters amid the coronavirus outbreak, industry sources said Monday. The country's five carmakers -- Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp., GM Korea Co., Renault Samsung Motors Corp. and SsangYong Motor Co. -- reported an 18 percent on-year decline in sales to 4.2 million vehicles during the January-August period. Their domestic sales

The chief of Big Hit Entertainment, the creative force behind K-pop superstar BTS, will become the 14th-richest stockholder in South Korea after his company's initial public offering (IPO) in mid-October. The company is scheduled to open subscription for retail investors Monday and Tuesday at an IPO price of 135,000 won ($115). Bang Si-hyuk holds 12,377,337 shares, or a 36.6 percent stake valued at about 1.67 trillion won based on the IPO price, in Big Hit Entertainment, according to the agenc

An extended slump is expected to undermine South Korean shipbuilders' earnings in the third quarter of the year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with a meaningful recovery in the near future not in sight. According to the data provided by global market researcher Clarkson Research Service, global new orders for ships more than halved to 8.12 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) in the first eight months of the year from 17.47 million tons a year earlier. "South Korean shipbuilders may log a

South Korean steelmakers are expected to have performed better in the third quarter despite the new coronavirus fears, moving on from a slump a quarter ago, analysts said on Sunday. The country's major steelmakers are likely to have earned more in the July-September period, thanks to a rebound in global steel demand, according to the analysts. Posco, the world's fifth-biggest steelmaker by output, is forecast to have logged 492.9 billion won in operating profit on a consolidated basis, accord

SEJONG -- South Korea will launch a national census this month, with census workers taking extra precautions amid the coronavirus pandemic, Statistics Korea said Sunday. The nation conducts a population census every five years, and this year's survey includes 27,000 census workers who will carry out door-to-door interviews with residents. To reduce door-to-door visits, people will be encouraged to use mobile phones, fixed-line telephones and personal computers to register their personal, fami

South Korea performed relatively better in terms of economic growth over the second quarter of the year compared to other members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), data showed Sunday. South Korea's economy contracted 3.2 percent on-year in the April-June period, which marked the smallest decrease among the 36 member countries of the Paris-based organization, according to the data compiled by the Bank of Korea. Over the cited period, China, which is not a memb

Major local department stores have renovated their outlets in bustling areas and realigned sales sections in an effort to attract a new clan of young customers amid faltering sales hit by the new coronavirus outbreak, industry sources said Sunday. Industry leader Lotte Department Store and its main rivals Shinsegae and Hyundai department stores are targeting the MZ generation, those born between 1980 and the early 2000s as a combination of millennials and Generation Z. Local retailers are scra

SEJONG -- South Korea underperformed in a comparison of employment among some members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. It ranked 18th among 25 major economies that released hiring data for the second quarter. Alongside the tough job market, the proportion of nonregular workers held by Korea far exceeded the OECD average. According to the France-based organization, Korea posted 65.4 percent in the employment rate in the second quarter of the year, which is an indica

South Korea's exports rebounded for the first time in seven months in September, data showed Thursday, helped by increased shipments of chips and automobiles as major trade partners gradually resumed their business activities amid the pandemic. Outbound shipments came to $48 billion last month, up 7.7 percent from $44.6 billion posted a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The on-year gain in exports marked the largest increase since Octob

Ahead of the Chuseok holidays, many Koreans expect cash, with companies offering bonuses to motivate employees and relatives exchanging money as gifts in the family reunion rituals. This year, the three-day Chuseok holiday that kicks off Wednesday for three days is coming amid the COVID-19 outbreak, and the prolonged pandemic appears to be influencing ways to save or invest the holiday pocket money. But what to do with cash in times of ultralow interest is a big question.　 Some financial consu

Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea's biggest auto parts maker, said Tuesday it will buy back 221 billion won ($189 million) worth of its stocks in the fourth quarter to enhance shareholder value. Hyundai Mobis plans to buy back 983,000 stocks from Oct. 5 through Dec. 28 to stabilize the stock prices and improve shareholder value, the company said in a regulatory filing. The company said it will cancel 62.5 billion worth of stocks out of the 983,000 shares to be bought and ho

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. said Tuesday that its shipbuilding unit Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. secured a 420 billion won ($359 million) deal to build four crude carriers. Under the deal with companies from Europe and Oceania, Hyundai Heavy will complete the construction of the 300,000-ton very large crude carriers by the first half of 2022, Korea Shipbuilding said. The names of the buyers were not revealed. With the latest orders, Korea Shipbuilding has so far won ord

SEJONG -- South Korean households have been taking out an increasing amount of loans to invest in the real estate or capital market over the past few years. This has been in line with a fever for mortgages or credit-based loans amid low benchmark interest rate, which has stayed under 2 percent per annum for more than five years, and is currently at an all-time low of 0.5 percent. According to the Bank of Korea, outstanding household debt - the total of financial loans and credit-based payment

South Korea's industrial output fell in August for the first time in three months, but consumption increased amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Tuesday.   The nation's overall industrial production declined 0.9 percent on-month in August, following a 0.1 percent on-month gain in July, according to data compiled by Statistics Korea.   Compared with a year earlier, overall industrial production plunged 3.4 percent in August.   Retail sales rose 3 percent f