Prosecutors on Thursday raided KEB Hana Bank‘s headquarters in Seoul in an apparent move to add fresh fuel to the investigation of Optimus Asset Management’s private equity fund misselling. KEB Hana Bank was one of trustee banks of the disputed funds. According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, investigators searched the lender’s consignment sales unit to seize computer drives and documents related to the case. The main purpose of the search is to fi

South Korea’s vice finance minister on Thursday warned that the local foreign exchange market may face higher volatility amid external factors such as the COVID-19 resurgence in Europe and the reignited US-China conflict. “There are currently various factors which may increase volatility in the global financial market, including the resurgence of COVID-19 in Europe and the escalating tension between the US and China ahead of the US presidential election,” said Kim Yong-beom

Renault Samsung Motors Corp. said Thursday it will suspend its sole plant in South Korea until mid-October to control inventories amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Renault Samsung will halt the operation of the Busan plant, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, from Friday through Oct. 18, a company spokesman said over the phone. "The plant will be suspended for 11 working days as the Chuseok holiday falls on Sept. 30 and lasts through Oct. 5 for carmakers," he said. The company and its l

South Korean business lobby groups said Thursday a series of bills that they claim would hurt corporate activities should be further discussed as they will have a far-reaching impact on their business operations and the economy as well. The government is pushing to pass a package of bills to prevent power abuse by large conglomerates, help improve corporate governance structures and strengthen the financial health of financial companies. Also, the government is seeking to expand class-action

South Korea's economy is expected to deteriorate further in the second half of the year due to the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, a leading private think tank said Thursday. Asia's fourth-largest economy is likely to contract 3.8 percent on-year in the July-December period, worse than a 2.9 percent contraction projected in the second quarter, according to the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI). After posting a negative growth rate of 0.7 percent in the first half, the economy is project

More than two in every 10 South Korean listed companies are unlikely to service their debts with earnings this year due to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, South Korea's central bank said Thursday. The Bank of Korea estimated that 21.4 percent of the listed companies will have an interest coverage ratio below 1 this year. Last year, the proportion of marginal companies hit a record high of 14.8 percent since the central bank began compiling related data in 2010. The interest coverag

Finance Ministry vows to execute 80% of total budget by next Tuesday

Korean children have received a combined 1.3 trillion won ($1.1 billion) worth of assets through some 9,700 gifts that are subject to taxation, data showed Wednesday. The value of the combined assets as of 2018 -- comprising of financial assets, properties and securities -- surged over twofold from that of 2014 at 588.4 billion won, according to data from the National Tax Service compiled by ruling Democratic Party Rep. Yang Hyang-ja. In the same period, the number of taxable gifts rose 92 per

SEJONG -- The number of South Koreans who moved to different parts of the country grew in August, as more people were forced to change their residences due to rising housing prices, government data showed Wednesday. The number of people who changed their residences rose 8.7 percent last month from a year earlier to 615,000, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. The population mobility rate -- the number of those relocating per 100 people -- remained at 14.1 percent in August, up

SEJONG -- The number of babies born in South Korea dropped 8.5 percent in July from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday, in the latest sign underscoring the low birthrate that has plagued the nation for more than a decade. The data compiled by Statistics Korea showed that 23,067 babies were born in July, compared with 25,222 tallied in the same month of 2019. It marks the lowest number of newborns for any July since the statistics agency started compiling monthly data on newborns in 1981. In

Moody's Investors Service said Wednesday that South Korean nonfinancial firms' credit ratings will remain vulnerable to shocks caused by the prolonged coronavirus crisis. More than half of the rated Korean nonfinancial companies posted weak results in the January-June period compared to a year earlier. With the wide spread of the COVID-19 pandemic weakening business activity, negative rating actions will likely outnumber positive ones over the next 12 months, Moody's said in a statement. &quo

The global TV market is expected to expand in the third quarter of the year due to pent-up demand amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, a report said Tuesday, boding well for South Korean electronics firms. Global TV shipments in the July-September period were estimated to reach 56.88 million units, up 2.08 million units, or 3.8 percent from a year ago, according to market researcher Omdia. With the rising stay-at-home trend, countries' stimulus measures and TV makers' aggressive promotions a

Nearly 1,000 travel agencies in South Korea have gone out of business in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak that started to hit the country in late January, data showed Wednesday. The number of tour agencies came to 21,671 as of the end of June this year, down 938, or 2.7 percent, from the end of December, according to the data from the Korea Tourism Association. Compared with the end of September last year, the figure is down 4.1 percent. The number of travel companies in the country bega

South Korea’s tax agency said Tuesday that it has launched probes into 98 individuals for alleged property tax evasion as part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen a crackdown on tax dodgers and those who fall behind on large sums in taxes. Among the tax evasion schemes identified by the National Tax Service were 22 Koreans who purchased multiple homes here by establishing corporations or investing in private equity funds and 76 people aged 39 or younger who bought luxury apartments. Of

South Korea’s producer prices increased for the third consecutive month in August, mostly reflecting the rising costs of agricultural goods and oil products, central bank data showed Tuesday. The inflationary trend, attributed to the record-long rainy season and typhoons, is seen as adding pressure on coronavirus-hit consumers ahead of the Chuseok holiday. The producer price index -- an indicator of future consumer inflation -- stood at 103.19 in August, climbing 0.5 percent from a m