Executives from financial firms were reaping astronomical salaries and bonuses amid increasing embezzlement, a lawmaker said Monday, quoting data. Data submitted by the Financial Supervisory Service to Rep. Yang Jung-suk showed that a total of 327 embezzlement cases worth a total of 170 billion won ($126 million) had occurred at 78 financial firms from 2017 to August this year. According to the data, the amount of damage caused by embezzlements in the financial sector was increasing every yea

South Korea's financial watchdog has launched an inspection into Morgan Stanley as part of efforts to intensify monitoring of stock short selling that has been blamed for excessive market swings, industry sources said Monday. The inspection came about two weeks after Lee Bok-hyun, the head of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), underlined the need to keep tabs on illegal short selling, saying his agency is preparing to inspect brokerages where such transactions have been concentrated d

South Korea plans to take measures to stabilize the financial market if there is excessive herd behavior in the wake of the US central bank's annual Jackson Hole meeting, a senior government official said Monday. First Vice Finance Minister Bang Ki-sun also said the government will closely monitor Korea's currency and bond markets with "extra" caution as the domestic market has moved in tandem with US markets. US stock markets nosedived Friday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell

The Bank of Korea will tighten policy to corral inflation but cannot end it before the US Federal Reserve, BOK Gov. Rhee Chang-yong said Saturday at the annual Jackson Hole meeting in Wyoming -- a three-day global economic retreat of central bankers held in-person this year after a pandemic hiatus in 2020 and 2021. “We are now independent from the government, but we are not independent from the Fed,” Rhee said on the last day of the gathering, in an interview with Reuters, noting th

South Korea was ranked ninth among countries with trade surpluses with the United States in the first half of the year, as Asia's fourth-largest economy recorded strong on-year growth in shipments to the US during the period, US government data showed Sunday. According to the Department of Commerce, South Korea's trade surplus with the US during the January-June period amounted to $21.67 billion, up 86.9 percent from a year ago. The trade surplus grew as South Korean shipments to the U

SEJONG -- South Korea will push for the abolishment of law provisions, which stipulate criminal punishment on businesses despite meager rule-violations, as part of effort to promote wider scale corporate activities and vitalize foreign investments. Before seeking criminal punishment, the government will issue administrative sanctions in the first stage, the Finance Ministry and the Justice Ministry said during a meeting for revamping regulations in Daegu on Friday. According to the two ministr

South Korea plans to take measures to stabilize the foreign exchange market in a timely manner if market volatility increases, driven by herd behavior or speculative bets in the currency market, a senior government official said Friday. The government will also buy back Treasury bonds and take steps to help curb a rise in bond yields, when needed, if the bond market shows jitters amid global rate hike drives, according to First Vice Finance Minister Bang Ki-sun. The finance ministry said the Sou

The Bank of Korea returned to its usual 25 basis point rate hike Thursday, half the historic size seen in July, while slashing its growth forecast for the year amid the persistent inflation forcing the central bank to back a raise for a fourth time in a row for the first time. The unanimous decision reached by all seven board members comes as the country fights inflation at an almost 24-year high. In July, prices jumped 6.3 percent on-year. The policy rate now stands at 2.5 percent, up fro

Industry Ministry says WTO complaint over anti-inflation act is last resort

South Korea's producer prices increased for the seventh straight month in July as electricity and transportation service bills rose, raising worries that it could add to upward pressure on already-high inflation, central bank data showed Thursday. The producer price index, a major barometer of consumer inflation, stood at 120.47 last month, up 0.3 percent from the previous month, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Compared with a year earlier, the index jumped 9

Amid soaring food costs, prices of ramen, Koreans’ most favored instant food and a common low-cost meal option, are set for an increase next month, in another blow to customers already grappling with persistent inflation. Koreans consumed the most instant noodles per capita in the world in 2020. Nongshim, a leading South Korean ramen maker, said Wednesday that it was raising prices for instant noodles and snacks, effective Sept. 15, by an average of 11.3 percent and 5.7 percent, respectiv

South Korea plans to come up with a set of measures this month to strengthen the competitiveness in exports amid the global economic downturn, the industry ministry said Wednesday. The envisioned plan comes as the country has seen a slowdown in the growth of exports, which account for half of the economy, and its trade deficit has widened in recent months due to high energy prices. In July, exports rose 9.4 percent on-year, marking the 21st consecutive month of growth. But they began to mark sin

South Korean retail investors' bond purchases have surged this year as they seek safe-haven assets amid rising interest rates and a bearish stock market, data showed Wednesday. Local individual investors had bought a net 10.2 trillion won (US$7.6 billion) worth of bonds over the counter this year as of Monday, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. The amount is more than double their net buying of 4.6 trillion won for all of last year. By type, corporate bon

SEJONG -- Big Korean businesses saw their inventory surge by about 50 percent in the first half on-year, sparking concerns that the piling products left unsold is maybe a sign that South Korea is entering a fog of economic uncertainty. According to the corporate research institute Leaders Index, the inventory assets held by 192 conglomerates came to 147.6 trillion won ($110 billion) in the first half of the year, a 49.6 percent increase from 98.6 trillion won in the first half of 2021. While b

Strong trade ties with China contributed to Korea’s thriving exports, but experts warn of growing dependence on Beijing