South Korean stocks opened higher Friday on the back of a massive infrastructure project by the United States. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 30.08 points, or 0.97 percent, to 3,117.48 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks traded bullish due to market optimism over a $2.25 trillion infrastructure proposal in the US, which local investors hailed as a sign of rising global demand. Auto and tech shares got off to a strong start, taking a cue from the ove

South Korean stock brokerage firms were among highest-paying companies across all industries last year with an average annual salary of more than 120 million won ($106,288), data showed on Thursday. According to data compiled by recruitment firm Job Korea, employees at Korea’s top 100 listed companies were paid an average annual pay of 83.2 million won. Claiming the top spot of the list for the highest-paying workplaces here, stock trading firm Samsung Securities, paid 131 million won

On the heels of e-commerce platform Coupang’s listing on the New York Stock Exchange last month, which saw a valuation of over $100 billion, retail investors are seeking out similar opportunities with emerging companies on their way to market debuts. Booming interest in unlisted companies such as Viva Republica, Kurly and Krafton is stimulating support for platforms such as Stockplus Unlisted and Seoul Exchange, which link buyers and sellers of privately held companies’ stocks, ac

South Korea's benchmark stock index closed at the highest in two months Thursday amid hopes for a massive infrastructure project by the United States. The Korean won slightly fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 25.98 points, or 0.85 percent, to close at 3,087.4 points, the highest since Feb. 4. Trading volume was moderate at about 910 million shares worth some 13.8 trillion won ($12.2 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 420 to 419. F

Stocks held by Korean individuals jumped by 58 percent last year, getting closer to be on par with that of foreigners amid an equity investment craze, data showed Thursday. The local investors’ ownership accounted for 28 percent of the total market capitalization as of end-2020, up 3.6 percentage points on-year, according to data compiled by the Korea Securities Depository. Their holdings were worth around 662 trillion won ($584.89 billion), soaring 58 percent from a year earlier. In

A Burmese employee at Shinhan Bank’s Yangon branch was shot amid an escalating bloodshed in Myanmar, the South Korean lender and a Burmese news outlet said Thursday. The female employee was shot while heading home in a company vehicle, at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, after work. According to reports, she was taken to a hospital in critical condition. The employee’s current condition is unknown. Shinhan has been operating a branch in Yangon with a minimum number of employees stationed at

Stocks held by South Korean retail investors jumped nearly 60 percent in 2020 from a year earlier amid their investment craze, data showed Thursday. Local individuals owned 662 trillion won ($586 billion) worth of listed shares as of the end of 2020, up 58 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Securities Depository (KSD). The on-year increase in the value of retail investors' stock holdings accounted for nearly 38 percent of last year's rise in total market capitali

K-Bank, South Korea's first internet-only bank, said Thursday its customers and deposits grew exponentially in the first quarter of the year amid the coronavirus outbreak. The number of customers stood at 3.91 million as of the end of March, 1.72 million more than three months earlier, said the lender, which is led by telecom giant KT Corp. The number of new customers is far more than the number it had attracted in the three years since its inception. Outstanding customer deposits came to 8.7

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday as investor sentiment was boosted by a massive infrastructure project by the United States. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 26.6 points, or 0.87 percent, to 3,088.02 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the US President Joe Biden announced a $2.25 trillion infrastructure proposal that is expected to quicken the global economic rebound and benefit local exporters. In Seoul, top cap Samsung Electronics adde

SK IE Technology Co., a battery materials subsidiary of SK Innovation Co., said Wednesday it will commence the initial public offering process for its Seoul bourse debut in May. SKIET, which makes lithium-ion battery separators, said it will float 21.4 million shares on the KOSPI market at prices between 78,000 won and 105,000 won, which would make its market value up to 7.5 trillion won ($6.6 billion). SKIET will issue 8.5 million new shares and SK Innovation will sell 12.8 million shares i

Kakao Bank, the banking arm of mobile giant Kakao, on Wednesday said that its board decided to extend CEO Yoon Ho-young’s term for another two years. Yoon has led the country’s second internet-only bank since 2016. On Tuesday, the board also appointed three new members -- Jin Woong-sub, former head of the Financial Services Commission, Oh Pyeong-seob, former vice president of KB Kookmin Bank, and Choi Soo-yeol, a partner at Samdo Accounting Firm.  By Park Ga-young (gypark@h

South Korean stocks retreated Wednesday on the increase in the value of US currency and the valuation pressure of local stocks. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 8.58 points, or 0.28 percent, to close at 3,061.42 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 14.2 trillion won ($12.5 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 476 to 378. Foreigners sold a net 297 billion won, while retail investo

The booming adoption of digital coins by institutional players pushed the price of a bitcoin to new heights Wednesday. Bitcoin soared to a record high of 71.6 million won ($63,200) in the morning Wednesday, according to Upbit, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange that trades 184 coins. Wednesday’s rally came after a series of institutional endorsements from big players in various industries that began earlier this year. On Tuesday, PayPal, which has 375 million users, launched a

‘Resumption of short selling unlikely to cause major disruptions’

The South Korean bourse operator said Wednesday that it will check on its regulations on stock short selling, a trading technique that has been temporarily banned here since March last year, before its resumption in May. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) banned short selling of stocks from March 16 for a six-month period, in a move to ease a market rout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The temporary ban was extended twice until May 2, and short selling is set to resume on May 3. "W