An increasing number of multiple homeowners in South Korea are choosing to give real estate to their children instead of selling it, data showed Wednesday. The number of apartments transferred from parents to children stood at 1,632 in January -- an increase of 305 from December and the third-highest jump since the compilation of relevant data began in 2006, the Korea Appraisal Board said. Meanwhile, separate data released by the Seoul City government showed that apartment transactions in

South Korea’s top financial regulator on Wednesday slapped a combined 36.5 billion won in ($30.8 million) fines on Woori Bank and Hana Bank, along with a six-month ban on attracting investors‘ money into privately pooled funds. The Financial Services Commission’s final decision indicates that the authorities held the banks responsible for their lack of internal control, as they failed to protect retail investors from potential risks implied in the structured products known as

Foreign investors dump $3b of Korean stocks in Feb.

The amount of personal credit loans grew while mortgage loans fell last month, data showed Tuesday, apparently due to the South Korean government’s tighter mortgage restrictions since last year. Outstanding credit loans stood at 110.9 trillion won, up 1.2 trillion won ($1 billion) last month from 109.7 trillion won in January. The nation saw the figure drop 225 billion won on-month in the first month this year. Meanwhile, mortgages owed by Korean households increased 956.3 billion wo

  Korea’s benchmark Kospi on Monday rose less than 1 percent, barely recovering past the 2,000-point mark after crashing in the previous session over expectations on an interest rate cut in the US.  The local currency closed at 1,193.70 won against the US dollar, strengthening 20 won from the previous session’s close. The benchmark bourse Kospi opened slightly high at 1,997.03 -- rising 10.02 points, or 0.5 percent, from the previous session. It dipped below 1,980 points

Shares of South Korean companies dedicated to novel coronavirus testing kits soared on Monday, amid rising demand. Local diagnostic kit makers are launching devices that detect coronavirus infections, which allow authorities to test over 10,000 people a day as of current -- from around 1,000 two weeks prior. One of them is Seegene, a maker of the real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis assays. The Seoul-based company closed at 40,400 won ($33.8) per share, up 10.7 percent Monday, on the

Seoul stocks opened higher on Monday on a technical rebound and comments by the Federal Reserve chairman on a possible rate cut to reassure the markets hit by the spreading coronavirus outbreak.    The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 2.60 points, or 0.13 percent, to 1,989.61 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investor sentiment appears to be somewhat buoyed after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell signaled on Friday (US time) that the central bank was open to

Credit card transactions nearly halved last month as the fast-spreading COVID-19 fears dampened consumer sentiment, according to latest data Sunday. The overall credit card payments from Feb. 1-23 stood at 28.2 trillion won ($23.5 billion), down 45 percent from 51.3 trillion won in January, as per eight credit card issuers, including Shinhan Card, Samsung Card, Hyundai Card and BC Card. The transactions declined 32 percent, when deducting a week’s average amount -- approximately 10 tri

BC Card’s experiment of contactless payment system for autonomous convenient store draws market attention

Analysts say extra fiscal budget positive, but market reaction cloudy

IFC Seoul Mall also shuts down for quarantine

Central bank’s decision to keep its rate disappoints stock markets that expected for further cut

Mirae Asset Financial Group has donated 2 billion won ($1.64 million) to the Hope Bridge Association of the National Disaster Relief to support medical personnel and provide relief goods amid the COVID-19 outbreak. The donation was made to provide items needed for medical and relief aid, such as protective outfits and masks, and daily necessities, especially for people in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, the company said. Mirae Asset has been helping its cooperative firms by making paym

The price gap between the average jeonse -- a real estate term unique to South Korea that refers to property lease -- and average sale price of apartments in Seoul reached a record high in February in seven years, increasing the financial burden on potential home buyers, according to latest data Thursday. Jeonse refers to a two-year leasing system that requires tenants to pay a large deposit instead of monthly rent. The average jeonse price amounted to 55.6 percent of the average apartment

Property buyers in their 30s were the biggest players in the apartment market in Seoul in the last two months of last year, according to a report Wednesday. Of the entire 10,491 transactions of apartment units registered in January in the city, those aged 30-39 accounted for 30.4 percent, or 3,188 transactions, according to a report released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation and the Korea Appraisal Board. Since transactions are reported to district offices within 60