The Korea Herald

Government to announce new fiscal blueprint this month

Jul 4, 2017

The Moon Jae-in administration’s new comprehensive macroeconomic blueprint will be announced later this month, according to Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon on Tuesday. 　“The president, along with other officials, will hold a meeting to discuss the government‘s fiscal policies and strategies over the next five years sometime mid-July,” said the finance minister, during a policy meeting in Seoul with ministry officials, including the minister of land, infrastructure, transpo
BOK to brace for global tightening

Jul 4, 2017

Emerging markets should brace for signs of monetary policy shifts in developed nations, and South Korea will remain vigilant to such signs that are moving toward ending a decade of fiscal stimulus, Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said Tuesday.“The massive amount of cash flow into global financial markets will be on the decrease at any rate,” Lee said, while presiding over a conference on economic trends. “The BOK will respond to this by closely watching the shift in developed na
Seoul stocks dip amid rising geopolitical tension

Jul 4, 2017

South Korean stocks finished sharply lower Tuesday, as investors remained wary of rising geopolitical tension stemming from North Korea's missile launch, analysts said. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.After a choppy session, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 13.96 points, or 0.58 percent, to close at 2,380.52 as uncertainties surrounding North Korea caused investors to cash in recent gains.Trade volume was moderate at 380 million shares worth 4.75 trillion won ($4.13
Korean stocks almost flat late Tuesday morning

Jul 4, 2017

Korean stocks traded almost flat late Tuesday morning, as top market cap Samsung Electronics and No. 2 SK hynix attempted to rebound amid heavy losses by automakers. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed1.72 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,392.76 as of 11:15 a.m. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics rose 0.04 percent, and SK hynix, a major chipmaker, remained unchanged. In contrast, Hyundai Motor, the No. 1 automaker, dropped 2.75 percent, a
FDI pledges drop 9.1 pct in H1

Jul 4, 2017

New foreign direct investment pledged to come into South Korea fell 9.1 percent in the first six months of the year, amid rising uncertainties at home and abroad, the government said Tuesday.Fresh FDI commitments made in the January-June period came to $9.6 billion, down from $10.56 billion a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The amount of new FDI actually entering the country also retreated 4.4 percent on-year to $4.96 billion over the cited period, the mini
Stocks open slightly higher on overnight Wall Street gains

Jul 4, 2017

South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Tuesday on overnight gains on Wall Street.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 1.34 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,395.82 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market kingpin Samsung Electronics climbed 0.25 percent, and SK hynix was 0.6 percent up.Hyundai Motor, the No. 1 automaker, surrendered 2.75 percent, while AmorePacific, the country's top cosmetics maker, rose 1.25 percent.LG Chem, the country's top chemicals firm, fell 0.12 percent.
Eximbank chief Choi Jong-ku nominated as FSC head

Jul 3, 2017

Choi Jong-ku, CEO of the state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea, has been nominated as the chairman of the Financial Services Commission.Cheong Wa Dae on Monday said it expected Choi to become a game changer in curbing household debt, tackling unemployment, stabilizing people‘s quality of life and seeking efficiency in corporate restructuring. “As a nominee of the FSC chief in charge of crafting financial policies for the national economy, I feel grave responsibility,” Cho said
Bills move to give bitcoin legal grounds

Jul 3, 2017

A set of bills to give cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ethereum, legal grounds is being prepared by a South Korean lawmaker, a long-awaited move to protect South Koreans from potential risks in transactions.Rep. Park Yong-jin of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea said in a release Monday he would introduce three revisions in July to build a set of regulatory frameworks for digital currencies.Under the bill that aims to revise the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, traders, brokers,
[Photo News] Standard Chartered Korea celebrates 88 years

Jul 3, 2017
Korean stocks almost flat in late Monday morning

Jul 3, 2017

South Korean stocks traded almost flat Monday morning, with top market cap Samsung Electronics and No. 2 SK hynix falling on profit-taking.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 0.32 point, or 0.01 percent, to 2,392.11 as of 11:15 a.m.Market kingpin Samsung Electronics shed 0.38 percent, and SK hynix, a major chipmaker, dropped 2.08 percent.In contrast, Naver, the country's top Internet portal operator, gained 0.24 percent, and Hyundai Motor, the No. 1 automaker, rose 0.31 percen
LG Electronics simplifies rank structure to break up work hierarchy

Jul 3, 2017

LG Electronics said Monday it has simplified titles among its workers to break the previous hierarchical structure and to induce employees to become more creative.The South Korean tech giant said it has streamlined the five-level ranking system to three in a bid to help workers better communicate with each other. Starting Monday, the workers were given one of three titles, namely professional, specialist and associate. Complicated ranking systems closely linked to deep-rooted hierarchical cultur
Stocks open slightly higher on chemicals, banks

Jul 3, 2017

South Korean stocks opened slightly high Monday, as investors scooped up chemicals amid a rebound in oil prices.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 3.17 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,394.96 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics remained unchanged, and SK hynix was 1.93 percent down.Hyundai Motor, the No. 1 automaker, surrendered 0.31 percent, while AmorePacific, the country's top cosmetics maker, rose 1.32 percent.LG Chem, the country's top
Foreign investors' net purchase tops W10tr in 1st half

Jul 2, 2017

Foreign investors’ net purchase of South Korean stocks are estimated to go beyond 10 trillion won ($8.7 billion) in the first half of 2017, the highest since 2009, data showed Sunday. Their combined net purchase in the first-tier and second-tier stock markets reached 10.3 trillion won from January until Friday, according to data by Koscom, a market watcher launched by the Finance Ministry and the Korea Exchange.Of the total 10.3 trillion won, offshore net purchase in the main bourse amount
Seoul stocks fall on foreign, institutional sell-off

Jun 30, 2017

South Korea's main stock index declined on Friday, driven by the sell-offs by foreign and institutional investors with risk aversion on the rise. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 3.87 points, or 0.16 percent, to close at 2,391.79. Trade volume was moderate at 332 million shares worth 5 trillion won ($4.4 billion). The local stock market opened lower, tracking declines on the Wall Street overnight. However, the main stock index, w
Korea's finance minister has no immediate plan to raise growth forecast from 2.6%

Jun 30, 2017

South Korea's finance minister said Friday that he has no immediate plan to raise the current economic growth forecast of 2.6 percent despite an uptick in exports and world trade."If the supplementary budget is approved and implemented in a timely manner and we see its effect, the growth rate can probably go up," Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon told reporters after an event held in Goyang on the northern outskirts of Seoul. The government submitted an 11.2 trillion won ($9.8 billion) ex