South Korea's tax burden, which has steadily risen over the years, still remains among the lowest among the group of developed market economies with high income, data showed Sunday.Data by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) showed that the tax burden ratio of Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 18.5 percent in 2015, which is on par with Slovakia. The ratio takes into account both taxes paid to local and central governments. Corresponding numbers for J

South Korean stocks closed lower on Friday as investors sought safer assets amid the tension surrounding the Korean Peninsula, analysts said. The Korean won fell against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 13.73 points, or 0.64 percent, to close at 2,134.88. Trade volume was slim at 343 million shares worth 3.31 trillion won ($2.9 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 592 to 207.Despite the eased concerns, the South Korean market has been dogged by speculat

Foreign currency deposits held by banks operating in South Korea hit a record high in March as exporters deposited their dollar-denominated earnings, central bank data showed Wednesday.Outstanding foreign currency deposits held by local banks, domestic and foreign, reached $70.54 billion in March, up 3.8 percent from $67.94 billion a month earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement.Broken down, foreign currency deposits held by domestic lenders came to $60.33 billion in March, up from $56.45

The government said Friday it will release 6,700 tons of its fisheries stock starting next week to keep prices under control during the fishing prohibition period.The prohibition period began April 1 and will continue to Aug. 11, depending on different types of net fishing. Violators are subject to legal punishment.The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said the government will put its fish stock on the market from April 17 to May 26, including4,500 tons of Alaska pollacks, 1,314 tons of mackerels

South Korean shares traded lower Friday morning as key blue chips continued to lose ground amid geopolitical concerns.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 11.35 points, or 0.53 percent, to 2,137.26 as of 11:20 a.m.Top market cap Samsung Electronics decreased 0.94 percent, and LG Electronics plunged 1.44 percent. LG Display shed 0.97 percent.Chemical firms were also among the losers, with industry leader LG Chem decreasing 0.18 and No. 1 cosmetics maker AmorePacific falling 0.3

Overseas branches of South Korean banks saw their combined net profit rise 15 percent on year to $650 million in 2016, thanks to a jump in incomes related to stocks and foreign exchange derivatives, government data showed Friday. The combined interest income at 178 overseas branches gained 6.4 percent on year to $1.35 billion, while non-interest income jumped 54.8 percent on year to $724 million, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service.Their average non-performing loan ratio s

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday as investors continued to seek after safer assets amid the rising concern over North Korean provocations including a potential nuke test.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 9.55 points, or 0.44 percent, to 2,139.06 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Tech shares traded bearish, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics losing 0.8 percent and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix falling 0.3 percent. LG Electronics shed 1.15 percent. Financial shares also

Citibank Korea, the South Korean unit of Citigroup Inc., said Thursday it will offer financial services via online channels while closing about 80 percent of its physical branches in South Korea. Citibank, which recently announced a plan to reduce the number of physical branches to 32 from 133 in the country, has said it won't slash staff, despite ongoing restructuring measures.  Instead, about 800 workers at the branches facing closures will be relocated to what the bank calls "non-fa

South Korean stocks closed higher on Thursday as geopolitical uncertainties both at home and abroad eased to some degree, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 19.70 points, or 0.93 percent, to close at 2,148.61 Trade volume was slim at 331 million shares worth 4.23 trillion won ($3.74 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 541 to 246.Analysts said market sentiment improved on expectations that the political situatio

The Financial Services Commission of Korea rolled out plans Thursday to strengthen the role of private equity firms in carrying out corporate bailout measures, a move aimed to discourage the practice of credit banks being reluctant to declaring insolvencies of financially distressed firms.The projected 8 trillion won ($7.09 billion) fund, where state-owned lenders would first contribute half of the funds, to be matched by private equity firms, will be used to refinance mid-sized enterprises.This

South Korea's finance minister said Thursday that the recent signs of a recovery in world trade will help Asia's fourth-largest economy make a rebound despite lingering uncertainties at home and abroad."As the South Korean economy highly depends on exports and global demand, the upside trend in the world economy will be a boon for the country," Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said in a ministerial meeting in Seoul.Hopes are high that the South Korean economy has entered a positive cycle on

South Korean shares traded slightly higher late Thursday morning as investors still remained cautious in making bets on risky assets.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 3.14 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,132.05 as of 11:20 a.m.Market kingpin Samsung Electronics lost 1.09 percent after starting out on a strong note. The company announced earlier in the day that preorders for its new flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S8, have surpassed a whopping 720,000 units in just seven days.SK

South Korea's central bank on Thursday revised up its growth outlook for Asia's fourth-largest economy to 2.6 percent from 2.5 percent for 2017.BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol announced the estimate in a news conference after the BOK Monetary Policy Board kept its policy rate at an all-time low of 1.25 percent in April.The BOK's gross domestic product growth estimate for 2017 is 0.1 percentage point higher than the central bank's estimate released in January. (Yonhap)

South Korea's central bank on Thursday held its key rate steady for April to support the country's growth, despite a recent US rate hike.The Bank of Korea kept its policy rate at an all-time low of 1.25 percent for the 10th consecutive month in April after dropping the rate to its lowest level to bolster Asia's fourth-biggest economy.Last month, the US Federal Reserve raised its key rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a target range of 0.75 to 1 percent. It also signaled that additional h

South Korea's funds market grew big in size, gaining some 100 trillion won ($8.73 billion) in just two years, but the gain has not been all healthy with bigger lumps of money going to non-stock investments, industry data indicated Thursday.The Korea Financial Investment Association put the country's net fund assets at a record amount of 500.63 trillion won as of Friday. The value had just surpassed 400 trillion won in March 2015.A detailed look, however, showed that the largest sum of 28.84 tril