South Korean stocks started lower on Wednesday as investor sentiment remained fragile amid concerns that political turmoil in Libya would jack up oil prices, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 2.99 points, or 0.15 percent, to trade at 1,966.93 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Already-rising oil prices, sparked by the economic recovery and money printing by

   Overseas investors have shown a keen interest in new bonds issued by Hyundai Capital Service Inc., a financial unit of South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group, financial sources here said Tuesday.     Hyundai Capital Services successfully raised US$700 million byselling bonds maturing in five-and-a-half years. The bonds carry aninterest rate of 245 basis points above U.S. government debts.      Bookr

   Three banking groups, including top financial firm Woori Finance Holdings Co., have expressed their intention to buy an ailing savings bank, a state insurance agency that arranges the deal and sources said Tuesday.     On Jan. 14, the financial regulator suspended mid-sized SamhwaMutual Savings Bank for six months as it failed to meet regulatorycapital requirements. State-run Korea Deposit Insu

   South Korea plans to propose to the North on Wednesday to hold working-level talks next month in order to open the window for their first military talks in five months, government sources said Tuesday.   "The government plans to officially suggest to North Korea within tomorrow to hold preparatory talks for high-level military talks," a government official said.   Military talks with the North

LG CNS will become the first South Korean firm to forge a cross-border partnership with a Japanese financial company to provide IT services, the Seoul-based company said Tuesday.With Japan’s SBI Group, LG CNS said it would be forming a joint entity called SBI-LG Systems that would handle all of the IT services related to SBI, a top Japanese financial company with assets worth 13 trillion won ($11.

Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara said Saturday that North Korea should take concrete stepsdemonstrating its seriousness of purpose and first hold dialoguewith South Korea if six-party nuclear talks are to reopen.Maehara also said that inter-Korean dialogue should be the starting point for any talks with North Korea and urged the communist nation to take specific steps demonstrating its comm

Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara said Saturday that North Korea should take concrete stepsdemonstrating its seriousness of purpose and first hold dialoguewith South Korea if six-party nuclear talks are to reopen.Maehara also said that inter-Korean dialogue should be the starting point for any talks with North Korea and urged the communist nation totake specific steps demonstrating its commi

South Korea's state-run asset management corporation plans to conduct probes on real estate-related project financing operations under the control of local savings banks, a source said Saturday.The Korea Asset Management Corp. (KAMCO) source said 386 project financing projects are to be checked, as concerns have been raised about deteriorating conditions that can cause trouble for the lenders.Afte

South Korean outfielder Choo Shin-soo of Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians has filed for salary arbitration in hopes of getting a raise following thebest season of his career.Choo was among 119 players who filed for arbitration on Saturday (Korean time), according to Major League Baseball. The left-handed outfielder received US$461,100 last year, slightly above the major league minimum, wh

South Korea's stock market is expected to continue doing well next week although gains will be more modest as investors may take on a more wait-and-see approach, local analysts said Saturday.The country's benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 18.69 points to close at a record high of 2,108.17 on Friday, a month after the bourse surged past the 2.000-point mark on Dec. 14.The K

South Korea confirmed a single case of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) on Saturday in the country’s southeastern region, as nationwide vaccinations and quarantine efforts have started to help stem new outbreaks.The additional case in Cheongsong, 285 kilometers southeast of Seoul, brings the total number of confirmed FMD outbreaks to 119, since animals started showing symptoms in late November, the Mi