Koreans’ spending on coffee and tea fell for the first time in more than five years.According to statistics held by the financial investment industry, the average household’s consumption of coffee and tea products stood at 8,500 won in the first quarter of 2013, down 1.4 percent from 8,624 won over the same period last year.This marked the first fall since the figure reported a 1.3 percent drop in the fourth quarter of 2007.From 2008 to 2012, household spending on coffee and tea posted 10.5 perc

Financial regulators have decided to spin off the consumer protection board from the Financial Supervisory Service, officials said Tuesday.The Financial Services Commission, whose executive arm is the FSS, announced that an independent consumer protection entity could be set up during the second quarter of next year.Concerning uncertainty over policy efficacy following a separation, FSC Chairman Shin Je-yoon told The Korea Herald that “the policy reflects the strong determination of President Pa

Financial authorities plan to put a brake on major banks’ dividends to their shareholders as a way to secure soundness.Despite a series of cautions from the Financial Supervisory Service, the first-tier banking sector has continued to pay out high dividends to their “largest shareholders, foreign investors, overseas headquarters and chief executives” over the past few years, the national financial regulator said.They included KB Financial Group, Shinhan Financial Group, Hana Financial Group, Woo

Financial regulators said Monday they had mapped out a plan under which gold would be publicly traded on a dedicated exchange from the first half of 2014.As part of economic policymakers’ efforts to bring gold prices into the open, a state-controlled spot gold exchange will be set up next year as a sub-entity of the Korea Exchange, the nation’s main securities trading bourse.According to the Financial Services Commission, the policy has been finalized after a series of talks between the ruling S

Korea’s exporters are likely to face growing uncertainties after the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe-led ruling coalition won a crushing victory in the Japanese parliamentary upper house elections.Market insiders predict that the Sunday election result in Japan will solidify or be used to vindicate the “Abenomics” program, which has weakened the Japanese yen versus major currencies to make its products more competitive overseas.The Institute for International Trade said in a statement on Monday that t

A German brewer has spurned a request by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to open a beer garden and brewery in his isolated communist country, a news report said.Paulaner Brewery said it did not consider opening a biergarten in North Korea, according to Bild, Germany’s biggest-selling daily, on its website on Thursday.The Munich-based brewery said its capacity is stretched thin because it plans to open beer gardens in 12 new locations, including one in the United States and two others in Russia,

South Koreans have directly invested over 16 trillion won in overseas tax havens over the past five years, a lawmaker said Sunday, citing government data.Rep. An Min-suk of the main opposition Democratic Party, releasing data obtained from the National Tax Service, the Korea Customs Service and other government agencies, said South Korean individuals and enterprises funneled 16.15 trillion won ($14.4 billion) in direct investment into a number of overseas tax havens, including the Cayman Islands

Shinhan Bank, a South Korean lender, said Sunday it has raised 30 billion yen ($299 million) by selling bonds denominated in the Japanese currency.Two-year, fixed-rate bonds worth 27 billion yen were priced to yield 0.83 percent or 50 basis points more than the yen-swap rate, while two-year floating rate notes worth 3 billion yen carry an interest of the three-month Yen Libor, or the three-month yen-based London Inter-bank Offered Rate, plus a 60 basis point spread, Shinhan Bank said. A basis po

South Korean stocks are expected to trade higher this week on abated concerns over a possible reduction in the United States’ quantitative easing moves, analysts said over the weekend.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 1,871.41 points on Friday, down 0.2 percent from the previous week.Earlier last week, Seoul shares gathered ground after China’s National Bureau of Statistics said its gross domestic product growth rose 7.5 percent on-year in the April-June period. China is

Some commercial banks are reportedly pushing for a hike in service charges, including those on consumers’ transactions via automated teller machines, according to market insiders on Thursday.While the banking sector slashed service fees in the wake of public criticism over “corporate greed” last year, some lenders are seeking to go back on their decision, highlighting an overall drop in earnings.The banking services include remittances, Internet banking and the use of ATMs. Between 2011 and 2012

The proportion of young Koreans in their teens and 20s currently working dropped to the lowest level in about a decade, Statistics Korea data showed Thursday.The so-called economic participation rate for those aged between 15 and 29 stood at 43.3 percent as of May 2013, down from 44.7 percent a year earlier.The figure is the lowest since the government agency started producing data on the rate in 2005. The labor force participation ratio is based on a nationwide census every May.The figure, whic