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Financial watchdog chief again calls for revision of Commercial Act
The chief of the country's financial watchdog on Wednesday reiterated the need for the proposed revision of the Commercial Act, insisting it will help protect shareholders and also support the advancement of the capital market. In a radio interview, Lee Bok-hyun, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, said he had offered to resign, but was not accepted, after acting President Han Duck-soo vetoed the opposition-led bill on expanding the fiduciary duty of corporate directors from solely th
April 2, 2025 -
Seoul shares open lower ahead of US tariff rollout
Seoul shares opened lower Wednesday as investors remain watchful ahead of US President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariff rollout. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 6.06 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,515.33 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, US stocks ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.03 percent to 41,989.96 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite up 0.87 percent to 17,449.89. US President Donald Trump is set to launch so-called reciprocal tariffs
April 2, 2025 -
Consumer prices rise 2.1% in March on rising food, service costs
South Korea's consumer prices grew at the 2 percent level for the third consecutive month in March, driven by a weaker local currency that pushed up food prices and rising service costs, government data showed Wednesday. Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, increased 2.1 percent from a year earlier last month, according to the data from Statistics Korea. This follows a 2.2 percent on-year rise in January, which marked the steepest on-year increase since July, and a 2 percent gain in Februa
April 2, 2025 -
Financial watchdog raises questions over Homeplus debt sale, urges MBK Partners to share pain
The country's financial watchdog on Tuesday raised questions over the circumstances surrounding Homeplus Co.'s debt sale and filing for court rehabilitation and called on private equity firm MBK Partners Ltd. to be more responsible for the retailer's fiasco. The Financial Supervisory Service has been inspecting MBK Partners, which controls Homeplus, to look into whether there had been any flaws in the process of the retailer's short-term debt sale and its filing for court rehabilitation. On Marc
April 1, 2025 -
S. Korea to continue negotiations with US on trade barrier issues raised in USTR report: ministry
The South Korean government will continue negotiating with Washington on non-tariff measure issues ahead of the planned announcement of US reciprocal tariffs, the industry ministry said Tuesday, shortly after the office of the US Trade Representative released an annual report on foreign trade barriers. The government will work to address US concerns over non-tariff measures with Washington through various communication channels, including working-level consultative bodies and the implementation
April 1, 2025 -
BOK to extend special loan program for small firms in wildfire-ravaged regions
The central bank said Tuesday it will extend 75 billion won ($50.8 million) in loans to small and midsized companies in southern regions affected by recent massive wildfires. The Bank of Korea plans to allocate 40 billion won for affected small businesses in the southeastern city of Daegu and the surrounding North Gyeongsang Province, 150 billion won for those in the southern city of Pohang and 10 billion won for firms in South Gyeongsang Province as part of a special aid program, according to i
April 1, 2025 -
Number of executives at top 30 firms falls last year amid slowdown
The number of executives at South Korea's top 30 conglomerates declined last year amid an economic slowdown, while that of employees increased, a market tracker said Tuesday. According to an analysis of 2024 business results released by 235 affiliates of the 30 conglomerates, the number of executives at the 235 companies came to 9,746 in 2024, down 0.7 percent from a year earlier, according to Leaders Index. The number of employees at the firms, on the other hand, gained 1.7 percent on-year to 9
April 1, 2025 -
S. Korea's exports rise 3.1% on-year to $58.3b in March on strong chip, IT sales
South Korea's exports gained 3.1 percent from a year earlier in March, marking a second consecutive month of increase, driven by robust demand for semiconductors and other information technology products, data showed Tuesday. Outbound shipments came to $58.3 billion last month, compared with $56.5 billion the previous year, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Imports rose 2.3 percent on-year to $53.3 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $4.98 billion. Ou
April 1, 2025 -
W10tr extra budget aimed at addressing 'pressing issues': finance ministry
The finance ministry said Monday its proposal of a supplementary budget of 10 trillion won ($6.8 billion) aims to tackle the nation's most "pressing issues" rather than serve as an economic stimulus. When asked by reporters whether the proposed budget was sufficient to boost the economy, ministry spokesperson Kang Young-kyu emphasized that it is primarily designed to address the most urgent issues, particularly those stemming from the country's worst-ever wildfires. Asia's fourth-largest economy
March 31, 2025 -
Seoul shares dip 3% to near 2-month low ahead of reciprocal tariffs; won sharply down
South Korean stocks fell 3 percent to a near two-month low Monday ahead of US reciprocal tariffs set to be announced later this week amid the removal of a short selling ban. The local currency sharply fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 76.86 points to close at 2,481.12, marking the lowest closing since Feb. 3, when it finished at 2,453.95. Trade volume was slim at 385.5 million shares worth 8.1 trillion won ($5.5 billion), with losers sharply outn
March 31, 2025 -
'Half of top 100 firms record average salary of 100m won or more'
Of the 100 largest conglomerates in South Korea, over half of them paid their employees an average salary of 100 million won ($68,000) or above in 2024, a local media outlet reported Monday. Yonhap News Agency recently analyzed the largest companies in the country by sales, and found that the average salaries for 55 of them exceeded the 100 million won threshold. That number has increased every year from nine in 2019, and was up five from 48 in 2023. CJ Corp., the holding company of CJ Group, re
March 31, 2025 -
Number of ISA holders tops 6m in 9 yrs: data
The number of individual savings accounts has breached the 6-million mark, data showed Monday. A total of 6.04 million people held ISAs as of the end of last month, with their deposits in the accounts reaching 36.5 trillion won ($24.8 billion), according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. The financial product was introduced in March 2016 as part of the government's efforts to help individuals increase their wealth with a one-stop scheme and give customers tax benefits.
March 31, 2025 -
S. Korea's tax revenue increases W2.9tr through February
South Korea's tax revenue rose 5.1 percent from a year earlier in the first two months of 2025, the finance ministry said Monday. The government collected 61 trillion won ($41.46 billion) in taxes in January and February, up 2.9 trillion won from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The rise was mainly driven by a 2 trillion won increase in income tax, attributed to expanded performance-based bonuses. However, value-added tax revenue declined by 70 billion won due
March 31, 2025 -
Seoul shares open sharply lower on tariff woes
South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Monday ahead of the looming US imposition of reciprocal tariffs. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 63.81 points, or 2.49 percent, to 2,494.17 in the first 15 minutes of trading. US President Donald Trump said he will announce a set of reciprocal tariffs Wednesday, targeting nations that charge fees on US exports, promising to match those countries' duties. In Seoul, most shares started in negative territory. Market bellwether Samsung El
March 31, 2025 -
Banks' capital adequacy ratio down in 2024
South Korean banks saw their capital adequacy ratio inch down last year due to an increase in risk-weighted assets amid the weakness of the Korean won, data showed Monday. The average capital adequacy ratio of 17 commercial and state-run banks stood at 15.58 percent as of end-December, down from 15.72 percent a year earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Financial Supervisory Service. From three months earlier, the ratio also declined from 15.84 percent. The ratio, a key barometer o
March 31, 2025