South Korean stocks closed higher Friday ahead of a three-day holiday as investors weighed the pace of the economic recovery from the pandemic. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 10.42 points, or 0.33 percent, to close at 3,140.51 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 575 million shares worth some 14.6 trillion won ($12.4 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 491 to 380. Foreigners bought a net 46 billion won, while

South Korea has larger class sizes and lower employment rates among the highly educated than Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) averages, the education ministry said Friday. According to the latest edition of the OECD's "Education at a Glance," released by the Ministry of Education, elementary and middle school classes had an average of 23 and 26.1 students, respectively, in 2019. The figures were lower than 23.1 and 26.7 from 2018 but still higher than the OE

The Bank of Korea (BOK) said Friday it has injected a smaller amount of bank notes into circulation this year than a year earlier ahead of the Chuseok fall harvest holiday as private consumption has slumped amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The BOK provided a net 4.8 trillion won ($4.08 billion) worth of bills to financial institutions during the 10 working days before the holiday, down 4.8 percent compared with the same period last year. This year's Chuseok holiday, the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiv

Stock transactions in South Korea spiked more than 70 percent in 2020 amid an investment craze among retail investors, data showed Friday. The value of stock trading in Asia's fourth-largest economy stood at 35,397.3 trillion won ($30.2 trillion) last year, up 70.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The on-year growth rate is much higher than the 6 percent increase recorded the previous year. In the first six months of the year alone, stock

The South Korean economy is facing continued uncertainty about the recovery of domestic demand as the latest resurgence in COVID-19 cases is denting person-to-person service sectors, the finance ministry said Friday. In its monthly economic assessment report, the ministry said the country's exports have extended solid growth momentum and the job market has improved despite the fourth wave of the pandemic. "But uncertainty over domestic demand has continued, centering on face-to-face service

South Korean stocks opened lower Friday ahead of the holiday as investors weigh the pace of an economic recovery from the pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 14.08 points, or 0.45 percent, to 3,116.01 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks retreated as investors took to the sidelines to digest mixed US economic indicators, such as weak price and strong retail sales in August, and their impact on the global economy. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial

Female golfers will gather Friday to play in a Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association tournament hosted by OK Savings Bank, which returned this year after being canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The KLPGA’s OK Savings Bank Pak Se-ri Invitational – which takes its name after the legendary South Korean golfer – is scheduled from Friday to Sunday at Sejong Silkriver Country Club & Gallery in the city of Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. Some 120 playe

Should Hyundai Card leave Hyundai Motor, card issuer likely to face increased debt financing costs, experts say

  A green fund jointly invested in by two South Korean banking giants -- KB and Shinhan-- will partly finance a renewable energy project in Sweden, officials said Thursday.  The financial holding firms invested a combined 80 billion won ($68.4 million) in the Global Green Energy Partnership Fund set up in April last year. Korea Midland Power, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and Sprott Korea Investment also joined the fund designed to facilitate development of renewable energy across

South Korea's trade watchdog said Thursday it has decided to recommend the government extend anti-dumping duties on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film imported from Taiwan, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates, citing substantial damage to the local industry. The Korea Trade Commission said it has advised the finance ministry to set duties of 3.19 percent to 60.95 percent on PET film coming from the countries for the next five years. The country already had been applying tariffs of around

The delinquency rate for South Korean banks' won-denominated loans rose in July due to an increase in overdue corporate loans, the financial regulator said Thursday. The rate for bank loans more than 30 days overdue stood at 0.27 percent at the end of July, up from 0.25 percent the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Compared with a year earlier, the rate was down 0.09 percentage point in July. The delinquency rate for corporate loans rose 0.03 percentage poi

South Korea's public account surplus turned to deficit in 2020 as the government increased fiscal spending to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, central bank data showed Thursday. In 2020, the country's public account deficit came to 50.6 trillion won ($43.3 billion), according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The deficit compared with a 14.7 trillion won surplus in 2019, when the country's public account balance continued to stay in the black for the fifth consecut