SEJONG -- Shipping costs for container cargo bound for the west coast of the United States soared more than 30 percent in August from a year earlier, but their growth rate slowed from the previous month, government data showed Thursday. The average freight rate for a 40-foot container from Asia's fourth-largest economy to the US west coast reached 14.31 million won ($10,300) last month, up 32.3 ...

South Korean stocks opened marginally higher Thursday, after the previous day's steep fall on fears of further aggressive rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve following the strong US inflation data. The benchmark Kospi was up 1.51 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,412.93 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Wall Street managed to end higher Wednesday after wavering between gains and losses, as inves...

Despite in-house resistance, preparations to relocate the state-run Korea Development Bank to Busan from Seoul are underway, the policy lender’s chief said Wednesday, saying that he would work to persuade employees. “As the man in charge, I do feel for my employees facing potentially a difficult time,” KDB Chairman & CEO Kang Seog-hoon said, referring to workers holding rallies to protest the re...

South Korea is inching ever closer to a repeat of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis as the local won weakened against the US dollar to close at 1,390.9 won in the onshore market -- a 17.3 won retreat from the previous session and its weakest level since 1,391.5 won in March 2009. Stronger bets on US tightening amid the latest discouraging news on inflation led to the dip. The benchmark Kospi...

South Korean stocks fell more than 1.5 percent Wednesday, as the hotter-than-expected US inflation data fueled concerns over the Federal Reserve's looming sharp rate hikes. The local currency fell sharply against the US dollar. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) retreated 38.12 points, or 1.56 percent, to close at 2,411.42. Trading volume was moderate at 454 million shares worth 7.53 ...

The industry ministry said Wednesday it will run a task force to support steelmakers with post-typhoon recovery work and to check the supply situation of steel products to minimize damage by Typhoon Hinnamnor. Last week, Typhoon Hinnamnor hit the southern part of South Korea and affected steelmaking facilities run by major companies, including POSCO and Hyundai Steel. POSCO had halted blast furn...

South Korean stocks tumbled at the opening bell Wednesday, driven by big IT and bio shares, after the hotter-than-expected US inflation data sparked fears the Federal Reserve would push ahead with aggressive monetary tightening. The Kospi sank 62.19 points, or 2.54 percent, to 2,387.35 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The US August consumer price index slowed to an 8.3 percent on-year gain, ...

Hyundai Card CEO Kim Deok-hwan has resigned as chief executive at one of the largest credit card issuers in South Korea just one year after he was appointed, regulatory filings showed Tuesday. Kim officially stepped down on Friday with Hyundai Card citing “personal reasons” behind his resignation. No further elaboration was given. A local media outlet reported that Kim was recently “sued by his ...

Speculation over a third large rate hike of 75 basis points by the US Federal Reserve next week runs higher than ever, but the Bank of Korea sought to reassure market watchers Tuesday that preparations to cushion its impact were underway. “We have to step up monitoring of capital inflows and outflows and currency markets,” said Lee Seung-heon, senior deputy governor at the central bank, warning ...

The use of disposable cups has soared during the pandemic years, with the annual number exceeding 1 billion for the first time last year, a report showed Tuesday. According to an Environment Ministry report submitted to Rep. Lee Joo-hwan of the ruling People Power Party, the number of single-use plastic and paper cups consumed at 14 cafe and four popular fast-food chains was 4.34 billion over th...

South Korean stocks rallied by nearly 3 percent Tuesday as investors were optimistic ahead of the release of the US inflation data, with eyes on the Federal Reserve's rate-setting policy meeting set for next week. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 65.26 points, or 2.74 percent, to 2,449.54. Trading volume was moderate at 361.7 m...

South Korean prosecutors are considering whether to view the troubled cryptocurrency luna as a security, a move which could put the coin developers and those complicit under scrutiny for not only fraud, but also for violations of the Capital Markets Act. The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office’s Financial and Securities Crime Joint Investigation Team has met with crypto experts and financ...

South Korea’s KB Financial Group said Tuesday it has recently opened the nation’s largest premium private banking branch in Seoul in a bid to provide a fuller range of services to its wealthy clients. The seven-story building, named after the bank’s recently launched premium banking service “KB Gold & Wise the First,” is located in Seoul's posh district of Apgujeong. The floor space, themed on b...

The market capitalization of JYP Entertainment, one of South Korea’s four major K-pop powerhouses led by producer Park Jin-young, has remained higher than that of Korea's largest entertainment firm CJ ENM for three consecutive weeks, data showed Tuesday. According to Korea Exchange on Tuesday, JYP shares closed Thursday at 63,000 won ($45.81) per share, while its market cap closed at 2.23 trilli...

South Korea's finance ministry said Tuesday it will push to introduce fiscal rules that would mandate a sharp drop in the deficit in case the national debt exceeds 60 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The move came in line with the Yoon Suk-yeol government's push to implement a belt-tightening policy as part of effort to improve the country's financial soundness following years of expansi...