The number of unemployed fresh college graduates increased by 0.2 percent in April from a year earlier despite a drop in the overall jobless rate, Statistics Korea said Wednesday. Some 63.6 percent of college graduates in their twenties were part of the workforce, posting a 0.3 percent drop from a month earlier, indicating a persistent structural mismatch between the reality of the job market an...

Central bank may be given right to inspect financial companies The nation’s financial market is focusing on the growing possibility that a proposed revision of the law on the Bank of Korea could pass the National Assembly this year. If the law on the BOK is revised, the central bank ― like the Financial Supervisory Service ― will be entitled to conduct independent inspections into financial com...

Four major financial groups are expected to reap more than 10 trillion won ($9.3 billion) in combined net profit this year, mainly buoyed by revised accounting standards. The market is focusing on the growing feasibility of their all-time high earnings as they reported remarkable earnings during the first quarter. Profits posted by the four groups ― KB, Woori, Shinhan and Hana ― reached 2.6 tri...

Most global investment banks forecast South Korea's central bank to raise its key interest rate this month in a bid to rein in rising consumer prices, a report showed Monday. According to the report by the Korea Center for International Finance, the investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, predict the Bank of Korea (BOK) will hike the benchmark seven-day repo rate at a rate-setting session sch...

The Prime Minister’s Office is set to unveil a road map to reforming the nation’s financial regulatory body, which has been tarnished by a series of corruption scandals involving its staff and distressed savings banks. The reform plan, to be unveiled this week, will aims to reestablish public confidence in the embattled Financial Supervisory Service, which has been harshly criticized for failing...

The administration and the National Assembly have begun in earnest to reform the nation’s top financial watchdog, to cut its long-held collusive ties with financial companies it supervises. Assessing that the Financial Supervisory Service, hit by a series of corruption scandals involving its former and incumbent staff, cannot complete a self-purification drive, the Prime Minister’s Office is pus...

South Korea’s construction industry went through hard times last year despite a general boom in growth in other sectors, a report by the central bank showed Thursday. The woes were mainly due to the sluggish local real estate market that caused a general drop in houses being built across the country and led to a decrease in work. Such developments exerted negative influence on key numbers such a...

The total amount of loans offered to local credit card holders decreased in the first quarter compared to the last three months of 2010 as financial institutions and state regulators tightened oversight to prevent risks down the road, an industry report showed Thursday. The latest findings showed card loans provided by six dedicated cards, excluding BC Card, reached 5.45 trillion won ($5.07 bill...

Finance ministers of Asian countries agreed Wednesday to intensify their cooperation in staving off Asia-wide financial turmoil by taking preemptive crisis prevention measures, Seoul officials said. The agreement, which was made during a meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, focuses on strengthening the role of a regional financial safety net under the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM), the ...