The government plans to step up its price monitoring of 22 food items and public services as part of its ongoing efforts to keep inflation under control ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the finance ministry said Tuesday. The government will also provide around 21 trillion won ($18.65 billion) worth of loans and guarantees for small and medium-sized companies in a bid to help support...

Korea plans to set up grain procurement companies in major countries such as the United States and Brazil to directly bring in agricultural products as part of its long-term effort to fend off consumer price inflation. After initially establishing a grain company in North America, the government plans to make active inroads into the markets, which include South America and Central Asia, by 2020....

Korean stocks finished 0.26 percent lower on Monday as investors stepped to the sidelines amid jitters over fourth-quarter corporate earnings and the expiry of options later this week, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 5.39 points to 2,080.81, after setting a fresh record close of 2,086.2 on Friday. Trading volume...

The labor union of Korea Exchange Bank filed a court injunction Monday to block U.S.-based Lone Star Funds’ plan to sell its controlling state in the bank to Hana Financial Group. In its filing with Seoul Central Court, the unionized workers called for KEB executives named by Lone Star, including bank CEO Larry Klane, to suspend the scheduled share selling. Lone Star signed a contract with Hana...

The average number of credit cards held by South Koreans hit a record high last year thanks to a well-established payment system and improving economic conditions, a report showed Sunday. A total of 114.94 million cards had been issued as of the end of the third quarter of last year, according to the report by the Credit Finance Association. Given that the number of economically active people t...

China boosted its holdings of Korean bonds last month even as lawmakers in Seoul reinstated a tax on interest income from debt securities. China’s net purchases of Korean Treasury notes totaled 444 billion won ($395 million), 23 percent more than in December 2009, the Financial Supervisory Service said Thursday. The addition more than tripled China’s holdings of Korean fixed-income securities to...

Hyundai Motor Group looks set to win its months-long competition with Hyundai Group to take over Korea’s top construction company. Creditors of Hyundai Engineering & Construction, including Korea Exchange Bank, launched their preparations Wednesday to sign a memorandum of understanding with the automobile giant by as early as next week. Their move followed a court ruling Tuesday which supported...

Korean stocks finished 0.12 percent lower on Wednesday as investors sat on the sidelines following recent rallies that had set fresh record highs, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 2.59 points to 2,082.55 after reaching a new intra-day high of 2,087.14 at one point. Trading volume was moderate at 379.1 million sha...

Woori Bank filed complaints against several former executives with the prosecution last month to investigate allegations that they issued illegal loans and took kickbacks, sources said Tuesday. Among them were two former deputy CEOs of the nation’s second-largest bank in charge of loan business and trust business. The two executives resigned before the bank referred them and several staffers to...

The yuan’s appreciation may slow this year after the currency strengthened beyond 6.6 per dollar for the first time in 17 years, as China seeks to stem inflows that may fuel inflation, the most-accurate forecasters for 2010 said. The yuan will advance 4.6 percent to 6.3 per dollar, after climbing 3.6 percent in just over six months, said Yen Ping Ho, the head of Asian foreign-exchange strategy f...