Concerns are growing that President Moon-Jae-in’s push for reducing work hours along with a steep increase in the minimum wage may further aggravate Korea’s labor productivity, which remains near the bottom among major economies. In a meeting with his aides last week, Moon said that, without job sharing through reduced work hours, it would be impossible to significantly raise the country’s emplo...

South Korean stocks finished at a fresh all-time high Wednesday, as investors scooped up market heavyweights, such as banking stocks, market analysts said. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 2.01 points, or 0.08 percent, to close at 2,492.50. Trade volume was moderate at 592 million shares worth 5.03 trillion won ($4.46 billion), with...

South Korean stocks turned lower Wednesday morning as institutions offloaded stocks on profit taking ahead of major companies' earnings releases from this week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 0.92 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,489.57 as of 11:15 a.m. Institutions extended their net selling to 115 billion won ($102 million), offsetting 117 billion won stocks purchased by fo...

South Korea's secondary stock market has continued to lose steam, while the main stock market has rallied due to big gains by heavyweight technology stocks, according to the nation's bourse operator Wednesday. For years, the junior KOSDAQ market has been struggling with a string of accounting scandals and the defection of large-cap stocks to the benchmark KOSPI stock market. According to the Ko...

The nominee for the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said Wednesday the South Korean economy can make the next leap forward when venture firms and small businesses are successful. Hong Jong-haak, a former lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party, made the remark two days after President Moon Jae-in appointed him to head the newly created office. "During the election campaign, I and others envisione...

The amount of sin taxes levied on tobacco, liquor and gambling has risen dramatically in recent years due mainly to the sharp rise in dues levied on cigarettes, government data showed Wednesday. The government increased taxes on cigarettes by 2,000 won ($1.70) per pack from Jan. 1, 2015, raising the price to 4,500 won, and compelled tobacco companies to place graphic images showing the harmful e...

An average of about 60 trillion won ($53.09 billion) worth of wealth has been transferred or handed down every year since 2003, but less than half of the recipients had to pay taxes, data showed Wednesday. According to records from the National Tax Service that were analyzed by the office of Rep. Park Gwang-on for parliamentary audits, 251.56 trillion won of various assets were inherited by 2.73...

South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday as investors expect strong earnings from major companies. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index climbed 1.70 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,492.19 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Foreigners and retail investors bought a combined 55 billion won ($49 million) worth of stocks, offsetting 53 billion won sold by institutions. Companies such a...

The preferred bidder for cash-strapped Dongbu Daewoo Electronics is set to be selected in the near future, industry sources said Wednesday, with candidates including both local and overseas firms. According to the sources, NH Investment & Securities Co., which oversees the deal, is currently conducting due diligence with candidates. After the procedure, the firm's financial investors will pick t...

Corporate owner families have put up some 12.6 trillion won ($11.15 billion) worth of stocks as loan collateral, an analysis showed Wednesday, a practice that increased faster among their children's generation, who likely used the money to pay inheritance-related taxes. CEO Score, which tracks management details of major conglomerates, analyzed loans and collateral of 704 family members of the t...

Borrowers to be classified into four groups based on repayment ability

An increasing number of younger people are taking out loans from lenders, according to data released by Rep. Um Yong-soo of the Liberty Korea Party during the parliamentary audit session. Using the numbers given by the Bank of Korea, Rep. Um said that the household debt held by those aged 30 and younger increased by 28.6 trillion won ($25.3 billion) between January and June this year from the pr...

South Korean stocks finished at a fresh record high Tuesday as institutions and individuals scooped up market heavyweights on earnings expectations, analysts said. The won rose against the dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index edged up 0.44 point, or 0.02 percent, to close at 2,490.49. The gain was bolstered by robust third-quarter earnings expectations, with a slew of major fi...

Jung Ji-won, chief executive officer of Korea Securities Finance Corp., was named Tuesday as the single candidate for the new chairman of the Korea Exchange, the operator of the Kospi and Kosdaq. The Busan-based KRX announced Jung had become the sole candidate after interviewing Jung and his contender Choi Bang-gil, former chief executive at Shinhan BNP Paribas Asset Management. The announcemen...

Nearly half of South Korea's salaried workers were paid 2 million won ($1,772) or less in monthly wages during the first six months of this year, government data showed Tuesday. About 32.6 percent of the country's 19.7 million salaried workers were paid between 1-2 million won per month while 10.4 percent received less than 1 million won, according to the figures by Korea Statistics. About 27.3...