The drastic expansion of the peer to peer financing market seemed to be slowing down over the past months due to tightened investment regulations, but is expected to see a rebound from the recent fiscal tapering of the banking sector. It is especially likely to absorb the investor cluster who, under the government’s new restrictive measures on real estate transactions, are swiftly turning away f...

Banks in South Korea saw their gross net profit reach 8.1 trillion won ($7.19 billion) during the first half of this year, an over 2.7 times increase on-year, while their operating profit surged by more than sixfold, data showed Tuesday. The net profit of all banking institutions -- including commercial banks, provincial banks, state-owned banks, cooperative banks and the central bank -- surged ...

South Korean goods are losing their presence in one of their largest overseas market, China, with the products taking up 9.4 percent of China’s import market in the first half of the year, the lowest since 2014, data from the Korea International Trade Association showed. The proportion was 10.4 percent and 10 percent in 2015 and 2016, respectively, until South Korean exporters were hit by Beijin...

South Korean stocks fluctuated to close lower Tuesday as institutional buyers went on a heavy selling-spree to partially offset some foreign buying, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index surrendered 4.02 points, or 0.17 percent, to close at 2,394.73. Trade volume was low at 243 million shares worth 4.5 trillion won ($4 billion),...

The government will evaluate all public entities, including state-run firms, and most of their projects for their impact on new and existing jobs that may determine the size of their budget in the future, a presidential committee on jobs said Tuesday. Starting next year, the public entities and their projects will be scored on the number of new, quality jobs they create. The scores will be refl...

South Korea's top financial regulator said Tuesday it will toughen punishment for financial holding firms over false disclosures of accounting books and other business reports. Under the toughened rule, which will take effect Oct. 19, fines against financial holding firms will be hiked by as much as 12 times if they violate relevant laws, the Financial Services Commission said in a statement. C...

South Korea's exporters should increase their participation in the global value chain in order to improve their productivity, a report by the central bank said Tuesday. The report featured in the monthly periodical of the Bank of Korea said South Korean exports' participation in GVC fell from 62.7 percent in 2008 to 56 percent in 2009, following the global downward pattern after the internationa...

South Korea may be hit hardest if the United States turns up the heat on China over trade issues as Seoul vies fiercely with Beijing for a bigger slice of the US market, a report said Tuesday. The Korea International Trade Association claimed in the report that Washington has singled out China for tougher import restrictions, which is resulting in greater import regulation risks for South Korean...

South Korea's total supply in manufacturing gained ground in the April-June period marking five straight quarters of growth on a sharp rise in imports, but the pace slowed down slightly, government data showed Tuesday. The manufacturing domestic supply index that measures both goods produced locally and brought into the country, advanced 5.3 percent on-year to stand at 116.9, according to the da...

South Korean stocks traded lower late Tuesday morning as institutions offloaded large-cap stocks in an apparent move to lock in profits, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 6.44 points, or 0.27 percent, to 2,392.31 as of 11:20 a.m. The Seoul index had opened higher on Wall Street gains. On Monday (local time), US stocks closed higher, with the Dow edging up 0.12 ...

An accounting firm again refused to provide its audit opinions on China Ocean Resources Co., a Hong Kong-based deep-sea fisheries company listed on the Korean stock market, saying the company's accounting books were riddled with problems. In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, Shinhan Accounting Corp. said it could not "rationally judge" the financial status of China Ocean Resources, which is on the...

The recovery pace of the South Korean economy has remained feeble for months as an upturn in exports and private consumption was offset by weak industrial output, a government report said Tuesday. "The South Korean economy saw its exports and investment continue to rise and private consumption make a slight rebound, but its recovery pace remained lackluster due to a slowdown in the production of...

South Korea's antitrust watchdog has received the top rating among the world's competition authorities for two years in a row this year for its effective anti-competitive activities, the agency said Tuesday. The South Korean regulator earned five stars, or the "elite" grade, along with France, Germany and the United States, at the latest "Rating Enforcement" survey conducted by the Global Compet...

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday following overnight Wall Street gains, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 8.63 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,407.38 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Monday (local time), US stocks closed higher, with the Dow edging up 0.12 percent to its ninth-record closing high in a row and the S&P 500 adding 0.16 percent on con...

South Korean banks' combined net profit more than doubled on-year in the first six months of 2017, government data showed Tuesday, led by lower loan-loss provisions and higher interest income. Combined net profit at local banks soared 171.4 percent to 8.1 trillion won ($7.18 billion) in the first six months of 2017, compared to 3 trillion won a year earlier, the Financial Supervisory Service sai...