The US business lobby in South Korea floated the idea Wednesday that Asia's fourth-largest economy should create a "Buy American Fund" ahead of crucial summit talks between leaders set for later this month. President Moon Jae-in is scheduled to hold his first summit with US President Donald Trump in Washington, a meeting that could set the tone of bilateral relations going forward. The American...

South Korean stocks ended mildly lower Wednesday as investors took a wait-and-see stance to check the results of the US Federal Reserve's policy rate-setting meeting, analysts said. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 2.06 points, or 0.09 percent, to close at 2,372.64. Trade volume was moderate at 386 million shares worth 6.63 trillion ...

The success of President Moon Jae-in’s economic policy to promote income-led growth will eventually hinge on whether and how to nurture more competitive and profitable small and medium-sized enterprises, economists say. More contributions by SMEs will be essential to creating quality jobs and boosting growth potential -- key tasks for the Moon administration. SMEs account for about 99 percent o...

South Korea's total assets rose 5.8 percent in 2016 from a year earlier on a large increase in nonfinancial assets, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's national assets came to 13,078 trillion won ($11.6 trillion) at the end of 2016, up 715 trillion won from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The 2016 tally is eight times higher than the country's...

Financial authorities said Wednesday the credit card commission charged on small merchants will be cut from August to help ease the financial burdens of mom-and-pop stores. The commission rate for small merchants with annual revenue of 500 million won ($444,168) or less will be reduced by 0.64 percentage point to 1.3 percent, the Financial Services Commission said in a statement. Currently, cre...

South Korean stocks traded lower late Wednesday 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 5.26 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,069.44 as of 11:20 a.m. The Seoul index had opened higher on Wall Street gains. On Tuesday (local time), the S&P 500 increased 2.45 percent to finish at a ...

The European Commission has decided not to impose extra duties on purified terephthalic acid products sold by South Korean manufacturers following a months-long probe into dumping allegations, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. The European Union's executive body launched the investigation into South Korean PTA products, mostly used in making polyester, in August 2016 amid allegations raised b...

Foreign investors remained net buyers of South Korean stocks for the sixth straight month in May, with their holdings of local stocks hitting a new high, data showed Wednesday. Offshore investors were also net buyers of South Korean bonds in the past five months, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service. Foreign investors snapped up a net 2.1 trillion won ($1.8 billion) worth ...

South Korea's jobless rate dropped slightly in May as Asia's fourth-largest economy shows some signs of recovery, government data showed Wednesday. The unemployment rate stood at 3.6 percent last month, down 0.1 percentage point from the same month last year, according to the report compiled by Statistics Korea. From a month earlier, it fell 0.6 percentage point. The number of employed people r...

The South Korean government vowed Tuesday to take all necessary measures to deal with growing US barriers against its trade surplus and steel products. "As the US government has been moving to strengthen trade restrictions and raise barriers, all government ministries need to formulate countermeasures against such developments," Deputy Trade Minister Lee In-ho said at a policy meeting in Seoul. ...

South Korea‘s stock markets rebounded while sovereign bond yields fell Tuesday, despite possible monetary tightening in the United States and Korea. The benchmark indexes of Korean stock markets -- the Korea Composite Stock Price Index and Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations -- closed after rising 0.71 percent and 0.66 percent, respectively, Tuesday. The five-year treasury yield drop...

South Korean stocks rebounded on Tuesday as institutional buyers scooped up tech shares such as market kingpin Samsung Electronics and panel maker LG Display, despite overnight Wall Street losses due to a slide in tech shares, analysts said. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 16.83 points, or 0.71 percent, to close at 2,347.38. Tra...

South Korea’s top fiscal and monetary policymakers vowed to coordinate in carrying out economic policies at a rare meeting Tuesday, highlighting that their views on the economy were near identical. Just one day after taking office, new Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon visited the Bank of Korea’s head office in Seoul to have a lunch meeting with BOK Gov. Lee Ju-yeol. It was the first time in four y...

The dollar-won volatility eased in May from a month earlier in line with a more stable global financial market, central bank data showed Tuesday. The session-over-session changes in the dollar-won exchange rates averaged 0.41 percent in May, compared to 0.43 in April, the Bank of Korea said in a statement. "The won rose against the dollar in May due to bullish local stock markets and political ...

The money supply in South Korea jumped 6.6 percent in April from a year earlier, the central bank said Tuesday. The nation's "M2" totaled 2,450.2 trillion won ($2.16 trillion) in April, compared to 2,299 trillion won a year earlier, the Bank of Korea said in a statement. Month-on-month, the money supply gained 0.6 percent, the statement said. The growth rate of the money supply has been on the...