The Bank of Korea (BOK) should step up efforts to make more accurate assessments of current economic and financial situations ahead of next week's rate-setting meeting, the central bank's acting chief said Monday. BOK Vice Gov. Lee Seung-heon, who is serving as acting chair of the central bank after Lee Ju-yeol left office last week, made the call in an internal meeting with senior officials, according to the bank. The chief post is not expected to be filled until the rate-setting meet

South Korean stocks opened lower Monday as investors unloaded large-cap shares, including tech issues, amid lingering uncertainties over the Ukraine crisis and inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index lost 11.51 points, or 0.42 percent, to trade at 2,728.34 points as of 9:15 a.m. Investors took to the sidelines as the ongoing crisis surrounding Ukraine has deepened concerns over soaring energy prices and inflation. Moscow said Sunday that it attacked and destroyed key energy fa

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's transition team said Thursday it will ask the state auditor to look into the recent appointment of a friend of President Moon Jae-in's brother as CEO of a local shipbuilder under government control. Transition committee deputy spokesperson Won Il-hee made the remark after Park Doo-sun was named CEO of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) earlier this week, denouncing the appointment as "irrational" and "shameless." "Da

South Korean shares closed a tad higher Wednesday, as investors focused on the recent round of Ukraine-Russia peace talks that ended earlier in the day. The Korean won steeply rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index advanced 5.67 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 2,746.74 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 825 million shares worth some 10.9 trillion won ($9 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 432 to 416. Institutions bought a net 160 billio

About half of South Koreans are against President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's plan to move the presidential office out of Cheong Wa Dae, while some 44 percent support the idea, a poll showed Wednesday. According to the poll of 1,004 adults, conducted by pollster Embrain Public on Sunday and Monday, 51.9 percent said the presidential office should remain at Cheong Wa Dae and 44.3 percent said they back the relocation plan. Yoon has decided to move the presidential office from Cheong Wa Dae to what

The Korea Development Bank (KDB), a state-run lender, said Tuesday its customers will be allowed to use ATMs and other offline branch offices of Hana Bank as part of efforts to enhance customer convenience. Under a deal for cooperation, all KDB customers will be able to use 3,576 ATMs and around 600 offline branch offices run by Hana Bank without paying fees starting Tuesday, according to the lender. The deal is expected to help senior people and other digitally marginalized citizens have more a

South Korea's consumer sentiment ticked up in March, as the country eased social distancing curbs to bolster spending and help pandemic-hit small merchants, central bank data showed Tuesday. The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI) came to 103.2 in March, up 0.1 point from the previous month, according to data from the Bank of Korea. A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists. The index has been up and down in the last few months, affected by the severity of the spread of

President Moon Jae-in has sent a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping to express condolences over the recent crash of a Chinese airliner, Moon's office said Thursday. In the letter, Moon offered deep sympathy to victims and their bereaved families, presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said in a statement. The China Eastern flight crashed in southern China with 132 people on board earlier this week, with all of them being presumed dead. (Yonhap)

South Korea's exports of snacks hit a record high last year on the back of demand by stay-at-home consumers amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the popularity of the Korean pop culture, customs data showed Thursday. Exports of snacks came to an all-time high of $466 million last year, up 13.1 percent from a year earlier and extending their gains to the second straight year, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service. Snack shipments also rose 16.6 percent to $75 million in the first tw

INCHEON -- When the SSG Landers signed former major league infielder Kevin Cron in December, they probably didn't think he'd be hitting below the Mendoza Line about halfway through the preseason. With the start of the regular season less than two weeks away, Cron is batting 3-for-19 (.158) with a home run and three RBIs in seven games in his first spring in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). The preseason will wrap up next Tuesday, with the regular season starting on April 2. Cron

President Moon Jae-in on Thursday expressed concerns over further disruption of global supply chains, as China's COVID-19 lockdowns sent ripples through the global auto industry. Moon instructed officials to come up with thorough measures to prepare for disruptions of supply chains after being briefed about difficulties facing South Korea's auto-parts industry from lockdowns in some Chinese regions, presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said in a statement. A sharp rise in COVID-19

Renault Samsung Motors Corp., the South Korean unit of Renault S.A., said Wednesday it has dropped the Samsung brand from its new company name as the deal with the South Korean conglomerate over the brand's use ends in August. Starting Wednesday, the company will use the new name of Renault Korea Motors while pushing ahead with the procedure to change the corporate name by August, a company spokesman said over the phone. From January to February, its vehicle sales jumped 84 percent to 24,82

A spokesperson for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Wednesday there is "zero chance" Yoon will move into Cheong Wa Dae and the transition team will continue to look at alternative sites, including the defense ministry compound in Yongsan. Yoon pledged during the presidential campaign that if elected, he would set up his office in the Seoul government complex in Gwanghwamun and open the Cheong Wa Dae compound to the public. Since his election, the transition team has been scouting alt

Even with no light visible at the end of the tunnel that is the COVID-19 pandemic, the South Korean baseball league plans to forge ahead with a full slate of regular season games in 2022. The first step toward that objective will come in the form of a preseason, which starts Saturday for all 10 teams. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) has scheduled 16 exhibition games per team through March 29. All games are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m., though teams can ask the league to push some games to

The US Forces Korea (USFK) has sent five helicopters to help contain wildfires in eastern coastal areas, the defense ministry said Thursday. Local authorities have been struggling to put out the blazes that began Friday in Uljin, 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and spread to other areas. South Korea's military also deployed 1,600 troops and 48 choppers to support firefighters for the seventh day. (Yonhap)

Voter turnout for South Korea's presidential election reached 16 percent as of 11 a.m. Wednesday, according to the country's election authorities. Out of the total 44.2 million eligible voters nationwide, 7 million had cast their ballots at 14,464 polling stations, five hours after the start of voting, the National Election Commission (NEC) said. The turnout was lower than 19.4 percent reported at the same time in the previous presidential election in 2017. The provisional tally does n

Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung calls himself a person that is "unbreakable" as he has overcome various obstacles starting with his impoverished childhood, and he wants to prove it again in the March 9 election. Known to be an aggressive public administrator, the former Seongnam mayor and Gyeonggi governor emphasizes that he is the one who can overcome the COVID-19 crisis, drive economic growth with fairness and bring national unity. In the modern Korean vernacular, L

WASHINGTON -- The sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies, including South Korea, show how many countries see Russia's invasion of Ukraine as unjust, a US state department spokesperson said Thursday. Jalina Porter, principal deputy spokesperson for the state department, said the United Nations has also voiced its clear opposition against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "The international community has been very clear and we've been united in our defense of this wa

North Korea has canceled the annual Pyongyang marathon due to the COVID-19 pandemic for the third consecutive year, a tour agency has said. The event, also known as the Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon, was originally scheduled for April 10 in Pyongyang, but Koryo Tours, a Beijing-based tour agency specializing in North Korea tours, said on its website, "2022's Pyongyang Marathon has officially been cancelled." The agency said the marathon for next year will be held on Apr

Kim Dong-yeon, the presidential candidate of the minor New Wave Party, dropped out of the race Wednesday to support ruling party candidate Lee Jae-myung. Kim, who served as President Moon Jae-in's first finance minister, announced the withdrawal a day after he reached an agreement with Lee of the ruling Democratic Party to have policy coalitions and operation of a joint government. "It was not an easy decision for me," Kim said. "Please understand this was a difficult decisio