Lenders turn to extending loans to large corporations with higher credit ratingsHousehold loans extended by Korean banks tumbled about 400 billion won ($359 million) over about two weeks this month, banking data showed on Monday.The drop in local lenders’ loans to households came as the major banks

The Financial Services Commission said on Sunday it would draw up a comprehensive plan to restructure the troubled credit card industry, which is under criticism for pursuing rapid expansion at the risk of generating market bubbles.“The average number of credit cards held by a single individual rose

The number of loan defaults in Korea reached 1.09 million as of June, up 19.5 percent from six months earlier, credit data showed on Sunday. According to Nice Information Service, the number of people who failed to pay back loans they got from local lenders and financial firms rose by 179,000 in the

Hot money on currency market and risky bets on derivatives on the riseWith the local stock market riding a wave of volatility in recent weeks, speculative transactions have increased at an alarming pace, the country’s financial regulators warned on Sunday. Although it is often difficult to distingui

Korea’s conglomerates are scrambling to secure capital at a pace that suggests a credit crunch might be in the offing amid growing concerns over the global economy. The country’s large companies have raised about 60 trillion won ($54.6 billion) this year by issuing corporate bonds, drawing loans fro

Firms see fresh opportunity in providing new retirement-related asset managementSouth Korea’s major brokerages houses are setting up research centers targeting the country’s baby boomer generation in a bid to take a share in potentially huge securities-related markets.The term “baby boomers” refers

German media critical of court’s ban on sale of Samsung Galaxy tabletSamsung Electronics Co., the world’s second-biggest mobile phone maker, said on Wednesday it will file an appeal this week in a bid to overturn the latest German court ruling that bans sales of its tablet computer Galaxy Tab.

Stake sale signals major shift in control of Samsung GroupSamsung Card Co. said on Wednesday it plans to sell its 20.64 percent stake in its affiliate Samsung Everland Inc., which acts as Samsung’s Group’s holding company, sparking keen interest about possible stake buyers.Samsung Card, which owns a

   TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) _ NATO warplanes pounded targets in a number of strongholds of support for fugitive dictator Moammar Gadhafi, the alliance said Tuesday, as an offensive by revolutionary forces on a key loyalist town stalled.   The alliance said Tuesday that airstrikes stru

South Korea’s brokerage houses annually spend more than 100 billion won ($92 million) on wining and dining their clients, Financial Supervisory Service data showed on Tuesday. In a single business day, about 400 million won worth of meals and entertainment expenses are signed off for entertaining cl

European funds valued at about 5.5 trillion won ($5 billion) are estimated to have pulled out of South Korea’s stock and bond markets since August according to the country’s financial regulators’ data, underscoring the volatile sentiment gripping jittery investors.The sell-off came after the histori

Kakao Talk, the country’s most popular messenger app for smartphones, is to team up with a game developer in a bid to open up a fresh revenue channel amid heightened industry-wide interest in such messenger apps. Kakao Talk has been widely adopted by users of Apple’s iPhone and Android-based smartph

Samsung Electronics, the country’s biggest mobile handset maker, said on Sunday its domestic market share reached nearly 60 percent in August on the back of stronger demand for its smartphone models led by Galaxy S2.Samsung projected that a total of 2.13 million mobile handsets were sold last month,

Samsung Electronics Co. is halting promotion of its latest tablet computer in Germany after Apple Inc. won a second injunction blocking Galaxy Tab sales there as one of the world’s largest electronics shows gets under way. Samsung, Apple’s closest rival in tablet computers, pulled the just-unveiled

Foreign investment banks revise down country’s economic growth projectionsForeign investment banks have revised down their economic growth predictions for South Korea, reflecting worsening external factors such as continuing U.S. and European debt woes that could damage the country’s export-driven e

By Yang Sung-jinSouth Korea’s consumer prices surged at the fastest pace in three years in August and trade surplus shrank sharply as its soaring imports outpaced export gains, data showed Thursday. The double whammy has set alarm bells ringing over the Korean economy amid lingering worries about t

Household loans extended by South Korea’s financial institutions are set to jump by more than 5 trillion won ($4.66 billion) in August, an unusually high figure for a month of slow home debt, data showed Wednesday.Financial authorities said household debt between Aug. 1-26 already reached 4.9 trilli

4,000 experts from 70 countries to attend 10th Asia-Pacific AIDS CongressA major international conference on AIDS kicks off its five-day run on Friday at BEXCO in the southern port city of Busan, the local organizing committee said Tuesday. The 10th International Conference on AIDS in Asia and the P

   BOSEONG --  A crop dusting helicopter crashed on a hill near Boseong, 397 kilometers south of Seoul, after hitting a high voltage power cable, police said Sunday.   Law enforcement authorities said the 50-year-old pilot, identified by his family name of Park, was killed i

   TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) _ Libyan rebels said they were less than 20 miles (30 kilometers) from Moammar Gadhafi's main stronghold of Tripoli on Sunday, a day after opposition fighters launched their first attack on the capital itself.   Fighters said a 600-strong rebel force that s