South Korea's corporate direct financing gained 10.8 percent on year in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic prompted more companies to tap the bond market to raise funds, data showed Wednesday. Local companies raised a combined 194.4 trillion won ($175.6 billion) by selling stocks and bonds last year, up 18.9 trillion won from 2019, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Corporate stock sales more than doubled to 10.9 trillion won, with the value of initial public off

South Korea's consumer sentiment improved in January as a third wave of coronavirus infections showed signs of slowing down amid hopes for vaccine rollouts, central bank data showed Wednesday. The composite consumer sentiment index (CCSI) came in at 95.4 for January, up 4.2 points from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. The latest reading marks the first on-month gain following a drop in December, w

WASHINGTON -- Antony Blinken was expected to take office as the new secretary of state on Tuesday after the Senate confirmed his nomination. The Senate voted 78 to 22 to confirm the former deputy secretary of state as the country's new top diplomat. Blinken was nominated to the top post at the Department of State in late November, along with other top officials of the new administration's national security and foreign relations teams that included Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines

North Korea‘s state news agency on Tuesday strongly slammed Japan’s defense chief for his recent remarks over a military parade held in Pyongyang, saying Tokyo is just making a fuss and inciting hostility toward its country. 　 North Korea conducted a massive military parade in central Pyongyang in mid-January, showing off a new submarine-launched ballistic missile and other state-of-the-art weaponry. 　 Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said that Tokyo is working to collect and an

Health Minister Kwon Deok-cheol tested negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday after coming in contact with a ministry employee infected with the virus, his office said. 　 Kwon has been placed under self-quarantine after being exposed to the patient. He will receive a second test a few days later in consideration of the virus‘ incubation period, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said. 　 Earlier in the day, Kwon attended a Cabinet meeting held at the government complex in Sejong, about 120 kilome

The Seoul city government apologized Tuesday after the state human rights watchdog deemed the sexual harassment allegations against former Mayor Park Won-soon to be true. In a statement, acting Mayor Seo Jeong-hyup said the city government "humbly accepts" the results of the National Human Rights Commission's investigation into Park's alleged abuse of a secretary, which lasted several years until his death in an apparent suicide in July. "We sincerely apologize to the victim and

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on Tuesday instructed the finance minister to carefully devise measures to compensate small businesses for their losses incurred by the country's strict social distancing measures against COVID-19. In a meeting held with Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and Education Minister Yoo Eun-hae, Chung told Hong to "carefully prepare for the measures by studying the opinions of on-site (merchants) experiencing difficulties." Chung also directed Hong to "review

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., South Korea's leading shipbuilder, said Tuesday it will raise 1 trillion won ($907 million) by listing its shares on the main bourse this year for its environment-friendly business. Hyundai Heavy said it will issue new shares equivalent to a 20 percent stake in the company to finance its eco-friendly business projects following the initial public offering on the Korea Exchange within this year. The shipbuilder said it plans to use the proceeds from the new share s

Samsung Biologics Co. on Tuesday reported its fourth-quarter net profit of 96.2 billion won ($87 million), down 54.3 percent from a year earlier. The company said in a regulatory filing that operating income for the October-December period fell 13.4 percent on-year to 92.6 billion won. Sales increased 19.8 percent to 375.3 billion won. (Yonhap)

Three officials from a burger patty supplier for McDonald's Korea were given suspended prison sentences by a local court Tuesday for providing patties potentially contaminated with E. coli to the local unit of the global fast-food giant. A managing director of the supplier, whose name was withheld, and two mid-ranking officials in charge of production and quality management, respectively, were indicted without detention in 2018 for allegedly distributing 63 tons of beef patties that tested pos

President Moon Jae-in has requested that the National Assembly send a report on its confirmation hearing on the nominee to become justice minister, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday. Lawmakers had the hearing on Park Beom-kye on Monday but failed to adopt a formal report on its results amid disputes over whether he is qualified to assume the post. Moon earlier tapped Park, a three-term ruling Democratic Party lawmaker, to lead the ministry. The parliament was supposed to finish all procedures relate

President Moon Jae-in shared Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki's social media message Tuesday on South Korea's latest gross domestic product (GDP) data, a rare move seen as meant to encourage Hong publicly. Moon was also apparently seeking to highlight that the country's economy has fared relatively well despite the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier in the day, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said the economy is projected to have contracted 1 percent in 2020 compared with the previous year. Hong wrote

South Korea's business sentiment inched up for February from a month earlier on decreased economic uncertainty, a poll showed Tuesday. The business survey index (BSI) of the country's top 600 companies by sales reached 96.6 for next month, up 4.9 points from January, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists, while a figure above the benchmark means the opposite. KERI said the February confidence got a boost from

The number of South Koreans who moved to different parts of the country hit a five-year high last year as housing transactions increased amid rising home prices, data showed Tuesday. The number of people who changed their residences gained 8.9 percent on-year to 7.74 million in 2020, according to the data compiled by Statistics Korea. It marked the largest since 2015, when the number of such people came to 7.76 million. It also represented the fastest on-year increase since 1999. The populati

Lee Jae-yong, the de facto head of Samsung Group, has expressed an apology to his employees following his imprisonment as he asked workers to maintain their work despite his absence, officials here said Tuesday. Lee was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison by the Seoul High Court on Jan. 18 in a retrial of a bribery case involving former President Park Geun-hye. The vice chairman of Samsung Electronics Co. was put behind bars again less than three years after he was allowed to walk free. In a me

The Seoul city government plans to launch a new council of foreign residents Tuesday as part of efforts to improve their quality of life here. The council, the third of its kind, will comprise 30 residents aged 18 or older from 20 countries, including the United States, France, Japan, Taiwan and Malaysia, the city government said in a press release. China accounts for the largest number with five members. The city government said it selected the members based on nationality, type of stay and o

South Korea's antitrust regulator said Tuesday it has decided to fine seven steelmakers a combined 300 billion won ($272 million) for colluding to fix the purchase price of steel scrap. The country's No. 2 steelmaker Hyundai Steel Co., its smaller rival Dongkuk Steel Mill Co. and five other steelmakers rigged prices and timing to buy the key material between 2010 and 2018, according to the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC). It marked the fourth-largest amount of fines levied by the regulator

Coronavirus-weary South Koreans are making travel plans for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, posing a new challenge in the country's fight against COVID-19. With the holiday two weeks away, daily coronavirus infections are down to the 300s from a peak of 1,241 on Dec. 25. Health authorities have warned it is too early for people to let their guard down and maintained a ban on private gatherings of five or more until the end of this month. Still, some say they are hopeful the ban will be li

As the protracted novel coronavirus pandemic has affected every cultural sector in South Korea, the independent and arthouse film circle is on the verge of losing ground amid closures of festivals and corporate restructuring. Organizers of the Mise-en-scene Short Film Festival (MSFF) announced that it will no longer hold the annual festival starting this year, saying that it is the time to seek ways to navigate the fast-changing media industry. The 19th edition of MSFF was held online in June

Sales of imported commercial vehicles in South Korea fell 6.9 percent in 2020 from a year earlier on lower demand amid the coronavirus pandemic, an industry association said Tuesday. The number of newly registered imported commercial vehicles fell to 4,482 units last year from 4,812 a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. KAIDA expects the COVID-19 pandemic to continue to weigh on consumer sentiment this year. Imported commercial ca