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    KOSPI plunges 8% on concerns over end of chip earnings cycle, interest rate hike

    Korean stocks tumbled Monday, as a broad-based correction in global semiconductor shares triggered heavy selling across the market, prompting the activation of both sidecar trading curbs and circuit breakers on the KOSPI and Kosdaq markets. Attention is centered on whether KOSPI, which has staged a record-breaking rally this year, can resume its upward trajectory after a short-term correction or whether market volatility will intensify further. The benchmark KOSPI opened 112.50 points, or 1.38 percent, lower at 8,048.09 before extending its losses throughout the session to close at 7,484.41, down 676.18 points, or 8.29 percent. The index reached an all-time intraday high of 8,933.62 on June 2. After plunging 5.54 percent on Friday, the KOSPI posted losses for a second consecutive session, underscoring growing concerns over a pullback in semiconductor stocks that had fueled the market's recent rally. Amid heavy selling pressure, trading restrictions kicked in shortly after the market opened, with a Level 1 circuit breaker triggered at 9:03 a.m. and a sell-side sidecar activated at 9:34 a.

    3 MIN READBy Jun Ji-hye
    KOSPI plunges 8% on concerns over end of chip earnings cycle, interest rate hike
  • Economy

    Lee attributes weakening won to foreign investors' portfolio rebalancing

    2 MIN READBy Lee Hyo-jin
    Lee attributes weakening won to foreign investors' portfolio rebalancing
  • Economy

    Financial authorities vow stern action against excessive volatility, one-sided FX market moves

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Financial authorities vow stern action against excessive volatility, one-sided FX market moves
  • Economy

    Corporate lending grows at fastest pace in 3 1/2 years in Q1: BOK

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Corporate lending grows at fastest pace in 3 1/2 years in Q1: BOK
  • Economy

    Economy continues 'gradual improvement' on strong chip exports: KDI

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Economy continues 'gradual improvement' on strong chip exports: KDI
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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

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Economy

Korea, US get closer to currency swap deal after summit

President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden hold a joint press conference following their first summit at the presidential office in Yongsan District in central Seoul, Saturday. YonhapBy Yi Whan-wooThe latest summit between the leaders of Korea and the United States has raised expectations that the two allies will soon sign a currency swap agreement, since they agreed to cooperate closely to develop the foreign exchange market, according to experts, Monday.Such expectations stem from growing calls for the revival of the currency swap deal here amid a rapid depreciation of the Korean won against the U.S. dollar that is feared to accelerate an exodus of foreign capital.The currency swap deal enables Seoul to borrow dollars in exchange for the Korean currency at a pre-agreed rate. It thereby eases worries over a possible foreign currency crunch that can worsen Korea's path to an economic recovery by destabilizing the stock market, jack up import prices and fan additional inflation.President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden said in a joint statement issued after their

May 23, 2022By Yi Whan-woo
Korea, US get closer to currency swap deal after summit
Economy

Exchanges, authorities discuss steps to prevent another Luna fiasco

Rep. Yoon Chang-hyun of the ruling People Power Party speaks during an emergency seminar to discuss protective measures in the domestic cryptocurrency industry, at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. Joint Press Corps-YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungThe ruling party and the government started a two-day meeting to discuss measures to prevent the recurrence of a recent financial fiasco surrounding the once-popular Terra stablecoin and its sister token Luna.On Monday, the ruling People Power Party held an emergency seminar to come up with measures to protect cryptocurrency investors.The price of Luna recently fell to almost zero, sparking jitters in global crypto markets, as more than 99.99 percent of the ill-fated token's value virtually evaporated in less than a week. As the Terra ecosystem and Luna were designed and developed by Korean entrepreneur Do Kwon, local investors' faith in the once-red hot cryptocurrencies soared for the past few months while their global sensation peaked.Under the theme of “Terra-Luna's collapse: causes and countermeasures,” officials from the ruling

May 23, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Exchanges, authorities discuss steps to prevent another Luna fiasco
Economy

Korea-US summit boosts defense stocks

U.S. President Joe Biden, second from right, speaks during his visit to the Korean Air and Space Operations Center at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Sunday. On his left is President Yoon Suk-yeol. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungKorea's major defense stocks rallied Monday on hopes for more exports to the United States and other developed countries, after the two countries agreed to start negotiations on a much-anticipated joint defense procurement deal.This came in response to the first summit between President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden last weekend. Both leaders reached a consensus in forging advanced ties in defense supply chains in tandem with their decades-long security alliance.“Recognizing the growing potential for ROK-U.S. cooperation in the defense industry, the two leaders agree to strengthen partnerships in areas such as defense-sector supply chains, joint development and manufacturing, including beginning discussions on a Reciprocal Defense Procurement (RDP) agreement,” the White House said in a statement.Shares of domestic fighter jet m

May 23, 2022By Lee Min-hyung
Korea-US summit boosts defense stocks
Economy

Korea relies more on imports for intermediate goods than G-7 nations: report

Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF) / Courtesy of Korea Enterprises FederationKorea depends more on imports for its intermediate goods needs than other major economies, with a heavy reliance on China, a report showed Monday.Imports of intermediate goods accounted for 50.2 percent of the country's total imports in 2020, according to the report from the Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF). Final goods came next with 30.8 percent, followed by primary commodities at 18.4 percent.The ratio was much higher than that for the Group of Seven (G-7) industrialized nations. Comparable figures were 46.9 percent for Britain, 46.2 percent for Italy, 44.1 percent for Germany, 43.3 percent for France, 43 percent for Canada, 40.8 percent for Japan and 38.3 percent for the United States.Korea's dependency on Chinese imports surged from 19.4 percent in 2010 to 28.3 percent in 2020, with its dependency on Japan slumping to 12.8 percent from 21 percent over the same period.Dependency on China for intermediate goods imports was higher than that for the G-7 countries as their dependence rose an average 0.8 pe

May 23, 2022
Korea relies more on imports for intermediate goods than G-7 nations: report
Economy

Foreign currency deposits down for 2nd month in April

Bank of Korea / YonhapForeign currency deposits at banks here shrank for the second straight month in April due in part to companies' increased withdrawals to pay for investments and imports, central bank data showed Monday.Residents' outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits had reached $86.99 billion as of the end of April, down $5.72 billion from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK).Residents include local citizens, companies, foreigners staying here for more than six months and foreign firms. The data excludes interbank foreign currency deposits.The April shrinkage came as companies withdrew dollar holdings to make overseas investments and pay for imports. Individuals also curtailed dollar deposits to lock in profits from the greenback's recent ascent against the local currency, the BOK said.Companies' foreign currency deposits fell $4.69 billion month-on-month to $71.65 billion in April, with deposits by individuals also shrinking $1.03 billion to $15.34 billion over the cited period, the data showed.Dollar-denominated deposits had come

May 23, 2022
Foreign currency deposits down for 2nd month in April
Economy

Foreign banks in Korea see profits down 4.5% in 2021

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) / Yonhap Foreign bank branches in Korea saw their combined net profit down 4.5 percent in 2021 due to a rise in securities-linked losses amid market downswings, data showed Monday.The combined net income of their 35 local branches stood at 1.15 trillion won ($904.4 million) in the fiscal year of 2021, down 53.5 billion won from a year earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).Those branches either closed their books for the fiscal year 2021 in September last year or in March this year.The shrinkage came despite a rise in interest income amid high borrowing costs, which was offset by a rise in securities-related losses and declining revenue from other non-interest areas, including transaction fees, and forex and derivative trading, the FSS said. The branches reported 1.05 trillion won in losses from securities, which was larger than a loss of 218.9 billion won tallied a year earlier, the data s

May 23, 2022
Foreign banks in Korea see profits down 4.5% in 2021
Economy

Market experts warn of asset bubble crash in Korea

A currency trader watches monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, May 20. The collapse of an asset market bubble in Korea could lead to a more dangerous situation than the crash of the country's information technology (IT) bubble in the early 2000s. YonhapThe collapse of an asset market bubble in Korea could lead to a more dangerous situation than the crash of the country's information technology (IT) bubble in the early 2000s, market experts warned Monday.Their doomsday scenario comes amid warnings that a U.S. stock market bubble has begun bursting in the wake of the Federal Reserve's aggressive monetary tightening to fight soaring inflation."Bubbles have formed in Korea's asset markets, including stock, real estate and virtual assets," said Kim Yeong-ik, adjunct professor at Sogang University's Graduate School of Economics in Seoul."Their collapse could bring more serious consequences than the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, the property crash in 2008 and the fallout from the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak. Korea could undergo unheard-of asse

May 23, 2022
Market experts warn of asset bubble crash in Korea
Economy

Exports up 24% during first 20 days of May

gettyimagesbankKorea's exports rose 24.1 percent in the first 20 days of May from a year earlier on robust demand for chips and petroleum products, but the country suffered a trade deficit on high fuel costs, customs data showed Monday.The country's outbound shipments stood at $38.6 billion in the May 1 to 20 period, compared with $31.1 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Korea Customs Service.Imports jumped 37.8 percent year-on-year to $43.4 billion during the cited period, resulting in a trade deficit of $4.83 billion.If the trend continues, the country is poised to post a trade deficit for the third straight month this month due to soaring energy costs caused by Russia's war with Ukraine.Exports, which account for half of the economy, rose 12.6 percent year-on-year in April, extending their gains to the 18th month, according to the trade ministry.But elevated oil prices pushed up the country's imports, leading it to post a trade deficit of $2.66 billion last month.Imports of crude oil soared 84 percent during the first 20 days of the month and those of petroleum

May 23, 2022
Exports up 24% during first 20 days of May
Economy

Foreign selling reaches 15 tril. won in Korea this year

An employee looks into monitors located at the dealing room of Hana Bank headquarters in central Seoul, Friday. YonhapForeign investors have sold nearly 15 trillion won ($12 billion) worth of Korean stocks this year through mid-May as they fled to safe haven assets amid growing stagflation worries, the country's main bourse said Sunday.From Jan. 1 through Friday, foreign selling stood at 14.8 trillion won on the country's two main bourses ― 11.8 trillion won on the main Korea Exchange (KRX) and 3 trillion won on the tech-heavy KOSDAQ, according to the KRX. Of the massive sell-off, foreigners mainly offloaded Samsung Electronics Co., the world's biggest memory chip maker, and LG Energy Solution Ltd., South Korea's leading car battery maker, the main bourse said. They sold 5.1 trillion won worth of Samsung Electronics stocks and 2.9 trillion won of LG Energy Solution shares during the cited period. Foreigners reorganized their investment portfolios by reducing equities and other assets perceived as risky and increasing safe haven assets amid global monetary tightening and rising intere

May 22, 2022
Foreign selling reaches 15 tril. won in Korea this year
Economy

Chinese people purchase nearly 7,000 buildings in S. Korea in 2021

gettyimagesbankChinese people purchased nearly 7,000 buildings in South Korea last year, with more than half of the properties being from the Greater Seoul area, a ruling party lawmaker said Sunday.A total of 6,640 buildings, including apartments, were purchased by Chinese nationals last year, and 2,659 of them are located in Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds the capital city of Seoul, Chung Woo-taik, a lawmaker of the ruling People Power Party, said in a report, citing the National Assembly Research Service.The Chinese-owned properties accounted for 78.1 percent of total foreign buying in Gyeonggi Province last year, followed by 408 buildings purchased by Americans.Chinese people also bought 1,220 buildings in Incheon, west of Seoul, and 736 buildings in Seoul last year, according to the report. (Yonhap)

May 22, 2022
Chinese people purchase nearly 7,000 buildings in S. Korea in 2021
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