my timesThe Korea Times

Economy

PolicyCryptocurrencyOthers
  • Economy

    Seoul stocks, won hammered by massive foreign selling

    Seoul stocks plunged Friday as a prolonged foreign sell-off collided with a sharp downturn in global semiconductor shares, sending the benchmark KOSPI down more than 5 percent to below the 8,200 level. The sustained foreign investor exodus also continued to weigh on the Korean won. In Seoul’s onshore foreign exchange market, the won closed at 1,539.1 per dollar, down 9.4 won from the previous session. During intraday trading, it briefly approached the 1,550 level, its weakest since March 2009, during the global financial crisis. The won has now traded above the 1,500 per dollar threshold for 14 consecutive sessions. KOSPI opened at 8,323.20, down 3.66 percent from the previous session, according to the Korea Exchange. Heavy selling pressure persisted throughout the day, prompting the year’s 10th sidecar shortly after the opening bell — a market safeguard that temporarily suspends program trading during periods of extreme volatility. The index ultimately closed at 8,160.59, down 5.54 percent. Foreign and institutional investors drove the decline, selling a net 3.52 trillion won and

    2 MIN READBy Park Han-sol
    Seoul stocks, won hammered by massive foreign selling
  • Economy

    Korea diversifying LNG imports to ease Middle East dependence: KOGAS chief

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Korea diversifying LNG imports to ease Middle East dependence: KOGAS chief
  • Economy

    Korea's currency tumbles to 17-year low on foreign stock selloff

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Korea's currency tumbles to 17-year low on foreign stock selloff
  • Economy

    Gov't vows to lower barriers for foreign investors with 24-hour FX market

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Gov't vows to lower barriers for foreign investors with 24-hour FX market
  • Economy

    KRX issues sell-side sidecar for KOSPI on sharp fall

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    KRX issues sell-side sidecar for KOSPI on sharp fall
Korea Times
About Us
Introduction
History
Contact Us
Products & Services
Subscribe
E-paper
RSS Service
Content Sales
Site Map
Policy
Code of Ethics
Ombudsman
Privacy Policy
Youth Protection Policy
Terms of Service
Copyright Policy
Family Site
Hankookilbo
Dongwha Group
FacebookXYoutubeInstagram
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.

Read more

Economy

Stocks sharply up late Monday morning, set for 12th winning day

Korean stocks were trading sharply higher late Monday morning, on pace to extend their winning streak to a 12th consecutive session. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 45.78 points, or 0.95 percent, to 4,886.52 as of 11:20 a.m. After choppy trading, the KOSPI gathered ground in the late morning hours, boosted by gains from auto, shipbuilding and semiconductors. On Friday (local time), major U.S. stock indexes ended lower, as investors reacted to fourth-quarter earnings results from U.S. companies. The S&P500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq both slid 0.06 percent. Investors are also on edge over renewed trade tensions, following U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose an additional 10 percent tariff on eight European countries that have opposed his plans to acquire Greenland. In Seoul, large-cap shares were trading mixed. Market top-cap Samsung Electronics rose 0.13 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix added 1.98 percent. Auto shares gathered ground, with top car market Hyundai Motor jumping 12.59 percent and its sister Kia advancing 6.68 percent. In contras

Jan 19, 2026By Yonhap
Stocks sharply up late Monday morning, set for 12th winning day
Economy

Korea, China to hold 13th round of FTA follow-up talks on service, investment

Korea and China are set to hold a fresh round of follow-up negotiations on service and investment under their bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), Seoul's trade ministry said Monday. Trade delegations from the two sides will hold the 13th round of follow-up negotiations throughout this week in Beijing, aiming to expand the countries' FTA to include service and investment, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources. Seoul and Beijing implemented their bilateral FTA in December 2015, removing major tariffs on products. The countries have held 12 follow-up meetings since 2018 to expand the scope of the bilateral trade pact to investment and service sectors. Earlier this month, President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to work to make progress in trade negotiations within this year during their bilateral summit in Beijing, according to the ministry.

Jan 19, 2026By Yonhap
Korea, China to hold 13th round of FTA follow-up talks on service, investment
Policy

Commercial lenders, financial entities rush to counter weakening won

Financial authorities are strengthening coordinated efforts with banks, insurers and brokerages to prevent the Korean currency from weakening to 1,500 won relative to the U.S. dollar, part of a shift away from monitoring to supervisory intervention of both retail and corporate dollar demands, market watchers said Sunday. Financial service providers are instructed to curb dollar-focused marketing and incentivize dollar-to-won conversion, reflecting the belief that private-sector dollar hoarding is a significant issue driving the won's weakness. Whether this pressure will slow the won’s depreciation will become clearer in the weeks ahead. Skepticism lingers that financial institutions are able to reorient their business strategies, especially when factoring in currency stability considerations at the expense of near-term margins. According to financial market sources, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) and Bank of Korea (BOK) have had several meetings with financial institutions recently to discuss the won's sustained depreciation. The currency weakening is driven in part, they say,

Jan 18, 2026By Lee Kyung-min
Commercial lenders, financial entities rush to counter weakening won
Others

Banks' dealing rooms become key marketing tool as KOSPI nears historic 5,000

Major commercial banks dealing rooms are becoming a key marketing tool as the benchmark KOSPI nears an unprecedented 5,000 points, according to industry officials, Sunday. The dealing rooms are increasingly in the media spotlight as images capture the closing figures of the benchmark bourse, which has been on a winning streak since the start of 2026. The upward trend has been especially notable as the index climbs step by step through each 100-point mark, hitting record closing highs along the way. Against this backdrop, Korea’s four largest commercial banks — KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana and Woori — are investing billions of won to renovate their dealing rooms in their Seoul headquarters. They are also carefully selecting in-house staff to serve as models in front of electronic display boards. “A KOSPI 5,000 era will be a historic moment that will be remembered in history,” a bank PR official said. He went on to explain that promoting the dealing room is a “highly cost-effective marketing strategy,” adding, “When a bank’s logo appears alongside the KOSPI close, it naturally

Jan 18, 2026By Yi Whan-woo
Banks' dealing rooms become key marketing tool as KOSPI nears historic 5,000
Economy

K-food exports rely heavily on US, China, Japan

Korea's exports of agricultural and food products remain heavily concentrated in the United States, China and Japan, data showed Sunday, highlighting the need to diversify markets to sustain growth. Outbound shipments of farm produce and food items reached a record $10.2 billion in 2025, with 45.6 percent going to the three largest markets of the U.S., China and Japan, according to data from the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. The U.S. ranked first with $1.8 billion in imports of Korean food products, accounting for 17.5 percent of Korea's total food exports, followed by China with a 15.4 percent share and Japan with 12.7 percent. Vietnam, Taiwan and Hong Kong rounded out the top six destinations, underscoring the dominance of Asian markets. But exports to the European Union, including Britain, totaled $773 million, or 7.5 percent of the total, while shipments to Middle Eastern countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, accounted for about 4 percent. In response, the government and the industry have stepped up efforts to develop new markets.

Jan 18, 2026By Yonhap
K-food exports rely heavily on US, China, Japan
Economy

Employment rate among youths falls for 1st time in 5 yrs in 2025: data

The employment rate for people in their 20s fell in 2025 for the first time in five years as a shrinking population and a weak job market weighed on hiring, data showed Sunday. The employment rate for people in their 20s stood at 60.2 percent last year, down 0.8 percentage point from a year earlier, according to data released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics. It was the first on-year decline since 2020, when hiring slumped amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of employed people in their 20s totaled 3.44 million last year, down 170,000 from a year earlier. The decline has continued for three straight years and has been accelerating, widening from a drop of 82,000 in 2023 to 124,000 in 2024. The population decline has been cited as a key factor as the number of people in this age group has fallen for five consecutive years since 2021. But employment in the age bracket declined at a steeper pace than the population decrease, suggesting broader weakness in the labor market. "In the past, many people found jobs in their 20s, but there is now a growing tendency for people to wait until

Jan 18, 2026By Yonhap
Employment rate among youths falls for 1st time in 5 yrs in 2025: data
Economy

PHOTO KOSPI climbs above 4,800

A financial ticker board at Woori Bank’s headquarters in Seoul shows the KOSPI and other indices, Friday. The benchmark index closed at 4,840.74, up 43.19 points, or 0.9 percent, from the previous session, surpassing the 4,800 point-level for the first time. Yonhap

Jan 16, 2026By Jun Ji-hyephoto
[PHOTO] KOSPI climbs above 4,800
Economy

KRX pushes for extended trading hours amid global 24-hour trading trend

The Korea Exchange (KRX) is seeking to introduce a 24-hour trading regime by December next year to enhance the competitiveness of Korea’s capital market, in line with global bourses increasingly moving toward round-the-clock trading, according to company officials Friday. As a transitional measure, KRX plans to roll out pre-market and after-hours sessions starting in June, effectively extending daily stock trading hours to 12 hours from the current six hours and 30 minutes. Under the proposed framework, KRX is considering opening a pre-market session from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. and an after-hours session from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. If implemented, trading would begin an hour earlier than at alternative trading system Nextrade, which opens its pre-market session at 8 a.m. “The move is intended to quickly accommodate rising demand from domestic and overseas investors to reflect market developments in the U.S. and Europe in their portfolios at an earlier stage, while also broadening participation in the Korean equity market,” a KRX official said. Currently, NYSE Arca, part of the New York Stock E

Jan 16, 2026By Jun Ji-hye
KRX pushes for extended trading hours amid global 24-hour trading trend
Economy

Korean won slips again as 'Bessent effect' fades amid dollar strength, weak yen

The Korean currency fell below the 1,470 won level per U.S. dollar Friday, retreating after a single-session rebound amid broad dollar strength and a weaker yen. The won was quoted at 1,473.6 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 3.9 won from the previous session. The local currency had fallen for 10 consecutive trading sessions through Wednesday before snapping the losing streak Thursday after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the won's recent weakness is not in line with Korea's strong economic fundamentals and excess volatility in the foreign exchange market is undesirable. The U.S. dollar strengthened overnight on upbeat U.S. employment data, while the Japanese yen remained weak. The won has hovered around the closely watched 1,450 won level recently despite authorities' verbal interventions and policy steps, largely due to dollar strength, geopolitical risks and heavy overseas securities investments by local investors, experts said. In an effort to safeguard financial stability amid the faltering currency, the Bank of Korea (BOK) on Thursday kept its benchmark interes

Jan 16, 2026By Yonhap
Korean won slips again as 'Bessent effect' fades amid dollar strength, weak yen
Economy

Economic recovery continues despite uncertainties: finance ministry

Korea's economy continues to be on the path to recovery, supported by stronger domestic demand and solid performance in the semiconductor sector, despite lingering uncertainties, the finance ministry said Friday. The Ministry of Economy and Finance made the assessment in its monthly economic report, known as the Green Book, marking the fourth consecutive month it has used the term "recovery" to describe the economic situation. "Recently, our economy has continued to show a recovery trend, backed by improvements in domestic demand, including consumption, and robust exports led by semiconductors," the report said. However, the ministry cautioned that uncertainties remain, citing ongoing employment difficulties in vulnerable sectors, such as construction, and heightened month-to-month volatility in key indicators due to base effects from sharp increases in the third quarter. The report also cited the continued impact of U.S. tariff measures and other external risks as sources of concern. "The global economy is facing a worsened trade environment due to tariffs, and there are concerns over vo

Jan 16, 2026By Yonhap
Economic recovery continues despite uncertainties: finance ministry
previous page
8687888990
next page

Most Read in Economy