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  • Others

    KOSPI edges higher after volatile session as tech stocks drive gains

    KOSPI ended slightly higher on Tuesday after opening on a positive note, supported by a strong overnight rally in U.S. technology shares, but overall trading was marked by fluctuations. The index began the session up 22.05 points, or 0.26 percent, at 8,416.70, and briefly built on early momentum. However, it soon drifted into a narrow range as fluctuations persisted throughout the day before closing at 8,476.48, up 81.83 points, or 0.97 percent, from the previous session. Persistent foreign selling acted as a drag on broader upside momentum. In the United States, equities finished higher as a rebound in mega-cap tech stocks helped reverse recent weakness tied to valuation concerns. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.59 percent, breaking above the 52,000 mark for the first time. The S&P 500 rose 1.18 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 2.07 percent. Semiconductor names led the advance, with Nvidia, Micron Technology and Broadcom fueling a 3.83 percent gain in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. Those positive moves provided some support for Korean chipmakers, though gain

    2 MIN READBy Jun Ji-hye
    KOSPI edges higher after volatile session as tech stocks drive gains
  • Cryptocurrency

    Global crypto exchanges repackage Korean chip stocks as perpetual futures

    2 MIN READBy Lee Yeon-woo
    Global crypto exchanges repackage Korean chip stocks as perpetual futures
  • Economy

    Accelerated Yongin investment well within Samsung, SK hynix financial flexibility: S&P

    2 MIN READBy Lee Hyo-jin
    Accelerated Yongin investment well within Samsung, SK hynix financial flexibility: S&P
  • Economy

    Tax revenue up 19% in May on higher income, bullish stock market

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Tax revenue up 19% in May on higher income, bullish stock market
  • Economy

    Korean won hits fresh 17-year low on fund outflows

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Korean won hits fresh 17-year low on fund outflows
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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

INTERVIEW Statistics Korea to collect data on foreign workers in rural areas

Statistics Korea (KOSTAT) Commissioner Kang Shin-wook speaks at his office in the Government Complex Daejeon in this file photo. / Courtesy of KOSTATBy Park Jae-hyukThe mismatch between supply and demand for foreign workers in rural areas may be reduced to some degree, following the 2020 Census of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries taking place from Nov. 23 to Dec. 18.Kang Shin-wook, the commissioner of Statistics Korea (KOSTAT), told The Korea Times in a recent interview that his agency will look into the specifics of foreigners working in farming, mountain and fishing villages nationwide through the quinquennial survey.“Taking into account the situation of rural villages facing labor shortage, we will survey the number of foreign workers they have hired,” he said.Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Korean farmers have suffered huge difficulties this year in harvesting their crops, because a significant number of foreign workers left the country and have not returned. Although the government temporarily allowed foreign workers in August to stay in Korea for up to three more m

Nov 22, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk
[INTERVIEW] Statistics Korea to collect data on foreign workers in rural areas
Economy

Why are Korean bank stocks so undervalued?

A dealer at Hana Bank walks in front of an electric board showing the decline of the benchmark KOSPI and the won-dollar exchange rate at the bank's head office in Seoul, Friday. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungKorean banks' low price-to-book ratio (PBR) has been evident throughout 2020, as investors paid little attention to bank stocks as opposed to other tech-savvy growth stocks amid the coronavirus-induced economic panic here and abroad.But market experts and industry officials expected bank stocks to bounce back next year amid a series of positive signals for their growth.According to data by the nation's top-tier financial holding firms, KB Financial Group's PBR came in at 0.39, which was followed by Shinhan Financial Group's 0.36. The two firms are the nation's two largest financial groups. Those of Hana and Woori also reached a mere 0.3 and 0.29, respectively.The PBR is a barometer indicating a stock's current valuation. When it falls below 1, it is widely considered that the stock is undervalued in the market.Officials from the bank industry attributed this to not receiving much attenti

Nov 20, 2020By Lee Min-hyung
Why are Korean bank stocks so undervalued?
Economy

Reporter's Notebook Is 'Mofia' always bad for lobby groups?

gettyimagesbankBy Kim Bo-eunCriticism has always existed over the dominance of ex-finance ministry officials in key positions in the financial sector.A term has even been coined and in use for some years in reference to this ― Mofia, which is a combination of the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and mafia.Former finance ministry officials not only sit in the chief positions of state-run financial institutions, but also banks and even interest groups.Whenever a ministry official is nominated for the chief position, there is a strong internal backlash.Employees take issue with "parachuting" and state that these figures are not appropriate for leadership of their institutions given their lack of inside knowledge and expertise.They say it is demotivating to see government figures picked over internal figures, as this demonstrates the limit to where internal figures are able to climb the corporate ladder.The issue has been reignited at a time when major interest groups in the financial sector wait for their chief positions to be determined. There are separate lobby groups representing banks, bro

Nov 20, 2020By Kim Bo-eun
[Reporter's Notebook] Is 'Mofia' always bad for lobby groups?
Economy

New regulation adds confusion to loan market

A customer speaks with a bank clerk at a Hana Bank loan sales office in Seoul in this file photo. /YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungThe nation's loan market is in a growing state of confusion, with more and more people rushing to borrow from banks ahead of the government's planned implementation of toughened debt-service-ratio regulations.Under the new regulation, those who earn more than 80 million won ($71,700) annually will not be able to receive non-collateralized credit loans over 100 million won when buying real estate. This will take effect as of Nov. 30.The regulation has sparked a sense of anxiety among households over a possible introduction of much tighter restrictions on loans.For about a week after the Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced the plan on Nov. 13, more people have borrowed money from banks. According to data from the nation's top five lenders ― such as KB, Shinhan, Woori, Hana and NongHyup ― their loan balance surged by more than 1 trillion won only four days after Nov. 12, a day before the regulation was announced. Financial authorities have been toughening lo

Nov 20, 2020By Lee Min-hyung
New regulation adds confusion to loan market
Economy

Land minister apologizes over rental home shortage

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mee speaks during a briefing on the government's housing stabilization measures at the Government Complex Seoul, Thursday. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungMinister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyun-mee issued a public apology Thursday for the increasing shortage of rental housing here amid prolonged instability in the leasing market.“I express my apologies to the public facing difficulties in finding new rental housing,” Kim said during a media briefing. Her comments made headlines as she rarely makes apologies even after the ministry's housing stabilization policies have failed to achieve their goals, instead aggravating confusion by sparking a nationwide housing bubble.The message, however, came amid growing public criticism over escalating housing market uncertainties represented by the recent surge in rent prices. This has also ended up driving up housing sales prices, leaving potential tenants in a state of despair.Kim attributed the rental price hike to an interest rate decline and an increase in demand for

Nov 19, 2020By Lee Min-hyung
Land minister apologizes over rental home shortage
Economy

Seoul to supply more public homes to tackle rental home shortage

A woman wearing a face mask walks near the display of South Korea's capital Seoul logo in Seoul, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020. APSouth Korea will supply 114,000 public 'jeonse' houses by 2022 to help tackle a shortage of the two-year contract-based rental homes, the transport ministry said Thursday.The government plans to purchase existing homes to convert them into public jeonse houses mainly for the underprivileged who have difficulties in finding such homes, as higher demand has pushed up jeonse prices amid low rates and a recently passed related bill, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement.Jeonse is a localized property lease system in which tenants pay a large deposit instead of monthly rent. It usually consists of a two-year contract, with the homeowner paying back the principal upon the completion of the contract.In a policy meeting with the land minister and other officials, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said a recent hike in the jeonse home market was affected by low rates, the tenant protection laws that limit the rights of landlords, and a sharp

Nov 19, 2020
Seoul to supply more public homes to tackle rental home shortage
Economy

Will bitcoin's 2017 rally revive in 2020?

Pundits say bitcoin's current rally is fundamentally different from 2017 By Anna J. ParkWill 2020 end as another historic year for bitcoin? Many investors and market watchers are asking this question, looking at the cryptocurrency's remarkable upward move that's been continuing for the past three months.The current bullish trend reminds market watchers of 2017, when the virtual coin's price started from about $900 in January to rise to its all-time high record of $19,783.06 in December. This year alone, bitcoin rose by nearly 150 percent since the start of this year, when it was traded at $7179.96. As of around 2 p.m. local time Wednesday, the cryptocurrency's price hit as high as $18,417.70, getting closer to the record set in the winter of 2017. But the price fell back again to about $17,630.30 an hour later.As the prices are volatile ― shown by Wednesday afternoon's sudden drop ― it's still too early to tell whether bitcoin will be able to break its previous record high and continue its rally later this year. While some pundits say the cryptocurrency will become worth around $1 mi

Nov 18, 2020By Anna J. Park
Will bitcoin's 2017 rally revive in 2020?
Economy

Bank of Korea criticizes Financial Services Commission's plan to 'steal authority'

Bank of Korea Lee Ju-yeol speaks during a National Assembly audit on Yeouido in Seoul on Oct. 16. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungThe Bank of Korea (BOK) is stepping up criticism of a plan by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) to “usurp the authority” of the central bank in the area of payment settlements.The BOK is the central authority handling the comprehensive supervision and operation of the nation's payment settlement systems. But the FSC is seeking to revise a relevant law on electronic financial transactions and widen its authority in supervising digital payment settlements here, according to the central bank.It is very rare for the BOK to raise its voice against other authorities, but it decided to do so amid intensifying concerns over losing its authority.The BOK argues that management and supervision of payment settlements should be independently handled by the central bank's monetary policy board according to the Bank of Korea Act, so the FSC's plan will end up creating redundant regulations and both authorities will come into conflict with each other even after th

Nov 18, 2020By Lee Min-hyung
Bank of Korea criticizes Financial Services Commission's plan to 'steal authority'
Economy

Shinhan, KB in dilemma over dividend payments

By Kim Bo-eunShinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung, left, and KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo / Korea Times fileMajor financial groups are weighing up whether to boost shareholder value after making record profits in this year's third quarter.But the authorities have warned the groups against the move amid uncertainties due to COVID-19.Shinhan and KB Financial Groups reported over 1 trillion won in quarterly earnings ― a first for both. Shinhan posted 1.14 trillion won in net profit, up 16.6 percent on the same quarter last year, while KB recorded 1.17 trillion won (up 24.1 percent).Shinhan and KB groups' accumulated net profit was 2.88 trillion won and 2.96 trillion won, respectively, up 3.5 percent and 1.9 percent from the same period of 2019.Given the boost in earnings and the groups' inclination to increase shareholder value, they have been preparing to expand dividend payments.With the exception of Hana Financial Group, the other three major groups only pay dividends to shareholders annually, at the end of the year. Hana makes its interim payments in July.S

Nov 18, 2020By Kim Bo-eun
Shinhan, KB in dilemma over dividend payments
Economy

Samsung Electronics' stock gets bullish with strengthened won

Foreign investors lead Samsung Electronics stock's soaring move By Anna J. ParkSamsung Electronics' stock price has been on a strong upward trend this month, after foreign investors turned to net buying. As of Wednesday, the company's share price has increased by 12.8 percent this month alone, reaching a new record high of 66,300 won on Nov. 16. With the strong gains, Samsung Electronics' market cap reached 386.84 trillion won, Wednesday.Market watchers said that foreign investors' aggressive buying of the shares led the stock's recent rally. They bought the stock for nine straight trading days from Nov. 5 to Nov. 17, their longest buying streak of the year, buying 1.7 trillion won worth of shares this month, and making them the number one choice for foreign investors. There are various reasons behind their recent net-buying position ― one being the company's solid performance proved by its earnings surprises recorded in the second and third quarters of the year. Rosy expectations for the semi-conductor sector in 2021 also played a part. Samsung Electronics' operating profit for the

Nov 18, 2020By Anna J. Park
Samsung Electronics' stock gets bullish with strengthened won
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