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  • Economy

    Korea's monthly exports hit $100 bil. for 1st time in June

    Korea's monthly exports hit a fresh high by surpassing the $100 billion mark for the first time in June, amid the record-breaking performance of chips, data showed Wednesday. Outbound shipments surged 70.9 percent on-year to $102.25 billion in June, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources. Imports rose 30.1 percent on-year to $66.1 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $36.15 billion. It also marked the first time that the monthly trade balance has surpassed $30 billion. Exports of semiconductors nearly tripled to reach $44.82 billion, with monthly exports surpassing $40 billion for the first time on the back of surging demand for memory chips. Outbound shipments of computer products soared more than 300 percent to $5.41 billion as global tech companies expanded investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, the ministry added. Exports of mobile devices also jumped 51.9 percent to $1.55 billion amid growing demand for new smartphones. The data showed automobile exports rising 5.8 percent to $6.71 billion following the stabilization of auto parts supplies. Ou

    2 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Korea's monthly exports hit $100 bil. for 1st time in June
  • Economy

    Seoul shares return gains late Wednesday morning on tech sell-off

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Seoul shares return gains late Wednesday morning on tech sell-off
  • Policy

    Market braces for pension fund's stock rebalancing

    2 MIN READBy Jun Ji-hye
    Market braces for pension fund's stock rebalancing
  • Policy

    Korea secures 2.07 mil. ton dedicated EU steel quota under new TRQ

    2 MIN READBy Lee Gyu-lee
    Korea secures 2.07 mil. ton dedicated EU steel quota under new TRQ
  • Economy

    Korean authorities sell net $13.6 bil. in Q1 to stabilize FX market

    1 MIN READBy Yonhap
    Korean authorities sell net $13.6 bil. in Q1 to stabilize FX market
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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

State pension fund to vote against LG Chem's spin-off plan

Korea's National Pension Service (NPS) decided Tuesday to oppose LG Chem Ltd.'s plan to spin off its battery business at a shareholders' meeting later this week.In September, LG Chem, the country's leading chemical company, announced a plan to separate the battery business to better cope with growing demand for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. The company plans to hold a shareholders' meeting for approval on Friday.The state pension fund, the second-largest shareholder of LG Chem with a 10.2 percent stake, said it decided to vote against the plan at the meeting."We understand the intention and purpose of the company's spin-off plan but concluded that the move could undermine the NPS' shareholder value," the pension fund said.Minority shareholders of LG Chem have cast similar views, claiming that their investment in the company would have no meaning if the battery business is separated.LG Corp. and affiliated persons own 34.17 percent of the company as of the end of June, while investors with less than 1 percent stakes, including foreign investors, hold a combined 54.33 percent.The pa

Oct 27, 2020
State pension fund to vote against LG Chem's spin-off plan
  • US election becomes inflection point for LG-SK battery feud
Economy

Debate heats up over 'large shareholder requirement'

Rep. Choo Kyung-ho of the main opposition People Power Party, right, speaks during an audit of state organizations in Daegu, Oct. 12. YonhapBy Lee Kyung-min The government is facing a fierce backlash following its move to push ahead with a revision whereby the minimum combined value of shares held by individual retail investors subject to a capital gains tax of a rate between 22 percent and 33 percent will be 300 million won ($265,600). The revision settled more than two years ago is set to take effect Jan. 1, 2021.A petition on the presidential office website seeking dismissal of Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki for the ministry's refusal to ease the rules to raise the amount to 1 billion won has garnered over 200,000 signatures. “The local stock market is enjoying a brisk performance due in large part to greater participation of many individual retail investors. If things stay the course, many retail investors will dump their shares at the end of the year, helping institutional and foreign investors rake in money with market funds flowing into the much-h

Oct 27, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Debate heats up over 'large shareholder requirement'
Economy

Korea Securities Depository underlines importance of LEI issuance

By Lee Min-hyungGlobal financial authorities are on rapid track to introduce Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) codes as a crucial means of risk management and effective financial data collection, the Korea Securities Depository (KSD) said Tuesday. The LEI assigns standardized ID codes to all legal entities around the world that engage in financial transactions, according to the KSD. The organization has for years promoted the need to introduce the LEI here and abroad, as this enables authorities to swiftly realize financial losses and potentially ensuing market risks at times of financial volatility ― such as the 2008 global financial crisis.The LEI code consists of a 20-digit reference number that enables clear and unique identification of legal identities, according to the securities depository. The names of corporations and their detailed legal information ― such as office address and corporate registration number ― are managed under the LEI, according to the KSD.In October 2017, the KSD received official accreditation from the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation over the introd

Oct 27, 2020By Lee Min-hyung
Economy

Income, job security polarized due to virus

Irregular workers stage a rally in Daejeon, Oct. 14. Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-min The number of salaried workers stood at 20.44 million in August, down 113,000 from a year earlier, the first-ever drop since the government began compiling related data in 2003, statistics agency said Tuesday. Of the total, 63.7 percent, or 13.02 million people are regular workers and the remaining 7.42 million, or 36.3 percent are irregular workers.The unprecedented decline was brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic which continues to wreak havoc on the job market, exacerbating income and job security polarization between the high-income white-collar office workers well protected by labor unions and low-income, contract-based temporary workers left vulnerable to virus-induced layoffs and pay reductions.Data from Statistics Korea showed that of the 113,000 jobs lost, 58,000 were lost by regular workers, while the remaining 53,000 were lost by irregular workers.While irregular workers lost slightly fewer jobs, the dip in their average monthly income was more pronounced.Monthly salary earned by salaried

Oct 27, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Income, job security polarized due to virus
Economy

Doubts rise over TPG's investments in Kakao

A Kakao Bank user conducts a transaction with his mobile phone in this file photo. / Courtesy of Kakao BankUS PEF feared to exit Kakao Bank, Mobility right after IPOsBy Park Jae-hyukTPG Capital will bet big on another Kakao subsidiary, Kakao Bank, following its earlier significant investment in Kakao Mobility three years ago to capitalize on the country's ongoing initial public offering (IPO) craze.Considering the common investment strategies for private equity firms (PEFs), the U.S. investment company is highly likely to exit its investments in both Kakao Bank and Kakao Mobility, soon after their envisioned IPOs which are expected to happen within a couple of years.TPG's latest move has therefore raised some concerns among retail investors here, who have already witnessed the recent nosedive in Big Hit Entertainment shares hit by massive sell-offs by STIC Investments and Mainstone, the two investment companies which are the agency's third- and fourth-largest shareholders, respectively.According to Kakao Bank, Tuesday, its board of directors decided to attract a 250 billion won ($221

Oct 27, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk
Doubts rise over TPG's investments in Kakao
Economy

Korea's economy returns to growth in Q3

GettyimagesbankSouth Korea's economy returned to modest growth in the third quarter, marking the first quarterly expansion since the coronavirus pandemic began, as exports showed signs of improvement, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Tuesday. In the July-September period, the nation's real gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1.9 percent from the previous quarter, when it shrank 3.2 percent, according to the BOK data. The third-quarter reading marked the fastest expansion since the first quarter of 2010.Compared with a year ago, however, the economy, Asia's fourth largest, contracted 1.3 percent, the BOK said. In August, the BOK expected South Korea's economy to contract 1.3 percent this year. If the nation meets the target, the economy should grow around 1.5 percent in the third and fourth quarters.Park Yang-su, head of the BOK's economic statistics department, told a media briefing that the nation could meet this year's growth target, as the third-quarter results were better than expected. Also, the economy could contract less than predicted this year if it expands by at least 0.4 percent

Oct 27, 2020
Korea's economy returns to growth in Q3
Economy

How will Samsung affiliates' stock prices move?

Samsung Electronics' Seocho Office Building located in southern Seoul / YonhapSamsung C&T expected to enjoy biggest stock price rise amid market expectations over increased dividend rates By Anna J. ParkAs late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee ― formerly the richest person in Korea in terms of stock ownership ― left behind 18.2 trillion won ($16.1 billion) worth of shares in various Samsung affiliates, the market's attention is focused on what will happen to stock prices of the global conglomerate's affiliates.The deceased chairman owned 4.18 percent of Samsung Electronics shares, 20.76 percent of Samsung Life, 2.88 percent of Samsung C&T and 0.08 percent of preferred stocks of Samsung Electronics as well as 0.01 percent of Samsung SDS. With the huge amount of stock assets inherited, the late chairman's bereaved family members are expected to be liable for more than 10 trillion won worth of inheritance tax. Even if they choose to pay the tax in a five-year installment plan, they are slated to pay about 1.8 trillion won annually. Market analysts forecast the heirs of the late lege

Oct 26, 2020By Anna J. Park
How will Samsung affiliates' stock prices move?
  • Two 'manageable tasks' facing Samsung leader Lee Jae-yong
Economy

Non-Koreans joining panic-driven apartment buying spree

Apartment complexes in Seoul, Korea Times fileBy Lee Kyung-minThe number of property transactions involving non-Koreans in two districts in Seoul known for having a large Chinese population hit an all-time high in September, indicating the panic-driven apartment buying spree is expanding to include wealthy minorities.Non-Koreans ― mostly Chinese nationals ― account for 13.1 percent of the population in Geumcheon District and 12.5 percent in Guro District, both in southwestern Seoul.Data from Korea Appraisal Board (KAB) showed the number of properties bought in Geumcheon nearly tripled in September to 36 month-on-month, up from 13 in August. In neighboring Guro area the number of properties sold jumped to 37 from 27, up 37 percent from the month before.The number of properties traded in the two districts combined stood at 73, up 82.5 percent from 40 in August. This broke the previous record of 58 in June.The September figures involving the two southwestern districts are notable given that property transactions in three affluent districts in southern Seoul show signs of falling in the

Oct 26, 2020By Lee Kyung-min
Non-Koreans joining panic-driven apartment buying spree
Economy

Heir to counteract new law governing Samsung Life

Samsung Life Insurance headquarters in Seoul / Korea Times fileBy Park Jae-hyukAfter the death of Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee, Sunday, the proposed revision to the Insurance Business Act has emerged as the most important variable in Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong's plan to inherit control of the group.Dubbed the “Samsung Life Insurance law,” the revision bill was proposed by two ruling party lawmakers ― Rep. Park Yong-jin and Rep. Lee Yong-woo ― with the intention of forcing the life insurer to sell its stake in Samsung Electronics, the nation's largest company in terms of market cap.This came as an apparent measure to pressure the Samsung heir, who has controlled the electronics affiliate indirectly using his 17.3 percent stake in Samsung C&T which holds a 19.3 percent stake in Samsung Life which holds an 8.5 percent stake in Samsung Electronics.As of the end of the second quarter of this year, the market value of the Samsung Electronics stocks owned by Samsung Life reached 26.8 trillion won ($24 billion), accounting for 9.2 percent of the insu

Oct 26, 2020By Park Jae-hyuk
Heir to counteract new law governing Samsung Life
  • Two 'manageable tasks' facing Samsung leader Lee Jae-yong
Economy

Big Hit Entertainment on slide to new low after stock market debut

Shares in Big Hit Entertainment, the agency for K-pop boy band BTS, continued to sink Monday. YonhapShares in Big Hit Entertainment, the management label behind K-pop phenomenon BTS, continued to sink Monday, reaching a new low since the company's market debut earlier this month, as investors question its proper valuation.As of 2:13 p.m., Big Hit shares slumped 7.83 percent from the previous session's close to 159,000 won (US$140), the lowest since its market debut earlier this month, far underperforming the broader Korea Composite Stock Price Index's (KOSPI) 0.25 percent loss.Big Hit's plunge follows its roller coaster market debut on Oct. 15, when its stock price jumped to 351,000 won from its 135,000 won initial public offering price, only to close the session down 4.44 percent.Big Hit shares have since plummeted, with some analysts cautioning that its IPO price may have been hyped.Some analysts expect the company's stock price to turn higher on increased profitability."Considering its major artists' activities to start again after the IPO, net income in 2021 could reach 100 billi

Oct 26, 2020
Big Hit Entertainment on slide to new low after stock market debut
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