Real interest rates offered by South Korean lenders fell into minus territory last year, with people effectively losing money if they make deposits, central bank data showed Sunday.The Bank of Korea (BOK) said the average annual interest rate for savings accounts stood at 1.56 percent, compared with

South Korea's central bank will likely hold its key rate steady at the upcoming monetary policy meeting due largely to low inflationary pressure, a leading provider of economic analysis said Sunday.The Bank of Korea (BOK) is set to hold its rate review session Thursday to decide whether to keep

Of late, high-content active vitamins have become popular among Koreans as they are known to be effective against physical fatigue. The active vitamin market is growing at more than 30% annually, with a wide range of products putting on the market. Experts recommend closely examining products for th

South Korea's exports rose 6.1 percent last month from a year earlier to mark the largest monthly tally for March, government data showed Sunday.Outbound shipments reached US$51.58 billion in the one-month period, up from $48.64 billion a year ago, according to the data compiled by the Ministry

An appeals court is set to hold the first preliminary hearing for the head of South Korea's retail giant Lotte in a massive bribery scandal that removed the country's leader from office last year, industry and legal sources said Sunday.In February, a Seoul court sentenced the business tycoon

South Korea's key stock index had its biggest fall in more than six years on Friday in the wake of a brewing trade war between the United States and China, data showed Sunday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) plunged 79.26 points, or 3.18 percent, to 2,416.76 on Friday, the

Hyundai Motor Co. said Sunday it will take the wraps off an electric vehicle (EV) concept model for its Genesis luxury brand at the upcoming New York International Auto Show.The new concept will be of a GT or gran turismo design and comes ahead of plans by the carmaker to launch a production EV in 2

The South Korean economy likely contracted in the final three months of last year due largely to a slowdown in exports and construction investment, a leading provider of economic analysis said Sunday.In an earlier prediction, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Asia's fourth-largest economy probably gr

South Korean banks' mortgage rates have been on the rise over the past year in tandem with U.S. rate hikes, market sources said Sunday.Those rates, charged on home-backed loans, are widely projected to go up further down the road if the U.S. central bank sticks to its hawkish policy stance.Accor

The United States will temporarily exempt South Korea from stiff tariffs on steel imports, a top U.S. trade official said Thursday, following weeks of lobbying by South Korean officials.Speaking at a Senate hearing, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said President Donald Trump had authoriz

CJ Logistics Corp. said Sunday it has signed a partnership deal with FESCO, a Russian transportation and logistics firm.The preliminary deal is expected to allow the logistics arm of South Korea's food and entertainment conglomerate CJ Group to do business using Russia's Trans-Siberian Railw

South Korea and the United States made some progress in the third round of negotiations to amend their free trade agreement (FTA) on key issues, and will continue to talk about Washington's proposed steel tariff, Seoul's trade ministry said Saturday.Yoo Myung-hee, a South Korean deputy minis

South Korea is expected to see its exports to the United States decrease this year due to protectionist measures by the world's largest economy, the country's central bank chief said Friday."U.S. trade protectionist measures will drag down South Korea's overall exports by 0.3 percent,"

South Korea's memory chip makers are expected to post substantial operating profits in the first quarter of this year despite the strong South Korean currency, helped by robust demand for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips for server products, industry sources said Sunday.SK hynix will li

A rising trend of cost-emotiveness, or satisfaction to value for money paid, is fueling online sales of small consumer electronic goods in South Korea, a report by a local shopping mall said Sunday.According to Emart Mall, sales of electronic appliances from Jan. 1 through March 4 surged 50 percent

South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will closely cooperate in energy, infrastructure, the fourth industrial revolution, and the medical sector, the finance ministry here said Friday.The agreement came in the sixth round of economic cooperation meetings between South Korea's Finance Mi

Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Lee Ju-yeol, a veteran monetary policy expert with a career spanning 41 years at the central bank, is widely seen as an advocate of the bank's independence who has promoted better communication with the market.The reappointment of Lee, 66, comes at a critical time for th

Local investors are borrowing a large amount in loans to buy local stocks as the country's bourse has maintained a generally upward trajectory, despite a slump in the pace of growth, market data showed Saturday.The amount of money borrowed to buy stocks, the so-called margin debt, reached 11.24

By Choe Nam-suk, vice chairman of The Korea Post mediaThe following details are based on an interview with Chairman Vasudev Tumbe of the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Korea conducted recently by The Korea Post media.—Ed.Question: First of all, please introduce the activities of the Chamber, in

Purchasing a home may be the largest-ever financial transaction for many ordinary citizens, such as Han Jung-min, a 40-something office worker who dreams of settling down in the posh district of Gangnam in southern Seoul.The problem facing such first-time homebuyers always boils down to timing -- is