The financial regulator said Tuesday it will soon launch an inspection of virtual asset exchanges to check for any illegal or unfair transactions. The planned inspection will be the first of its kind since the country introduced tougher rules against illegal trading of virtual assets in July under the new Virtual Asset Users Protection Act, which enabled maximum punishment of

South Korean shares opened higher Tuesday, helped by large cap gains amid growing hopes for a U.S. rate cut. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 12.33 points, or 0.46 percent, to 2,693.33 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The index has closed higher for two consecutive sessions, with a growing number of investors expecting the United

Military readiness of the South Korea-U.S. alliance weakened “counterintuitively” during former President Donald Trump’s personal diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, a former top U.S. envoy to Seoul said Tuesday. Retired Adm. Harry Harris, who served as the U.S. ambassador to South Korea from 2018-2021, made the remarks, citing the suspension of major South Korea-U.S. military drills, which was

Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Rhee Chang-yong said Tuesday the time has come to “sufficiently consider” a rate cut as the nation’s consumer inflation cooled. “In terms of stability of consumer prices, it is time to sufficiently consider lowering a benchmark interest rate,” Rhee told reporters at a forum in Seoul. Rhee said the central bank would review an “appropriate

[as of 11:30 am] Today (%) Previous Session(%) Change (BP) 1-year TB 3.056 3.063 -0.7 2-year TB 3.087 3.091 -0.4 3-year TB 2.992 2.989 +0.3 10-year TB 3.117 3.121 -0.4 2-year MSB 3.046 3.051 -0.5 3-year CB (AA-) 3.549 3.542 +0.7 Source: Yonhap News Agency

South Korea’s consumer prices slowed to the lowest level in nearly 3 1/2 years in August on easing prices of farm produce and global oil, data showed Tuesday. Consumer prices, a key gauge of inflation, rose 2 percent on-year last month, compared with a 2.6 percent on-year rise a month earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. August’s figure

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul met with a top adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday for broad discussions on issues ranging from support for Ukraine, bilateral relations and other regional and international areas, Cho’s office said. In the talks with Emmanuel Bonne, presidential diplomatic adviser to Macron, Cho reiterated South Korea’s commitment to continuing its support for the war-torn

A 28-month-old girl has remained unconscious for a month after being denied emergency treatment by over 10 hospitals in the Seoul metropolitan area, authorities said Tuesday, amid the prolonged disruption of the local medical system due to the ongoing strike by junior doctors. The tragedy began at 8:40 p.m. on Aug. 4 when the baby girl living in Goyang, just