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Banks' Q1 net up 24 pct on higher interest incomeEconomyJun 2, 2023South Korean banks saw their first-quarter net profit rise 24 percent from a year earlier on higher interest and non-interest income, preliminary data showed Friday. Their combined net profit came to 7 trillion won ($5.4 billion) in the January-March period, up from 5.6 trillion won tallied a year ago, according to data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The figure was up 55.9 percent from 4.5 trillion won three months ago. Local banks' interest income totaled 14.7 trillion won in the
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Seoul shares at 1-year high on hopes Fed pauses rate hikesMarketsJun 2, 2023South Korean stocks closed at a one-year high Friday, led by large-cap tech gains, on hopes the Federal Reserve will pause its aggressive monetary tightening and the United States' debt ceiling deal will pass. The local currency rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index added 32.19 points, or 1.25 percent, to close at 2,601.36. It was the first time for the index to surpass the 2,600 level since June 9, 2022. Trading volume was moderate at 559.56 million sh
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S. Korea's economy grows 0.3% in Q1, unchanged from earlier estimate: BOK dataEconomyJun 2, 2023South Korea's economy grew 0.3 percent in the first quarter of this year, unchanged from an earlier estimate, largely thanks to a sustained recovery in private spending amid an extended slowdown in exports, central bank data showed Friday. The country's gross domestic product -- a key measure of economic growth -- increased 0.3 percent in the January-March period from three months earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea. The first-quarter expansion follows a 0