Brokerage houses suffer massive losses in Seoul

South Korean brokeragie houses suffered big losses in the fourth quarter of last year, largely due to a fall in commission income and increased costs, data showed on Thursday. The combined losses by 62 brokerage firms came to 206 billion won (US$193 million) during the October-December period, widening from losses of 23.3 billion won in the third quarter of last year. The fourth-quarter figure also compares with a profit of 119 billion won in the second quarter of last year, according to the data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). They close their books on March 31.