Most Popular
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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KT launches new mobile plans for foreign residents
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Seoul stocks down for 3rd day on concerns over US bond yields, US-China relations
South Korean stocks slumped for the third consecutive session Tuesday amid uncertainties related to the longer-term US Treasury yields and US-China political ties. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 30.72 points, or 1.01 percent, to close at 3,004.74 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.3 billion shares worth some 15.9 trillion won ($14.1 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 653 to 216. Foreigners sold a net
March 23, 2021
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More South Korean unicorns eye overseas IPOs
Startups in South Korea appear to have set their eyes on stock markets overseas, in pursuit of bigger investments as well as greater recognition of their potential on the global stage. Social casino game developer and publisher DoubleDown Interactive is the latest local unicorn seeking to be listed on the US’ tech-heavy Nasdaq bourse. It submitted an F-1 filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission last year, but tentatively postponed its initial public offering plans in July. But
March 23, 2021
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Shinhan Financial becomes 2nd Korean member of VBA
Shinhan Financial Group said Tuesday it became the first Asian financial holding firm to join the nonprofit Value Balancing Alliance in Frankfurt, Germany, a cross-industry organization developing a valuation standard for monetizing impacts of ESG management. ESG refers to the policies of factoring in environmental, social and governance-related issues in business operations. Founded in June 2019, the VBA is comprised of 18 multinational corporations, including South Korea’s thir
March 23, 2021
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Number of stock accounts tops 40m
The number of stock trading accounts in South Korea has risen sharply over the past year to surpass the 40 million mark amid a buying craze by retail investors, industry data showed Tuesday. Active stock accounts in Asia's fourth-largest economy numbered 40.07 million as of Friday, up from 35.48 million at the end of last year. It marks the first time that the country's number of active stock accounts has exceeded the 40-million level. The number has increased by approximately 10 million sinc
March 23, 2021
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Seoul stocks open higher as US Treasury yields fall
South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday, tracking overnight Wall Street advances amid a fall in US Treasury yields. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 14.74 points, or 0.49 percent, to 3,050.2 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 1.23 percent, as the yield on the US 10-year Treasury fell, easing investor concerns over earlier-than-expected post-pandemic inflation. In Seoul, top cap Samsung Electronics gained 0.
March 23, 2021
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S. Korea to take 'timely' actions to stabilize bond market if necessary: official
South Korea will take actions to stabilize the bond market in a timely manner if market volatility increases amid concerns over rising US bond yields, a senior government official said Tuesday. First Vice Finance Minister Kim Yong-beom said financial authorities will flexibly adjust the sale volumes of Treasury bonds. "If volatility increases, the government will focus on stabilizing the bond market by taking timely actions through close cooperating with related agencies," Kim said a
March 23, 2021
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ESG becoming mainstream in insurance market
Environmental, social and corporate governance issues are gaining momentum in the local insurance sector as insurers increasingly follow the global ESG trend. In one of the latest moves, Samsung Fire and Maritime Insurance, the insurance arm of the nation’s largest conglomerate, set up a committee charged with making business decisions regarding ESG matters on Monday. The new committee will enable the insurance firm to swiftly respond to demand for ESG, the company said. “The c
March 22, 2021
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August IPO likely for Kakao Pay despite MyData hiccups
The much-anticipated listing of Kakao Pay, the financial technology arm of mobile giant Kakao, could come as early as August, according to industry sources on Monday, despite recent hiccups in securing a license for personal data integration services, called MyData, from financial authorities. Kakao Pay was not included when the Financial Services Commission announced a list of 28 companies granted approval for MyData business. Kakao Pay’s rival Naver Financial and Viva Republica were
March 22, 2021
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Seoul stocks down for 2nd day amid bond yield woes
South Korean stocks lost for the second consecutive session Monday as investors' concerns about the increase in bond yields reduced their appetite for risky assets. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 4.07 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 3,035.46 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 903 million shares worth some 13.1 trillion won ($11.6 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 456 to 389. Foreigners sold a net
March 22, 2021
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Coupang becomes hottest foreign stock for Koreans in debut week
South Korean investors‘ net capital inflow into Coupang shares came to $87.5 million in its first week on the New York Stock Exchange, data showed Monday. The figure was the highest among foreign stocks during the cited period, according to data from the Korea Securities Depository. Among Korea-based foreign stock traders, Coupang in its first five trading days was hotter than US electronic devices giant Apple, US gaming firm Roblox, SoftBank’s internet subsidiary Z Holdings and e
March 22, 2021
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Seoul stocks open lower on bond yields woes
South Korean stocks opened lower Monday, as investors' concerns about the bond yields hike reduced their appetite for risky assets. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 1.8 points, or 0.06 percent, to 3,037.73 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks turned lower after a choppy start, due to increasing bond yield concerns over earlier-than-expected post-pandemic inflation. The yields of the 10-year US Treasury finished last week at the highest levels in about
March 22, 2021
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Frequent listing and delisting of cryptocurrencies raise concerns and risks
The number of listed cryptocurrencies has soared in the past four years, as the rapid rise of the price of Bitcoin attracts investor attention to digital assets. However, investors should be cautious as digital coins easily get listed and delisted. Upbit, one of the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, launched in October 2017 with only one digital token -- Bitcoin -- but it now has 114 coins trading on the platform. Bithumb had eight digital coins in May 2017, but now it trades 1
March 21, 2021
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S. Korean bankers received an average salary of W100m in 2020
South Korean bankers under four major lenders here saw an average median pay increase of over 8 percent in the past three years, making nearly 100 million won ($88,500) on average last year despite a shrinking workforce due to digitalization, data showed Sunday. The average annual income gained 8.6 percent from end-2017 to 98 million won as of end-2020, data provided by the four major banks – KB Kookmin, Hana, Woori and Shinhan – showed. Of the banks, employees under KB Kookmin re
March 21, 2021
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[Top Bankers] What South Korea’s longest-serving bank chief faces in 2021
This is a part of series of interviews and analysis of South Korea’s top bankers, policymakers and investors leading the financial industry here. This is the second installment. -- Ed. Despite COVID-19 woes that swept across South Korea’s financial sector, 2020 seemed like a milestone year for Hana Financial Group Chairman Kim Jung-tai. The 69-year-old was named as one of the highest earning banking group leaders here -- earning an annual salary of 2.6 billion won ($2.2 million)
March 21, 2021
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Alleged unfair stock trading cases see slight decline in 2020
The use of undisclosed information accounted for the largest share of 112 unfair trading practice cases caught by South Korea’s sole bourse operator last year. According to the Korea Exchange on Sunday, the number of suspicious cases reduced by eight from 2019, but several different types of market disturbances took place in the local stock market. About 79.5 percent of unfair trading cases occurred on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market, followed by 17 percent on the main bourse Kospi market
March 21, 2021
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New dividend payout rule to take center stage at banks’ shareholders meetings
New dividend payout programs are set to take center stage at shareholders meetings next week as banking giants seek to appease shareholders amid growing discontent over new regulations that limit the size of earnings distribution. Earlier in January, the policymaking Financial Services Commission advised banks and their holding companies to keep their dividend payouts below 20 percent of net income during the first half of this year to secure enough capital needed to counter impacts of
March 19, 2021
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Bank of America’s Korea office names new chiefs
The South Korean office of Bank of America named Shin Jin-wook, the former head of its corporate finance and banking unit, as its new country manager, the company said Friday. Shin has built his career at BofA for the past 15 years, establishing a wide client base including many corporations and financial institutions. BofA Securities, the company’s investment banking unit, named Cho Chan-hee to lead its operations. Cho is the youngest chief of any global investment bank operating in Ko
March 19, 2021
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Seoul stocks retreat on US Treasury yields hike
South Korean stocks retreated Friday amid inflation uncertainties, as investor sentiment weakened from an overnight hike in long-term US Treasury yields. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 26.48 points, or 0.86 percent, to close at 3,039.53 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 1.1 billion shares worth some 15.9 trillion won ($14.1 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 447 to 378. Foreigners sold a net 584 billio
March 19, 2021
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Money supply reaches all-time high in January
The money supply in the market has reached a record high, with companies increasingly issuing corporate bonds amid lower interest rates, data released by the Bank of Korea showed Friday. The nation’s M2 money supply increased by 41.9 trillion won ($37 billion), or 1.3 percent, to an all-time high of 3,233.4 trillion won in January, according to the BOK. The 41.9 trillion won increase also marked the largest monthly growth since the central bank began compiling related data in 2001.
March 19, 2021
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NPS denies rumors of adjusting targets of domestic equity allocation
South Korea’s largest public pension body, the National Pension Service, on Friday denied local news reports that it was considering reweighting its investment portfolio and raising its domestic stock allocation in contrast with an earlier pledge to cut its exposure. “The NPS Investment Management Committee does not plan to discuss readjusting its target asset allocation with regards to the hike of domestic equity exposure,” the NPS said in a statement. The statement rebutt
March 19, 2021