Most Popular
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Hyundai Motor eyes 80,000 jobs, W68tr investment at home by 2026
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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Dialogue hopes fade as doctors pick hard-liner as new head
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Coupang pledges W3tr to expand Rocket Delivery nationwide by 2027
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Korea enters full election mode
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[Election Battlefield] Political novice to face off star politician in ‘swing district’
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[Kim Seong-kon] The April 2024 election will decide our future
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Seoul’s bus union prepares for strike
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[Hello India] Corporate Korea sees new growth drivers in India
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Finance minister turns to YouTube to defend fiscal soundness
October has been a brutal month for South Korean Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki. Amid heated public criticism against the government’s key fiscal decisions, Hong turned to YouTube on Saturday to defend the government’s fiscal soundness plan announced earlier this month, in a rare move as the top public official of the country. The minister, wearing casual clothes, appeared in five videos explaining the “Korean fiscal soundness rules” to give a full picture of how the gov
Oct. 25, 2020
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Retail traders go on selling spree in Oct.
Retail traders, which have so far buttressed the pandemic-hit stock market, appear to have begun to unload shares, becoming net sellers in the market, data showed Sunday. According to the nation’s sole securities exchange operator Korea Exchange, they sold 1.27 trillion won ($1.13 billion) worth of stocks on Oct. 1-23. For the 14 trading days from Oct. 5-23, they sold 1.06 trillion won of shares in market kingpin Samsung Electronics, the most among large-cap companies. They sold off 269.
Oct. 25, 2020
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Under late tycoon’s 27-year leadership, Samsung market cap grew 350 times
The market capitalization of Samsung Group under the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee’s leadership of 27 years grew nearly 350 times, as the corporate empire he built turned into a global information technology powerhouse from a mere home appliance maker. The combined market value of the conglomerate’s affiliates -- including crown jewel Samsung Electronics and construction firm Samsung C&T -- reached 318.7 trillion won ($282.4 billion) in 2014, when the late chairman had a heart atta
Oct. 25, 2020
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Finance Ministry to unveil new counterstep to rising jeonse prices this week
The government is slated to unveil a set of additional real estate policies as early as this week, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance and related agencies on Sunday. The goal is to ease a supply shortage of “jeonse” apartments sparked by recently introduced tenant protection laws. Jeonse is a housing lease system unique to Korea whereby tenants pay a lump-sum deposit instead of monthly rent on a two-year contract. The planned measure, the 24th of its kind, will
Oct. 25, 2020
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Tax agency mulls taxation for Google's 30% commission
South Korea's tax agency said Saturday it will consider imposing taxes on Google Inc.'s planned enforcement of a 30 percent commission on in-app purchases of digital content from its Play Store next year. In a written answer submitted to Rep. Kim Soo-hong of the ruling Democratic Party, the National Tax Service said it will consider various measures to impose taxes on Google's income from the fees and will closely monitor the size of Google's sales in the domestic application market. The NTS sa
Oct. 24, 2020
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Woori Financial to acquire Aju Capital for W572.4b
Woori Financial Group said Friday its board of directors agreed to buy a controlling stake in nonbanking lender Aju Capital from private equity firm Well to Sea Investment for 572.4 billion won ($507.2 million). The move heralds the move of South Korea’s fourth-largest banking group to enhance its nonbanking business and diversify its business portfolio. According to the filing Friday, Woori’s board agreed to acquire 42.6 million common shares, or a 74.04 percent stake, in the co
Oct. 23, 2020
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S. Korea’s remdesivir-themed stocks surge amid US FDA approval
Remdesivir-related South Korea’s bio firms’ stocks skyrocketed Friday, after the US Food and Drug Administration approved Gilead Sciences’ antiviral drug as a treatment for the coronavirus overnight. Shares of Pharmicell on the nation’s main bourse Kospi closed at 18,700 won ($16.50), up 2,600 won, or 16.15 percent, from the previous session’s close. The stock price once peaked at 20,150 won during early afternoon trading hours. The bio firm produces nucleoside, w
Oct. 23, 2020
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Seoul stocks rebound on Q3 earnings hopes
South Korean stocks rebounded after a choppy session Friday, buoyed by optimism for improved corporate earnings in the third quarter amid the pandemic. The Korean won closed unchanged to the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 5.76 points, or 0.24 percent, to close at 2,360.81. Trading volume was moderate at 874 million shares worth 10.5 trillion won ($9.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 436 to 408. Foreigners bought a net 37 billion won, while r
Oct. 23, 2020
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Retail investors incur big losses from foreign derivative investments in H1
South Korean retail investors' losses from investments in overseas financial derivatives nearly doubled in the first half of the year from a year earlier, data showed Friday. Local individual investors suffered a combined loss of 880 billion won ($775 million) from their exposure to exchange-traded futures, options and other derivatives in the January-June period, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The amount is almost double their 2019 loss of some 416 billion won.
Oct. 23, 2020
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Seoul stocks open tad higher on earnings improvement hopes
South Korean stocks opened slightly higher Friday, buoyed by optimism for improved corporate earnings in the third quarter amid the pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 1.31 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,356.36 in the first 20 minutes of trading. Stocks started slightly higher despite lingering uncertainties over the ongoing talks for the new US virus relief package. In Seoul, most large caps traded lower. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics traded fla
Oct. 23, 2020
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Lock-up free institutions’ selloff behind Big Hit stock plunge: market watchers
An instant 425.8 billion-won ($375.1 million) selloff by major shareholders of South Korean pop music agency Big Hit Entertainment appears to have caused a sharp decline of the Big Hit stock price in the days after its listing, market watchers said Thursday. Two special purpose companies including the fourth-largest shareholder Mainstone -- which owned a combined 9.16 percent of common shares -- immediately sold nearly half of their holdings in Big Hit, after the company went public o
Oct. 22, 2020
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Seoul stocks snap 3-day winning streak amid US stimulus uncertainties
South Korean stocks ended a three-day winning streak Thursday amid lingering uncertainties over a new stimulus push in the world's largest economy. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 15.81 points, or 0.67 percent, to close at 2,355.05. Trading volume was moderate at about 802 million shares worth some 9.6 trillion won ($8.5 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 543 to 303. Foreigners sold a net 73 billion won, while ret
Oct. 22, 2020
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FSS to limit unlicensed investment consulting via Kakao, Telegram
South Korea’s financial watchdog has decided to restrict unlicensed investment advisers’ activities on instant messaging apps like KakaoTalk and Telegram, financial authorities said Thursday. The Financial Supervisory Service made the decision Wednesday to eliminate messaging app chatrooms from among the list of eligible platforms where such advisers can work. The option would be deleted on the business plan the advisers are required to submit to the watchdog. The current law bans
Oct. 22, 2020
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Kakao to raise $300m in Singapore to muster up M&A dry powder
South Korea‘s internet giant Kakao is planning to issue $300 million worth of exchangeable bonds to accumulate the dry powder for its future mergers and acquisitions activities, the company said in a filing Thursday. The US dollar-denominated exchangeable bonds will be issued privately on Wednesday on the Singapore Exchange. Investors in the hybrid securities will be offered straight bonds with zero interest. Once the bonds mature in April 2023, the hybrid security investor will be offe
Oct. 22, 2020
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Kyochon F&B set for November IPO on Kospi
Kyochon F&B, South Korea’s largest fried chicken franchise, will make its market debut on the nation’s main bourse Kospi next month to raise as much as 71.34 billion won ($62.85 million), its chief executive officer said Thursday. Kyochon will be the first franchise firm to be directly listed on Kospi, he said. “Being the first local franchise firm to list on Kospi means a lot to us. The IPO will set a meaningful milestone for Kyochon’s growth to become a global food
Oct. 22, 2020
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Shinhan Financial, Grab partner on digital finance services in Vietnam
Shinhan Financial Group said Thursday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Vietnamese subsidiary of Singapore-based ride-hailing giant Grab to jointly develop new digital financial services. Under the agreement, Shinhan’s startup accelerator unit, Shinhan Future’s Lab Vietnam, and Grab will join hands to nurture budding local enterprises developing new services ranging from fintech to real estate and will work together to build a startup-friendly ecosyst
Oct. 22, 2020
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Seoul stocks open sharply lower on tech, auto losses
South Korean stocks opened sharply lower Thursday on tech and auto losses, tracking losses from its US peers amid lingering stimulus uncertainties in the world's largest economy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 23.28 points, or 0.98 percent, to 2,347.58 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Local stocks got off to a weak start on long-stalled stimulus talks in the United States, one of South Korea's largest trade partners. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3
Oct. 22, 2020
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NPS partners with Dutch pension fund for global investments
South Korea’s biggest institutional investor, the National Pension Service, has forged a partnership with Dutch retirement fund operator APG Asset Management to invest in European and Asian markets, according to the Korean fund operator. APG, which managed assets worth 538 billion euros ($637.4 billion) as of the end of 2019, invests in the private education, construction and energy sectors on behalf of Dutch state-run fund ABP. Before forging the partnership, APG and the NPS jointly in
Oct. 21, 2020
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Apartment prices for average Koreans have soared since 2017
The prices of small to midsized apartments have increased precipitously in recent years, according to data from the office of Rep. Kim Sang-hoon. The lawmaker’s office received the data from the Korea Appraisal Board. Small to midsized apartments, measuring 40 to 62.8 square meters, have increased in price 65.9 percent, posting 245.2 million won on average, from May 2017 to July this year, the data showed. The lawmaker’s office classified apartments into four categories: Small apa
Oct. 21, 2020
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Seoul stocks increase for 3rd session on US stimulus optimism
South Korean stocks extended gains for a third consecutive session Wednesday, as investors held out optimism for progress in the US stimulus talks. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) added 12.45 points, or 0.53 percent, to close at 2,370.86. Trading volume was moderate at 802 million shares worth some 9.7 trillion won ($8.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 675 to 183. Foreigners bought a net 6.4 billion won, while retai
Oct. 21, 2020