Most Popular
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Yoon calls for dialogue, trust from medical community
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NK leader guides firing drills involving super-large multiple rocket launchers
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Dyson founder visits Seoul for global debut of new hair dryer
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Leaders call for action against threats to democracy posed by AI
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Asiana Airlines wins data transfer certification in China
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Dodgers beat S. Korea in final exhibition before MLB opener in Seoul
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Dispute heats up over dispatch of scandal-ridden envoy to Australia
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Trump unlikely to unravel IRA: experts
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Disgraced ex-K-pop star released after serving time for sex crimes
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Yoon says medical licenses should not be used as tool against people
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[Market Close-up] Liquidity likely to uphold stock rally
South Korea’s stock market is on a bullish trend, with its main bourse Kospi setting record highs in recent weeks despite lingering concerns over the new coronavirus and its impact on the economy. Buying by foreigners and institutional investors drove the Kospi index to 2,352.48 points in early morning trading Thursday. On Wednesday, the index crossed the 2,300-point mark for the first time since Oct. 2, 2018, and ended at 2,331.86 points. Compared with a low of 1439.43 in March, the
Aug. 6, 2020
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Beauty app Zamface attracts W5.5b in series A funding
South Korean beauty video app Zamface said Thursday that it has raised 5.5 billion won ($4.64 million) in series A funding from multiple investors to expand into the Southeast Asian market. STIC Ventures and Timewise investment as well as existing investors Korea Investment Partners joined the round. Series A refers to the first stage of fundraising for a startup after its foundation, as it gears up for full-fledged business operations. Launched in June last year, total downloads of the m
Aug. 6, 2020
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Mirae Asset Daewoo logs record-high profit in Q2
South Korean brokerage firm Mirae Asset Daewoo posted a second-quarter operating profit of 387.1 billion won ($327 million) and net profit of 304.1 billon won on Thursday on the back of a stock market rally. The operating profit marked a 47.9 percent on-year increase, a 179.2 percent jump from the previous quarter. The figure stood at an all-time quarterly high since its merger with Mirae Asset Securities at the end of December 2016, officials said. It was even 37.1 percent higher than market
Aug. 6, 2020
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FSS' sanction may put brake on Hanwha Life's digital transition
South Korea’s financial watchdog said Thursday it will hold a sanctions committee later this month concerning Hanwha Group’s insurance unit’s financial support for the conglomerate’s duty-free business, posing a threat to the company‘s digital transition drive. According to the Financial Supervisory Service, Hanwha Life Insurance paid for the interior decoration of Hanwha TimeWorld’s duty-free shop at the 63 Building in Yeouido in Seoul in 2016.
Aug. 6, 2020
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Seoul stocks open sharply higher on Wall Street gains
South Korean shares opened sharply higher Thursday, taking a cue from overnight gains on Wall Street over economic rebound hopes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 22.26 points, or 0.96 percent, to 2,334.12 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The index came to a strong start after closing at a nearly two-year high in the previous session. Investor sentiment remained high despite the nationwide downpour and concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. Stocks lifted
Aug. 6, 2020
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Kakao Bank outruns traditional banks in monthly active users
South Korea’s largest internet-only bank said Wednesday that its number of monthly active users in June surpassed 11 million — the highest in the nation’s entire bank industry. Kakao Bank’s increasing number of users also boosted its earnings in the first half with its net profit standing at 45.3 billion won, nearly five times higher than the 9.6 billion won it posted a year earlier. In the second quarter alone, the net profit came in at 26.8 billion won. Increased
Aug. 5, 2020
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Kospi returns above 2,300 points after 22 months
South Korea’s main bourse Kospi on Wednesday rose 31.89 points, or 1.4 percent, to 2,311.86, recovering above the level of 2,300 after nearly 22 months, on retail investors’ buying spree for a sixth consecutive session as signs of economic recovery improved investor sentiment. It was the first time the index moved above the 2,300-point mark since Oct. 4, 2018, when it marked 2,311.06. The closing also marked the highest since 2,338.88 on Oct. 1 in the same year. The index hit an i
Aug. 5, 2020
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50-story apartment rebuilding scheme faces market backlash
The local real estate market appears not to be very excited about the government‘s conditional approval of turning old apartments into 50-story buildings, due to its condition of donating more than a half of leftover units for public use, experts said Wednesday. Responding to the housing supply shortage, the government has decided to build more than 130,000 residential units in the capital city and adjacent areas over the next eight years. One of the key measures is a public reconstruct
Aug. 5, 2020
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Seoul stocks hit almost 2-year high on US stimulus hopes
South Korean stocks gathered ground for the third consecutive session on Wednesday to close at the highest level in nearly two years, as investor sentiment was buoyed by progress in US stimulus moves, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the greenback. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained 31.89 points, or 1.4 percent, to finish at 2,311.86. Trading volume was high at 830 million shares worth 17.6 trillion won ($14.8 billion), with losers outpacing gainers 434 to
Aug. 5, 2020
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Seoul stocks open higher on progress in US stimulus moves
South Korean stocks opened higher Wednesday, tracking overnight gains from Wall Street, as investor sentiment was buoyed by progress in US stimulus moves. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 6.67 points, or 0.29 percent, to 2,286.64 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average moved up 0.62 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.35 percent. US lawmakers have been making efforts to reach an agreement on new stimul
Aug. 5, 2020
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K bank ups ante with non-face-to-face mortgage service
In its first step since resuming operations, internet-only lender K bank unveiled a mobile mortgage loan service on Tuesday, allowing customers to borrow money without visiting brick-and-mortar banking branches. Utilizing data scraping technology to gather customers’ credit information online, the bank can easily calculate loan limits and interest rates for customers, officials said. It has also reduced the number of documents needed when taking mortgage loans -- the bank only requires
Aug. 4, 2020
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Kospi notches record high for 2020 amid economic rebound hopes
South Korea’s main bourse Kospi on Tuesday hit the highest point over the last year, with retail investors continuing their buying spree for a fifth consecutive session after tracking an overnight Wall Street rally led by economic rebound hopes. The Kospi opened higher at 2,272.33 -- up 21.29 points, or 0.95 percent, from the previous session. The strong start continued throughout the day to close at 2,279.97, its highest of the year, surpassing 2,267.25 on Jan. 22. The index hit an intr
Aug. 4, 2020
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S. Korea to add 132,000 more houses in Seoul-Gyeonggi to solve supply-demand gap
South Korea will add 132,000 residential units in Seoul and its surrounding metropolitan area, in continued efforts to improve the demand-supply imbalance and to curb housing prices, according to the nation’s fiscal chief on Tuesday. It also promised to ease some of the disputed construction regulations, allowing timeworn apartments to be redeveloped into skyscrapers under certain conditions, but refused to remove the development ban on most greenbelt areas, citing preservation needs. &
Aug. 4, 2020
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Seoul stocks almost hit 2-year high on economic rebound hopes
South Korean shares rallied Tuesday, nearly hitting a two-year high, as signs of economic recovery improved investor sentiment. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 28.93 points, or 1.29 percent, to close at 2,279.97, after briefly touching the year's high of 2,284.66 points. The closing marks the highest since 2,309.57 points on Oct. 2, 2018. Trading volume was moderate at about 713 million shares worth some 9
Aug. 4, 2020
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[Herald Interview] ‘Race for core assets overseas still competitive amid pandemic’
The pandemic may have shifted Korean real estate investors away from risk toward more conservative assets overseas in hopes of finding bargains, but they are likely to face strong competition from local investors also looking for a flight to safety, experts here said. “During 2020, many investors, including Korean investors, have been anticipating a discount for core assets as a result of the coronavirus, but this discount has not materialized,” Sean Choi, head of the capital market
Aug. 4, 2020
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Kakao Games pushes for September IPO
Kakao Games, the games unit of Korea’s mobile giant Kakao, has submitted a registration statement to the Financial Services Commission, with an intention of listing on the nation’s tech-heavy Kosdaq market in September. By issuing 16 million new common shares, at a price between 20,000 won and 24,000 won ($16.70-$20.10) each, the game developer looks to raise as much as 384 billion won, Kakao Games said Monday via DART-- the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosu
Aug. 4, 2020
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Seoul stocks open sharply higher on overnight Wall Street rally
South Korean shares opened sharply higher Tuesday, tracking an overnight Wall Street rally led by economic rebound hopes. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 23.35 points, or 1.04 percent, to 2,274.39 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Estimate-beating July manufacturing data in the United States, China and Europe raised hopes for a global economic rebound, despite the global rise in new coronavirus infections. The NASDAQ Composite advanced 1.47 percent to a fresh
Aug. 4, 2020
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[News Focus] Questions persist on effectiveness of ‘tenant protection’ laws
Debates are heating up in the housing market and among political parties over the merits of the recently introduced tenant protections laws. While the ruling party saw the new rules as a vital step in stabilizing the bubble-prone market, opposition parties blamed the demanding new rules for further cutting back on the supply of housing. “The new tenant protection laws were effectuated in an unprecedented speed in order to minimize market confusion,” said Lee Hae-chan, chairman
Aug. 3, 2020
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Macquarie Korea infrastructure fund’s profit inches up in H1
Macquarie Korea Infrastructure Fund said Monday it saw a slight increase in its return on investment and its dividend payout to end-investors in the first half of 2020. According to the final estimate, MKIF recorded a return of 191.2 billion won ($160.3 million), up 1.2 percent on-year. MKIF also vowed to pay 360 won per share to investors in interim dividends, or a 6.2 percent dividend payout ratio, for the first half. MKIF, trading on the nation’s main bourse Kospi since 2006, has com
Aug. 3, 2020
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Asiana creditor blasts HDC for looming W2.5tr deal collapse
Policy lender Korea Development Bank on Monday turned its blame to Hyundai Development Co., the proposed buyer of indebted Asiana Airlines, over its delayed 2.5 trillion-won ($2.09 billion) acquisition deal from Kumho Industrial, the owner of the troubled air carrier. The KDB, one of the creditors of Asiana Airlines, also refused to accept HDC’s call for an extra round of 12 weeks of due diligence on the nation’s No. 2 air carrier -- in addition to the previous seven-week proce
Aug. 3, 2020