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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[Herald Interview] ‘Retail investors’ impact grows more powerful in Korea’
South Korea’s stock market still remains more vulnerable to global crises than its neighboring country, namely Japan. But its fast recovery from the initial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was buttressed by the powerful influence of local individual investors, dubbed ant warriors, and that was an impressive event to mark, a foreign analyst in Seoul has said. As global stock markets rallied on rising hopes on a possible exit from the coronavirus shock, South Korea’s stock market r
June 10, 2020
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Samsung Asset creates feeder fund to invest in Man AHL’s signature fund
Samsung Asset Management said Wednesday it has launched a fund to pool South Korean retail investor’s money into a signature fund by London-based quantitative hedge fund manager Man AHL. By investing in Man AHL’s TargetRisk fund, the Korean feeder fund is expected to offer capital growth through a long-only exposure, under which the fund manager takes advantage of profit opportunities by betting solely on undervalued assets. The Korean feeder fund, dubbed Samsung MAN Investment Ba
June 10, 2020
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NH Bank forges consortium for cryptocurrency services
NH NongHyup Bank announced Wednesday its partnership with a local law firm as well as blockchain developer to set up a consortium for jointly developing financial services using virtual assets. The bank has signed a memorandum of understanding with law firm Bae, Kim & Lee and Hexlant, a blockchain technology laboratory, to launch a joint institution for the research and development of cryptocurrency exchanges. The move came as the revised bill of the Act on Report and Use of Specif
June 10, 2020
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Seoul stocks open lower on profit-taking
South Korean stocks opened lower Wednesday as investors raked in profits while taking a wait-and-see approach on the results of the US Federal Reserve meeting due this week. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 2.97 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,185.95 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Seoul shares closed higher for an eighth consecutive session a day earlier, tracking the reopening of businesses across the globe, including the United States. Overnight, the Dow Jone
June 10, 2020
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Viva Republica in hot water over unauthorized payments on its fintech platform
Viva Republica, which runs the money transfer platform Toss, says it has recently found unauthorized payments made on its system, and is working to find the exact causes of the incident. According to the fintech firm, eight unauthorized purchases worth a total of 9.4 million won ($7,853) were made via Toss on June 3 from three online websites. Data such as names, phone numbers, birth dates and personal identification numbers were compromised in the incident, but it is “high
June 9, 2020
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K bank gears up to resume operations after hiatus
K bank is working to resume operations in July after a monthslong hiatus due to liquidity problems, according to industry insiders Tuesday. South Korea’s first internet-only bank recently announced that it would stop receiving new subscribers for its existing Dual-K Checking Account, its signature savings account product, from July 1. The announcement appears to be a prelude to introducing a new banking product as part of its reopening strategy, sources noted. K bank admitted that
June 9, 2020
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Seoul stocks extend rally to 8th session, won sharply up
South Korean stocks closed higher Tuesday, extending a winning streak to an eighth consecutive session on hopes for economic recovery and ahead of the Fed meeting this week. The Korean won sharply rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 4.63 points, or 0.21 percent, to close at 2,188.92. Trading volume was high at about 805.3 million shares worth some 14.5 trillion won ($12.1 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 473 to 366. The KOSPI exte
June 9, 2020
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[Economy in Pandemic] S. Korean banks face fierce ASEAN market competition in post-virus era
Despite the pandemic impact being felt across the world, South Korean banks are retaining their faith in the ASEAN countries -- dubbed as a new market with relatively high interest rates and demand for fresh funds. With travel restrictions to key ASEAN markets likely to be lifted soon -- as there are zero coronavirus deaths in Vietnam and Cambodia so far -- the countries will not only work as a breather for the lenders, but also as a battleground for heightened competition. The combine
June 9, 2020
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Billions traded in first month of data exchange market: FSI
South Korea’s financial data exchange platform, the first of its kind here, has seen billions of won worth of data being traded there in its month. Since kicking off on May 11, the platform has reportedly arranged 315 transactions of financial information collected from local companies, including credit card issuers and lenders, according to the state-run Financial Security Institute, which operates the platform. A total of 113 data sets were sold and the average sales pri
June 9, 2020
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Arrest warrant rejection likely to give Samsung stocks temporary boost: report
A court’s rejection of the prosecution’s request to arrest Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong on Tuesday, appears to have temporarily cleared uncertainties surrounding the chip giant’s operations, a local brokerage said in a report. The de facto heir to the Samsung empire was released early morning after the Seoul Central District Court’s decision to try Lee without arresting him, citing insufficient probable cause. “As Lee avoided arrest, he is expe
June 9, 2020
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Over 310,000 students benefit from Mirae Asset founder’s donation
Mirae Asset Financial Group founder Park Hyeon-joo has backed a total of 315,119 students over two decades as Park donated his dividend income, the group said Monday. The fund was offered through Mirae Asset Park Hyeon-joo Foundation, established in 2000. The donations went to scholarships to over 9,000 college students, or roughly 700 students each year since 2007. Of the total, some 60 percent of students participated in exchange student programs, for which the Mirae Asset Park Hyeon-joo
June 8, 2020
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Market rally likely to continue despite concerns over Covid-19 impact
The South Korean stock market has been bullish in recent weeks thanks to abundant liquidity here and abroad given efforts to boost the coronavirus-battered economies. The nation’s main bourse Kospi has recovered to pre-coronavirus levels while the tech-heavy Kosdaq market has recently hit a new high. Although some experts warn of another big drop in the stock market, it is widely forecast that with the ample liquidity the crash will be more subdued than in March. “The stock mar
June 8, 2020
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Seoul stocks extend winning streak to 7th session despite Samsung losses
South Korean stocks closed higher Monday, extending a winning streak to a seventh consecutive session despite losses in Samsung Electronics and other Samsung affiliates' shares. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 2.42 points, or 0.11 percent, to close at 2,184.29. Trading volume was moderate at about 842.9 million shares worth some 12.9 trillion won ($10.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 444 to 393. Institutions s
June 8, 2020
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Authorities to open up public financial database to public for innovation
As part of its move to nurture the data-based financial industry and financial technology businesses, Korea’s financial authorities will open up 44.5 million pieces of public financial data to the public for free, starting Wednesday, regulator Financial Services Commission said Monday. The range of public financial data consists of large sets of information stored at the FSC and eight other public financial institutions in Korea -- the Financial Supervisory Service, the Korea Developmen
June 8, 2020
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Housing prices to climb as lower interest rates drive up demand
Housing prices in South Korea are expected to rise in the latter half of this year due to growing demand buoyed by lower interest rates, the Eugene Investment and Securities said in its quarterly report Monday. “Cash flow into the housing sector will continue to rise amid the prolonged period of low interest rates here, with a rise in demand triggering higher apartment prices,” said Kim Yeol-mae, an analyst at the brokerage. Meanwhile, the average apartment price in Seoul du
June 8, 2020
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Banks' average capital adequacy ratio down in Q1
South Korean banks saw their average capital adequacy ratio fall slightly in the first quarter from the previous quarter, data showed Monday. The average capital adequacy ratio of 19 commercial and state-run banks stood at 14.72 percent as of the end of March, down 0.54 percentage point from the end of December, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). A key barometer of financial soundness, the ratio measures the proportion of a bank's capital to its risk-weighted
June 8, 2020
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Foreigners extend stock sell-off to 4th straight month in May
Foreign investors became net sellers of South Korean stocks in May, extending their selling spree to a fourth straight month, data showed Monday. Foreigners sold a net 4.06 trillion won ($3.3 billion) worth of local stocks last month, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). American investors sold a net 1.8 trillion won of stocks last month, while Saudi investors net purchased 600 billion won worth of stocks, according to the FSS. As of end-May, local stocks held
June 8, 2020
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Seoul stocks open higher on Wall Street gains
South Korean shares opened higher Friday, tracking gains on Wall Street that followed an estimate-beating jobs report in the United States. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 17.62 points, or 0.81 percent, to 2,199.49 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The gains were largely attributed to a drop in the US unemployment rate in May, possibly suggesting an economic recovery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 829.16 points, or 3.15 percent, to close at 27,110,98
June 8, 2020
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[Banks of Future] Virtual banks come of age in COVID-19 era
The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles on South Korea’s fast-growing online-only banks and fintech firms facing opportunities and challenges. This is the first installment. -- Ed. Virtual banks that have no physical presence but offer immediate services online have been touted as banks of the future in recent years, despite resistance from traditional players. Labeling them as financial services of the future seems far-fetched. In recent months, they have grown faster t
June 7, 2020
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S. Korea to supervise non-holding financial groups
In an effort to stem unfair practices and illegal activities, South Korean authorities propose to set up a system to oversee non-holding financial conglomerates, which have been in the blind spot of regulations so far. The Financial Services Commission and Financial Supervisory Service made an advance legislation notice Friday about an act to reinforce the supervision of non-holding financial giants, including Samsung Group, Kyobo Group, and Hyundai Motor Group. Under the new rules, loc
June 7, 2020