Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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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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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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Korean investor in Nasdaq-listed OncoSec seeks to thwart Chinese takeover
Alpha Holdings, the largest shareholder of Nasdaq-listed OncoSec Medical, is pinning hopes on its last-ditch efforts to prevent a takeover of the biopharmaceutical firm by Chinese entities, ahead of its special shareholders meeting on Friday.The South Korean shareholder of OncoSec proposed to have controlling stake and hold four out of seven seats on the New Jersey-based firm’s board by injecting a fresh $39.3 million funding. OncoSec is pressed to accept Alpha’s new offer by Thursda
Jan. 16, 2020
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Foreigners ownership on Kospi hits 13-year high
Foreign stock ownership on Seoul’s benchmark Kospi bourse reached the highest level this week since 2006, industry data showed Thursday.According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, offshore investors held a net 585.98 trillion won ($431 billion) as of Tuesday -- 38.90 percent of the bourse’s market capitalization of 1,506 trillion won. The figure is the highest since Aug. 8, 2006, that accounted for 38.91 percent of Kospi’s market value. Foreign investors’ str
Jan. 16, 2020
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Woori mulls appointment of new bank chief over possible FSS sanctions
Woori Financial Group is taking a cautious approach in naming the new chief of its flagship banking business due largely to the recent debacle involving the sale of high-risk private funds, according to industry sources Wednesday. The group initially planned to complete the appointment of an Woori Bank CEO before the Lunar New Year holidays, which fall Jan. 24-27. The Financial Supervisory Service is scheduled to convene a meeting Thursday to decide the punishments for the heads of two local com
Jan. 15, 2020
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US investor Capital Group sells W660b stake in Hyundai Motor
US investment firm Capital Group Companies has offloaded a 2.56 percent stake in South Korea’s largest carmaker Hyundai Motor for 660.8 billion won ($570.9 million), according to a regulatory filing on Wednesday. With the stock sale, Capital Group, through its 32 specially related parties including funds and subsidiaries, now owns 4.54 percent voting rights in Hyundai Motor, which controls car brands Hyundai, Genesis and Kia. This comes as a result of over 300 transactions by th
Jan. 15, 2020
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Reinsurance firm Korean Re launches second branch in China
The Korean Reinsurance Co. (Korean Re), a leading domestic reinsurance firm here, announced the launch of its Shanghai office on Wednesday. The opening came after it received approval from China’s banking and insurance authorities in December. The new office is the second Chinese location for the Korean firm, which has run its business in Beijing since 1997. The new branch will be in charge of sales while the Beijing office will continue to lead the management and market research.The
Jan. 15, 2020
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Eased data protection rules to benefit fintech giants and startups: analysts
The recent passage of bills on personal data and credit information of individuals by the National Assembly will likely give a boost to fintech giants and startups in South Korea, according to analysts.The three revised bills regarding the protection of private information, information and communications networks, and the use and protection of credit information will allow companies as well as government agencies to utilize personal information for various research and business purposes without
Jan. 15, 2020
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Lime Asset to freeze additional W500b, FSS likely to launch new probe
Local fund operator Lime Asset Management has recently decided to freeze an additional 500 billion won ($431.4 million) of its funds, prompting the Financial Supervisory Service to launch a new probe of the firm’s risky funds.With the suspension of withdrawals, the total volume of the fund operator’s delayed payments to investors has risen to nearly 2 trillion won. In its latest notice sent to financial institutions that had worked as sales channels, Lime Asset said it has decided to
Jan. 15, 2020
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Hanwha Systems’ $25m Overair deal closes
Hanwha Systems reached a final close on its cross-border $25 million investment in California-based electric takeoff and landing, or eVTOL, aircraft developer Overair, the Korean aero systems firm said Wednesday.With the investment, Hanwha Systems will own a 30 percent stake in the US company, which currently runs a development project for eVTOL vehicle Butterfly. The close of Overair’s Series A funding round came immediately after it gained a “deemed export” license from the B
Jan. 15, 2020
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Foreigners' buying binge of Korean stocks continuing this year: data
Foreign investors have raked in some 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion) worth of South Korean stocks this year on improved economic outlook and the imminent signing of a preliminary Sino-American trade deal, data showed Wednesday. During the Jan. 2-14 period, foreigners net purchased a total of 1.52 trillion won worth of local stocks, continuing their buying streak for an eighth straight session through Tuesday."Foreign buying has been strong on hopes for further progress in the US-China trade
Jan. 15, 2020
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BOK replaces 640m damaged bills, coins in 2019
The number of banknotes and coins destroyed due to damage or contamination reached a 10-year high in 2019, with the face value of the damaged bills and coins growing slightly from a year earlier, the central bank said Wednesday.The Bank of Korea said it had to replace some 640 million banknotes and coins in the year, the most since 2009 and up 2.2 percent from about 630 million a year earlier.The combined face value of the damaged money came to a little over 4.35 trillion won ($3.75 billion), up
Jan. 15, 2020
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Hi Investment & Securities’ W217.5b fundraising plan hits snag
The fundraising plan of Seoul-based investment bank Hi Investment & Securities to fetch a combined 217.5 billion won ($187.8 million) is facing obstacles due to a possible court injunction.A total of 16 plaintiffs are seeking legal action to halt Hi Investment & Securities’ plan to raise 100 billion won by issuing 62.5 million redeemable and convertible preference shares, the investment bank said in a disclosure Tuesday.The Busan District Court will make a final ruling on the matte
Jan. 14, 2020
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Marketing startup Marketit scores new funding from investor behind BTS
Influencer marketer Marketit said Tuesday that it has attracted 5 billion won ($4.3 million) from investors including AlpenRoute Asset Management.AlpenRoute was one of the early investors in Big Hit Entertainment, the agency behind global pop sensation BTS, and Market Kurly, a startup unicorn that operates a grocery delivery platform. With the new funding, the startup has secured 7 billion won in total investments, according to officials.It plans to advance its data management systems and r
Jan. 14, 2020
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Moon appointed IBK CEO vows corporate innovation amid stiff union resistance
The state-run Industrial Bank of Korea’s new CEO Yoon Jong-won on Tuesday chaired his first official board meeting, gesturing to carry through his leadership despite the labor union’s resistance.Meanwhile, unionists continued their stage-in protest, vowing to deter what they saw as excessive government meddling in the organization’s personnel affairs. Yoon, a former senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, ordered the launch of a new task force focused on corporate i
Jan. 14, 2020
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Investors turn to overseas funds amid slow growth, low interest rate
An increasing number of South Korean investors are picking foreign investment funds, seeking alternative profits amid slow growth and low interest rates here, data showed Tuesday.The total amount invested in FIFs tallied 183.7 trillion won ($159.3 billion) as of last year, accounting for 28.3 percent of total fund deposits, according to the Korea Financial Investment Association.Of them, private equity funds accounted for 79.5 percent with 146 trillion won, while public funds stood at 20.5 perce
Jan. 14, 2020
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NH-Amundi, SSIAM partner to develop products tracking Vietnam stock indexes
Seoul-based NH-Amundi Asset Management and Ho Chi Minh City-based SSI Asset Management have agreed to partner to develop products that track benchmark indexes in the Vietnamese stock market, according to NH-Amundi on Tuesday.On Monday, they signed a memorandum of understanding guaranteeing an exclusive partnership to launch new financial instruments that track indexes of blue-chip companies, including the VN50 listed on the Hanoi Stock Exchange and VN30 that seeks listing on the Ho Chi Minh Stoc
Jan. 14, 2020
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Foreign investors turn net buyers of stocks, continue bond pullout
Foreign investors turned net buyers in the South Korean stocks in December, after snapping a four-month streak of selling. However, they continued their net outflow of investment in the local fixed-income market for a third consecutive month, the financial watchdog said Monday.Foreign investors net-bought 810 billion won ($699.6 million) worth of local listed stocks during the month -- 350 billion won on Seoul’s benchmark Kospi and 460 billion won on the tech-focused secondary Kosdaq -- ac
Jan. 13, 2020
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Samsung, SK hynix hit historic highs on earnings recovery hopes
South Korea's two largest chipmakers -- Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. -- finished at all-time highs on Monday on expectations that the chipmaking sector is recovering after bottoming out in the fourth quarter of last year.Stocks in Samsung Electronics, the world's largest memory chipmaker, closed at a record-high of 60,000 won ($51.88), up 0.84 percent from the previous session's close. SK hynix Inc., the world's second-largest DRAM maker, finished at 100,500 won, up 1.62 percent fro
Jan. 13, 2020
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Goldman Sachs, SK to jointly invest W50b in cold warehouse operator
Global investment bank Goldman Sachs and SK Holdings said Monday they plan to jointly invest 50 billion won ($43.3 million) in Belstar Superfreeze, a South Korean entity that develops and operates cold warehouses powered by liquefied natural gas.Belstar in the first tranche will raise 25 billion won funding each from Goldman Sachs and the holding company of conglomerate SK Group. The two investors may opt to invest an additional 12.5 billion won each within a year. Now controlled by US
Jan. 13, 2020
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K-pop stocks likely to gain traction on improved Seoul-Beijing ties: analysts
Big-cap K-pop stocks are projected to rally again this year given positive Seoul-Beijing relations and the return of some big players, analysts here said Monday.Shares of the three biggest entertainment agencies in South Korea -- YG, S.M. and JYP -- were volatile in 2019, weighed down by a sex-bribery scandal involving Seungri, former member of K-pop boy band Big Bang. The scandal broke out early last year leading to a turmoil in the industry. Of the three, YG Entertainment is expected to see th
Jan. 13, 2020
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[Exclusive] Gender issues cost Deloitte Consulting place in Asia-Pacific unit: sources
Deloitte Consulting Korea has failed to join Deloitte Asia Pacific, a single business entity that combines the operations of the global consulting firm in the region, partly due to gender disparity at its Seoul office, sources told The Korea Herald.Formed in September 2018, the firm’s Asia-Pacific umbrella combines operations in China, Japan, Southeast Asia and Australia as a unified business unit. India is expected to join the alliance this year, while Korea is still excluded from th
Jan. 13, 2020