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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Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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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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[Graphic News] S. Koreans hold W61.5tr in overseas accounts
South Korean individuals and corporations held a combined 61.5 trillion won ($51.5 billion) worth of wealth in overseas accounts this year, down 7.4 percent from a year earlier, the country’s tax agency said. The National Tax Service said 696 corporate entities held 55.1 trillion won in June, compared with 551 companies with 59.5 trillion won in overseas accounts a year earlier. The corporations held the largest amount, 14.81 trillion won, in their accounts in Japan, with their accounts i
Sept. 16, 2019
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Samsung F&M Insurance launches long-term disability insurance
Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance said Monday it was granted a six-month exclusive license to offer long-term disability insurance in South Korea, making the firm the first to provide such a policy with a coverage period of more than three years. Long-term disability insurance allows workers to receive a portion of their salary if they are unable to work for a period deemed to be long by the insurance company, compared to short-term disability policies that usually require a waiting or elimina
Sept. 16, 2019
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YG to return W67b investment to LVMH
YG Entertainment -- recently shaken by a police investigation into its former CEO Yang Hyun-suk -- is expected to return an investment worth 67 billion won ($56.5 million) related to redeemable convertible preferred shares to French luxury giant LVMH next month, local reports said Monday. According to reports citing financial industry sources, the repayment date set for LVMH’s holdings of 1,359,688 redeemable convertible preferred shares of the entertainment agency is slated for Oct. 16. L
Sept. 16, 2019
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S. Korean hedge funds see steady growth this year
South Korea's homegrown hedge funds continued to soak up money while viable investment vehicles remain few in number, data showed on Saturday.Hedge funds here pulled in 600 billion won (US$509 million) over the past month, with their assets under management reaching 34.9 trillion won at the end of August, according to industry data.The end-August figure also marks a sharp rise from 23.3 trillion won at the end of last year, the data showed.The capital inflow into hedge funds averaged 1.4 trillio
Sept. 14, 2019
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Korea Exchange to go paperless from next week
South Korea's stock exchange will introduce an electronic securities system next week, under which all listed stocks and bonds do not exist in paper form, according to the country's financial regulator.Under the new system, which will go into effect Monday, securities certificates of listed stocks and bonds are required to be recorded on an electronic register, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said. The new system will allow investors to acquire, transfer and exercise subsequent rights el
Sept. 14, 2019
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Mirae Asset buys 15 premium hotels in US
Mirae Asset Global Investments said Wednesday that it has acquired 15 premium hotels in the United States, marking the single highest number in overseas alternative investments by a Korean company.The asset management unit of Mirae Asset Financial Group recently signed a contract with China’s Anbang Insurance to acquire 15 five-star hotels and resorts in key US cities, officials said. The total figure on the package deal was not revealed. Competitors in the bid were top-tier global investo
Sept. 11, 2019
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Korean brokerages see record-high H1 net profit
The combined net profit of South Korea’s major brokerages for the first half of the year inched up 5.7 percent on-year, data released by the Financial Supervisory Service showed Tuesday, marking a new record high. According to the financial watchdog, the combined net profit of 56 brokerages for the January-June period came to 2.8 trillion won ($2.35 billion), slightly up from the corresponding figure of 2.7 trillion won from the same period last year, which was also then a record high. The
Sept. 10, 2019
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Samsung BioLogics stocks buoyed by top court decision
In the hours following the South Korean Supreme Court’s decision to reject an appeal by the Financial Service Commission on imposing disciplinary actions on Samsung BioLogics, the biopharma firm’s stocks rallied on Tuesday.The biopharma arm of Samsung Group closed 1.25 percent higher from the previous trading session at 283,500 won ($237.58). The Securities & Futures Commission, a legal watchdog under the FSC, filed an appeal at the Supreme Court in May, after the lower co
Sept. 10, 2019
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KDB-Eximbank merger needed for better policy financing: KDB chief
Lee Dong-gull, chairman of the state-run Korea Development Bank, suggested Tuesday that the government should consider merging the country’s two policy finance institutions -- KDB and the Export-Import Bank of Korea -- for state budget efficiency.“It is about time that we reshuffled the government’s policy finance functions so as to keep in step with the fast-changing market trends,” Lee said in a press briefing to mark two years in office in his three-year tenure.“
Sept. 10, 2019
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8 firms fined 3.1 bln won over price fixing
South Korea's antitrust regulator said Monday it has fined eight logistics companies a combined 3.1 billion won ($2.6 million) for colluding to fix their bidding prices for a state-run utility firm and its three power generation units.Hanjin Transportation Co., CJ Logistics Corp. and six other logistics companies fixed their bids on 10 occasions between 2011 and 2016 to secure a stable quantity of goods for transportation from Korea Electric Power Corp. and avoid price competition, according to
Sept. 9, 2019
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Credit card firms' H1 net dips on decline in commission fees
South Korea's credit card firms saw their combined earnings fall in the first half, hit by a decline in credit card processing fees, data showed Monday. The combined net profit of eight card issuers, including Shinhan Card Co., Samsung Card Co. and KB Kookmin Card Co., came to 940.5 billion won ($787 million) in the January-June period, down 2.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data released by the Financial Supervisory Service. Earlier this year, the government cut credit card proc
Sept. 9, 2019
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Seoul shares to further advance on abated trade tensions
South Korean stocks are expected to gain further ground next week as market sentiment remains upbeat over planned trade talks between Washington and Beijing, analysts said Saturday.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index closed at 2,009.13 points on Friday, up 2.1 percent from a week ago, on growing hopes that the world's two largest economies may find a compromise in their drawn-out trade talks. This month, the US imposed 15 percent import duties on a wide range of Chinese consumer good
Sept. 7, 2019
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Seoul stocks open higher, tracking Wall Street gains
Seoul stocks started higher Friday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, buoyed by rising hope for progress in the protracted US-China trade dispute.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) increased 8.33 points, or 0.42 percent, to 2,013.08 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The US stock market ended sharply higher on Thursday (local time) on reports that the world's top two economies plan to hold high-level dialogue next month to deal with their yearlong trade friction
Sept. 6, 2019
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KB Securities accuses Australian borrower of misusing fund assets
South Korean financial institutions KB Securities and JB Asset Management said Wednesday that an Australian borrower of their private equity real estate fund breached contracts by not carrying out investments as promised.According to them, Australian investor LBA Capital used the money from JB Australia NDIS Fund for some real estate transactions different from the original agreement. The fund was initially intended for investments in businesses related to the Australian government’s housi
Sept. 4, 2019
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Mirae Asset Daewoo picked as best brokerage
South Korean financial consumers chose Mirae Asset Daewoo as the nation’s top brokerage this year, a survey by the Korea Finance Consumer Federation showed Wednesday, as it outperformed competitors on criteria related to stability.The survey, conducted biannually by a major civic group for financial consumers here, involved more than 5,000 consumers and 56 local brokerages. The civic group also took the firms’ financial soundness and business decisions into consideration.&
Sept. 4, 2019
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Korean IPO market will rebound in Oct.: report
South Korea’s lackluster initial public offering market is set to gain momentum in October, according to a local brokerage firm Wednesday, with some big names gearing up to get listed. “Companies that went public on the tech-heavy secondary Kosdaq bourse in August generated an average return rate of minus 18 percent, overall below the average return on the Kosdaq market, which shed 3 percent throughout the month,” analysts at SK Securities said. “Big firms such as Lo
Sept. 4, 2019
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Korean VC firms expand investments in pet technology startups
Eyeing the fast-growing pet industry, Korean venture capital firms have been expanding their investments in developers and manufacturers of products related to pet technology this year. Pet technology refers to technologies or products designed to help owners care for their pets through apps, e-commerce and online services. Accelerator New Paradigm Investment, a subsidiary of venture capital firm TS Investment, invested in blockchain-based pet identification app BlockPet last month, accord
Sept. 3, 2019
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Seoul to implement 5G cybersecurity strategy by 2022
South Korea will push forward a comprehensive strategy to strengthen its national cybersecurity by 2022 to better cope with the emergence of the 5G hyper-connected world, the Science Ministry said Tuesday. Amid rising international tension in cyber space and greater security exposure brought about by the spread of 5G networks, Korea needs steps to protect its national interests, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. “Foremost among the goals is protecting its key cyber infrastructu
Sept. 3, 2019
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Internet-only banks’ financial soundness level falters in Q2
K bank and Kakao Bank, South Korea’s two internet-only banks, saw their financial soundness index decline in the second quarter this year due to reinforced credit risk regulations, data showed Monday.According to regulatory data by the Financial Supervisory Service, the average capital adequacy ratio of 19 commercial and state-run banks here stood at 15.34 percent as of end-June, down 0.07 percentage point from the previous quarter.The given barometer refers to the BIS ratio, established b
Sept. 2, 2019
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Daily credit card spending continues to rise in H1
Daily credit card spending in South Korea continued to climb in the first half on increased online purchases, central bank data showed Monday. Credit card holders spent an average 1.9 trillion won ($1.57 billion) a day in the January-June period, up 5.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea.An average 41,492 won was spent per credit card transaction purchase in the first half, down 3.7 percent from a year earlier. Daily debit card spending, meanwhile, rose 6.2 p
Sept. 2, 2019