Most Popular
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[Exclusive] Korean military set to ban iPhones over 'security' concerns
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Korean, Romanian leaders discuss defense tech, nuclear energy
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[Graphic News] 77% of young Koreans still financially dependent
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S. Korea calls on Japan to confront history amid Yasukuni Shrine visit
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Yoon’s jailed mother-in-law excluded from latest parole list
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Hybe and Min Hee-jin, CEO of Hybe sublabel Ador, lock horns
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[Pressure points] Leggings in public: Fashion statement or social faux pas?
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Yoo Jae-suk, Yoo Yeon-seok team up in 'Whenever Possible'
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Korea’s homegrown nanosatellite successfully launches into space
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Aging population to drive down Korea's housing prices from 2040: experts
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Hurdles to foreign arbitrage explain ‘kimchi premium’: BOK
Hurdles that impede the flow of cross-border transactions have created cryptocurrency price gaps of more than 40 percent between Korea and other countries, researchers from South Korea’s central bank said Tuesday.The Bank of Korea researchers added that the underlying factors were unlikely to disappear in the near future, meaning the so-called “kimchi premium” is likely to endure for some time. The term “kimchi premium” refers to the gap in cryptocurrency prices on
Sept. 11, 2018
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Credit card loans jump 17% in H1
South Korean credit card firms saw their card loans soar nearly 17 percent on-year in the first half of the year as tougher bank loan screenings forced borrowers to resort to them, industry data showed Tuesday, The country's seven stand-alone card firms -- Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Woori, Hana, Samsung, Hyundai and Lotte -- extended 20.85 trillion won ($18.5 billion) in the January-March period, up 16.7 percent from a year earlier.The figure marks a sharp increase from the 2.8 percent on-year gain re
Sept. 11, 2018
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Ex-FSS senior official arrested for stock price rigging
A former senior official of the market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service has been arrested for colluding with a private money lender in rigging the stock price of his company, prosecutors said Monday.The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office said that it arrested a former deputy governor of the FSS, identified by his surname Park, along with a private lender surnamed Seo, on charges of breaching the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act.Park, who is also the form
Sept. 10, 2018
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MERS fears boost related stocks
South Korean investors on Monday began to rush to stocks in business areas related to the production of face masks and the development of vaccines, after the recent return of Middle East respiratory syndrome.But foreign investors contributed little to the sharp upward trend in demand for these stocks. Upon market opening at 9 a.m., GeneOne Life Science, a Korean drugmaker known to have been pursuing development of a MERS vaccine; and Okong, a maker of adhesive products including disposable
Sept. 10, 2018
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Real estate trust companies set record with H1 income
South Korea’s 11 real estate trust companies logged a combined 285.3 billion won ($253.1 million) net profit in the first half of 2018, surpassing their performance in all previous half-years, preliminary data showed Monday. The figure represented an on-year increase of 17.6 percent, and business was in the black for all 11 companies, according to the Financial Supervisory Service, Korea’s financial watchdog.Meanwhile, the companies’ operating profits soared 17.1 percent
Sept. 10, 2018
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[Kosdaq Star] Prepaid card biz a catalyst for Kona I
This is the 61st in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- Ed.South Korea’s leading smart card part manufacturer Kona I is gaining market presence as a reloadable prepaid card provider, catalyzed by a series of events over the past couple of months.Analysts have expressed optimism that the Seoul-headquartered firm, which has been running at a loss since 2016, can make turnaround by the end of this year.As of Friday, Kona I was the 193rd-la
Sept. 9, 2018
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Seoul shares to come under pressure from trade woes
South Korean stocks will move within a tight range as investors may remain skittish over the escalating trade tension between the United States and China and rising odds of a Federal Reserve rate hike in September, analysts said Saturday. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) finished at 2,281.58 on Friday, down 1.77 percent from a week ago. The index fell every session except Tuesday on concerns of trade disputes that caused inves
Sept. 8, 2018
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Kosdaq sees surge in mass stock purchases this year
The trade volume of lump sum retail orders on South Korea’s secondary bourse Kosdaq surged this year on the back of growing demand for biopharmaceuticals, data showed Wednesday.According to the country’s stock operator Korea Exchange, the number of individual purchasers’ orders amounting to 100 million won ($90,000) or more at a time totaled 12,499 as of the end of August, up 161.21 percent from the same period last year.Purchases of more than 10,000 shares also moved up 15.5 p
Sept. 5, 2018
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Shinhan Financial to acquire Orange Life for W2.29tr
Shinhan Financial Group Co., a major South Korean financial holding firm, said Wednesday it will acquire a majority stake in Orange Life, formerly known as ING Life Insurance, for 2.29 trillion won ($2.04 billion). The acquisition, which would make Shinhan Financial the nation's top financial group, is subject to regulatory approval, Shinhan Financial said in a regulatory filing.Shinhan Financial will pay 47,400 won for each of 48.5 million shares, or the 59.15 percent stake, in Orange Life, acc
Sept. 5, 2018
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Korea’s market liquidity hits record high
The size of floating funds in the market reached a record high of 1,117.3 trillion won ($999.8 billion) as of late June, with the total unlikely to come down in the near future, official data showed Sunday.The numbers provided by the Bank of Korea and domestic financial investment firms showed that of the total, some 99 trillion won was cash, 231 trillion won was in demand deposits and 532 trillion won was in money market deposit accounts. The tally also covered money market funds, certificate o
Sept. 2, 2018
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Bio shares ready to recover on growing investment, eased regulations
Shrugging off concerns over overvaluation and uncertainties regarding accounting regulations, South Korea's pharmaceutical and bio companies have shown signs of regaining their presence on the stock market.On Friday, Samsung BioLogics, a biopharmaceutical affiliate of the country's largest conglomerate, Samsung, spiked 3.7 percent to end at 463,000 won ($415.66). Celltrion also surged 1.31 percent to 270,000 won, and Hanmi Pharmaceutical grew 1.84 percent to 497,500 won. The upturn came af
Sept. 2, 2018
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BOK hawkish signs abate as uncertainties arise
South Korea’s central bank on Friday held the key rate steady at 1.5 percent for a ninth consecutive month on sluggish employment and external unease in August, defending its “accommodative” stance in normalizing monetary policy.The Bank of Korea cited sluggish employment conditions and spreading global trade protectionism, while expressing optimism for consistent domestic economic growth, favorable movements in exports and a moderate level of consumer price inflation at a
Aug. 31, 2018
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Woori Bank to become 1st Korean commercial bank to shorten workweek
Woori Bank will become South Korea’s first commercial bank to shorten its workweek to 52 hours, a step to be implemented within a yearlong grace period under a government statute designed to help employees achieve a better work-life balance.Following an agreement between the bank’s management and its labor union, Woori Bank will begin phasing in the new policy in October. Teams or branches that require assistance will be reinforced with more employees, according to the bank. In addit
Aug. 30, 2018
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Samsung Securities expands global network for esports market research
South Korean brokerage house Samsung Securities is expanding the global network for esports market research to local investors amid its growing presence in the sports industry. Esports refers to a form of competition using multiplayer video games. The ongoing 2018 Asian Games feature esports as a demonstration sport. ESports will debut as a medal event at the forthcoming 2022 Asian Games. Samsung Securities analyzes the world’s esports market by two sectors -- game software developer
Aug. 30, 2018
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KB Securities Korea’s most penalized brokerage
South Korea’s brokerage house KB Securities was slapped the highest number of disciplinary actions among financial firms here since 2015, data showed Wednesday. From 2015 to the end of June this year, KB Securities, which was renamed after KB Investment & Securities’ merger with Hyundai Securities, were given 18 penalties from authorities -- the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service, the Korea Exchange and the Fair Trade Commission. This accounted
Aug. 29, 2018
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Mirae Asset secures foothold in overseas ETF business
Seoul-headquartered asset management firm Mirae Asset Global Investments has secured a foothold for its exchange traded fund-related business through acquisitions overseas. In July, Mirae Asset’s asset management unit completed the acquisition of New York-based ETF provider Global X Management Co. LLC in a $488 million deal as announced in February. The acquisition is expected to provide an “anchor presence” in the United States ETF market. With the addition of global ETF
Aug. 28, 2018
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Korea to create W237.5b global fund for startups with Singapore
South Korea and Singapore will set up a fund worth at least 237.5 billion won ($213.2 million) to invest in Korean startups that seek to enter the Singaporean market and vice versa. The state-backed fund of funds management firm Korea Venture Investment Corp. will partner with Singapore-based investment company Temasek Holdings to create the fund within six months, according to the Korean fund manager Monday.The size of the global fund could be expanded, depending on the volume of the Sing
Aug. 27, 2018
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Brokerages’ income rises, stability declines
South Korea’s securities brokerage houses reported a combined 2.7 trillion won ($2.4 billion) in net profit in the first half of this year, up 40.7 percent on-year, preliminary data showed Monday. This marked the highest half-year volume since the first half of 2007, according to data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service. The FSS is an oversight body of 55 securities trading companies in Korea. Meanwhile, the companies saw leverage ratio rise and financial stability decline throug
Aug. 27, 2018
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Commercial banks’ overseas profit likely to hit record this year
The Korea Federation of Banks on Sunday expressed hopes for local commercial banks’ annual offshore net income from financial branch network operations and investments to mark a record this year.In the first half of 2018, four Korean commercial banks -- Shinhan, Woori, KEB Hana and KB Kookmin -- logged 527.2 billion won ($471.4 million) in net profits from offshore branches and investments overseas through investment banking and assets management. The figure soared 5 percent from the first
Aug. 26, 2018
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Costco to end contract with Samsung Card, partner with Hyundai Card
Costco Wholesale Korea, the South Korean unit of the US wholesaler, has chosen Hyundai Card as its partner starting next year, according to the Korean card firm Friday. Following Costco’s single-network credit card policy, the new 10-year contract will put an end to the wholesaler’s partnership with Samsung Card, which has been in place since 2000, once it takes effect May 24, 2019. Hyundai card said an in-house team devoted to private-label credit cards and data analysis had he
Aug. 26, 2018