South Korean law firm HMP Law said Sunday it will hold a blockchain seminar on Dec. 15 to explore and compare the regulatory environments of different legal jurisdictions including Korea. HMP Law will invite legal experts from Korea, the United States, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Switzerland and Estonia to be speakers at the seminar. The speakers, including partner of HMP Law Ahn Chan-sik, will out...

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. said Friday it has won orders to build 17 out of 27 very large ore carriers placed by South Korean shipping lines, while Chinese shipbuilders have secured or are in the process of getting contracts for the remaing ships. The shipping companies that won the Brazil-based Vale's iron ore shipment orders signed contracts with both South Korean and Chinese shipbuilders, w...

The average daily turnover of the South Korean won-Chinese yuan direct trading market in Seoul moved up in the first 11 months of the year from the same period last year, government data showed Friday. The daily trading volume in the Seoul won-yuan direct market reached $2.03 billion in the January-November period, up slightly from last year's daily average turnover of $1.95 billion, according t...

South Korean lenders' mortgage rates inched down Friday despite the central bank's first rate increase in more than six years, a market source said. In a monthly policy meeting, the Bank of Korea on Thursday raised the so-called base rate by a quarter percentage point to 1.5 percent amid clear signs of an economic recovery, snapping the 16-month streak of its wait-and-see stance after the last r...

Field trips for Samsung Securities’ private banking managers, arranged by the fourth-largest securities firm in net worth in South Korea, have been the key to the PB managers’ deeper understanding of foreign investment destinations and their cultivation of investment opportunities, the firm said Thursday. The program dubbed “Samsung Securities Global Frontier” has made it easier for its private ...

Australian institutional asset manager IFM Investors announced Thursday it would open an office in Seoul to expand its client base in South Korea. The Melbourne-based company, which focuses on infrastructure equities and debts, will sell offshore long-term investment portfolios to institutional investors here. The Seoul office will be run by its in-house analyst Glenn Morey, Client Relationship...

Acquiring an office space for a fledgling startup is a grueling, if not impossible, task. Hence on the rise were co-working spaces that are shared and utilized by numerous freelancers, independent contractors and other professionals. Add to that a sense-stirring interior design, 3-D printers ready to use, recreational spaces, regular networking events and even shower booths, and the result is a ...

Insider stock ownership of family-run conglomerates, such as Samsung and Hyundai Motor, jumped sharply this year to 58.9 percent, the country's antitrust watchdog said Thursday. According to the Fair Trade Commission, the insider stock ownership rate of the 57 conglomerates rose 29 percentage points this year from last year's 29.9 percent. Insider stock ownership refers to stocks held by the ow...

South Korea's credit default risk has gone south despite North Korea's latest launch of a new long-range ballistic missile, market sources said Thursday. The credit default swap premium for South Korean foreign exchange stabilization bonds with a five-year maturity came to 57.09 basis points Wednesday, down 1.02 basis points from the previous session, according to financial information provider ...

South Korean funds for overseas stock investment posted higher returns than domestic-focused ones in November due to a sluggish equity market here, a market tracker said Thursday. The average return of overseas stock funds with a net asset of 1 billion won ($930,000) or more came to 1.62 percent as of Tuesday, compared with a yield of 0.79 percent for domestic equity funds, according to KG Zeroi...

South Korean stocks ended lower Wednesday as foreign selling of market bellwether Samsung Electronics Co. and other large-cap stocks weighed on the main index. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 1.29 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,512.90. Foreign investors offloaded shares worth more than 162 billion won ($150.4 million). Kim Ye-eun, ...

Japanese cryptocurrency exchange operator BITPoint Japan has launched a website in South Korea through a joint venture, stepping into a market that accounts for as much as 15 percent of global cryptocurrency transactions. Transactions made in Korea are worth 2 trillion won ($1.86 billion) per day on average. The joint venture, named BITPoint Korea, was founded in August by BITPoint Japan and Ko...

Shin Chang-jae, Kyobo Life Insurance chairman and chief executive, will be awarded the French Legion of Honor Thursday for his contribution to fostering cultural exchanges between France and South Korea, the firm said Wednesday. Shin will receive the Chevalier merit from French ambassador to Korea Fabien Penone at French Embassy in Seoul. Shin, 64, was recognized for establishing the Daesan Fou...

South Korea's financial authority on Wednesday announced that it will forgive up to 6.2 trillion won ($5.7 billion) worth of bad debt, in the latest measure to help hard-pressed people who cannot pay back their debts. The move, which will affect 1.59 million debtors, is aimed at reducing the nation's nonperforming consumer loans, as the Bank of Korea is expected to raise its key interest rate in...

Seoul stocks opened higher Wednesday on China's decision to partially lift its ban on group tours to South Korea. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 1.12 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,515.31 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Cosmetic and other shares related to China gained ground as China's National Tourism Administration made a decision to allow offline tourist agencies in...