The Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO) said it has signed an agreement with Woori Financial Group to cooperate for climate control through sustainable forest management and environmental, social and corporate governance. The AFoCO is an international organization established upon Seoul’s proposal at the 2009 special summit between South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nat...

South Korea's currency on Thursday fell below the 1,300-won level against the US dollar for the first time in about 13 years amid growing concerns about global monetary tightening and an economic recession. The Korean currency was trading at 1,300.70 won against the dollar as of 9:52 a.m., down 3.40 won from the previous session. It marked the first time that the won has fallen through the 1,30...

South Korea's producer prices grew for the fifth straight month in May, driven by rising prices of coal, oil and services, central bank data showed Thursday. The producer price index, a major barometer of consumer inflation, stood at 119.24 in May, up 0.5 percent from a revised 118.59 a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). From a year earlier, the index...

Citigroup’s South Korean subsidiary has said it will cooperate with local financial giant KB Kookmin Bank and the internet-only Toss Bank on transferring its unsecured personal loan portfolio worth some 8 trillion won ($6.1 billion). The move is part of Citibank Korea’s decision announced in October last year to shut down its retail banking operations in phases, after its monthslong attempt to f...

Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea grew in May due to increased corporate savings, central bank data showed Wednesday. Residents' outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits reached $89.17 billion as of end-May, up $2.18 billion from the previous month, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). Residents include local citizens, companies, foreigners staying here f...

South Korea's money supply grew in April as rising interest rates led to an increase in deposits, central bank data showed Wednesday. The country's M2, a key gauge of the money supply, stood at 3,667.1 trillion won ($2.84 trillion) on average in April, up 8.5 trillion won, or 0.2 percent from a month earlier, according to the preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The rise followed a 0....

Hana Financial Group has announced a set of mid- to long-term strategic goals for 2030 as it reorganized its corporate culture and strategy departments to better prepare for future industries such as the metaverse and blockchain. For the past 11 months since June last year, some 12,000 staffers of Hana Financial took part in a bottom-up project called “New Vision” consisting of staff surveys, in...

Four people have been arrested for scamming a total 1.7 billion won ($1.3 million) out of investors who transferred money on a fake cryptocurrency exchange, South Korean police said Tuesday. The four, recently taken into police custody, are suspected of operating the fake crypto exchange that tricked investors into thinking they were actually trading coins and gold. More than 20 investors saw lo...

Terraform Labs, the Singapore-based company behind the troubled coins terraUSD and luna, had shut down its South Korean branch last year to allegedly evade paying taxes, local news reports showed Monday. Reports also found that the company technically dissolved its South Korean branch months before the shutdown was officially announced. Despite recent court documents showing the blockchain compa...

Chiefs of South Korea’s KB Financial Group and US’ Jefferies Financial Group discussed strengthening and expanding its existing partnership in the global investment banking market, the Korean banking giant said Tuesday. In a meeting with Jefferies Financial Group President Brian Friedman, KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo discussed plans to build a stronger cooperation in investment ban...

Shares of Hybe, the company behind K-pop sensation BTS, will account for some 10 percent of the much-anticipated KPOP ETF, an exchange-traded fund designed by Seoul-based intellectual property-focused company builder Contents Technologies, an industry source said Tuesday. “Hybe with its market cap standing at 8.9 trillion won ($7.1 million) is supposed to make up some 20 or 30 percent of the KPO...

Hyundai Card’s IPO plans on hold indefinitely with Affinity Equity’s official exit

South Korea‘s Hana Financial Group announced Monday its support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and said that it has joined the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, as part of its efforts to bolster ESG value in its management. The WEPs is a joint initiative by UN Women and UN Global Compact to promote women’s empowerment in the workplace and community. Hana said it will expand gender equali...

An employee at Woori Bank embezzled 490 million won ($380,000) earlier this year, reports said Thursday, dampening the lender’s struggle to rebuild its reputation after a separate 60 billion won employee theft was uncovered last month. The employee, whose identity was withheld, stole the money by withdrawing from automatic teller machines from mid-January to early February. Woori recently found ...

Citigroup’s Korean unit Citibank Korea unveiled its strategy to focus on corporate banking at a town hall meeting held last week in Seoul, the bank said Thursday. According to the bank, the new strategy aims to enhance corporate banking capabilities, increase synergy among its core businesses, and protect customers during the wind-down process of its retail banking divisions. The bank said last ...