The market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service said Wednesday the novel coronavirus outbreak has been posing a negative impact to the country’s real estate funds that invest in overseas properties.  A real estate fund is an investment vehicle designed to pool money from both individual and institutional investors to trade in properties. To profit, the funds usually either purchase commercial real estate for lease or provide loans to companies working on infrastructure and industri

Market Dec. 16, 2020

One out of every 5 couples in South Korea who got married in 2015 had no children last year, government data showed Tuesday.  According to Statistics Korea, about 18 percent of the 216,008 couples who tied the knot in 2015 and remained married as of 2019 were still childless, marking the highest figure since 2015. The percentage of childless couples married for five years has been on an upward trend, having increased from 12.9 percent in 2015 to 16.9 percent in 2018. The trend appears to

Economy Dec. 15, 2020

South Korea’s top financial regulator said Monday it is premature to discuss plans on opening individual investors‘ access to short-selling activities of Korean shares, stressing the danger of small investors taking potentially massive risks. “Considering potential financial damage from short-selling, I personally hope ordinary retail investors don’t participate in it,” said the FSC Chairman Eun Sung-soo during a press conference held online due to the COVID-19 r

Market Dec. 14, 2020

Major South Korean lender Woori Bank said Monday it is set to launch a mobile-based notification service on Tuesday to replace its current postal delivery of documents regarding customer banking activities. After completing a personal identification process in the bank’s mobile application, its users will receive e-notifications of 21 pieces of banking information on deposits or loans, including repayment due dates, which previously have been mailed to their home address.  Marking

Market Dec. 14, 2020

Woori Financial Group said Friday its Chairman Sohn Tae-seung recently bought back 5,000 company shares to show his confidence in the banking group’s future growth. Sohn’s stock buyback marks the fifth time this year, following his earlier buying in January, March, April and August. He now holds 88,127 shares in Woori Financial.  “By purchasing the firm’s shares in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, he aimed to build market confidence in the group’s corporate f

Market Dec. 11, 2020

South Korea’s financial behemoth Shinhan Financial Group is slated to gain full ownership of its newly-acquired subsidiary Neoplux -- a former venture capital arm under Doosan Group -- as soon as the two sides complete a small-scale stock exchange at the end of this month, a filing showed Wednesday.  According to DART, the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure board, the banking giant will carry out the small-scale stock exchange with Neoplux on Dec. 30. Starti

Market Dec. 9, 2020

An exchange-traded fund operated by the Vietnam branch of South Korea‘s leading asset management firm Mirae Asset Global made a market debut in the Southeast Asian country‘s stock market, the company said Wednesday. The so-called Mirae Asset VN30 Exchange Traded Fund is designed to invest in 30 blue-chip Vietnamese companies, including Vingroup Joint Stock Company, Vietcombank and Vinamilk. Its shares account 76 percent of the total market capitalization of the nation’s public

Market Dec. 9, 2020

South Korea’s major banks have been asking employees to accept early retirement to cut costs amid the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, industry sources said Wednesday.  More than 1,700 employees at the nation’s five major commercial banks here -- Woori, Hana, Shinhan, KB Kookmin, NH NongHyup -- were offered early retirement between the end of December last year and early this year, industry data showed. To cope with financial setbacks stemming from the pandemic, local banks ar

Market Dec. 2, 2020

As South Korea’s largest agricultural bank, NH NongHyup has played a key role in supporting local communities that have been hit hard by the prolonged coronavirus crisis with a series of vibrant social contribution activities throughout the year. So far, the key affiliate of NH NongHyup Financial Group spent more than 1 trillion won ($903 million) on its social contribution activities and programs, the largest amount among major lenders here. The lender has put more money than any othe

Market Nov. 29, 2020

South Korea’s first vice finance minister said Friday the global food insecurity worsened by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic will not have a serious impact on the local food supply chain, but the government will continue to keep an eye on the market condition. “According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the FAO Food Price Index has continued its upward trend in recent months, signaling food insecurity around the globe,” Kim Yong-beom, first vice

Economy Nov. 27, 2020

NH Financial Group Chairman Kim Kwang-soo has officially been tapped to lead the Korea Federation of Banks, a representative body of commercial banks, officials said Friday.  The KFB board of directors unanimously approved Kim’s nomination as its 14th chairman during a general meeting held early in the morning. The appointment came after Kim was picked as the sole candidate to be KFB chief Tuesday, among seven candidates initially recommended for the post. Kim’s three-year te

Market Nov. 27, 2020

CU provided details Thursday on plans to allow foreign currency exchange at its convenience stores early next year. BGF Retail, the operator of the convenience store brand, has signed a partnership with a local fintech startup U Fintech Hub, which provides a small overseas remittance service, in a step to launch foreign currency exchange service at its local branches, they said. Under the deal, the retail giant will receive technical support from the fintech firm to develop the service platf

Market Nov. 26, 2020

Woori Financial Group said Wednesday that it has set up a 200 billion won ($180 million) fund to invest in social infrastructure projects, called the “Woori Global Infra New Deal Fund.”  In September the government announced its New Deal Fund, a state-led fund worth 20 trillion won aimed at investing in tech and green sectors, including artificial intelligence, renewable energy and hydrogen vehicles, through money pooled from government agencies, private financial institutions

Market Nov. 25, 2020

NH Financial Group Chairman Kim Kwang-soo is likely to offer resignation soon as he was named the sole candidate to represent the nation’s largest bankers’ club, according to reports quoting insiders said Tuesday. On Monday, board members of the Korea Federation of Bank unanimously nominated Kim, among six other candidates. The federation is set to hold a general meeting on Friday to put Kim’s nomination to vote. If elected, Kim will officially start his term on Dec. 1, rep

Market Nov. 24, 2020

Robo-adviser startups in South Korea saw their funds increase by more than 1 trillion won ($896.7 million) in a year, driven by stock trading fever amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, industry data showed Sunday.  According to data from the Korea Financial Investment Association, the amount of funds entrusted to the country’s four major robo-adviser firms -- Fount, Aim, December & Company and Doomoolmori -- stood at 1.29 trillion won in the third quarter, up some 1.03 trillio

Market Nov. 22, 2020