Articles by Choi Si-young
Choi Si-young
siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com-
Investors warned over ‘frothy’ markets amid wobbly Kospi
As unprecedented stimulus packages to fuel South Korea’s COVID-hit economy run out, investors are increasingly worried over a possible bubble burst in stocks, property and cryptocurrencies that would make it harder for the already wobbly benchmark Kospi to return to its record highs a year ago. The Bank of Korea, which has already lifted interest rates twice this year to combat red-hot inflation, is expected to back another raise Thursday while eyeing more hikes later in the year. Rising
Market May 23, 2022
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BOK likely to lift rate to tame rapid inflation: economists
The Bank of Korea is likely to raise the benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 1.75 percent this Thursday as Asia’s fourth-largest economy combats persistent inflation and shrinking growth, according to eight out of nine economists polled by The Korea Herald. But the central bank, which usually changes its rate in 25-basis point increments, is unlikely to back a sudden 50-basis point raise because there’s ample room left for more hikes in the latter half of this year when inflation c
Economy May 22, 2022
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Justice minister revives financial fraud team
The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office said Wednesday that it has reinstated the joint team on financial and securities fraud that was disbanded by the previous Moon government, a day after the new justice minister called for it at his inauguration. The joint team, which was set up in 2013 but dissolved in 2020 amid criticisms that prosecutors abused their authority, epitomized the power and influence wielded by the prosecution. The team, dubbed the market’s “angel of death,
Market May 18, 2022
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[Newsmaker] Surge in embezzlement fuels calls for tougher oversight
A recent report that three employees had stolen 3 billion won ($2.3 million) from South Korea’s biggest cosmetics maker Amorepacific in the wake of other huge embezzlements at the country’s major banks is fueling calls for tougher oversight. The employees at the cosmetics maker had allegedly used the money to buy stocks, cryptocurrencies and gamble by falsifying company documents such as tax records, a local report said Tuesday. Amorepacific said the employees were facing disciplina
Economy May 17, 2022
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Wealth gap between richest and poorest in 20s and 30s widens
The wealth gap between the richest Koreans in their 20s and 30s and their poorest peers increased more in 2021 than the previous year, a lawmaker said, citing data compiled by Statistics Korea. In 2021, the top 20 percent of wealthy Koreans in their 20s and 30s held 981.85 million won ($764,442) on average, 35.27 times that of the 27.84 million won held by the bottom 20 percent in the same demographic. That was an incremental increase from the 35.2 times in 2020, according to Rep. Kim Hoi-jae
Economy May 16, 2022
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KG Group picked as preferred bidder for SsangYong Motor
A Seoul court said Friday that it picked chemical conglomerate KG Group as the preferred bidder to acquire SsangYong Motor, a debt-ridden carmaker whose recent takeover by a local electric automaker fell apart. “We’ve looked at whether the bidder could really deliver the cash promised, given the fiasco months ago when the deal fell apart because of that,” SsangYong Motor said. The KG Group-led consortium, which includes Pavilion Private Equity, has enough cash to make the pur
Market May 13, 2022
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KRX prepares to launch carbon credit futures
The Korea Exchange is preparing to launch a carbon credit futures contract to help bring price signals to what it says would be the new derivatives market, officials said Thursday. “The spot trading in carbon dioxide quotas has surged, but a lack of liquidity is a cause for price volatility,” an official at the bourse operator said. The new market could also help solidify the government’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, the official added. The bourse operat
Market May 12, 2022
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Yoon likely to expand loan support for ‘vulnerable’ groups
The Yoon Suk-yeol government is looking to make it easier for “vulnerable groups” to take out loans to follow through on his campaign promise, while offering better protection to consumers from predatory lending and unfair corporate practices. The groups refer to self-employed people, small business owners, first-time home buyers and those fresh out of college who the government says need more financial support than all the others. COVID fallout and runaway housing prices have put t
Economy May 11, 2022
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Kospi dips below 2,600 amid stagflation fears
The benchmark Kospi hit a 17-month low on Tuesday on persistent market concerns over runaway inflation and sluggish growth despite President Yoon Suk-yeol’s optimistic economic outlook at his inauguration. The Kospi closed at 2596.56, the lowest level since Nov. 30, 2020, when it reached 2,591.34. Global efforts to tighten monetary policy, which the US kicked off last week with its biggest rate hike in 22 years to set the range between 0.75 percent and 1 percent, unsettled investors. A f
Market May 10, 2022
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Half of Koreans in their 20s prefer child-free marriage: survey
Almost half of South Koreans in their 20s said they would prefer to be part of a couple that does not have children after marriage in 2020, in a jump from 2015, when only 3 in 10 Koreans backed the idea, a local think tank said Monday. In 2015, 29.1 percent of Koreans in their 20s said raising children was not a must, whereas in 2020, 52.4 percent said yes to the same idea, according to the Korea Development Institute. Meanwhile, the number of those who said they would have children after marr
Economy May 9, 2022
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Extra budget for small businesses to be Yoon’s first economic move
The incoming Yoon Suk-yeol government is set to reveal an extra budget later this week as the president-elect had promised to support the self-employed and small businesses that COVID-19 hit the hardest. Yoon takes office Tuesday. “The budget will be rolled out at the earliest day possible once the new government takes over,” said Choo Kyung-ho, Yoon’s finance minister nominee who will double as deputy prime minister. The Yoon government is expected to use at least 33 trilli
Economy May 8, 2022
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Legoland opens after decade of delays
A Legoland theme park opened to the public on Children’s Day, Thursday, in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, 11 years after the deal was signed between the local government and Merlin Entertainments. Merlin, the world’s second-largest operator of visitor attractions behind Walt Disney, had faced opening delays several times because the joint project attracted little capital from local investors and hit a snag over what to do with ancient artifacts found on the site where the park was be
Industry May 5, 2022
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Number of teens holding Samsung Electronics shares hits record high
The number of South Koreans who are 19 and below and hold shares in Samsung Electronics reached 358,257 in December last year, a record high, according to the Korea Securities Depository. That number accounts for 7.07 percent of all shareholders and 0.25 percent of the total shares the tech giant has issued. The shares the teenagers held at the time amounted to 1.1 trillion won ($891 million), which is equal to 971 billion at Tuesday’s closing share price. The rise in the number of teen
Market May 4, 2022
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Toss Bank becomes first Korean digital lender to allow foreigners to open accounts
Toss Bank is now the first South Korean internet-only bank to allow foreign residents here to open an online bank account, the lender said Monday. “Starting Monday, all foreigners here are able to open an account as long as they have their registration card,” Toss Bank said in a statement. Foreigners are offered the same service as locals, according to the bank, which was set up last year, four years after rivals Kbank and KakaoBank were launched in 2017. “For example, the d
Industry May 2, 2022
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Former Citibank Korea CEO to head Blackstone’s Korea office
Ha Yung-ku, a former CEO of Citibank Korea who later led an association of local banks, was named chairman of the Korean office for Blackstone, the asset manager said Wednesday. Ha joined Blackstone in August last year as an executive adviser. “South Korea is one of the most innovative economies in Asia with a highly sophisticated workforce and domestic corporations that are influencing trends around the world,” Blackstone said, adding that it expects to build stronger ties in the p
Industry April 27, 2022
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