Articles by Choi Si-young
Choi Si-young
siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com-
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
-
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
-
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
-
KRX lifts trading halt on Osstem Implant after monthslong break
The Korea Exchange said Wednesday that Osstem Implant would begin trading Thursday, lifting a trading suspension put on Jan. 3, when the dental implant maker reported insider theft amounting to 221 billion won ($175 million). “The decision is based on the fact that the company has improved its corporate governance and internal oversight and had it checked up by outside experts,” the KRX said in a statement. The bourse operator said such improvement was necessary for the implant ma
Market April 27, 2022
-
NH Investment & Securities launches London corporation
NH Investment & Securities said Wednesday that it has incorporated its office in London to oversee the brokerage’s entire operations in Europe, seven years after it first opened a branch there to expand alternative investments like private equity and real estate. “This new office in London will be the bridge connecting markets in South Korea, the UK and Europe,” said Jeong Young-chae, the company’s president and chief executive officer. NH Investment and Securities
Market April 27, 2022
-
Yoon eyes plan to raise more unicorns
The government will provide funds to help startups grow into unicorns, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s transition team said Tuesday. Unicorns are privately-held startups worth at least $1 billion. In South Korea, they have long relied on foreign capital in their late-stage funding to raise their market value “This is part of broader efforts to nurture a new ecosystem for startups, where jobs are created and economic growth is guaranteed, all without interruption,” said K
Economy April 26, 2022
-
High-tech sector key to growth: transition team
Expanding the high-tech sector will be the way to ensure sustainable economic growth, and the government will ease rules to make that happen, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s transition team said Monday at a press briefing amid concerns over shrinking economic growth. “Building on the high-tech sector involves two things: We help the existing industries go high-tech or go green and digital, because that leads to better products,” said Ahn Cheol-soo, the chief leading the team.
Economy April 25, 2022
-
Inflation in S. Korea 2nd highest in region: IMF
The International Monetary Fund said inflation in South Korea would hit 4 percent this year, second behind only New Zealand in a list of eight advanced economies in the Asia and Pacific region, in part because of the war in Ukraine. The projection was made public this month as Asia’s fourth-largest economy is seen as sliding into stagflation, a condition where rising inflation and shrinking economic growth coexist. In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF forecast inflation of
Economy April 24, 2022
-
Yoon vows economic plan to protect national interest
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday that he would work to bring a stronger economy to protect South Korea’s national security interests once he takes office on May 10, at a roundtable with academics, industry leaders and former high-level government officials. “We will lay the groundwork for ‘economic security,’” Yoon said, referring to a strategy to deal with fallout from the unprecedented economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 and the Ukraine war, at a
Economy April 18, 2022
-
Foreigners to face tighter scrutiny in real estate deals
South Korea will step up checks on foreigners buying and selling homes here amid accusations that some of them deliberately evaded property taxes because of lax oversight, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s transition committee said Thursday. The team said once the Yoon government takes over on May 10, foreigners will have to report to authorities how many homes they have here, because multiple-home owners pay more taxes. Whether they have family members living with them here will be reporte
Economy April 14, 2022
-
Seasoned bureaucrat to lead Oceans Ministry
Cho Seung-hwan, a former senior official at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries who spent more than 20 years in maritime services, was tapped to head the ministry under the incoming Yoon Suk-yeol government. “Cho is a maritime expert with an unmatched depth of experience spearheading many projects under previous governments. I expect him to find new opportunities for the maritime industry and map out plans to make the country a leading maritime power,” Yoon said. Cho, who served
Industry April 13, 2022
-
Startup founder named to lead SME Ministry
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday named a startup founder-turned-lawmaker to lead the Ministry of Small Medium-sized Enterprises and Startups, in his second round of Cabinet nominations since Sunday. Rep. Lee Young founded local internet and mobile security provider Teruten in 2000, and won a proportional representation seat without a constituency in the 2020 parliamentary election. She is the only legislator at Yoon’s People Power Party with experience in running startups,
Industry April 13, 2022
-
S. Korea to make nuclear power U-turn under new government
The transition committee working for President Yoon Suk-yeol said Tuesday that the incoming government will embrace nuclear power in its decarbonization efforts, signaling a major shift in energy policy the outgoing Moon Jae-in government had said has no place for nuclear power. Won Hee-ryong, chief policymaker setting out Yoon’s agenda, said Korea had seen more emissions and would see soaring electricity costs because of Moon’s push to phase out nuclear power, which makes up roughl
Economy April 12, 2022
-
Koreans set to get a year younger as Yoon seeks to ditch ‘Korean age’
The transition committee for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday that it would amend laws to use international age instead of “Korean age” to reduce social and economic costs associated with allowing more than one way to count age. Under the Korean age system, Koreans are 1 year old at birth, and they get a year older on New Year’s Day regardless of their birth date. The system is widely used, though official records usually follow the international norm that starts at
Social Affairs April 11, 2022
-
Yoon’s pick for fiscal chief vows to back extra budget despite runaway inflation
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s finance minister nominee said Sunday that he will seek parliamentary approval of an extra budget to support the self-employed and small businesses hit hardest by COVID-19, despite runaway inflation eating into many household budgets. Rep. Choo Kyung-ho, currently a two-term lawmaker of Yoon’s People Power Party, said inflation cannot be the reason to avoid increasing spending. “How we can manage to benefit from the extra budget while shielding
Economy April 10, 2022
Most Popular
-
1
Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
-
2
Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
-
3
New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
-
4
Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
-
5
[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
-
6
Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
-
7
Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
-
8
Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
-
9
Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
-
10
KT launches new mobile plans for foreign residents