Articles by Jung Min-kyung
Jung Min-kyung
mkjung@heraldcorp.com-
[Newsmaker] Starbucks Korea admits giveaway bags had cancer-causing chemicals
Starbucks Korea on Thursday admitted that its summer giveaway bags had cancer-causing chemicals, and vowed to provide compensation to its customers with gift coupons. “We deeply apologize to our customers who are disappointed in us for the recent issue (surrounding the giveaway bags),” Starbucks Korea said in a statement. “On July 22, we have requested state-approved institutions to run tests on six unopened samples and five opened samples of our giveaway bags and detected
Industry July 28, 2022
-
Coins ‘luna, terraUSD had obvious design flaws’: crypto pioneer
When algorithmic stablecoin terraUSD and its sister luna was introduced in 2018, it was widely touted as “revolutionary.” Now, the algorithmic disaster that has sent shockwaves across the cryptocurrency market was one that was “waiting to happen,” according ethereum founding member and crypto entrepreneur Joel Dietz. “It’s a project that had obvious design flaws,” Dietz told The Korea Herald in an interview conducted by video. “When I saw them
Market July 27, 2022
-
Will FTX actually acquire Bithumb?
South Korean blockchain experts on Monday were divided over whether FTX, the crypto trading platform co-founded by billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, is actually seeking to buy local exchange Bithumb. Skeptics claimed that the Bahamian crypto exchange has no reason to purchase Bithumb at the moment with the financial authorities seeking to tighten regulations here and with the “stable condition” of the Korean exchange operator. “For the moment, there is no reason for FTX to ent
Market July 25, 2022
-
Hana, SKT ink partnership in ESG, digital financing
South Korea’s Hana Financial Group and SK Telecom signed a share-swap deal worth some 400 billion won ($305.3 million) to set up a new environmental, social and governance model, officials said Sunday. “We have signed a strategic partnership with SK Telecom on Friday to build a new cooperative agreement based on ICT innovation,” Hana said in a statement. Under the deal between the nation’s banking and telecommunications giants, SK Telecom will acquire a 3.1 percent sta
Market July 24, 2022
-
KB Financial Group releases sustainability report highlighting green financing
South Korea’s KB Financial Group on Thursday released its annual sustainability report for 2021 sharing its achievements in and insights on environmental, social and corporate governance. The report includes KB’s experience in dealing with key ESG issues such as climate change, green financing and diversity alongside the firm’s stance on corporate governance, ESG management and social responsibility. In October 2021, KB was officially endorsed by the Science Based Targets
Market July 21, 2022
-
Borrowers in their 40s, 50s face higher loan default risk
South Koreans in their 40s and 50s now face higher chances of loan default and delinquency, with those who took out loans from more than one financial institution increasing by nearly 100,000 from last year, data showed Thursday. This has spurred concerns that a significant number of borrowers in those age groups could be taking out additional money to repay existing debts, with aggressive rate hikes in recent months requiring them to pay more in interest. Borrowers in their 40s and 50s who
Economy July 21, 2022
-
FSC to review removing hurdles on companies owning banks
South Korea’s top financial regulator pledged Tuesday to review lowering the regulatory barriers that limit the industrial sector from owning banks, to accelerate digitalization of the economy and global growth. “The goal of our financial regulatory overhaul is to create a new field, so that leading global players like (K-pop band) BTS can be born in our financial industry,” Financial Services Commission Chairman Kim Joo-hyeon told a regulatory reform meeting. “We will
Market July 19, 2022
-
Kyobo, Affinity on blame game over IPO rejection
South Korea’s Kyobo Life Insurance and its second-largest shareholder -- a consortium led by Affinity Equity Partners -- are blaming each other for its recent failure to carry out an initial public offering. The blame game follows the nation’s sole bourse operator Korea Exchange’s decision on July 8 to reject an initial public offering by Kyobo, without citing a reason. Market watchers, however, cited Kyobo’s yearslong legal dispute with the consortium led by the Hong K
Market July 18, 2022
-
‘Myeongdong to recover from pandemic woes’
The empty, desolate streets of Seoul’s Myeong-dong shopping district have become a real estate nightmare for its landlords and inhabitants since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. But hope is not lost, according to Robert Wilkinson, managing director of Colliers’ Korea, the local branch of the Canadian commercial real estate firm. He said the area -- which had once been a tourist hotspot -- is slowly coming back to life and its recovery will gain speed once China eases trave
Market July 17, 2022
-
Korean won sinks to 13-year low against US dollar
The South Korean currency fell below the 1,320-won mark against the US dollar for the first time in more than 13 years during morning trading on Friday, with analysts warning that the won could lose further value. The won was trading at 1,326 won against the greenback at around 2:30 p.m., after breaching the 1,320 won-mark per dollar in the morning for the first time since April 30, 2009. The won’s plummeting value came with the weakening of the euro and the Chinese yuan against the s
Economy July 15, 2022
-
Foreign reserves see sharpest fall since financial crisis
South Korea’s central bank said Tuesday that foreign reserves in June saw the sharpest decline since November 2008, when the country was dealing with the global financial crisis, feeding concerns of the weakening value of the Korean won against the US dollar. “Korea’s official foreign reserves as of end of June 2022 amounted to $438.3 billion,” the BOK said in a statement. It was down $9.43 billion on-month, data tied to the statement showed. Foreign reserves include
Economy July 5, 2022
-
Kospi tumbles to new low for the year
South Korea’s key stock index plummeted to a fresh low for the year in morning trade on Monday as recession fears grew ahead of the Bank of Korea’s rate-setting meeting scheduled next week. The benchmark Kospi opened 0.23 percent higher from the previous closing at 2,310.73, but soon fell below the 2,300-mark to hit a new low of 2,288.92 in morning trade. Kospi has plummeted some 22 percent since end-2021 -- when the index stood at 2,977.65 – as of end-June, weighed down by
Market July 4, 2022
-
[Newsmaker] Internet-only banks lure customers with Tamagotchi-like savings accounts, digital piggy banks
Saving money is never fun. But when combined with a digital pet that grows alongside the size of your savings, it can be more motivating. South Korea’s three internet-only banks -- KakaoBank, K bank and Toss Bank -- have launched unique products such as Tamagotchi-like savings accounts, mobile joint accounts and digital piggy banks to lure customers attracted to the trends. Toss Bank, launched in October last year, has registered 3.6 million users in just eight months through a slew of
Market July 1, 2022
-
Top court clears Shinhan chief of unethical hiring claims
South Korea’s top court on Thursday cleared Shinhan Financial Group Chairman Cho Yong-byoung of unethical hiring charges, putting an end to a four-year legal battle and allowing a possible third term for Cho. The Supreme Court upheld the Seoul High Court’s decision in November last year to side with Cho on allegations that he had exercised his influence by accepting hiring requests from lawmakers and company executives to recruit their children from 2013 to 2016 while he was CEO of
Market June 30, 2022
-
KB Kookmin provides $300m for JFK Airport redevelopment
KB Kookmin Bank, South Korea’s top lender said Wednesday that it will join other financial institutions in a $6.6 billion syndicated loan package to finance the John F. Kennedy International Airport’s Terminal One redevelopment project in New York. KB Kookmin will contribute $300 million of the $6.6 billion loan, alongside Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Dutch financial giant ING Bank. KB said the airport renovation financing project
Market June 29, 2022
Most Popular
-
1
Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
-
2
New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
-
3
Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
-
4
Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
-
5
[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
-
6
Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
-
7
Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
-
8
[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
-
9
Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
-
10
NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency