Articles by Jung Min-kyung
Jung Min-kyung
mkjung@heraldcorp.com-
KB outpaces banking rivals in Q1 with record earnings
South Korea’s KB Financial Group outperformed its local rivals, posting a record net profit for the first three months of the year as the banking industry’s overall performance was bolstered by a surge in interest and fee revenue, regulatory filings showed Friday. KB’s net income gained 14.4 percent on-year to 1.45 trillion won ($1.17 billion) in the January-March period. Operating income gained 8.9 percent on-year to 1.9 trillion won in the cited period. Interest income inc
Market April 22, 2022
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Samsung Electronics’ market presence hits 34-month low
South Korean tech behemoth Samsung Electronics saw its presence on the main bourse drop to the lowest in 34 months in terms of market capitalization, data showed Thursday, with analysts pointing to volatilities caused by the global supply bottleneck and foreigners’ selling spree. Samsung’s value stood at some 402.9 trillion won ($325.7 billion) as of April 14, accounting for 18.91 percent of the Kospi’s total market value of 2,131 trillion won, according to data provided by t
Market April 21, 2022
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Authorities mull placing Upbit operator under stricter regulations, scrutiny
South Korean authorities are considering to classify Dunamu -- the operator of the nation’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit -- as a “large business,” which would put the firm under further government scrutiny, sources said Wednesday. The Fair Trade Commission annually reviews businesses with a total asset over 5 trillion won ($4.03 billion) on whether they should be subject to stricter regulations. Those who are deemed as large businesses – firms with assets of mor
Business April 20, 2022
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Central bank chief nominee hints additional rate hikes
South Korea’s central bank plans to give appropriate “signals” to quell inflationary pressure, the nominee for the Bank of Korea chief said Tuesday, confirming his stance for further rate hikes in months to come. Rhee Chang-yong, former director of the Asia and Pacific department at the International Monetary Fund, told lawmakers that the central bank will focus on placing a cap on the high inflationary pressure through “signals” at the moment, even if the move may
Economy April 19, 2022
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‘Seoul has full potential to become Asia’s next financial center’: deputy mayor
It was 2003, with South Korea still clinging to the euphoria of the 2002 World Cup, when the official road map to making Seoul Asia’s financial center was first announced. Hope was in the air and it quickly became a key task for current Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who previously served as the city’s mayor from 2006 to 2011. But the hurdles were too high. Global financial institutions were put off by Korea’s rigid labor market and tight, yet somewhat vague regulations, despite the geopo
Economy April 18, 2022
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Foreign direct investment hit by US-China trade war
South Korea received some 33 percent less foreign direct “greenfield” investments as of 2020, compared with the amount before the start of the US-China trade war in March 2018, a report showed Sunday. Greenfield investment refers to a type of foreign direct investment in which a parent company sets up a new affiliate in a different country rather than buying one and builds its own operations from the ground up. “When three-year greenfield FDIs before and after the conflict a
Industry April 17, 2022
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[Weekender] Back to normal?: ‘It will never be the same’
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a source of suffering for all, but it has offered an unexpected opportunity too -- to experience what relaxed mornings are like on weekdays. Without having to take that subway from hell while suppressing a hangover from the company dinner the night before, not to mention the shirt-ironing and face-to-face meetings, many workers in South Korea -- known as one of the hardest working countries in the world -- spent more than two years free from fitting themselves into
Industry April 14, 2022
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BOK raises rate by quarter-percentage-point to quell inflation
South Korea’s central bank on Thursday raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 1.5 percent, with an official warning of growing inflationary pressure and slower-than-expected economic expansion. The Bank of Korea’s six-member monetary policy board unanimously voted to raise the base rate to 1.5 percent -- the highest level since July 2019 –- during a rate-setting meeting. It marks the central bank’s fourth pandemic-era rate hike, dating to Aug
Economy April 14, 2022
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Wealthy young Koreans hold average asset of W6.6b: report
Wealthy Koreans in their 20s, 30s and 40s held an average asset of 6.6 billion won ($5.3 million) with a median annual income of 400 million won as of end-2021, a report showed Wednesday. The report dubbed 2022 Korean Wealth Report compiled by a think tank under Hana Bank was based on a survey of 1,952 Koreans above the age of 19 conducted in December last year. It categorized 708 respondents with personal assets over 1 billion won as “wealthy,” and of the group, 131 people aged bet
Market April 13, 2022
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Fed’s rate hikes to weaken S. Korea’s exports: report
South Korea’s exports, which account for half of the nation’s economy, will likely weaken once the US Federal Reserve starts carrying out additional and steeper rate hikes, a think tank report showed Monday. The report came after minutes from the March Federal Open Market Committee meeting released last week indicated officials initially preferred a 50-basis-point rate hike, but instead settled on 25 points, considering the Ukraine crisis. The Fed raised the benchmark rate by 25 bas
Economy April 11, 2022
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Financial watchdog steps up scrutiny over SsangYong Motor deal
South Korea’s financial watchdog warned potential bidders for the debt-ridden SsangYong Motor on Thursday that authorities would pay close attention to possible signs of stock manipulation along the way. The warning follows after Mirae Corp. -- a local semiconductor equipment manufacturer and affiliate of the nation’s leading underwear maker Ssangbangwool -- sold over 6.47 million of its shares in entertainment company IOK, a SBW subsidiary, for 1.24 billion won ($10.1 million) on M
Market April 8, 2022
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KT bets big on content biz, targets W5tr in sales by 2025
South Korean telecommunications operator KT vowed Thursday to nearly double sales by 2025 through fostering its value chain in the media business focused on original content production and securing intellectual property rights. KT Studio Genie, the firm’s wholly owned content production subsidiary launched last year, will play a key part in the value chain by manufacturing original contents, the telecom operator said in a press briefing. Through the value chain, KT expects to increase
Industry April 7, 2022
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S. Korean banks eye trust fund market amid aging society
South Korean banks are eager to branch out into the trust fund market here, as the country’s demographic shift to an aging society has accelerated demand for it. While it is common in the US and other countries to establish a trust fund for inheritance and keep assets within the family with minimal legal issues, a majority of Korean families still prefer passing on assets through wills. But today, more Koreans are seeking to manage their assets through trust funds, which gives grantors mo
Market April 6, 2022
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Korea’s top 20% own real estate 251 times more valuable than lowest
The gap between people categorized as South Korea’s wealthiest and the poorest groups has been growing sharply in recent years, with houses, buildings and land owned by the top 20 percent valued at an average 251 times higher than that owned by the bottom 20 percent, a report showed Tuesday. The report suggested pandemic-triggered inflation as a key reason behind the widening economic polarization. Koreans in the top 20 percent income bracket had real estate valued at a combined 1.2 bill
Economy April 5, 2022
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Jim Rogers named inter-Korean project adviser for Paju city
US investor Jim Rogers has been named an inter-Korean project cooperation adviser for the city of Paju, Gyeonggi Province, adjacent to the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two Koreas, officials said Monday. Rogers was tapped to give the city government policy advice on inter-Korean projects and is scheduled to visit the northern border city on Wednesday to sign the related agreement, according to Paju government officials. The officials added that Rogers is expected to contribute to the re
Economy April 4, 2022
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