Most Popular
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Yoon apologizes for first lady Dior bag scandal, calls push for special probe ‘political’
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Korean battery makers heave sigh of relief over 2-year IRA reprieve
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South Korea open to Indonesian proposal to cut KF-21 payments
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Korea forecast to overtake Taiwan in chip production by 2032: report
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Girl hanging on bridge, police trying to rescue her both fall off; rescued immediately
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Coupang earnings hit hard by losses from ailing Farfetch
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[K-pop’s dilemma] Time, profit pressures work against originality
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[K-pop’s dilemma] Can K-pop break free from ‘fandom’ model?
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YouTuber fatally stabbed on livestream by another YouTuber in Busan
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Yoon rebuffs opposition's call for special probe into wife
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Retail investors rush to submit deposits for Big Hit’s public subscription
Retail investors had submitted some 8.62 trillion won ($7.43 billion) in deposits during the first day of the two-day preorder session for stocks of Big Hit Entertainment, the agency behind K-pop sensation BTS, reflecting explosive interest from retail investors, according to investment banking sources on Monday. It was more than the figure seen on the first day of public subscription of SK Biopharmaceuticals, that marked around 5.9 trillion won, but far less than Kakao Games with 16.4 trillion
Oct. 5, 2020
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Affordable lump-sum rentals a rarity in Seoul
The number of relatively affordable “jeonse” apartment rentals in Seoul has decreased in the past couple of years, as rent prices have escalated despite government measures to prevent this, data showed Monday. A jeonse rental involves a large lump-sum deposit but no monthly rental payments on a two-year lease. According to data released by the office of Rep. Kim Sang-hoon, jeonse rentals of 400 million won ($344,000) or under accounted for 46 percent of the long-term leasing marke
Oct. 5, 2020
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Seoul stocks extend winning streak to 4th day on US stimulus hopes
South Korean shares jumped by more than 1 percent to extend their winning streak to a fourth session Monday, as investor sentiment improved on hopes for fresh economic stimulus in the United States. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 30.11 points, or 1.29 percent, to close at 2,358.0. Trading volume was moderate at about 746 million shares worth some 10.5 trillion won ($9 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 647 to 211.
Oct. 5, 2020
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S. Korean financial firms still vulnerable to cyber attacks overseas
A string of hacking attempts to break into South Korea’s financial institutions from abroad have continued in recent years, data showed Monday, prompting calls for financial authorities to impose tougher security measures. As of August, there have been a total of 37 hacking cases targeting local financial firms from overseas over the past five years, said Rep. Hong Sung-guk of the ruling Democratic Party, quoting data from the watchdog Financial Supervisory Service. The majority of fra
Oct. 5, 2020
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Open the way for short selling by retail investors, lawmaker says
South Korea’s stock market saw a combined 498 trillion won ($428 billion) worth of short selling transactions from 2015 to 2019, but a high bar exists for retail investors wishing to engage in the practice, a lawmaker said Monday. Ruling Democratic Party Rep. Lee Jung-mun said retail investors need greater access to short selling, and called for the introduction of legislation before the temporary ban on the short selling of listed shares here expires in March 2021. The annual volume o
Oct. 5, 2020
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BTS agency begins 2-day IPO subscription from individuals
Big Hit Entertainment, the management agency of K-pop superstars BTS, attracted a promising amount of deposits from retail investors on the first day of a two-day subscription for its initial public offering (IPO) next week, probably the biggest share sale on the local market. The IPO subscription runs Monday to Tuesday, prior to the company's listing on Oct. 15. Small investors deposited some 8.6 trillion won ($7.4 billion) on the first day of their subscription. IPO managers said Big Hit E
Oct. 5, 2020
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Seoul stocks open tad higher on auto gains
South Korean shares opened a tad higher Monday, led by gains in automakers, after a long holiday. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 5.95 points, or 0.26 percent, to 2,333.84 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Investor sentiment was boosted by hopes for fresh economic stimulus in the United States. Most large caps traded lower in Seoul. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 0.17 percent, with No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix shedding 0.6 percent. Hyundai Motor, the country's
Oct. 5, 2020
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SK Telecom's subsidiaries eye IPOs
SK Telecom Co., South Korea's top telecom operator, is eyeing initial public offerings (IPO) for its digital service subsidiaries starting next year, analysts said Sunday, as the company seeks to realign its business structure. The move has been widely expected after the mobile carrier announced its IPO ambitions for its wide ranging digital units of internet protocol TV (IPTV) operator SK Broadband Co. to video streaming service operator Content Wavve Corp. in its second quarter earnings call
Oct. 4, 2020
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Pandemic boosts credit card firms’ profits from loans, cash advances
Korean credit card companies saw their combined earnings rise in the first half of this year from a year earlier due to increased profits from card loans and cash advance services during the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Sunday. The combined borrowing expenses of seven card issuers came to 957.2 billion won ($821 million) in the January-June period. Through the financing, the firms raised profits of 2.56 trillion won, recording earnings of 167 percent. The profit figures were up 100 bill
Oct. 4, 2020
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High-rise apartments account for 80% of ‘reverse mortgages’
More than 80 percent of applicants for reverse mortgages in recent years have been owners of high-rise apartments, data from the Korea Housing Finance Corp. showed Sunday, spurring concerns about inequitable access. Reverse mortgages were introduced in South Korea in 2007 and allow homeowners, mainly senior citizens, to receive payments on a monthly basis by borrowing against the value of their homes. From January to August, 6,636 people signed contracts with banks to borrow money by providi
Oct. 4, 2020
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Kospi-listed firms expected to see operating profits gain 19% in Q3: report
The companies listed on Korea’s main bourse Kospi are likely to see their operating profits post a V-shaped recovery in the third quarter this year and jump 19 percent from a year earlier, a financial market tracker said Sunday. Local brokerages forecast that 147 listed firms will post a combined 35.44 trillion won ($30.39 billion) for the July-September period, up 19.4 percent from last year’s 29.68 trillion won, according to the poll by FN Guide. They also predicted that the agg
Oct. 4, 2020
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Anxiety mounts over tax effect of new ‘large shareholder’ definition
While South Korea is set to expand its definition of a “large shareholder” starting next year, calls are escalating for the forthcoming rule to be alleviated for the sake of market stability and fair taxation. Some predicted that the stronger regulation might trigger a selling spree at year-end as retail investors seek to avoid a heavier tax burden, and others pointed to the possibility of double taxation. Under the Income Tax Act, revised in 2017 and due to take effect in 2021, t
Oct. 4, 2020
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Employee crime cost banks W500b since 2016
South Korean banks and their customers lost nearly 500 billion won ($428 million) from employees’ financial crimes -- including embezzlement and fraud -- in the last five years, data compiled by the nation’s financial watchdog showed Sunday. Twenty local lenders saw losses worth a combined 488.4 billion won through 186 cases from 2016 to June this year, according to data submitted by the Financial Supervisory Service to Rep. Lee Young, a lawmaker of the main opposition People Power
Oct. 4, 2020
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[Herald Interview] Why data centers matter to foreign investors
After recent success in the market for Seoul office space, London-based investment firm Actis is looking to further invest in Seoul area real estate, this time with a focus on industrial assets. The company is among those looking to invest in data centers in South Korea, as demand spikes. As server requirements expand beyond what companies can accommodate in their main offices, firms are looking to relocate their servers to the cloud or a third-party facility. Both options require data cente
Oct. 4, 2020
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Nonmonetary institutions expand loan supplies, while banks tighten grip over lending
While Korea’s major lenders are gesturing to tighten their loan extensions in apparent response to financial authorities’ regulatory efforts, nonmonetary institutions are striving to expand their loan supplies, seeking to absorb market demand. Several savings banks, insurers and e-payment service operators ran special promotional events throughout the last two weeks of September, ahead of the Chuseok holiday, offering cash back or other benefits to potential credit loan borrowers.
Oct. 3, 2020
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Trump diagnosis to strengthen dollar, but high market volatility not likely: experts
US President Donald Trump's infection with the new coronavirus is expected to strengthen the dollar due to investors' chasing after safe assets, but financial markets are not likely to undergo high volatility, market experts here said Saturday. Trump and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, sending Wall Street's main stock indexes lower. The dollar index, a gauge of the greenback's value against a basket of six foreign currencies, rose 0.14 percent. Analysts said Tr
Oct. 3, 2020
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S. Korea extends incentives for primary dealers to stabilize bond market
South Korea has extended incentive programs for primary dealers in state bond auctions until the end of this year, as part of its efforts to stabilize the bond market, according to the finance ministry Saturday. The ministry launched the incentive programs for primary dealers, who buy state bonds directly from the government and sell them to the market, in April this year as it sought to stabilize the bond market in the face of a hike in sales of state bonds to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
Oct. 3, 2020
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Will Big Hit log record-breaking IPO subscription?
Like it did in the global entertainment scene, the agency behind K-pop sensation BTS is likely to wow South Korea’s stock market and its investors with what is widely expected to be the biggest initial public offering of the year. A total of 1,420 domestic and foreign institutional investors, including BlackRock and Singapore’s GIC, participated in the two-day book building, which wrapped up on Sept. 25. Competition for the 4.27 million shares, 60 percent of the new shares issued,
Oct. 2, 2020
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Analysts divided over Big Hit's target prices
South Korean analysts offer a wide range of target prices for Big Hit Entertainment, an agency of K-pop superstar BTS, ahead of the company's market debut slated for this month. Big Hit Entertainment's listing, set for Oct. 15, is one of this year's mega IPO deals, thanks to the K-pop septet's global fame. The initial public offering (IPO) price was set at 135,000 won ($115), but analysts' target prices range from 160,000 won to 380,000 won. Brokerage houses' forecasts vary over how the comp
Oct. 2, 2020
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Financial firms run contactless Chuseok promotions amid coronavirus pandemic
With the Chuseok holiday just around the corner, financial firms and rising fintech firms are making efforts to offer new services to attract customers amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Kakao Pay, a payment solutions firm under mobile messenger giant Kakao, has launched a marketing campaign for its money transfer service. During the promotional event from Sept. 16 to Oct. 5, the company will pick eight users who send Chuseok gifts via the payment platform, and will reward them with the sam
Sept. 29, 2020