Most Popular
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Hyundai Motor eyes 80,000 jobs, W68tr investment at home by 2026
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Korea enters full election mode
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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Dialogue hopes fade as doctors pick hard-liner as new head
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Coupang pledges W3tr to expand Rocket Delivery nationwide by 2027
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[Election Battlefield] Political novice to face off star politician in ‘swing district’
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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[Herald Interview] Son Suk-ku chooses to be swayed by others in navigating life
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Seoul’s bus union prepares for strike
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Woori Bank, IBK to stop Iran payments due to U.S. sanctions
Two South Korean banks will stop accepting payments from Iran in line with the start of U.S. sanctions on the Islamic Republic‘s petroleum exports, a financial source said Friday. Woori Bank and state-run Industrial Bank of Korea are the two main channels of money between South Korean firms and Iran, but they have instructed local firms to complete payments by Sunday, a day before the U.S. sanctions against Iran take effect. From Nov. 5, the two South Korean banks will stop handling
Nov. 2, 2018
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Actress Kyun Mi-ri’s husband gets 4-year prison sentence for rigging stocks
Former Bota Bio executive and husband of veteran actress Kyun Mi-ri was sentenced to four years in prison for manipulating stocks and raking in billions in illicit gains. Judge Sim Hyeong-sup of the Seoul Southern District Court handed down a four-year sentence and a fine of 2.5 billion won ($2.2 million) for the convict, identified only by the surname Lee, for violating laws related to capital markets and financial investment. Lee was found guilty of gaining approximately 2.3 billion won throug
Nov. 2, 2018
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Financial market volatility may expand further: BOK chief
South Korea's central bank chief said Friday that the local financial market will likely face wider volatility in the coming months due to lingering uncertainties abroad.With global financial markets, including Wall Street suffering a stock rout, the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index nose-dived 14.8 percent in October alone, and the secondary index for the tech-laden KOSDAQ market plummeted 23.4 percent. "Escalating global downside risks have caused the recent worldwide tumble, bu
Nov. 2, 2018
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US denies rumors of sanctions on Korean banks
WASHINGTON -- The United States denied Wednesday that it has informed some South Korean banks of impending sanctions for their transactions with North Korea.Rumors spread in South Korea that the US Department of the Treasury is soon to impose secondary sanctions on several banks for their involvement in the government's recent expansion of economic and other exchanges with the North.Such sanctions target third-party entities that conduct dealings with an already sanctioned entity, such as North
Nov. 1, 2018
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NPS takes heat from bearish stock market
South Korea’s National Pension Service, the third-largest pension fund in the world, has taken over 5 percent in losses from domestic stocks from January to August, hit by the ongoing bearish trend in the local stock market this year. The public pension fund, overseeing 650.9 billion won ($571.8 million) in assets as of end-August, yielded 2.3 percent return from its investments, according to its disclosure Tuesday. The NPS invests in various asset classes including equities and fixe
Oct. 31, 2018
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S. Korea to hold annual consultation meeting with Fitch this week
The South Korean government will hold an annual consultation meeting with global rating agency Fitch Ratings this week on the country’s credit valuation, the finance ministry said Tuesday,Led by Stephen Schwartz, senior director at Fitch Ratings Inc., the delegation will be in South Korea from Wednesday to Friday for meetings with officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Bank of Korea and other government agencies.They will look into the macroeconomic policies of the Moon Ja
Oct. 30, 2018
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Banks to implement stricter lending policy
A new set of regulations for local banks is set to take effect Wednesday, with the aim of further slowing down the pace of South Korea’s household credit growth. The full-fledged enforcement comes after a grace period that began in March, during which commercial banks had to cap the volume of the high-risk retail loans they extended. Starting Wednesday, commercial banks are required to keep “highly risky loans” to individuals to no more than 10 percent of the volume of all hous
Oct. 30, 2018
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[Advertorial] Eximbank promotes companies’ chances for knowledge sharing abroad
The state-led Export-Import Bank of Korea on Tuesday held a conference targeting local small and midsized enterprises to promote their opportunities to be engaged in a state-sponsored knowledge sharing program.Some 150 representatives from 85 companies seeking business overseas, institutions devoted to the knowledge sharing program and the Ministry of Economy and Finance attended the event held at 63 Convention Center in Yeouido, Seoul, according to the bank. The knowledge sharing program
Oct. 30, 2018
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Kospi closes below 2,000 for first time since 2016
South Korea’s stock market once again renewed its all-year low on Monday, closing below the psychologically significant threshold of 2,000, despite the government’s urgent moves for countermeasures.The market benchmark index on Monday closed at 1996.05, down 31.1 points or 1.53 percent from the previous session’s close. During the last half hour of trading, the index fluctuated up and down the 2,000 mark, after its first sub-2,000 dip at around 2:53 p.m.This marked the fifth co
Oct. 29, 2018
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[Breaking] Kospi renews record-low, dips below 2,000
South Korea’s top-tier stock market Kospi extended its latest nosedive Monday, renewing its record low for the year and dipping below the psychologically significant 2,000-point barrier, according to Korea Exchange. The benchmark index hit 1,999 at around 2:53 p.m. before recovering to above 2,000. This was the first time in 22 months that the figure fell lower than the 2,000 mark.Earlier in the day, the Financial Services Commission vowed to inject some 500 billion won ($439.1 milli
Oct. 29, 2018
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Korea's four major banks earn W16.76tr through interest in 2018
South Korea's top four banks pocketed 16.76 trillion won ($14.67 billion) from interest earnings alone until the third quarter of 2018, up 10.4 percent compared with the year before, market data showed Sunday.According to regulatory data released by lenders, KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank and KEB Hana Bank combined to earn 1.57 trillion won more in interest than last year.Of the four, KB Kookmin reported hauling in 4.51 trillion won from its borrowers, followed by 4.2 trillion won for
Oct. 28, 2018
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Korean stock markets in free fall, downward pressure to persist
Stock markets in South Korea continued to slide for a fourth consecutive trading day, setting a new low for 2018 yet again, amid persisting downward pressure on markets at home and abroad. Analysts noted the unhindered pace of monetary tightening in the United States, Korea’s sluggish economic growth prospect and an escalating trade war between the US and China bode ill for a momentum for a swift rebound in stock index performance and a turnaround from foreign investor outflow. The t
Oct. 26, 2018
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Seoul stocks again drop to one-year low on tech, bio losses
South Korean stocks went further south Wednesday after reaching a yearly low in the previous session as foreigners and individuals dumped large-cap tech and bio shares.The local currency rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index dropped 8.52 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 2,097.58. Trading volume was moderate at 373.7 million shares worth 5.89 trillion won ($5.2 billion), with losers overwhelming winners 607 to 242. The local stock market started higher
Oct. 24, 2018
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Credit-card processing fees for small merchants to be cut by W1tr next year
Financial authorities plan to cut credit-card processing fees for small merchants by as much as 1 trillion won ($880 million) next year, an industry source said Wednesday. Financial authorities are expected to announce the plan next week after consultations with the ruling Democratic Party, according to the source. Last year, the nation's eight credit card firms reported an income of 11.6 trillion won from commission fees.In July, credit-card processing fees for small merchants with an annu
Oct. 24, 2018
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[Kosdaq Star] New MMORPG heralds Gamevil’s Q4 earnings surprise
This is the 62nd in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- Ed.There is growing anticipation for a turnaround in at Gamevil, a developer and publisher of mobile games, after the global market reacted positively to its recent releases and news of releases slated for the fourth quarter.On Friday, Gamevil’s stock price jumped sharply, closing 14.9 percent up from Thursday. Its market cap came to 361.4 billion won ($319.2 million), ranking 121s
Oct. 21, 2018
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BOK pessimistic on outlook for Korean economic growth next year
South Korea’s economic growth is likely to slow next year, in line with the global economic sluggishness caused by rising protectionism and instability in emerging markets, the Bank of Korea and global financial organizations said Sunday. The Bank of Korea has lowered the outlook for the nation’s economic growth this year and next year from the early expectations of 2.9 percent and 2.8 percent each to 2.7 percent. This is the lowest since 2012, when the nation had a 2.3 percent econo
Oct. 21, 2018
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BOK freezes key rate at 1.5% for Oct.
South Korea's central bank on Thursday held its policy rate untouched for October on worsening economic data and low inflation pressure.The monetary policy board of the Bank of Korea voted to freeze the policy rate at 1.5 percent for the 11th straight month.The BOK has taken a wait-and-see stance since November last year, when it adjusted up the key rate for the first time in more than six years, citing the economic recovery.Gov. Lee said two members of the seven-member board voted against the r
Oct. 18, 2018
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Watchdog to tighten compliance regulations for financial firms
Stricter compliance regulations are to be adopted for financial institutions within the watchdog’s jurisdiction to enforce stricter internal control and prevent errors and fraud, according to the market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service.According to a preliminary set of measures unveiled Wednesday, at least 1 percent of the entire staff and executives in a financial institution should be assigned to compliance operations, while compliance officers must be executives of the company wit
Oct. 17, 2018
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[Herald Interview] Former forensic technician creates new biometric standard
The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews on promising startups in the financial technology industry. This is the 23rd installment. -- Ed.For about a decade before Chung Woo-young founded mobile biometrics developer startup Winningi in 2015, he was a forensic technician who worked for the National Police Agency in South Korea. He was engaged in the nation’s project to collect and manage some 56 million fingerprint records of residents in the nation with a population of 51.2 mil
Oct. 16, 2018
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Financial firms urged to consider environment, society: regulator
The head of the financial watchdog on Tuesday called on financial firms to think about environmental and social issues in their investment decisions. Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Yoon Suk-heun made the remarks at a conference to discuss ways for Seoul to become a city of sustainable finance. Sustainable finance is a new watchword for investors that integrate environmental, social and governance issues into their investment decisions. Yoon said the South Korean government is playing a bigge
Oct. 16, 2018