Most Popular
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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[KH Explains] No more 'Michael' at Kakao Games
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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Woman gets suspended term for injuring boyfriend with knife
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Samsung chief bolsters ties with Germany’s Zeiss
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NewJeans pops out ‘Bubble Gum’ video amid troubles at agency
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Med schools expect 1,500+ new admission slots next year
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Nominee for chief of anti-corruption body pledges 'independence, effectiveness'
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KT launches new mobile plans for foreign residents
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Fed forecast to hike rates four times in 2018
A growing number of market experts are forecasting the US central bank will raise its key interest rate four times in 2018 on an economic recovery and a tax overhaul, industry sources said Wednesday.Global investment bank Goldman Sachs has recently projected the US Federal Reserve Board to jack up the federal funds rate four times in the coming year, with JP Morgan and Jefferies making the same forecast, according to the sources.So far, six investment banking giants -- Bank of America Merrill Ly
Dec. 13, 2017
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Govt. decides on range of measures to curb cryptocurrency speculation
South Korea's government decided Wednesday to roll out a series of measures to curb cryptocurrency speculation, including barring minors from opening investment accounts, officials said.During an emergency meeting of senior officials from related ministries, the government also decided to prohibit local financial institutions from possessing, purchasing or investing in the virtual currencies.The measures also include checking the indentities of those doing bank transactions related to cybermoney
Dec. 13, 2017
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New 'supernote' found in S. Korea could be from North
A new high-quality counterfeit $100 bill has been found in South Korea, bank officials said Tuesday, prompting suggestions the sanctions-hit North might have resumed forging "supernotes".A team of forgery specialists at KEB Hana Bank have confirmed that a $100 note found at a Seoul branch in November was a fake which was almost impossible to distinguish from real banknotes, they said."It was the first of a new kind of supernote ever found in the world," Yi Ho-Joong, head of t
Dec. 12, 2017
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S. Korea slaps fines on operator of cryptocurrency exchange for first time
South Korea's communication watchdog on Tuesday slapped fines on an operator of a cryptocurrency exchange in the country for allegedly leaking the private data of its users in its first punitive action against an administrator of such exchanges.The Korea Communications Commission decided to impose fines totaling 60 million won ($54,970) on BTC Korea.Com, an operator of Bithumb, the largest bitcoin and ethereum digital currency exchange in South Korea, for its alleged negligence in the protection
Dec. 12, 2017
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[Herald Interview] 8Percent leverages power of platform
The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews on promising startups in the fintech industry. This is the sixth installment. — Ed.Peer-to-peer platform can be a destination not only to retail investors seeking higher yields, but also for borrowers taking loans for their business which would face more expensive options from conventional financiers, 8Percent, a South Korean P2P lending platform, said.The power of such a platform is particularly attractive to borrowers holding midrange
Dec. 12, 2017
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ELS sales jump in Q3 on brisk stock markets
The issuance and redemption of equity-linked securities soared in the third quarter on the back of bullish stock markets at home and abroad, the financial regulator said Tuesday.The issuance of ELS products stood at 18.1 trillion won ($16.6 billion) in the July-September period, up 15.3 percent from the previous quarter and 64.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service.ELS refers to hybrid debt securities whose returns are determined by the perfor
Dec. 12, 2017
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KRX to nurture 1st venture firm on Kosdaq under ‘Tesla Policy’
Information technology solutions firm Cafe24 gained Monday preliminary approval for an initial public offering on the nation‘s second-tier Kosdaq market operated by the Korea Exchange, marking the first company to be listed through the operator’s “Tesla Policy” introduced in December 2016.Cafe24, a Korean company that offers IT solutions for sellers looking to create online retailers, is expected to earn some 40 billion won ($36.6 million) through the entry into Kosdaq sl
Dec. 11, 2017
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Seoul stocks end up on institutional buying
South Korean stocks rose Monday as institutions scooped up local stocks, offsetting net selling by foreigners and individuals. The Korean won rose against the US dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 7.49 points, or 0.30 percent, to close at 2,471.49. Trade volume was moderate at 237.57 million shares worth 4.536 trillion won ($4.15 billion). Institutional investors bought stocks worth 240 billion won, while foreigners and individuals sold a combined 266 billion won worth o
Dec. 11, 2017
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Korea nerves fray after first-ever bitcoin futures in US
South Korea was not an exception from a bitcoin price spike Monday, as the US began trading a derivative related to the de facto key cryptocurrency on the Chicago Board Options Exchange on Sunday. As of 1 p.m. Monday, bitcoin in South Korea traded at 19.5 million won ($17,900), up 35.8 percent compared to a day prior, according to data from local coin tracker Coinass. The coin price remained about 10 percent higher than the world average, the data also showed. The surge does not necessaril
Dec. 11, 2017
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Kona I, Linxens to seek cooperation in security business
South Korean smart card maker Kona I and French smart card component maker Linxens have signed a strategic cooperation to expand business for payment and security starting next year, Kona I said Monday. The two companies are reviewing various projects, ranging from telecommunication, e-government, access control, financial services to internet of things, among others, according to Kona I. The two have already been working together, for example, with Linxens providing components such as RFID Ante
Dec. 11, 2017
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Bitcoin futures rise as virtual currency hits major exchange
The first-ever bitcoin future began trading Sunday as the increasingly popular virtual currency made its debut on a major US exchange. The futures contract that expires in January rose $340 to $15,800 in the first hour and 15 minutes of trading on the Chicago Board Options Exchange. The contract opened at $15,460, according to data from the CBOE.The CBOE futures don't involve actual bitcoin. They're securities that will track the price of bitcoin on Gemini, one of the larger bitcoin exchan
Dec. 11, 2017
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Foreigners keep buying Korean stocks in Nov.
Foreign investors continued their net buying of South Korean stocks in November, with the amount reaching nearly 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion), the financial regulator said Monday.Offshore investors bought a net 1.86 trillion won last month, marking the second consecutive month of net buying, according to the Financial Supervisory Service.Net purchases by investors from the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Norway reached 1 trillion won, 900 billion won and 500 billion won, respectivel
Dec. 11, 2017
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[Kosdaq Star] Seoul Semiconductor unfazed by IT sell-offs
This is the 46th in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- Ed.A tax cut in the US and the strong Korean won has negatively affected a tech rally on South Korean stock markets in the past couple of weeks. The Kosdaq-listed light-emitting diode maker Seoul Semiconductor was no exception, as its share price hit a record 33,550 won on Nov. 27, but backtracked to 28,250 won on Friday, falling 13.1 percent over the past two weeks.But some analysts pai
Dec. 10, 2017
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Korea's household debt-to-GDP rises 2nd-fastest: BIS
South Korea’s household debt-to-gross domestic product increased at the second-fastest rate in the world on-year as of first half of this year, reports said Sunday, quoting data from Bank for International Settlement. According to survey of 43 countries conducted by BIS, Korea‘s ratio of total household credit-to-GDP came to 93.8 percent as of the second quarter of 2017, up 4.3 percentage points year-on-year. The data by Basel-based financial institution was released on Dec. 3.T
Dec. 10, 2017
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Foreign investors sold 2.12 tln won worth of KOSPI shares in 2 weeks
Foreign investors offloaded 2.12 trillion won ($1.93 billion) worth of shares traded on South Korea's main bourse in the last two weeks, the Korea Exchange said Sunday.The stock market operator said foreigners sold off many more shares than they bought in the 10 trading days starting from Nov.27 through Friday. The selling of shares on the Korea Composite Stock Price Index outpaced the buying of 1.72 trillion won worth of stocks by local institutional investors.In the past two weeks, foreign inv
Dec. 10, 2017
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BOK expects Fed to raise rates 2 or 3 times in 2018
South Korea's central bank expects the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise its key interest rates two or three times next year, in line with a broader expectation on Wall Street, according to a report by the Bank of Korea on Saturday. The Fed is widely expected to raise rates during its policy meeting next week, as it has begun increasing borrowing costs from record lows set in the wake of the 2008-09 global financial crisis. On Dec. 1, the Bank of Korea increased its key rate by a quarter percen
Dec. 9, 2017
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South Korea mulling ways to curb craze for bitcoins
South Korea is studying ways to regulate speculative trading in crypto currencies as the latest surge in prices stokes a craze over bitcoins. The country's financial regulator said Friday that it has ruled out using bitcoin for derivative products. The decision effectively bans investing in bitcoin futures that will start trading on the Chicago Board Options Exchange this weekend. It's part of a backlash against digital currencies in some Asian countries, even as Japan embraces their use. I
Dec. 8, 2017
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Seoul slams EU inclusion on tax haven blacklist
The government on Wednesday lashed back at the European Union’s decision to list South Korea as a tax haven, claiming the inclusion infringes on international standards and poses the risk of violating the country‘s taxation sovereignty.“We have violated none of the standards suggested by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development or other international regulations,” Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon told reporters. On the previou
Dec. 6, 2017
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Seoul stocks close sharply lower on foreign sell-off
South Korea's main stock index tumbled Wednesday as foreign investors remained net sellers of stocks, with sentiment soured over geopolitical worries in the Middle East. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index fell 35.75 points, or 1.42 percent, to close at 2,474.37. Trade volume was moderate at 503 million shares worth 6.56 trillion won ($6 billion). The local stock market opened lower as investors took their cues from overnight declines on Wa
Dec. 6, 2017
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South Korea out of bitcoin futures race
South Korea, an emerging market for cryptocurrency trade, is likely to remain out of the global race to sell bitcoin futures to investors.Securities firms in Korea withdrew plans to draw investments through foreign bitcoin-related derivatives, upon the Financial Services Commission’s order to ban the trade. The direction was sent through the Korea Financial Investment Association on Tuesday.As a result, securities firms such as eBest Investment & Securities and Shinhan Financial Invest
Dec. 6, 2017