South Korean business leaders meet Macron to deepen bilateral ties

South Korean business leaders met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Versailles, France, on Monday to explore opportunities for deepening bilateral economic cooperation, the Federation of Korean Industries said. The meeting was held during the “Choose France Summit,” President Macron’s flagship initiative to attract foreign investment, at the Chateau de Versailles near Paris. Now in its eighth year, the summit brought together more than 100 global business leaders at Macron’s invitation to

May 20, 2025

BOK pilots digital currency, but what is it like to use?

Signaling a new chapter in digital finance, the Bank of Korea last month launched "Project Han River," a pilot program for its central bank digital currency, or CBDC. Running from April through June, the trial invites 100,000 individuals to test tokenized deposits, with roughly 60,000 participating as of Monday, according to the BOK. The Korea Herald also took part to see how the system works in practice. The first step involved opening a digital wallet through one of seven participating banks,

May 20, 2025

Wadiz sets out to export ‘K-funding’ as Asia’s answer to Kickstarter

When Shin Hye-sung left the state-run Korea Development Bank in 2012 to start a crowdfunding platform, he wasn’t chasing unicorns. He was looking out for overlooked potential: early-stage entrepreneurs with good ideas but few backers. That vision became Wadiz, now South Korea’s largest crowdfunding platform, with 6.8 million users and more than 83,000 campaigns raising a combined 1.3 trillion won ($928 million). After more than a decade helping domestic startups raise capital from fans and early

May 19, 2025

Hana Financial launches internship to foster socially impactful jobs

Hana Financial Group, South Korea’s banking giant, has launched its 2025 internship initiative to support the creation of socially meaningful employment. The company kicked off the "2025 Hana Power On Innovative Company Internship" at its headquarters in Seoul on Friday, with around 100 attendees, including Group CEO and Chair Ham Young-joo, the interns and CEOs from participating companies. The program links socially vulnerable job seekers with innovative companies, providing valuable internshi

May 18, 2025

SC Korea's Q1 earnings soars 174% on one-off base effect

Standard Chartered Bank Korea reported a 174 percent jump in first-quarter net profit, largely driven by a favorable base effect from a nonrecurring loss booked a year earlier. The bank said Thursday that net profit for the January-March period reached 111.9 billion won ($80 million), up 174.3 percent from a year earlier. The sharp increase was attributed to the absence of a 130 billion won provision booked in the first quarter of 2024 for equity-linked securities tied to Hong Kong stocks, which

May 15, 2025

Celltrion unfazed by US policy shifts: chair

Celltrion Group Chair and founder Seo Jung-jin downplayed concerns over potential fallout from recent US policy and tariff changes, saying the South Korean drugmaker remains on track to meet its annual revenue target of 5 trillion won ($3.58 billion) this year. “Concerns about the impact of recent US policy and tariff changes have been excessively amplified,” Seo said during an online briefing Thursday. “We see no effect on our business this year, and even next year, it could be an opportunity r

May 15, 2025

Woori mulls selling Seoul landmark to secure cash

Woori Financial Group is considering selling several core real estate assets, including the landmark Woori Financial Digital Tower in central Seoul, as it looks to raise capital for subsidiary acquisitions and improve its financial footing. The banking group is reviewing a potential sale of the 22-story building, located on a 2,247-square-meter plot across from its headquarters in Hoehyeon-dong, Jung-gu — one of Seoul’s busiest commercial zones north of the Han River — according to industry sour

May 14, 2025

South Korea's exports tumble 24% in early May amid Trump's tariffs

South Korea’s exports plunged nearly 24 percent in the first 10 days of May, signaling that the US Trump administration's tariffs are beginning to take a toll on the trade-dependent economy. Outbound shipments totaled $12.8 billion during the May 1-10 period, down 23.8 percent from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Korea Customs Service released Monday. Factoring in fewer workdays — five days during the period this year compared to 6.5 days in 2024 — average daily exports fe

May 12, 2025

PEF-backed Lotte Insurance faces regulatory heat over bond redemption

Lotte Insurance, backed by private equity firm JKL Partners, is under intensified regulatory scrutiny after South Korea’s financial watchdog blocked its attempt to redeem 90 billion won ($64.2 million) in subordinated bonds ahead of maturity. Financial Supervisory Service Governor Lee Bok-hyun on Thursday issued a sharp rebuke, saying he was “gravely concerned” about the company’s push to exercise the call option despite falling short of financial stability requirements. “The company’s K-ICS ris

May 9, 2025

Fitch ups Hanwha Life to A+ with stable outlook

Fitch Ratings upgraded Hanwha Life Insurance's rating to A+ from A, with a stable outlook, citing the South Korean insurer’s strong financial footing and solid profitability, “The upgrade reflects Hanwha Life’s strong capital position, underpinned by a substantial contractual service margin and strategic issuance of additional capital securities,” Fitch said Thursday, adding the firm's financial leverage remained sound despite multiple capital issuances. Fitch highlighted Hanwha Life’s steady ea

May 9, 2025