For Aaron, a 45-year old Canadian working as a university professor in Seoul, buying his own house in the city has been near the top of his bucket list. But his plan for a dream house has been let down by local banks rejecting his applications for a credit loan. Despite his status as a full-time instructor at the Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies for more than eight years, the banks have not been accommodating. “For the first time i

Market July 27, 2021

South Korea’s central government procurement agency has been stepping up efforts to support small and medium-sized enterprises in the health sector eyeing on the international procurement markets in the pandemic era. And its support is adding momentum to the nation’s exports of pandemic-related goods, a state-led recovery model from the virus, its chief said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald. “Since last year, local SMEs producing quarantine products such as face

Economy July 25, 2021

Tongyang Life Insurance sold its entire stake in Woori Financial Group on Friday to secure more capital, in preparation for a stricter rule on local insurers’ fiscal soundness. According to a regulatory filing, the company had decided to sell all of its 3.74 percent stake (27.04 million shares) in the banking giant to some 60 domestic and foreign institutions, during its shareholders meeting held Thursday. The sale price was 301.5 billion won ($262 million), which accounts 9.7 percent

Market July 23, 2021

South Korea‘s top financial regulator is considering disciplinary measures against overseas cryptocurrency exchanges that are not registered with the nation’s anti-money laundering body, according to the National Assembly‘s National Policy Committee on Thursday. “Business activities carried out by overseas cryptocurrency exchanges targeting local customers without reporting to the Financial Intelligence Unit -- an anti-money laundering unit under the Financial Services C

Market July 22, 2021

Despite state-driven efforts to strengthen ties with Southeast Asian nations, South Korea‘s trade and investment with the region still lag behind China and Taiwan, according to the Federation of Korean Industries Wednesday. Since President Moon Jae-in took office in May 2017, he pushed for elevating economic and investment cooperation with the 10 ASEAN countries -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- in so-called &rdquo

Economy July 21, 2021

A growing number of South Korean teenagers bought apartments in Seoul with financial support from their parents, data showed Monday.  People in their teens bought a total of 69 new homes for speculative purposes in the January-May period, a tenfold increase from a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport submitted to Rep. Park Sang-hyuk of the ruling Democratic Party. The young homeowners’ parents appeared to have handed cash to their

Market July 19, 2021

The fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to put the brakes on South Korea’s economic recovery, darkening the nation’s growth outlook for the third quarter, according to economists Sunday. "Daily new infections rose sharply during the summer vacation season, when private consumption is expected to grow. Possibilities remain that the local economy could contract in the third quarter, affected by the virus resurgence and the toughest Level 4 social distancing," sa

Economy July 18, 2021

It takes 20 years for the female employment rate to reach the same figure of female workers in their first year of marriage, suggesting that child births and rearing are still the main obstacles they face in continuing their careers, a report showed Tuesday. A survey conducted by the Korea Labor Institute, the employment rate among married women in the first year of marriage was 68.1 percent but the figure plunged to 40.5 percent when they reached the fifth year. The job rate of married women

Market July 13, 2021

Responding to rising demand for sustainability in corporate management, Woori Financial Group has decided to invest 100 trillion won ($87.3 billion) in financial products associated with environmental, social and governance, or ESG factors, including credit loans and bonds, by 2030, the banking giant said Monday.  The envisioned plan is part of the group’s mid-and long-term ESG strategies to promote sustainable growth under a new company vision titled “Good Finance for the Ne

Market July 12, 2021

This is the third installment of a series of articles investigating financial activities of seniors during rapid digitalization of the finance industry. -- Ed. Shin Young-sam, a 59-year-old retiree, remembers days at the office working in a tie and suit -- and the glamorous dinners he hosted with clients and colleagues. Leaving his work last year, he now carries a square-shaped backpack and walks around his neighborhood in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, for his new job -- picking up lunch from r

Economy July 11, 2021

The finance ministers of South Korea and Argentina have shared concerns over the normalization of expansionary monetary policies by major economies, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Friday. During a meeting ahead of the Group of 20 meeting of top finance and economic officials held in Venice, Italy, set for Friday and Saturday, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and his Argentine counterpart Martin Guzman raised the possibility that the withdrawal of monetary easing measures, including a i

Economy July 9, 2021

With apartment prices soaring in the South Korean capital of Seoul, a growing number of residents are leaving the city for its surrounding areas, data showed Thursday.  According to data from Statistics Korea, from January to May, an average of 8,823 people moved out of the city each month. The agency forecast that the total net outflow for 2021 would reach 100,000. This contributed to overall changes in population. While Seoul‘s population declined 102,475 in the last six months,

Market July 8, 2021

South Korean credit card issuer Hyundai Card said Wednesday it has launched new credit cards which offer ultimate rewards, exclusively for owners of Hyundai Motor’s premium luxury sedan Genesis. Branded as Genesis Card edition, it is subdivided into two types -- mobility service and electric vehicle service. Depending on their car models, the Genesis owners can choose which card to use.  Cardholders, who are registered at Hyundai Motor‘s membership program called Blue Member

Market July 7, 2021

As the local job market has remained in limbo due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, a growing number of South Koreans in their 20s have started their own businesses, data showed Wednesday.  According to data compiled by Statistics Korea and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, a total of 449,000 startups were launched by individuals between January and April amid a feeble employment market.  Of the total, people aged 30 and under opened 59,000 enterprises during the cited period, up

Economy July 7, 2021

More than half of South Koreans whose financial assets exceed 1 billion won ($893,000) believe that the local stock market may rally this summer on hopes of an economic rebound, a recent survey showed Tuesday.  According to the survey conducted by Samsung Securities, some 64 percent of the company’s 782 high net worth customers, said they look forward to a summer rally in the stock market. Among them, 68 percent forecast the country’s key stock index Kospi would hover around

Market July 6, 2021