Articles by Son Ji-hyoung
Son Ji-hyoung
consnow@heraldcorp.com-
[Herald Interview] ‘Blockchain can take on shady side of entertainment industry’
At the core of the success of K-pop and Korean drama series are record labels and management agencies that allow their artists’ work to be distributed to global audiences and help them earn star status through vigorous marketing.The commanding presence of such intermediaries in creating world-famous artists here may have proved successful so far, but it has also come with adverse effects and inefficiencies, such as frequent claims of artists being exploited or excessive financial burdens of agen
Technology Feb. 12, 2018
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Samsung Electronics total assets topped W300tr
Samsung Electronics was reported to be worth 301.8 trillion won ($276.6 billion) as of the end of 2017, growing threefold compared to a decade ago, in part backed by rising value of tangible assets like facilities and real estate, according to a news report Sunday. Samsung Electronics marked the first private company in South Korea, excluding financial firms like banks, to see its total assets valued at over 300 trillion won. (Yonhap)The value of Samsung Electronics‘ total assets in 2017 soared
Industry Feb. 11, 2018
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[Photo News] Isolated for centuries, Gangneung opens doors
Having a climate with cooler summers and milder winters, as well as refreshing coastal views with creamy sand and splashing blue ocean waves, the city of Gangneung remained isolated for centuries. A 500 kilometer-long mountain range separates the coastal city from the nation’s major metropolitan cities, including Seoul. Demarcating the Korean Peninsula and stretching from Wonsan in North Korea to Busan, the mountain range Taebaek made a mountain pass rising 832 meters above sea level -- Daegw
Olympic Games Feb. 9, 2018
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Hyundai US dealer sponsors PyeongChang‘s only Ghanaian athlete
Akwasi Frimpong, a Dutch-Ghanaian skeleton slider, will be one of the 11 athletes representing African nations, and the only one competing for Ghana, at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games.Before he was confirmed to be competing at the Olympics last month, Frimpong, 31, was able to commute to training sessions and competitions in North America, carrying his sled and other pieces of equipment, with the help of a local dealer of Korean automaker Hyundai Motor throughout the 2017-18 season. Akwasi Fr
Mobility Feb. 8, 2018
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Celltrion to transfer to Kospi on Friday
Celltrion, a biosimilar maker listed on South Korea’s second-tier bourse Kosdaq, will begin trading on the top-tier market Kospi starting Friday, according to the Korea Exchange on Wednesday.Celltrion is the largest Kosdaq-listed share, with 31.4 trillion won ($28.9 billion) in market cap as of Wednesday. The maker of biosimilar drugs, such as Remsima and Truxima, is expected to constitute Korean markets’ composite benchmark indexes such as KRX 300 and Kospi 200. On Monday, the KRX,
Market Feb. 7, 2018
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KOFIA hails halt of tax change for foreign investors
The Korea Financial Investment Association hailed Tuesday the decision by the Ministry of Finance and Strategy to suspend plans to impose capital gains tax on a wider range of foreign investors from nations that do not have a tax treaty with Korea.Kwon Yong-won, chairman of the self-regulatory organization for financial investment industry, called the decision “a cornerstone for building a stable condition for investors at home and abroad,” in a release Tuesday. “We welcome the
Market Feb. 6, 2018
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Samsung Lee's appeal puts spotlight on Lotte Chairman Shin's verdict
The ruling Monday that reduced the sentence of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is bringing attention to Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin’s court verdict slated for next week.Monday’s verdict, which freed Lee, is expected to set the bar for how rulings on bribery charges involving family-run conglomerate owners will unfold. Lotte’s Shin, 62, will face a court verdict at the Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday on charges of bribery worth 7 billion won ($6.4 million) to a foundation
Industry Feb. 6, 2018
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Authorities to keep close tabs on widening volatility in US markets
South Korea‘s authorities said on Tuesday they would keep close tabs on the widening volatility in the markets in the United States that have cast a shadow on stock markets here. “We will closely watch on how the US market volatility would impact local markets,” the Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol told press Tuesday.Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Choe Heung-sik also asked high-ranking officials in a meeting to brace for negative impacts, saying the constant rise in stock pri
Market Feb. 6, 2018
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Hawkish Fed, strong dollar jolt Korean markets
South Korea’s stock markets tumbled and sovereign bond yields rose sharply Monday in sync with other bearish financial markets in the United States and Asia, amid the US Federal Reserve’s signal for a March rate hike, the hawkish remarks of outgoing Fed chair Janet Yellen and the strengthening dollar. Analysts here said the impact on the market from the hawkish US Fed is inevitable, but at the same time played down possibilities of a lingering impact on the market. Korea’s top-
Market Feb. 5, 2018
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[Kosdaq Star] ‘Smart’ momentum highlights Posco ICT
This is the 50th in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- Ed.Posco ICT, an affiliate of steelmaking giant Posco, is one of a few stocks that step outside the box of dominantly strong sectors such as biopharma on the second-tier Kosdaq bourse, showing a stellar performance on its “smart” business portfolio.Growing global demand for building “smart” cities -- those built on infrastructure powered by information and communi
Market Feb. 4, 2018
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End to ‘Kimchi premium’? Bitcoin nosedives below W8m
Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency in the world in market cap, sank further in South Korea on Friday, amid government talks for tighter regulation on the unfettered market. It was trading below the world average in Korea at around 7.7 million won ($7,090) per coin at around 9:50 p.m., a decrease of nearly 25 percent in 24 hours, according to the a local cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb.Bitcoin plummeted a day after the police raided the operator of Bi
Market Feb. 2, 2018
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Sovereign bonds take breather despite hawkish FOMC
South Korea’s state bonds took a breather Thursday despite a hawkish stance posed by the US Federal Open Market Committee during its decision to hold the key rate steady Wednesday.On Thursday, the three-year state bond yield slid 2.5 basis point to 2.25 percent, while the five-year sovereign bond yield sank 3.2 basis points to 2.54 percent compared to the Wednesday session’s close, according to an estimate by the Korea Financial Investment Association. The 20-year bond yield dipped 2
Market Feb. 1, 2018
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Inflation weakest in 17 months, Seoul vows actions to keep prices flat
South Korea’s monthly consumer inflation came to 1 percent in January on-year, the slowest gain in 17 months, as the prices of agricultural goods such as vegetables fell, data showed Thursday.Calling such weak inflation “economic stability at target range,” the government pledged Thursday to carry out pre-emptive measures to curb consumer price fluctuations ahead of next week’s 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games and the national Lunar New Year holiday later in the mont
Economy Feb. 1, 2018
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Korea court orders seizure of bitcoins worth $2.3m earned from pornography
South Korea‘s appellate court ordered Tuesday the seizure of 191 bitcoins, worth 2.4 billion won ($2.3 million), as of 11:15 a.m. earned by providing online pornography content, overturning a district court‘s rule in September 2017 that implied seizing cryptocurrency was unlawful.This is the first time a Korean court has recognized virtual currencies encrypted on distributed ledgers as a means of profit, and therefore subject to confiscation. This carries with it an acknowledgement t
Market Jan. 30, 2018
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KRX unveils new composite benchmark KRX 300 week ahead of launch
The Korea Exchange, operator of the stock markets Kospi and Kosdaq, announced immediately after markets closed Tuesday a list of firms included on the new composite benchmark index KRX 300, ahead of its launch on Feb. 5. On the list were 305 firms. Of them 237 -- making up of 91.1 percent of the index’s market cap as of Friday -- were from the top-tier Kospi, while the other 68 came from the second-tier Kosdaq. The 305 companies were selected among the top 700 firms in market cap from both
Market Jan. 30, 2018
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