[News Focus] Battle intensifies to become ‘Korea’s Goldman Sachs’

With Hana Financial Investment jumping into the local investment banking market last week, competition has heightened among Korean securities firms to scale up their business operations. Hana’s brokerage arm is the latest and sixth in the race to become the nation’s premier investment bank. Following Hana Financial Group’s board approval, the brokerage unit decided to increase its capital by issuing new stocks worth 499.7 billion won ($420.4 million) by March 26. Its net wo

MarketFeb. 10, 2020

‘In the Absence’ raises international awareness of Sewol ferry disaster

Director Yi Seung-jun’s “In the Absence” missed out on the award Oscar for best short-subject documentary Monday, but leaves the Academy Awards having broken new ground as the first-ever Korean documentary to be nominated. “Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl),” a documentary on Afghanistan girls learning to skateboard and gain confidence in life, took home the prize. “In the Absence” deals with the Sewol ferry sinking in April

FilmFeb. 10, 2020

[Josep Borrell] Embracing Europe’s power

The geopolitical upheavals we are witnessing today underline the urgency with which the European Union must find its way in a world increasingly characterized by raw power politics. We Europeans must adjust our mental maps to deal with the world as it is, not as we hoped it would be. This is a world of geostrategic competition, in which some leaders have no scruples about using force, and economic and other instruments are weaponized. To avoid being the losers in today’s US-China competi

ViewpointsFeb. 10, 2020

[Kevin Rudd] The coronavirus and Xi Jinping’s worldview

The coronavirus crisis represents the single biggest challenge for Xi Jinping since he became general secretary of the Communist Party of China in 2012. Individuals and families across China are living in fear. Multiple Chinese provinces are under virtual lockdown. The virus has brought significant parts of the economy to a grinding halt, as firms instruct their employees to work from home. Politically, the blame game bounces between local authorities in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, and

ViewpointsFeb. 10, 2020

Q1 smartphone output may drop to 5-year low due to coronavirus: report

Global smartphone production in the first quarter of the year may drop to a five-year low due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, a market researcher said Monday. TrendForce said it expects global smartphone production in the first quarter to decline 12 percent on-year to 275 million units following the coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 900 people in China. "Delayed resumption work and uncertainties in employees' returns will cause the monthly delivery of key components to

IndustryFeb. 10, 2020

Logistics startup Mesh Korea denies sell-off rumors

South Korea’s logistics startup Mesh Korea -- operator of algorithm-powered micro delivery service Vroong -- denied rumors Monday that it is selling the stakes of its executives, amid a growing conflict between its CEO and other major stakeholders. The deal manager Samjong KPMG is reportedly looking for potential investors in Mesh Korea’s newly issued stocks and shares of existing investors. The exact stake a new investor will control remains unknown, while 

MarketFeb. 10, 2020

MMAA chief meets US PEF Rhone, ex-Trump adviser Bolton

South Korea's institutional investor Military Mutual Aid Association said Monday its Chief Executive Kim Do-ho held a closed-door meeting with a batch of top officials at US-based private equity house Rhone Group, including former US national security adviser John Bolton, in its headquarters in Seoul. Bolton, a former adviser to US President Donald Trump, attended the meeting as the senior adviser to the US private equity firm. He served the same position before joining the White House and

MarketFeb. 10, 2020

[News Focus] Woori, FSS lock horns over Sohn’s leadership

The conflict between Woori Financial Group and South Korea’s financial watchdog has escalated over the disputed leadership of its top executive in light of the alleged extensive financial product misselling. While the group is gearing up to prolong the term of incumbent Chairman Sohn Tae-seung at all costs, the Financial Supervisory Service is set to corner it with a new information-theft case. The FSS on Monday decided to summon its sanctions committee over allegations that Woori Bank

MarketFeb. 10, 2020

‘Parasite’ makes Oscars history with four wins

Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho made history with his feature film “Parasite,” winning four awards at the Oscars on Sunday, including the coveted award for best picture. “Parasite” became the second film ever to win the Palme d’Or and the Oscar for best picture together, after the 1955 romance film “Marty” by Delbert Mann.   The awards ceremony for the 92nd Academy Awards was held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday. Attended by renowned f

FilmFeb. 10, 2020

Bong Joon-ho trains his eyes on class divide

Director Bong Joong-ho and his film “Parasite” were the toast of this year’s Oscars. The dark satire-thriller made history, nabbing four awards, including the prized best picture award, at Monday’s Academy Awards in Los Angeles. While the film may have been unfamiliar to many international audiences, South Korean film enthusiasts and fans of Bong know that the movie is an amalgamation of the director-screenwriter’s past works. During his press conference after he

FilmFeb. 10, 2020

Monitoring ends for nearly 3,000 people who visited Wuhan

Nearly 3,000 people who entered Korea from China’s Wuhan have cleared the two-week monitoring period for possible coronavirus infection, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday. The virus’s incubation period passed as of Monday for 2,991 people, including 1,831 foreigners, who entered Korea from Jan. 13-26 after visiting Wuhan, where the new coronavirus was first detected in December. Since they arrived here, KCDC officials have checked on their condition

Social AffairsFeb. 10, 2020

[Monitor] Will global economy survive coronavirus epidemic?

The global economy is facing its first major test this year as the on-going outbreak of the novel coronavirus (2019n-CoV) is taking a devastating toll on China, the world’s second-largest economy. With the death toll from the outbreak soaring to more than 800 in China as of Sunday and still rising, the global economy is suffering collateral damage as the country accounts for 16.3 percent of global GDP. “Due to the spread of the novel virus, the global economy is likely to shrink

IndustryFeb. 10, 2020

Opposition party threatens to impeach Moon over election scandal

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party on Monday urged President Moon Jae-in to come clean on allegations involving former and incumbent presidential secretaries in an election-meddling scandal, threatening to launch an impeachment campaign. “As soon as the 21st National Assembly is formed, we will push for a parliamentary probe and special investigation. Should President Moon be found to have been involved in any way, we will push for his impeachment,” the party’s floor l

PoliticsFeb. 10, 2020

CJ Group shares credit for Parasite’s historic Oscar win

Capping off the historic moment at the 92nd Academy Awards on Sunday was a relatively unfamiliar face, thanking everyone from her brother to the Academy and general moviegoers for the best film win. That was Lee Mi-kyung, vice chairman of South Korea’s retail and entertainment mogul CJ Group, who -- without the need for a translator -- shared her joy with director Bong Joon-ho and the cast and crew of the first non-English-language film to win the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scien

IndustryFeb. 10, 2020

Korea’s capital market full of opportunities: FSC chief

Giving the thumbs-up to South Korea’s capital market which is undergoing continuous reforms, the nation’s top financial regulator said Monday that foreign investors can discover fresh opportunities here. “Expanding cooperation with startups such as fintech firms, invigorating the asset management market by converting capital flow to corporates and keeping the growth of the pension funds will benefit investors immensely,” Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-s

MarketFeb. 10, 2020

[Diplomatic circuit] Hungary’s top diplomat releases book on Korea-Hungary relations

Hungarian Ambassador to Korea Mozes Csoma has published a photo book that looks back on 30 years of friendship between Seoul and Budapest. Titled “The Relations of the Korean Peninsula and Hungary Seen Through Rare Photos,” the book contains rare pictures that depict the long history of ties between Korea and Hungary. “I wanted to release a book introducing relations between the Korea Peninsula and Hungary to commemorate last year’s 30th anniversary of diplomatic tie

Diplomatic CircuitFeb. 10, 2020

[Diplomatic circuit] Korean content companies eye investment opportunities in the Philippines

A delegation of South Korean content companies visited the Philippine capital last week to research investment opportunities there. The Feb. 4-7 trip to Manila was organized by the ASEAN-Korea Center in Seoul as part of the follow-up to last year’s summit in Busan between Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. “The Philippines is not only an attractive content market with a high demand for the Korean Wave, but also a promising outsourcing partner with an immense tec

Diplomatic CircuitFeb. 10, 2020

South Korea, US tune stances on inter-Korean economic cooperation

South Korea and the US held a working group meeting on Monday in Seoul, aimed at coordinating policy on North Korea, as Seoul seeks to engage the North through inter-Korean exchanges, such as allowing South Korean travelers to visit North Korea. 　 Alex Wong, US deputy assistant secretary of state for North Korea, arrived at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in central Seoul for a closed-door meeting with his South Korean counterpart Rhee Dong-yeol, director general of the Korean Peninsula Peace

Foreign AffairsFeb. 10, 2020

Travel, transport sectors suffer most from novel coronavirus outbreak

The continued spread of China’s new coronavirus is hitting the South Korean economy hard, adversely affecting many sectors including travel, tourism, services, airlines and auto firms. Among them, the tourism industry has been more severely affected due to fears of infections in tourist spots and airports where many people gather. Hana Tour, the nation’s biggest tour agency, saw overseas travel demand dip around 50 percent last month. It is urging employees to apply for unpaid l

IndustryFeb. 10, 2020