[GLOBAL FINANCE AWARDS] Financial ecosystems needed to buttress virtuous cycle of capital flows

By Yoo Chang-jo / Professor of marketing at Dongguk University The Korea Herald initiated the Global Finance Awards with a belief that the nation needs to improve the competitiveness of the local financial sector and create financial ecosystems that are recognized worldwide to promote its growth momentum in the “fourth industrial revolution.” The awards, in their fifth year, aim to reward financiers and financial institutions that have not only expanded access to financial services

Dec. 6, 2021

[GLOBAL FINANCE AWARDS] KakaoBank CEO embraces digital wave, innovates financial services

Yun Ho-young, CEO of South Korea’s largest digital-only bank, KakaoBank, has brought changes in one of the country’s most conservative industries with innovative noncontact services. Playing a key role in leading the company’s digital banking drive, Yun has put KakaoBank in a position to receive the highest market valuation among local financial companies. Investors are keeping an eye on the CEO’s next steps toward innovation. “From the start, KakaoBank was differ

Dec. 6, 2021

[GLOBAL FINANCE AWARDS] KB chairman joins ranks of global ESG leaders

FINANCIER OF THE YEAR / KB FINANCIAL GROUP CHAIRMAN YOON JONG-KYOO Despite the problems of the pandemic, 2021 was a landmark year for KB Financial Group as it celebrated its 20th anniversary. Under the leadership of its Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo, the firm not only clinched the title of the nation’s No.1 banking group by total asset, but made unprecedented progress in adoption of environmental, social and governance values, including an endorsement by one of the most important global ESG o

Dec. 6, 2021

[Subway Stories] Subway made you late to work? Get proof from Seoul Metro

Seoul Subway Stories bring you interesting and informative stories about the subway in and around Seoul -- Ed. Carrying millions of commuters every day between Seoul and its sprawling suburbs, Seoul’s subway is known for its reliability. But if your train was delayed, making you late for work this morning, you can request an excuse letter from Seoul Metro. Records of train delays on Line 1 to Line 9 over the last 30 days are kept on the official Seoul Metro website. Only delays longer

Dec. 6, 2021

Seoul stocks gain for 4th session on easing virus woes

South Korean stocks advanced for the fourth straight session Monday on easing woes over the impact of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) added 4.92 points, or 0.17 percent, to close at 2,973.25 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 468 million shares worth some 9.1 trillion won ($7.7 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 543 to 319. Foreigners bought a net 97 billion won and ins

Dec. 6, 2021

Auto journalists pick Genesis’ GV 60 as car of month

The Korea Automobile Journalists Association said Monday that it has chosen Hyundai Motor’s luxury brand Genesis’ GV 60, its first electric car based on its exclusive EV-dedicated modular platform, as its car of the month. Every month, the association selects its best model among new vehicles and updated versions that were launched within the past month, based on five criteria including exterior and interior design, powertrain performance, safety and comfort features, energy efficie

Dec. 6, 2021

Will eased rule on capital gains tax effective?

SEJONG -- Homeowners will enjoy an increased capital gains exemption when they sell their homes after a law was passed. The National Assembly has passed the bill on raising the upper level for the tax exemption from the current 900 million won to 1.2 billion won. The revised law -- which is not applicable to multiple homeowners but to those owning only one home -- will take effect in the coming weeks. Under the current 900 million-won standard, a homeowner who purchased a property at 700 mill

Dec. 6, 2021

1 in 2 corporate executives in Korea under age 51: data

Almost one in two corporate executives of South Korea’s top conglomerates and listed companies were under 51, either Generation X or Millennials, industry data showed Monday. Of 7,438 executives in South Korea’s top 30 conglomerates and 197 listed companies, 46.8 percent, or 3,484 of them, were Gen Xers -- those born between 1969 the early 1980s -- or Millennials also referred as Generation Y -- those born after 1981, as of the third quarter of this year, according to corporat

Dec. 6, 2021

Got oat milk? New dairy alternative takes hold in Korea

Coffee chains, food companies and the milk industry are seeing oat milk as a new alternative to dairy, as the industry tries to appeal to a growing number of health-conscious consumers and the budding vegan trend in South Korea. While oat milk is considered a common alternative to typical dairy milk in countries like the United States and Europe, the drink is relatively new here in Korea.  Leading the local oat milk trend here is, ironically, the milk industry.  In a country where

Dec. 6, 2021

Samsung Electronics tops $110b in annual exports

Samsung Electronics was recognized with a $110 billion Tower of Export at the 58th Trade Day in South Korea, in an unprecedented move among companies of Asia’s fourth-largest economy, data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy showed Monday. This comes as the Korean technology bellwether earned $113.2 billion from July 2020 to June this year from exports of semiconductor chips, consumer electronic goods and mobile handsets. This accounted for a fifth of the total exports of Kor

Dec. 6, 2021

[Exclusive] Samsung SDI batteries to power electric water taxis in San Francisco

A major US ride-sharing company will operate electric water taxis powered by Samsung SDI batteries near the Golden Gate Bridge next year. According to industry sources on Monday, the San Francisco-based startup will operate three electric water taxis -- each loaded with 220 kilowatt-hours of Samsung SDI batteries -- in the Golden Gate Strait starting in the second quarter of next year. The price of the electric water taxi is around $280,000 and it can carry one driver and six passengers. Th

Dec. 6, 2021

[From the Scene] Ulsan, city of highest CO2 emissions in Korea bets future on underground hydrogen pipelines

ULSAN -- A city the size of Hong Kong churns out 5,400 cars every day, builds 12 percent of the world’s ships and runs Asia’s third-largest petrochemicals complex. It’s no surprise that Ulsan has the highest carbon emissions per person in South Korea. The port city, sitting on the southeast coast of the Korean Peninsula, aims to turn its weakness into a strength by collecting massive waste hydrogen generated at petrochemical facilities and using it as a fuel to power the c

Dec. 6, 2021

Why hydrogen stations in Korea have only 1 charger

ULSAN -- Through a 1.8-kilometer underground pipeline, hydrogen compressed by pressure 20 times greater than normal atmosphere flows to a remote hydrogen filling station in Ulsan, a port city located on the southeast coast of the Korean Peninsula. Completed in December last year, the facility is the pride of Ulsan, as it stands as South Korea’s first hydrogen fueling station directly connected to an underground pipeline, bringing waste hydrogen from nearby petrochemical facilities and p

Dec. 6, 2021

S. Korea, ADB to hold startup road show this week

South Korea and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) plan to co-host a road show this week with an aim to facilitate Korean startups' foray into the Asia-Pacific region and find ways to promote sustainable growth of developing nations, the finance ministry said Monday. The ADB Ventures Korean Roadshow will be held Friday both via YouTube streaming and at Dream Plus in Seoul's southern district of Gangnam, according to the finance and SME ministries. At the event, the Korean government plans to pro

Dec. 6, 2021

Kyobo Life demands punishment of Deloitte Anjin accountants

Kyobo Life Insurance, one of South Korea's leading life insurers, said Monday that it has requested a reinvestigation into and punishment of some accountants of Deloitte Anjin accused of conspiring to inflate the prices of a put option that one of its strategic investors exercised years earlier. In October 2018, Affinity Equity Partners exercised a put option on 6 million shares in Kyobo Life Insurance at a strike price of 409,000 won ($345) per share after the insurer failed to deliver on its

Dec. 6, 2021

[Graphic News] No. of Koreans with assets over W1b climbs 10%

　Amid liquidity-driven booms in the real estate and stock markets during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people with assets of more than 1 billion won ($838,000) increased by over 10 percent last year from a year earlier, a report showed.  　The number of Koreans with financial assets worth over 1 billion won stood at 390,000 last year, taking up 0.76 percent of the total population, according to the Korea Wealth Report 2021 released by KB Financial Group Research Institute. 　The lat

Dec. 6, 2021

S. Korea, ASEAN agree to quicken customs procedure for their FTA

South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed to address sticky issues in customs procedures for better implementation of their free trade agreement (FTA), the finance ministry said Monday. Under the agreement, South Korean firms will be able to receive tariff benefits if they submit a copy of certificates of origin when they export goods to the 10 member states of ASEAN, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Korean exporters have had difficulties a

Dec. 6, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower on omicron concerns

South Korean stocks opened steeply lower Monday, tracking losses on Wall Street that stemmed from worries about the omicron variant of the coronavirus. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 30.26 points, or 1.02 percent, to 2,938.07 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks came off to a weak start, led by foreign and institutional sell-offs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 0.17 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite declined 1.92 percent amid r

Dec. 6, 2021

Small merchants' sentiment dips for Dec. amid soaring coronavirus cases

South Korean small merchants' business confidence worsened for December in the wake of a surge in coronavirus infections, a poll showed Monday. The Small Enterprise and Market Service said its business survey index (BSI) for small merchants came to 85.4 for this month, down 2.2 points from the previous month. It marks the first time in four months that the small merchants' BSI has gone down from the previous month. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. The survey of 2,400

Dec. 6, 2021

Growth of insurance firms' lending slows in Q3

South Korean insurance companies saw their lending grow at a slower pace in the third quarter from three months earlier due to tougher rules on household loans, data showed Monday. Insurers' outstanding loans totaled 262.4 trillion won ($222 billion) as of the end of September, up 2.1 trillion won from the prior quarter, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Yet the figure was down from the on-quarter increase of 5.2 trillion won in the previous quarter. From a ye

Dec. 6, 2021