KOMSCO holds over 800 IP assets as of 2019

The state-run Korea Minting and Security Printing & ID Card Operating Corp. added 69 new intellectual property assets in 2019, bringing its total to 830, officials said Thursday. The affiliated technology research institute applied for 77 IP registrations, including 32 patents, 17 design rights, 16 computer programs, and nine trademarks in 2019. Of them, 69 were approved by the Korean Intellectual Property Office.The accumulated IP assets of KOMSCO as of end-December were up 9.1 percent from

Jan. 9, 2020

Shinhan Financial kicks off tailor-made fund with KKR

Shinhan Financial Group said Thursday it has created a tailor-made fund worth $200 million with global private equity fund operator Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.The move reflected Shinhan’s efforts to grow beyond the local market and promote its global alternative investment capacity down the road.It also came in line with a memorandum of understanding on global alternative investment partnership that the two counterparts had signed in September 2018. The latest fund, tailor-made exclusively fo

Jan. 9, 2020

KDB, K-Growth to earmark W400b fund for supply chain autonomy

South Korea‘s state-owned lender Korea Development Bank and state-led fund-of-funds management company Korea Growth Investment (K-Growth) are looking for partners to earmark a combined 400 billion won ($344.9 million) to support materials and components sectors here and ensure national self-sufficiency in manufacturing supply chains.With the state backing 220 billion won, the funds are intended to foster the growth of Korean firms dedicated to materials components and equipment and ultimat

Jan. 9, 2020

Kakao hits yearly high on Q4 earnings hope

Shares of Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea's largest messaging app, Kakao Talk, climbed to a yearly high on the Seoul bourse Thursday, helped by a rosy quarterly earnings outlook. Kakao stocks closed at 164,000 won ($141.56), up 2.82 percent from the previous session's close.The tech firm's stock rally came amid high hopes for the firm's earnings last year. NH Investment & Securities estimated Kakao's quarterly sales to grow 26.4 percent to 85.1 billion won in the October-December pe

Jan. 9, 2020

[News Analysis] Can Delivery Hero-Woowa deal reshape Korea’s food delivery market?

For decades, free door-to-door food delivery service has been a common option for all kinds of South Korean restaurants.Not just pizzas, fried chicken and Chinese food, but also soups and meat dishes are just a phone call away – for delivery to homes, offices and even parks and other public spaces. The advent of digitalization, however, has led to the rise of online on-demand food delivery service platforms. Homegrown mobile apps, including Baedal Minjok, Yogiyo, Baedaltong, as well as exp

Jan. 8, 2020

Stock market adds just 1 company to ‘W1tr club’ last year

The South Korean stock market saw only one listed firm join its 1 trillion won ($849 million) market capitalization club last year, reflecting the overall sluggish performance, according to the Korea Exchange on Wednesday.The local stock market operator said in its report that there were 194 listed companies in the exclusive club at the end of last year, just one more than the previous year.Seoul’s benchmark Kospi welcomed three new big caps, for a total of 168. The tech-laden secondary Ko

Jan. 8, 2020

SK hynix hits all-time high on improved market outlook

Shares in SK hynix Inc., the world's second-largest DRAM maker, traded at an all-time high on Wednesday on expectations that the chipmaking sector is set to improve this year after bottoming out in the fourth quarter of last year.SK hynix finished at 97,400 won ($83.18) on Wednesday, up 3.62 percent from the previous session's close, bucking a 1.11 percent dip in the benchmark KOSPI. The shares touched a record high of 99,500 won at 11:15 a.m., the highest-ever quotation. Investors bet that the

Jan. 8, 2020

Lime Asset’s fund fiasco weighs on local banks

More than one-third of local fund operator Lime Asset Management’s now-frozen private equity fund was sold via Korean commercial banks last year, the financial watchdog said Tuesday, further igniting trust issues involving lenders already facing criticism for misselling risky financial products.　As of late July, domestic banks, including Woori Bank, Shinhan Bank and KEB Hana Bank, had sold a combined 2 trillion won ($1.72 billion) of the fund on behalf of Lime Asset, according to an ongoin

Jan. 7, 2020

Trademark for ‘Pengsoo’ still available to EBS

The Korean Intellectual Property Office on Tuesday released a statement to dispel the latest concerns that the trademark for “Pengsoo,” a YouTube celebrity penguin character, may be acquired by an irrelevant third party.“An increasing number of third parties have been submitting trademark applications (ahead of the original content creators), seeking to make profits,” the IP office said.“Following news reports related to the Pengsoo trademark issue, we felt the need

Jan. 7, 2020

Moon’s shareholder engagement push to empower pension funds

South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday called for the swift revision of laws to allow institutional investors to ramp up shareholder engagement in the domestic market. This, he stressed, would prevent abuses of power in the business world. In his New Year’s speech, Moon urged the government to amend the Capital Markets Act and the Commercial Act, saying the proposed changes were critical to ensure fairness in the domestic market.“Fairness is the backbone of innovation and incl

Jan. 7, 2020

Korean stock market hit by US-Iran conflict

The Korean stock market was impacted by the intensifying geopolitical tensions between the US and Iran, with negative repercussions expected to continue, according to analysts Monday.Seoul’s benchmark bourse Kospi opened sharply low -- down 21.49 points, or 0.99 percent, from the previous session. The weak start continued through the day and it closed at 2,155.07. The tech-heavy Kosdaq also slipped 14.62 points, or 2.18 percent, to 655.31.Most large caps in the local market were in negativ

Jan. 6, 2020

How to allure Parisians? Marketing startup Ppanam has an answer

France, a beauty and fashion powerhouse, has been a hard nut to crack for many Korean cosmetics companies. Although local South Korean brands have spent a huge amount on marketing since the 1980s to gain traction there, they have seen little success. Making matters worse, social media has rapidly transformed marketing trends, meaning traditional marketing through TV commercials and offline stores are not as effective as before.Korean influencer marketing startup Ppanam’s CEO Ham Dong-hyuk

Jan. 6, 2020

[News Focus] ESG drive of Korean banks in spotlight

Bringing both financial sustainability and transparency have been the focus of South Korean banks amid growing calls around the world for good corporate governance practices and increased predictability in the market.Companies here -- both financial and nonfinancial -- floated an almost combined $13 billion worth of environmental, social and corporate governance-linked bonds in 2019 alone, nearly double from the previous year’s corresponding figure of $7 billion, according to data provided

Jan. 6, 2020

Korea's FX reserves hit record high in Dec.

South Korea's foreign exchange reserves climbed to a record high in December on the back of the weakening of the US greenback, which pushed up the dollar value of other foreign currencies held by the country, central bank data showed Monday.The country's foreign exchange reserves came to $408.82 billion as of the end of last month, up $1.36 billion from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea.The amount marks the world's ninth largest.The increase "mainly stems from an

Jan. 6, 2020

[News Focus] Who’s going to be fintech star in 2020?

An inflow of new players is likely to intensify the heated digitalization race in South Korea’s financial industry this year, along with the industry-wide efforts to expand the scope of business and accelerate innovation. Taking a bold step in a heavily regulated country in terms of customer information protection and security, traditional banks and financial institutions late last year started what is called an open banking service.Offering new business opportunities to small-sized financ

Jan. 5, 2020

Politics-themed stocks to rally ahead of April general elections

Ahead of the April parliamentary elections, politics-themed stocks are already experiencing a roller-coaster ride. While Seoul’s benchmark Kospi has stayed in a box pattern, stocks related to political figures are expected to show more volatility as elections approach.Related stocks could either surge or dip depending on the candidates’ political moves or performance. Since stock price manipulators take advantage of such stocks, financial authorities have vowed to monitor them closel

Jan. 5, 2020

Gold prices rise on Middle East tensions

Escalating geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran have caused gold prices to rise in South Korea and led to a surge in trade of the precious metal, according to the local exchange on Sunday.According to the Korea Exchange, a gram of gold changed hands at 57,850 won ($49.50) on Friday, up 1.74 percent from a day earlier. The bourse operator also said the value of daily gold trading jumped 60.1 percent on-day to 3.64 billion won on Friday.  In contrast, the benchmark Korea C

Jan. 5, 2020

Major banks up ante for W2tr Prudential Life bid

Major banking groups in South Korea are revealing their appetite for what could become the largest acquisition deal in the nation’s financial industry this year: a 100 percent stake in Prudential Life Insurance of Korea valued at some 2 trillion won ($1.7 billion).The latest to express an interest was Woori Financial Group Chairman Sohn Tae-seung on Friday. He told reporters at a New Year gathering event of financial circles in Korea that he is “willing to do an M&A” of Pru

Jan. 5, 2020

Smartphones beat personal computers in stock trading for 1st time

Smartphones overtook personal computers as the top stock-trading platform in South Korea last year, data showed Sunday. Stock trading via smartphones accounted for an average 40.66 percent of daily trading on the main KOSPI market last year, according to the data by the nation's bourse operator. In comparison, stock trading via personal computers accounted for 38.89 percent of daily trading on the KOSPI market last year.  It was the first time that more stock trading took place on smartphon

Jan. 5, 2020

Kakao Bank to push for IPO in second half of this year

Kakao Bank, South Korea's largest internet-only bank, is pushing for a listing on the country's stock market by the end of this year, a top executive said Friday.Lee Yong-woo, co-CEO at Kakao Bank, gave the time frame for an initial public offering (IPO) during a meeting with reporters at a Seoul hotel. It marked the first time that a top bank executive mentioned a specific time frame.Still, another Kakao Bank official said Lee's comments mean that the bank will make preparations in the second h

Jan. 3, 2020