Banks to issue new trading accounts for cryptocurrencies next week

Six South Korean banks will begin issuing new trading accounts for cryptocurrencies next week by introducing a system that bans the use of anonymous accounts in cryptocurrency transactions, a senior financial regulator said Tuesday.When the banks introduce the system of verifying cryptocurrency investors' identification next Tuesday, current virtual accounts for virtual coins will be banned the same day, Kim Yong-beom, vice chairman of the Financial Services Commission, told reporters.Financial

Jan. 23, 2018

[Advertorial] Eximbank, K-sure partner to foster builders’ overseas projects

The Export-Import Bank of Korea and Korea Trade Insurance Corporation (K-sure) signed a memorandum of understanding Monday to help Korean companies secure more construction and shipbuilding projects overseas and create jobs. Eun Sung-soo, chief of the Eximbank, and Moon Jae-do, head of K-sure, vowed to enhance cooperation for policy support on bidders looking to win overseas projects, in a meeting held Monday in Eximbank headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul.  Eximbank and K-sure agreed to share i

Jan. 22, 2018

Kakao Bank to start housing deposit loan service

Kakao Bank, South Korea’s biggest direct bank, announced Monday it would start selling housing deposit loan products for either a two-year period jeonse (lease with down payment) contract or monthly rent, from Tuesday.A face-to-face process when submitting documents will not be required, like other products of the online-only bank, partly with the help of scraping technologies that enable the bank to extract documents regarding housing deposit loan borrowers’ identification.The annou

Jan. 22, 2018

Govt. to collect 24.2% of taxes on income by virtual currency exchanges

The government said Monday it will collect up to 24.2 percent of corporate and local income taxes from South Korea's cryptocurrency exchanges this year.The Seoul government has been striving to rein in the virtual currency frenzy in Asia's fourth-largest economy while contemplating a bill to ban cryptocurrency exchanges.Amid concerns over a bubble, the government last month banned the opening of new virtual accounts for cryptocurrency investors and required virtual currency traders to change the

Jan. 22, 2018

[Kosdaq Star] Test-prep firm MegaStudyEdu surges on takeover deals

This is the 49th in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- Ed.On South Korea‘s second-tier stock market, not only tech and bio companies are on the rise, but also one unique industry has been steadily growing: education services. Reflecting the country’s high enthusiasm for education and aspirations for better jobs, education services companies have been gaining presence in the market dominated by tech companies. MegaStudyEdu, a test

Jan. 21, 2018

Seoul to require banks to keep record of cryptocurrency transactions

The government plans to require banks and exchanges to keep records of cryptocurrency transactions, in a potential move to impose taxes on the largely covert deals, financial authorities said Sunday.Coming in the wake of the government’s earlier order to convert all cryptocurrency accounts into real-name accounts, the idea reflected Seoul‘s efforts to assume control of the overheated market.The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit is currently working on a set of anti-money laundering g

Jan. 21, 2018

[Monitor] Korean cryptocurrency exchange tops world in trade volume

Among cryptocurrency exchanges around the world, the one with the largest volume of transactions is based in South Korea, showed data from tallying website CoinMarketCap. As of 10:40 a.m. Thursday, the transaction volume for 24 hours at Upbit based in South Korea reached $7.577 billion, far ahead of Hong Kong’s Binance, which ranked second.Except for the No. 1 and No. 3 spots, most exchanges with large transactions were located in Hong Kong and China. Although Upbit topped the world market

Jan. 19, 2018

Justice Ministry official depicts crypto coin founders as scammers

A high-ranking Ministry of Justice official on Thursday described cryptocurrency founders as scammers and insisted that any purchase of encrypted coins in Korea translates into an outflow of cash.Shim Jae-chul, an official at Justice Ministry in charge of policy and planning, said in a panel session held in the National Assembly Thursday that the recent cryptocurrency speculation in Korea stems from coin founders’ proclamation that their coins would turn into an alternative to gold or a me

Jan. 18, 2018

FSS official who profited from cryptocurrency was involved in govt measures: report

A Financial Supervisory Service employee who allegedly sold off his cryptocurrency coins just before the release of the government’s anti-speculative measures was found to have been a member of the task force preparing the plans.The Office for Government Policy Coordination and the FSS said Thursday that the official who reportedly sold his coins right before the government’s announcement was an FSS employee dispatched to the Policy Coordination Office to prepare measures aimed to cu

Jan. 18, 2018

'Bitcoin success story’ sparks debate online

Amid the South Korean government drawing up measures to regulate the recent craze for cryptocurrency, an anonymous post online has sparked heated debate. Last month, an online poster shared his sympathies for a fried chicken restaurant owner and said, “I buy fried chicken with the money I earned through bitcoin trading. It is very easy to earn money if you learn the rules of (cryptocurrency) trading. I feel sorry for the restaurant owner, who keeps his business up and running until the lat

Jan. 18, 2018

Cryptocurrency ban could destroy economies for decades: Tapscott

Best-selling author and blockchain advocate Don Tapscott on Wednesday called for South Korea’s “sensible regulation” on cryptocurrency tokens and initial coin offerings, warning the government could otherwise “destroy economies for decades,” during a press conference in Seoul.Tapscott called bans on cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings “heavy-handed approaches used by dictators and undemocratic countries,” and contrasted them with “sensible

Jan. 18, 2018

[Newsmaker] Policy drive, biotech boom bring Kosdaq to 16-year high

South Korea’s second-tier Kosdaq hit a 16-year high, crossing 900 points at Tuesday’s close for the first time since the decline of the US-led information technology boom of the early 2000s, this time on lofty expectations for state policy support and an ongoing biotech boom. The Kosdaq closed at 901.23 Tuesday, up 1.1 percent from Monday’s close. The index has jumped 36.7 percent in three months. The closing mark topped 900 for the first time since March 2002. On Wednesday, th

Jan. 17, 2018

Cryptocurrency exchange closedown still option: finance minister

Uncertainty in South Korea concerning cryptocurrency regulations continues, with the finance minister reiterating his vow to curb speculations, while a petition by disgruntled investors awaits an official reply from the presidential office. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon on Tuesday said that the suggestion to close down cryptocurrency exchanges is still an option under consideration, despite anticipated side effects.“(The government) shall come up (with cryptocurr

Jan. 16, 2018

[Herald Interview] Moin out to cut cost of remittance

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews on promising startups in the fintech industry. This is the eighth installment. — Ed.Despite the constant wave of technological advances, the remittance method has evolved little in South Korea over the past few decades, with only banks legally allowed to provide remittance services.Now with the growth of the fintech industry, a startup can address problems in interbank remittance and bring more benefits to customers, according to Ian Su

Jan. 16, 2018

Foreigners continue buying spree of Korean shares amid solid earnings

Foreigners have net bought more than 2.2 trillion won ($2 billion) worth of South Korean stocks this year in continuation of their buying spree from 2017, the Korea Exchange said Tuesday, amid strong performance by local firms.Offshore investors acquired listed shares valued at 10.2 trillion won last year on solid earnings buttressed by rising exports. The total net purchase of Korean shares by foreign investors for the first 15 days of this month breaks down to 1.4 trillion won of stocks listed

Jan. 16, 2018

Korea to draw up measures to clamp down on 'irrational' cryptocurrency investment

South Korea will come up with a set of measures to clamp down on the "irrational" investment craze for cryptocurrency here, the country's chief economic policymaker said Tuesday, with a potential shutdown of exchanges still on the table."The government stance is that it needs to regulate cryptocurrency investment as it is a largely speculative investment," Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon said in a radio program interview."The shutdown of virtual currency exchanges is stil

Jan. 16, 2018

Nearly 2 million S. Koreans estimated to have used cryptocurrency apps

Nearly 2 million South Koreans are estimated to have used cryptocurrency applications with their smartphone in the past week, data showed Monday. A total of 1.96 million people may have used apps that allow them to handle digital currencies, such as bitcoin and ethereum, last week, up from 140,000 tallied between Oct. 30 and Nov. 5, according to data from WiseApp, an application analytics company.Cryptocurrencies have rapidly gained popularity in recent weeks among South Korean investors ho

Jan. 15, 2018

S. Korea split over cryptocurrency measures

Rattled by the government’s series of measures seeking to curb cryptocurrency speculation, South Korea now finds itself sharply divided over the legitimacy of the high-stakes transactions.In a hurried move to pacify the bewildered market, the government vowed Monday to fully review feedback before making a final policy decision, suggesting that the recently mentioned shutdown of operators is unlikely under current circumstances.“The shutting down of exchanges as proposed by the justi

Jan. 15, 2018

Watchdog, Hana Financial panel at odds over chairman nomination process

Tension has escalated over the chairman nomination process at Hana Financial Group, following the nomination committee’s refusal to delay the shortlisting of candidates as demanded by the regulator that had cited ongoing probes.Worsening the standoff was Choi Jong-ku, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, who warned the financial institute during a press briefing Monday.“If you in the financial sector have an elitist idea and say, ‘No one can interrupt what I do,&rsquo

Jan. 15, 2018

Foreigners bought W10tr worth of Korean stocks in 2017: FSS

Foreigners net purchased more than 10 trillion won ($9.4 billion) worth of stocks listed on the Korean bourses last year amid solid earnings by local companies amid growing exports, government data showed Monday.Offshore investors acquired listed shares valued at 10.2 trillion won, the Financial Supervisory Service said.Foreigners poured money into Samsung Electronics Co. and other information technology firms.  The purchase by US investors reached 13.2 trillion won, while Europeans net bou

Jan. 15, 2018