Rich people from non-Seoul area snapping up Seoul apartments

Rich people living outside the Seoul area are rushing to buy apartments in the capital city to secure real estate as a means for stable investment, data showed Tuesday. According to the Korea Real Estate Board, the number of apartments bought by people residing outside of Seoul accounted for 25.3 percent of the total 131,996 apartments purchased in the city as of July. Compared to 19.7 percent in July 2017, the purchasing spree of cash-rich non-Seoul residents has accelerated, market insiders

Sept. 14, 2021

Seoul stocks open steeply higher ahead of US inflation data release

South Korean stocks opened steeply higher Tuesday as investors await the release of US consumer price data, seeking more clues about the Federal Reserve's timeline for tapering its stimulus. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 15.92 points, or 0.51 percent, to trade at 3,143.78 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.76 percent, largely on expectations that the Fed would not hurry to roll back its accommodativ

Sept. 14, 2021

Take down antitrust hurdles for mergers: KDB chief

Korea Development Bank’s Chairman Lee Dong-gull called on the government to take down the antitrust hurdles standing in the way of proposed mergers, which he said are crucial for businesses to survive. Lee leads the main creditor behind the business integration of Korea’s flagship air carriers Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines, as well as the integration of the world’s largest shipbuilders Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering and Hyundai Heavy Industries -- both base

Sept. 13, 2021

Ahead of October launch, Toss Bank secures half a million subscribers

Toss Bank, which is poised to become the country’s third internet-only bank, attracted more than half a million subscribers to its pre-registration of their deposit accounts in just three days, the company said Monday. The online bank was able to draw attention from customers by offering an annual interest of 2 percent, higher than the average interest rate offered by commercial banks at less than 1 percent, as a marketing strategy. “We were able to confirm consumers’ demand

Sept. 13, 2021

Seoul stocks inch up after choppy trading amid inflation, political woes

South Korean stocks edged up after choppy trading Monday as investors remained cautious after a fall on Wall Street last week amid concerns about rising inflation. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 2.1 points, or 0.07 percent, to close at 3,127.86 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 718 million shares worth some 13.3 trillion won ($11.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 579 to 286. Foreigners bought a net 139

Sept. 13, 2021

Bithumb, Bucket Studio to launch shopping platform

South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb said it has joined hands with Bucket Studio, a local mobile content provider, to launch a commerce platform where customers can purchase products and services in bithumb cash. By incorporating Bithumb’s blockchain payment technology, the commerce platform, named Bithumb Live, will serve as a new online marketplace. Customers will watch a live show promoting a product -- similar to TV homeshopping -- and pay with its currency, bithumb cash, later on, o

Sept. 13, 2021

Korea sees more self-made superrich

South Korea, which has long relied on a few family-controlled businesses for its growth, has recently seen an increase in the number of people entering the league of the nation’s wealthiest, data showed Monday. The average age of entrepreneurs among the 50 richest also has come down during the pandemic, accelerating a generational shift in the corporate world, according to Leaders Index, a local corporate tracker. Leaders Index analyzed the 50 richest stockholders in each of the US, Korea

Sept. 13, 2021

Seoul stocks open nearly flat on US stock slump

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Monday as investors braced for a fall on Wall Street last week amid concerns over rising inflation. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) fell 1.17 points, or 0.04 percent, to 3,124.59 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a slow start, following North Korean state media saying Monday the communist state had successfully test-fired a new type of long-range cruise missile over the weekend. Local stocks also came under

Sept. 13, 2021

Foreign investors remain net sellers of Korean stocks in August

Foreign investors remained net sellers of South Korean stocks last month, extending their selling spree for a fourth consecutive month, data showed Monday. Foreigners sold a net 7.81 trillion won ($6.68 billion) worth of local stocks in August, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). British investors sold a net 1.3 trillion won of stocks last month, while investors from Switzerland net purchased 400 billion won worth of stocks, according to the FSS. As of end-August,

Sept. 13, 2021

[Newsmaker] Retail investors sweep W1tr Kakao shares hit by short attack, regulation

　Retail investors bought more than 1 trillion won ($854 billion) worth of Kakao shares for three days from Wednesday to Friday, when they fell 15 percent amid record short-selling triggered by mounting concerns over tightening regulations.   The country’s fifth-biggest in market capitalization has been targeted for massive short selling due to a rapid price fall last week over the political move to regulate platform giants,  Foreign investors also dumped shares worth 749.8 bill

Sept. 12, 2021

[Law Talk] Recent legislative changes over online platform businesses in Korea

Big tech companies grew quickly in the pandemic-hit year of 2020, with many people working from home and purchasing more online, as well as tech giants cutting costs where it matters less and investing in areas that extend their advantage. The growth of the IT industry and increasing power of the tech giants called for tightened regulation of the online platform market worldwide. The US administration appointed Lina Khan, who first attracted attention as a critic of Amazon, as FTC chair. US Pr

Sept. 12, 2021

Monitoring strengthened on crypto exchanges facing shutdown this week

The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit said Sunday that it was looking closely at cryptocurrency exchanges on the verge of shutting down. The unit is under the Financial Services Commission, the country’s financial regulator. The regulator, in cooperation with the police and financial institutions, aims to prevent those exchanges from walking away with users’ money parked in their accounts. Any exchanges that fail to register with the FSC by Sept. 24 must inform users by Friday th

Sept. 12, 2021

Seoul stocks to face selling pressure on virus, regulation woes

South Korean stocks are likely to come under selling pressure next week amid concerns about the spreading virus variant and regulation fears that had led to massive sell-offs of giant platform companies. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed at 3,125.76 points Friday, down 2.35 percent from a week ago. The weekly loss came as an increase in the country's new coronavirus cases raised concerns of an economic slowdown, in addition to regulatory move against fintech compa

Sept. 11, 2021

[Newsmaker] Demand for apartments on rise despite loan restrictions

Demand for apartments in South Korea’s capital and the surrounding areas continued to rise for two consecutive weeks, despite the central bank’s latest rate hike and financial institutions’ efforts to cut back lending, data showed Friday. According to the Korea Real Estate Board, the index measuring supply and demand for apartments in Seoul and the surrounding area inched up 0.4 points on-week to 112.1 as of Monday, extending gains for two consecutive weeks. It had gained 0.9

Sept. 10, 2021

Naver, Kakao shares plunge on moves to regulate IT platforms

With politicians and regulators joining forces to strengthen monitoring of fast-growing IT platforms, shares of South Korea’s two tech giants plummeted Thursday, losing a combined 19 trillion won ($16.2 billion) in just two days. Naver, the country’s third-largest company by market capitalization, declined 2.56 percent, or 10,500 won, to close at 399,000 won Thursday, adding to a 7.87 percent fall recorded the previous day. Kakao plummeted 7.22 percent to 128,500 won after losing 1

Sept. 9, 2021

Privatization of Woori Financial back on track

The government said Thursday it will open a bidding process to sell a part of its stake in Woori Financial Holdings, owned by the Korea Deposit Insurance Corporation, to multiple buyers in a bid to complete privatization of the banking giant. The state-run deposit insurer will put a 10 percent stake out of the 15.13 percent stake it holds in Woori Financial Holdings through competitive bidding, according to Financial Services Commission. Prospective buyers can bid for between 1 percent and 10

Sept. 9, 2021

Seoul stocks plunge more than 1.5% amid virus woes, expiration uncertainties

South Korea's key stock index tumbled more than 1.5 percent Thursday amid virus concerns and uncertainties from the expiration of options and futures. The Korean won fell against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) dipped 48.29 points, or 1.53 percent, to close at 3,114.7 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 910 million shares worth some 17.3 trillion won ($14.8 billion), with losers outnumbering gainers 655 to 214. Foreigners sold a net 318 billio

Sept. 9, 2021

Eximbank‘s seminar discusses business opportunities in Southeast Asia

The Export-Import Bank of Korea on Thursday held a joint seminar with the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy to discuss business opportunities in Southeast and South Asia.  The event was aimed at supporting domestic companies’ entry to four major countries in the region -- Indonesia, Vietnam, India and Bangladesh -- which have come into the limelight in the wake of the government’s “New Southern Policy,” the state-run bank said in a statement. 

Sept. 9, 2021

SC Bank Korea appoints former journalist to chair board

Standard Chartered Bank Korea has named Lee Eun-hyung, former journalist and ex-spokesperson of the Trade Ministry, as the new chair of its board, the lender said Thursday. Lee replaced Oh Jong-nam, a former adviser at local law firm Kim & Chang who was the board chair for three years. Lee’s term as the board chair ends Sept. 2022. She is the first female chair of the board, the bank said, noting that the decision was to reflect the growing demand for gender diversity in the boardro

Sept. 9, 2021

Seoul stocks open lower amid virus concerns

South Korean stocks opened lower Thursday amid concerns about the spreading virus cases. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 11.54 points, or 0.36 percent, to trade at 3,151.45 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. South Korea reported 2,049 new coronavirus cases Thursday despite the highest level of virus curbs in most part of the country. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics edged down 0.13 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix fell 0.94 percent. Internet p

Sept. 9, 2021