Financial firms to launch massive recruitment

Major financial firms are poised to kick off massive recruiting in the latter half of this year, industry sources said Sunday, after allegations of illicit hiring caused many lenders to hold off offering jobs in the past. According to the financial industry sources, the nation's four major banks -- KEB Hana Bank, Woori Bank, Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank -- are preparing to hire a large of number of junior employees for this year. The hiring process had temporarily been frozen since late l

May 13, 2018

Trade protectionism, household debt endanger S. Korean financial system: poll

Rapidly spreading global trade protectionism and South Korea's growing household debt are major risks now facing country's financial system, a survey showed Sunday.According to the poll of 72 market watchers of financial officials, researchers and investors conducted by the Bank of Korea, 76 percent said intensifying trade pressure and global protectionism was the biggest problem facing the country. The rate was 26 percent in a survey held in November last year.Asia's fourth-largest economy is o

May 13, 2018

Foreigners shift to net sellers last month vs month earlier

Foreigners turned net sellers of South Korean stocks in April from a month earlier, with their stock holdings on the local exchanges reaching 32 percent of all listed shares, the financial regulator said Saturday. Last month, foreign investors sold a net 2.204 trillion won ($2.1 billion) worth of local stocks, a reversal from net purchases of 123 billion won worth of stocks a month earlier, data from the Financial Supervisory Service showed. By country, British investors sold the most, at a net

May 12, 2018

Battle between FSS, Samsung BioLogics exacerbates market jitters

A war of words between the nation’s financial watchdog and Samsung BioLogics intensified Thursday over the legitimacy of authorities disclosing the biotech company’s alleged accounting fraud, further raising already heightened market fears.The Financial Supervisory Service found itself cornered, with officials at the upper echelon turning a cold shoulder, saying that its decision to reveal the content of a preliminary notice sent to Samsung has caused “market chaos.”On Ma

May 10, 2018

[Herald Interview] Heenam’s scraper to make filing easier

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews on promising startups in the financial technology industry. This is the 14th installment. - Ed.The advent of financial technology has minimized a South Korean smartphone user’s effort to manually collect personal information registered across the Web when submitting filings needed to buy a financial product online.Upon agreement by a user who logged on to a financial company‘s website, his or her set of private information from pu

May 9, 2018

New FSS chief stresses watchdog's supervisory role, independence

Yoon Suk-heun, the newly inaugurated chief of the Financial Supervisory Service, on Tuesday underlined the need for the watchdog to remain independent from administrative pressure and market interests.“As suggested in the name ‘Financial Supervisory Service,' our role is to supervise financial (businesses)," said the 70-year-old reformist scholar upon taking office as the FSS governor, viewing independence as a key virtue in accomplishing such function. “Financial supervis

May 8, 2018

Samsung Securities to face legal consequences over dividend fiasco

South Korea’s financial watchdog said Tuesday it will take legal actions against Samsung Securities for failing to operate with due internal standards for safe electronic financial transactions, which had resulted in a dividend fiasco last month involving the trade of unauthorized shares worth tens of billions of won. Such flaws are respectively violations of the Act on Corporate Governance of Financial Companies and the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, according to the Financial Sup

May 8, 2018

Watchdogs take aim at Samsung BioLogics 　

South Korea’s financial regulator is likely to decide the fate of Samsung BioLogics on May 23 at the earliest over allegations that the company had doctored its accounting books. The nation’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission, said it would review the case by holding an in-house oversight panel next Thursday. If a breach of accounting regulations is found, the Securities and Futures Commission, a legal entity within the FSC, will decide the level of penalty i

May 7, 2018

[Herald Interview] Korean investment ‘positive catalyst’ to Mongolian stock market: MSE chief

The Mongolian Stock Exchange chief hailed South Korean financial companies’ engagement with its fledging stock market as a “positive catalyst” in its search for increased attention from foreign investors. Speaking in an interview with The Korea Herald, Altai Khangai, chief executive officer of the MSE, cited the initial public offering of LendMN, Mongolia’s first financial technology company that began trading in March, as well as another upcoming IPO involving Korean inv

May 7, 2018

Financial regulator to begin review of Samsung Biologics' alleged accounting fraud

South Korea's financial regulator said Sunday its accounting oversight panel will hold the first meeting on Samsung Biologics Co.'s alleged violation of accounting rules next week.The Accounting Oversight Deliberation Committee under the Securities & Futures Commission will hold the meeting on May 17 and review the issue, according to the Financial Service Commission. The SFC, a subcommission of the financial regulator, is responsible for the oversight of the securities and futures markets.L

May 6, 2018

Individual investors flock to Samsung Electronics after stock split

The transaction volume of Samsung Electronics Co. among retail investors jumped nearly six times as the tech giant's stock split lowered the entry bar, the bourse operator said Sunday.The amount of Samsung Electronics shares traded by individual investors on Friday -- after a three-day hiatus to lower its face value from 5,000 won ($4.64) to 100 won -- came to 1.17 trillion won, up from a daily average of 205 billion won before the split, according to the Korea Exchange (KRX).Transactions made b

May 6, 2018

BOK chief says Korea-Japan talks for currency swap deal could resume soon

South Korea will push to revive a currency swap deal with Japan that was suspended over diplomatic feuds, Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol has said.During a news conference on the sidelines of a regional forum in Manila on Friday, Lee expressed expectations that the two sides will start negotiations in the near future.In January last year, the Tokyo government broke off the negotiations with Seoul to reopen the currency swap agreement, citing Seoul's move to let a statue symbolizing the victims of

May 6, 2018

Seoul shares set to move in tight range next week

South Korean shares are expected to move in a tight range next week due to a possible US rate hike next month and the ongoing trade dispute between Washington and Beijing, analysts here said Saturday.Market watchers forecast the benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) to trade between 2,459 and 2,530 in the coming week after shedding 1.2 percent this week to close at 2,461.38 on Friday."Investors will likely adopt a wait-and-see attitude as the US Federal Reserve is set to raise

May 5, 2018

[News Focus] Moon reiterates financial reform drive with FSS chief nomination

Even after the two previous leaders’ terms ended amid disputes, the next candidate tapped as chief of the financial market watchdog is, again, another reformative nonbureaucrat, reflecting the administration’s determination for financial reform.President Moon Jae-in on Friday approved Yoon Suk-heun as the new governor of the Financial Supervisory Service. Yoon is a visiting professor of business administration at Seoul National University and chairman of the FSC’s Financial Adm

May 4, 2018

[Newsmaker] Another reformative FSS nomination highlights pledge on financial reform

Even after the two previous leaders’ terms ended amid disputes, the next candidate tapped as chief of the financial market watchdog is, again, another reformative nonbureaucrat, reflecting the administration’s determination for financial reform.The Financial Services Commission said Friday that it had nominated Yoon Suk-heun as the new governor of the Financial Supervisory Service. He is a visiting professor of business administration at Seoul National University and chairman of the

May 4, 2018

Inter-Korean thaw strengthens Korean won

The local currency strengthened against the greenback for two consecutive trading days until Monday on heightening expectations of a thaw in inter-Korean relations after a summit between North and South Korea. As of the trading session’s close Monday, the US dollar was trading at 1,068 won, according to the Seoul Money Brokerage. The market closed Tuesday due to the Labor Day holiday. The won-dollar exchange rate dropped 12.9 won from Thursday’s close and 8.6 won from Friday’s

May 1, 2018

[Herald Interview] Blockstream CSO urges crypto caution

Overly-hyped sentiments have begun to give way to skepticism toward a flurry of promises made by founders of distributed ledger systems like blockchain and the digital currencies encrypted and traded on them.Fanning such cynicism was the global race to place cryptocurrency transactions into regulatory frameworks to deter speculation and prevent crimes like money laundering. Such moves have resulted in noticeable declines in prices of cryptocurrencies.The volatility in the cryptocurrency market o

April 30, 2018

Mirae Asset‘s target date fund tops yearly returns

Mirae Asset Global Investments, South Korea’s asset management firm, had its target date fund product rank No. 1 in terms of yearly return on the Korean market. A TDF refers to a collective investment scheme in the form of a mutual fund or collective trust fund, whose asset allocation mix of the portfolio becomes conservative -- largely from equities to bonds -- in the coming of an individual investor‘s target date, typically for retirement. The scheme was introduced in the early 199

April 29, 2018

Korean startup to develop blockchain-powered solution for SMEs with Upbit operator

Korea Credit Data, a South Korean startup providing accounting software to small and mid-sized companies, will embark on a project to develop a blockchain-powered solution for SMEs, the company said Friday. Dunamu, operator of Korea‘s largest cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, will coordinate with KCD to develop the blockchain solution to lower procurement cost and help SME operators get easier access to structured securities.The project will be on the back of investment from Dunamu &

April 27, 2018

Stocks end higher on historical summit

South Korea’s stock markets ended higher Friday in the wake of a historic inter-Korean summit that signaled the path to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The top-tier Kospi closed at 2,492.40, up 0.7 percent from Thursday’s close, while the second-tier Kosdaq came to 886.49, up 0.8 percent. Earlier Friday morning, the Kospi had breached the 2,500 mark, hitting an intraday high of 2,508.13 for the first time in over a month.The Kospi and the Kosdaq saw net purchases by foreign

April 27, 2018