Most Popular
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Criminals who drugged teens' drinks with meth sentenced to up to 18 years
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Rival parties unite to form 4-way body to break med school standoff
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Korea to certify safety of EV battery from October
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Wartime sexual slavery victims file for Japanese govt. asset disclosure
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S. Korea logs current account surplus for 3rd month in July
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Producer Teddy's girl group Meovv debuts, showcasing dual feline charms
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Farewell summit: Yoon, Kishida pledge to keep momentum in revitalizing ties
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Man to pay W727m for opening plane door before landing
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Two Korean women arrested for stealing tourist's bag in Turkey
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Frieze Seoul sees slower sales, yet confirms stronger art scene in Seoul
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Won fades to 14-month low against dollar amid inflation concerns
Signs of a weakening Korean won are growing, as investors flock to safe haven assets amid escalating inflation concerns. The won declined to a 14-month low at the closing, hovering around the level of 1,200 won per dollar on Tuesday. The local currency traded at 1,198.8 won per dollar, weakening 4.2 won per dollar, or 0.35 percent, from the previous session’s close. It set a new record after the closing of July 24 last year with 1,201.5 won per dollar. The Korean won once depreciated to
Oct. 12, 2021
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Bitcoin price jumps 30% in Oct
Bitcoin jumped 30 percent this month to reach 70 million won ($58,378), the first time it breached that level in five months, as US financial regulators said they won’t follow China in banning cryptocurrency transactions. The largest cryptocurrency by market cap rose almost 30 percent during October to 70.99 million won as of Tuesday morning, data from crypto exchange Upbit showed. With the rally this month, bitcoin’s market capitalization reached 1 trillion won, surpassing that of
Oct. 12, 2021
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South Koreans withdraw money from retirement pensions to buy homes: data
More South Koreans are dipping into their retirement pension pots to buy homes in expectation of future gain amid soaring housing prices, causing concern over the availability of secure retirement income, a lawmaker said Tuesday. The number of people who pulled out their money from their retirement accounts early stood at 71,931 in 2020, up 79.4 percent from the 40,091 tallied in 2016, according to Financial Services Commission data submitted to Rep. Chun Jae-soo of the ruling Democratic Party
Oct. 12, 2021
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US location analytics startup snaps up seed funding from Korean VCs
New York-based property technology startup Market Stadium has raised 1 billion won ($834,400) in seed funding from venture capital houses in South Korea and abroad, the company said Tuesday. Taking part in the latest rounding were early-stage VC Kakao Ventures, financial backer Shinhan Capital and California-based Primer Sazze Partners. Angel investors including John Kim, co-founder of messaging-as-a-service startup Sendbird; and Scott Robinson, a clinical assistant professor at New York Unive
Oct. 12, 2021
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Eastspring's Korea head to serve 4th term
Eastspring Asset Management Korea said Tuesday that its incumbent Chief Executive Officer Park Chun-woong would serve a fourth term and remain in office until 2024. The decision was made in a shareholders meeting Friday, according to the company, which is fully owned by London-based insurance firm Prudential. Park took the helm at Eastspring’s South Korean unit in 2012. Its assets under management came to 11.5 trillion won ($9.6 billion) as of end-September, the 20th-highest amount fo
Oct. 12, 2021
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Seoul stocks open lower on US losses
South Korean stocks opened lower Tuesday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, with tech shares weighing on the main index. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 29.89 points, or 1.01 percent, to 2,926.41 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 0.7 percent to 34,496 as a global energy crunch increased concerns about inflation. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite declined 0.6 percent to 14,486. The Korean stock market closed Monda
Oct. 12, 2021
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Lawmakers seek delay for crypto taxation
South Korea’s lawmakers are trying to push back controversial taxation on income from investing in cryptocurrencies, which is to be implemented from Jan. 1, 2022. The opposition People Power Party was drafting a proposal that eases capital gain taxes on cryptocurrencies and is expected to submit the bill as early as Tuesday. The People Power Party’s bill suggests a one-year delay for crypto gain taxation to 2023 along with a more generous tax redemption than currently planned. Th
Oct. 11, 2021
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[Newsmaker] Wealth gap widening among young Koreans: data
The wealth gap among young Koreans has widened, with data showing that familial transfer of wealth, not income differences, are aggregating the divide, a lawmaker said Monday. According to Statistics Korea data of two groups of Koreans between ages 20 to 30, the upper 20 percent of young Koreans accumulated 35 times more wealth than the lower 20 percent last year. The wealth gap increased from 776 million won ($650,000) in 2019 to 846 million won in 2020, according to Kim Hoe-jae, a member of
Oct. 11, 2021
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Korea’s edu tech startup Riiid acquires Japanese mobile app distributor
Riiid, a South Korean artificial intelligence-based education tech company, has acquired Langoo, the Japanese distributor of its service, in an effort to expand its business in the world’s third-largest economy, the company said Saturday. The acquisition is coming less than five months after it secured $175 million in series D funding solely raised from Japan’s Softbank’s Vision Fund 2, and is part of the company’s broader strategy to expand through mergers and acquis
Oct. 10, 2021
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Seoul stocks inch down on Chinese developers' debt crises
South Korean stocks closed slightly lower Friday largely on the back of growing concerns about giant Chinese property developers' debt crisis. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) declined 3.16 points, or 0.11 percent, to close at 2,956.3 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 659 million shares worth some 12.5 trillion won ($10.5 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 484 to 384. Foreigners sold a net 49 billion won, while
Oct. 8, 2021
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Fintech unicorn Viva Republica to acquire embattled ride-hailing app Tada
South Korean financial technology unicorn Viva Republica said Friday it has signed a deal to acquire a controlling 60 percent stake in mobility firm VCNC, known for premium ride-hailing app Tada, in its new rights offering. Viva Republica, which offers various financial services under its flagship Toss brand, said the takeover is aimed at expanding its financial services business and overhauling Tada’s embattled mobility service by the end of this year, the company said in a statement.
Oct. 8, 2021
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Bond issuance in S. Korea plunges in Sept.
Bond issuance in South Korea fell sharply in September from the previous month due to decreased debt sales by the government and financial firms, data showed Friday. The value of bonds sold in Asia's fourth-largest economy came to 57.5 trillion won ($48.3 billion) last month, down 9.6 trillion won from a month earlier, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. Last month's drop compares with a 1 trillion-won on-month decrease recorded in August. Sales of state and fi
Oct. 8, 2021
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Seoul stocks open higher on easing US debt ceiling woes, earnings hope
South Korean stocks opened higher Friday on easing concerns of the debt ceiling impasse in the United States and hopes of robust third-quarter earnings by local companies. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 9.33 points, or 0.32 percent, to 2,968.79 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The key stock index got off to a strong start after overnight Wall Street gains, as a temporary resolution of the debt-ceiling tussle is due for a vote in Washington. Overnight, the
Oct. 8, 2021
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Vice minister says market ‘excessively reacting’ toward global risks
Financial authorities on Thursday expressed concerns over increased volatility in the South Korean market and its vulnerability toward external risks. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-won vowed to adopt stabilizing measures at the appropriate time, saying the Korean market has been displaying “somewhat excessive reactions” to global risks, despite solid fundamentals. Lee’s remark comes after the nation’s benchmark Kospi plunged below the threshold of 3,000 points T
Oct. 7, 2021
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Naver, Mirae Asset's W500b stock swap back to limelight amid tech crackdown
South Korea’s top financial regulator has pledged to reexamine a deal involving technology giant Naver during the parliamentary audit, highlighting a relentless push for a nationwide tech crackdown. On Wednesday, Financial Services Commission Chairman Koh Seung-beom said he would “examine the feasibility of the deal,” referring to a share-for-share exchange deal between internet giant Naver and investment bank Mirae Asset Securities four years prior. The pledge comes amid c
Oct. 7, 2021
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‘Squid Game’ sensation prompting money flow into S. Korean media scene
The global craze over “Squid Game,” Netflix’s original Korean drama series, is adding momentum to the fast-growing South Korean media and entertainment market. Tving, the country’s leading streaming service provider run by entertainment and media firm CJ ENM, recently set out to lure investments from private equity funds at home and abroad, in partnership with Nomura Securities, according to industry sources Thursday. Tving plans to sell its new shares worth 300 b
Oct. 7, 2021
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Most bond experts eye rate freeze in Oct.: poll
Nearly nine in 10 bond mavens in South Korea predict the central bank to freeze its key interest for October due mainly to volatile external conditions, a poll showed Thursday. According to the survey of 200 bond experts by the Korea Financial Investment Association, 87 percent of the 100 respondents forecast the Bank of Korea (BOK) to hold its policy rate steady at a rate-setting meeting slated for next week. The number of standpatters was up from 67 in August. In contrast, 13 bond experts, dow
Oct. 7, 2021
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S. Korea to implement market-stabilizing steps if needed: official
South Korea plans to implement measures to stabilize the market in a timely manner if needed as market volatility has increased amid external economic risks, a senior government official said Thursday. First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon said the Korean financial market has been "excessively" volatile in recent sessions despite the country's strong macroeconomic fundamentals. South Korea's benchmark index, the Kospi, nosedived nearly 2 percent and the Korean currency fell to a 14-
Oct. 7, 2021
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Seoul stocks open higher on bargain hunting
South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday as bargain hunters sought oversold stocks on expectations of a rebound. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 31.54 points, or 1.08 percent, to 2,939.85 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The key stock index got off to a strong start after three days of losses. Market kingpin Samsung Electronics added 0.98 percent, but No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix retreated 0.73 percent. Internet portal operator Naver jumped 2.41 percent, and
Oct. 7, 2021
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S. Korea sells $1.3b of FX bonds at 2nd-lowest rates
South Korea said Thursday it has sold about $1.3 billion worth of foreign exchange stabilization bonds at the second-lowest ever rates amid solid demand. The government sold US dollar-denominated bonds worth $500 million with a maturity of 10 years and five-year euro-denominated debts worth $700 million, according to the finance ministry. The dollar bonds carry a yield of 1.769 percent, or 25 basis points more than the rate of US 10-year Treasuries, while the euro bonds carry a yield of minus 0.
Oct. 7, 2021