While shareholder activism is yet to take full hold in South Korea with only a handful of initiatives making it past the vote, activist investors seem to have gained traction here in recent years. According to London-based shareholder advisory SquareWell Partners' recent report, Korean firms are increasingly being targeted by activist investors, with the number soaring from nine in 2020 to 71 in 2023. Still, many of the recent activist campaigns have failed to win a majority of shareholder

Market July 24, 2024

Hanwha Asset Management, the sixth largest player in terms of net assets in the local exchange-traded fund market, introduced its new ETF lineup brand Plus, on Tuesday. The asset manager has changed its ETF brand name from Arirang to Plus. It was the first time for the asset manager to change its brand name since it launched its ETF product here in 2009. “Through Plus, Hanwha Asset Management will focus on supporting new technologies that enrich the future of humanity for a sustainable tom

Market July 23, 2024

Mirae Asset Global Investments, a leading asset manager here, is to launch an equal-weight exchange-traded fund, suggesting a well-balanced investment strategy to its investors. Mirae Asset’s Tiger US S&P-500 Equal Weight ETF is to be listed on the Korea Exchange, the country’s sole bourse operator, Tuesday. As its name suggests, the ETF product equally tracks the stocks of 500 leading companies listed on the S&P-500 index. While most ETF products have their constituent stock

Market July 19, 2024

South Korea’s first law specifically designed to protect cryptocurrency investors took effect on Friday, bringing the virtual asset industry within legal boundaries. The Virtual Asset User Protection Act aims to prevent unfair trading practices in the volatile crypto market, in response to how it was shaken by such incidents as the Terra-Luna crash and bankruptcy of crypto exchange FTX. The new law defines virtual assets as electronic tokens with economic value that can be traded or transf

Market July 19, 2024

Buoyed by the sharp growth of the local exchange-traded fund market, South Korean asset managers are rushing to rebrand their product lineups, trying to target investors with a fresh edge. According to data provided by Korea Exchange, the country's sole bourse operator, the net asset of the local ETF market stood at 158 trillion won ($114 billion) as of Tuesday, marking a sharp growth from 100 trillion won in June 2023. The market grew over three-fold in size from the 52 trillion won net as

Market July 18, 2024

Local cryptocurrency exchange operators are ramping up their regulatory measures as the introduction of the virtual asset user protection law nears in South Korea. On Tuesday, the Digital Asset Exchange Alliance, a body of five top local crypto exchange operators, introduced a guideline that advises exchanges to monitor abnormal transactions. It further released a revision of the guideline on the internal control standards of the exchange operators. The movement comes as the Act on the Protectio

Market July 16, 2024

HD Hyundai Marine Solution, a ship maintenance unit affiliated with Korean shipbuilding giant HD Hyundai, has joined hands with logistics solutions provider SeaVantage, aiming to advance its maritime transport network, the company announced Sunday. HD Hyundai Marine Solution said it signed a deal with SeaVantage, agreeing to strategically invest in the startup by acquiring a 3 billion won ($2.17 million) stake in the company. Lee Ki-dong, CEO of HD Hyundai Marine Solution, Song Hyung-jin, founde

Economy July 14, 2024

The Bank of Korea kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged for the 12th consecutive time Thursday, while hinting at a future rate cut if the current path of disinflation continues. The central bank has maintained the rate at 3.5 percent for over one and half years, since the rate-setting decision made in January 2023. This is the longest rate freeze ever, surpassing the previous 17-month record in 2016-2017. All six members of the monetary policy board, excluding BOK Gov. Rhee Chang-yong, agre

Economy July 11, 2024

South Korea’s financial market would likely face higher volatility if former US President Donald Trump were to return to the White House, as he would trigger another push for deglobalization, local brokerage house KB Securities’ research chief said Tuesday. “If Trump wins the upcoming presidential election, volatility in the Korean economy and financial market is likely to escalate, along with the potential acceleration of deglobalization,” Kim Sang-hoon, head of research

Market July 9, 2024

Hana Financial Group kicked off its financial technology talent nurturing program, “Hana Digital Power On,” Monday, aiming to strengthen digital innovation in the finance sector. Marking its third year, the program seeks to train young talents to develop tech solutions for the financial industry. This year, the finance service provider has put forward the slogan of "Keep Calm and Hana Digital Power On" to encourage program participants. Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Le

Industry July 8, 2024

First Vice Finance Minister Kim Byoung-hwan, the nominee to head the Financial Services Commission, said he must put in all efforts to bring down the fast growth of household debts on Friday. Kim, a 53-year-old macroeconomics expert, was tapped to the post to lead the country's top financial policy-making unit, according to the presidential office's announcement made on the previous day. “With the prolonged high interest rates and inflation, risks are building up in the vulnerabl

Economy July 5, 2024

Hanwha Energy launched a bid on Friday to acquire shares worth 180 billion won ($130 million) in the group's holding company Hanwha, as part of a succession plan to transfer management control from the current Hanwha Group chairman to his three sons. Hanwha Energy, the renewable energy arm under Hanwha Group, South Korea’s seventh-largest conglomerate by total assets, seeks to secure 6 million common shares of Hanwha, according to a regulatory filing made on the same day. The tender o

Industry July 5, 2024

Mirae Asset Financial Group Chairman Park Hyeon-joo on Wednesday received the International Executive of the Year Award from the Academy of International Business, a top honor in the industry, recognized for his pivotal role in lifting the firm as a global financial service provider. Park is the first Asian financier and the second Korean entrepreneur to receive the prestigious award from the AIB, an association of international business scholars and professionals. The first Korean awardee was S

Industry July 4, 2024

South Korea plans to form a public-private consultative group to address the rising costs of food delivery fees this month to help lift the burden on restaurant owners, the government announced Wednesday. The plan is part of pangovernmental measures to support small business owners. Government officials, delivery platform operators and experts in the food service industry are to join the self-regulatory consultative group to be launched this month. The group will announce ways to bring down the

Economy July 3, 2024

Vietnamese state lender MB Bank, also known as Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank, will launch a mobile app for South Korean nationals living in the country in August, seeing potential in the strengthening ties between the two countries. “Vietnamese banks are yet to offer specialized service for Koreans living in the country, making them rely on the branches of Korean banks,” MB Bank Chairman Luu Trung Thai said during an interview in Seoul on Tuesday. Luu Trung Thai was in Korea w

Industry July 2, 2024