A group of lawmakers, professors and industry officials on Thursday urged the government to relax regulations that have prevented the marriage between industrial and financial capital, stressing that they hinder the growth of corporate venture capital. The South Korean government has long prevented non-financial holding companies from wholly owning financial entities due to concerns about the excessive influence of business titans over both the industrial and financial segments. Though the

Market June 11, 2020

The unauthorized transactions on Toss, an online money transfer platform operated by fintech startup Viva Republica, are likely to trigger extensive inspections of similar solutions by the financial watchdog. “We plan to conduct reviews of fintech systems that adopt payment technology similar to Toss, if necessary,” an official from the Financial Supervisory Service said. “Some 40 companies could be subject to such inspections,” the official added. The Seoul-b

Market June 10, 2020

Viva Republica, which runs the money transfer platform Toss, says it has recently found unauthorized payments made on its system, and is working to find the exact causes of the incident. According to the fintech firm, eight unauthorized purchases worth a total of 9.4 million won ($7,853) were made via Toss on June 3 from three online websites. Data such as names, phone numbers, birth dates and personal identification numbers were compromised in the incident, but it is “high

Market June 9, 2020

K bank is working to resume operations in July after a monthslong hiatus due to liquidity problems, according to industry insiders Tuesday. South Korea’s first internet-only bank recently announced that it would stop receiving new subscribers for its existing Dual-K Checking Account, its signature savings account product, from July 1. The announcement appears to be a prelude to introducing a new banking product as part of its reopening strategy, sources noted. K bank admitted that

Market June 9, 2020

The South Korean stock market has been bullish in recent weeks thanks to abundant liquidity here and abroad given efforts to boost the coronavirus-battered economies. The nation’s main bourse Kospi has recovered to pre-coronavirus levels while the tech-heavy Kosdaq market has recently hit a new high. Although some experts warn of another big drop in the stock market, it is widely forecast that with the ample liquidity the crash will be more subdued than in March. “The stock mar

Market June 8, 2020

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles on South Korea’s fast-growing online-only banks and fintech firms facing opportunities and challenges. This is the first installment. -- Ed. Virtual banks that have no physical presence but offer immediate services online have been touted as banks of the future in recent years, despite resistance from traditional players. Labeling them as financial services of the future seems far-fetched. In recent months, they have grown faster t

Market June 7, 2020

Despite the government’s tightened regulations to curb apartment prices in Seoul, the average rate has risen during the first five months this year, particularly in the middle-class districts, data showed Monday. The average apartment price in the city stood at 10.64 million won ($8,670) per square meter as of end-May, up 4.9 percent from December, according to real estate data tracker KB Kookmin Bank Liiv On. Areas considered less-wealthy, including Dongdaemun-gu and Seongbuk-gu, saw

Market June 1, 2020

Card processing firm BC Card said Monday that its QR code payment system will be available at 7-Eleven convenience stores, operated by retail firm Korea Seven. Korea Seven, a subsidiary of retail giant Lotte Group, currently runs approximately 10,000 stores across the nation. With the new partnership, the card company now has five big names in the convenience store segment -- GS25, CU, 7-Eleven, EMart24 and Ministop -- as partners to nurture the mobile payment system, BC Paybooc QR Code. Af

Market June 1, 2020

The South Korean music label behind K-pop sensation BTS has filed for a preliminary review for an initial public offering, according to the nation’s stock market operator Korea Exchange (KRX) on Friday. Founded in 2005 by music producer Bang Si-hyuk, Big Hit Entertainment houses BTS and other K-pop singers and bands, including Lee Hyun and Tomorrow X Together. Bang, who serves as the entertainment firm’s chairman, currently holds 45.1 percent stake, while mobile gaming firm Netma

Market May 29, 2020

WeWork Korea has modified floor layouts of its offices as part of efforts to prevent COVID-19 infection, the company said Thursday. It has also installed more digital signage devices to notify members of the maximum number of people allowed in meeting rooms and to show the walking direction of one-way paths in hallways, it added. These are follow-up preventative measures taken since earlier this year as the company has been measuring body temperature across all locations along with a wide r

Market May 28, 2020

South Korean financial giant Mirae Asset Group is likely to resume its drive to launch a mega-sized investment bank as authorities on Wednesday decided not to request a prosecutorial probe for conducting illegal intra-unit trading and instead chose to slap a light penalty. The nation’s antitrust watchdog Fair Trade Commission said it has imposed a fine of 4.39 billion won ($3.6 million) on financial conglomerate Mirae Asset Financial Group and its affiliates for violating rules that ban

Market May 27, 2020

Nearly half of the South Korean government’s emergency disaster relief funds were distributed by two major credit card issuers, Shinhan Card and KB Kookmin Card, according to news reports on Tuesday. The government started receiving applications for the relief program from May 11, doling out the funds from May 13, in the form of cash, prepaid cards or money-like points that can be used with credit or debit cards. The total relief funds provided to coronavirus-hit households exceeded 12

Market May 26, 2020

Subscription-based streaming services and e-books are no longer the preserve of the tech-savvy younger generation. People in their 50s and 60s are fast becoming a major consumer base in the digital content market, at least among the better off, a survey showed Monday. From 2016 to 2019, the amount that people in this age group spent on digital content increased 160 percent while the number of online payments soared ninefold. The survey, conducted by local card issuer Hyundai Card and financ

Market May 25, 2020

The ongoing coronavirus crisis appears to have accelerated changes in South Korea’s stock market landscape with contactless services and biotechnology firms breaking the dominance of manufacturing companies. Twenty years ago, companies focusing on manufacturing or infrastructure businesses were among the 10 largest market cap companies on the main bourse Kospi. The list included auto giants Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, steelmaker Posco and SK Telecom. The emergence of online services p

Market May 24, 2020

South Korean stocks opened higher Thursday on encouraging news about another COVID-19 candidate vaccine in the US. Extending gains for the fifth consecutive day, the nation’s main bourse Kospi crossed the 2,000-point mark in early morning trading for the first time since March 6 as it rose 13.65 points, or 0.68 percent, to 2,003.20. It closed at 1998.31, up 0.44 percent. Retail investors drove the index as they bought stocks worth some 204.9 billion won ($166.5 million) while instituti

Market May 21, 2020