The government is expected to unveil its scheme to invigorate domestic spending and tourism this week, amid stagnant exports struggles, to shore up the economy. The Ministry of Economy and Finance and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism are drawing up measures chiefly aimed at reviving the local tourism industry, which remains depressed in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Authorities are looking at ways to launch a coupon program that provides a certain discount when booking hotel

Economy March 27, 2023

Shareholders of Shinhan Financial Group on Thursday approved the appointment of Jin Ok-dong, its flagship banking unit’s former CEO, as the group’s new chairman. “I feel a great sense of responsibility to meet the expectations of customers and shareholders and lead the growth of Shinhan,” Jin said in his address at the general shareholders’ meeting held at the group’s headquarters in Seoul. Having worked in Japan for almost 20 years, the new Shinhan chief is c

Market March 23, 2023

South Korea and Japan are accelerating their efforts to break down bilateral trade barriers induced by a historical row and to push for revival of economic cooperation. As early as this week, Japan will wrap up procedures to lift restrictions on exports of key semiconductor materials to Korea, while Korea will withdraw its complaint filed with the World Trade Organization against the export curbs, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang said during a press briefing Wednesday. W

Economy March 22, 2023

South Korea and Japan's easing of trade tensions has spurred hope among Korean businesses, as the two agreed to bolster economic ties on the sidelines of the summit talks held in Tokyo on Thursday. Earlier in the day, Japan announced it would lift restrictions on exports of key semiconductor materials to Korea, while Korea in return decided to withdraw its complaint filed with the World Trade Organization against the export curbs. Both countries also plan to continue talks to reinstate each

Economy March 16, 2023

  President Yoon Suk Yeol said Monday that uncertainty in the financial market is growing due to the bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank, one of the largest banks in the United States. “The cause of the SVB collapse, the progress of the situation, the US authorities’ response, as well as their impact on the domestic financial market and the real economy should be closely examined by the deputy prime minister of economy and others,” he said at a meeting with senior secretarie

Economy March 13, 2023

SK Ecoplant, the green business unit of SK Group, aims to solidify its footing into the US battery recycling market this year by working with partners to make aggressive investments, the company’s investment executive said. The company has made a major transformation from a builder into an environment and energy company though an array of merger and acquisition deals worth over 3 trillion won ($2.3 billion) in Korea and abroad. “This year’s biggest goal would be supporting SK

Industry March 8, 2023

  Sluggish demand for chips, the country’s key export item, continues to hinder Korea from getting the economy on a recovery track, the finance minister said Thursday, Asia’s fourth-largest economy logged a fall in exports for a fifth month in a row in February due to weak global demand for semiconductors amid an economic slowdown. “Without a rebound in the semiconductor industry, limits on export recovery are inevitable for the time being,” Finance Minister Choo Kyu

Economy March 2, 2023

A two-year-old activist fund that triggered a controversial corporate ownership battle between two K-pop powerhouses said it will persistently demand governance improvement of SM Entertainment until it makes substantial profit. With only a 1.1 percent stake, Seoul-based Align Partners has been shaking up the governance structure of SM Entertainment, which is behind stars like NCT, EXO and aespa, by gathering minority shareholders. Align’s shareholder campaign against the K-pop juggernaut

Market Feb. 21, 2023

  Korea saw the smallest increase in the number of additional jobs in nearly two years in January, a sign of the toll the economic downturn has taken on the labor market. The pace of increase has slowed for eight months in a row since May last year, indicating a shrinking labor market. According to data released by the Statistics Korea on Wednesday, the number of employed people came in at 27.36 million last month, up 1.5 percent or 411,000 from a year ago. It was the lowest on-year growth

Economy Feb. 15, 2023

Mirae Asset Global Investments has made a big stride forward in the US exchange-traded funds market in the last five years following its acquisition of New York-based fund management firm Global X. ETF provider Global X had about 8 trillion won ($6.29 billion) in managed assets when it was taken over by the Korean asset manager in 2018, the current AUM increased by six times to 45 trillion won as of end of 2022, according to Mirae Asset Global Investments on Tuesday. Global X’s five-year c

Market Feb. 14, 2023

JB Financial Group said Thursday its net profit hit a record high last year on higher net interest income and operational efficiency. The financial group logged 601 billion won ($477.5 million) in net profit in 2022, up 18.6 percent from a year ago, according to its earnings report. The amount marks the largest since the financial holding company was launched in 2013. “The group will seek to continue its stable growth this year by focusing on profitability-oriented and substantial manage

Market Feb. 9, 2023

Kyobo Life Insurance, one of Korea's leading life insurers, said Wednesday that it will convert itself into a financial holding company before the end of next year in a bid to expand its business portfolio into other financial sectors. The company seeks to seize new business opportunities as the country’s low birth rates and aging population hamper the growth of the life insurance business. “The idea of establishing a holding company began with the recognition that a new corpo

Market Feb. 8, 2023

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed Tuesday to make good of the United Arab Emirates' $30 billion investment pledge with two new consultative bodies, and called on the public and private sector to come up with mutually beneficial, innovative partnership projects. Stressing that the UAE’s decision for the investment was based on trust in Korea, the president said the country should “respond by discovering innovative investment partnership projects that serve the interests

Economy Jan. 31, 2023

By Steve Brice As we start 2023, investors’ scars from last year’s sell-off across publicly traded markets are still very raw. Against this backdrop, the theme of our 2023 Outlook, Playing it SAFE, should resonate with investors. We believe sequencing your investments is going to be important in the coming year: Bonds are a good place to start, given some of the highest yields offered in a decade and our expectation that a recession is likely in the US and Europe in the first half of

Market Jan. 26, 2023

NPS In Action is a series of articles and interviews on South Korea’s largest investor National Pension Service to analyze its current state and identify tasks that lie ahead. This is the first installment. -- Ed. Seo Won-joo took the reins as the new chief investment officer of the National Pension Service in the time when he has to wear multiple hats to run the world’s third largest pension fund. With a career path that wound through life insurance companies and a pension fund

Economy Jan. 25, 2023