The chief executive officer and high-ranking executives of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinnest were detained Wednesday on charges of fraud and embezzlement, according to prosecutors Thursday. This is the first time an operator of a cryptocurrency exchange in Korea has been charged.Prosecutors are seeking arrest warrants for the executives, including CEO Kim Ik-hwan, in the next two days. They are alleged to have swindled customers of digitized assets for their personal accounts, prosec

Market April 5, 2018

A fire broke out at a liquid-crystal display production facility of LG Display located in northwestern Gyeonggi Province at around 2:54 p.m. Wednesday. No casualties had been reported as of 6 p.m. LCD PRODUCTION LINE SET ON FIRE -- Smoke gushes out at a liquid crystal display production line of LG Display in northern Gyeonggi Province, due to a fire that broke out at around 2:54 p.m. on Wednesday. (Yonhap)The fire reportedly began at a construction site near an aeration tank of a wastewater disp

Industry April 4, 2018

Foreign banks with branches in South Korea reported a decline in earnings here in 2017, on falling interest and trading income, data showed Wednesday.  The 38 branches from global banks across the globe had logged a combined 680.7 billion won ($642.8 million) of net income in 2017, down 10.6 percent from the previous year, according to preliminary data from the Financial Supervisory Service. The branches suffered a drop in interest income by 58.3 billion won, or 5.2 percent on-year. The los

Market April 4, 2018

The new governor of the Financial Supervisory Service in his inauguration speech Monday stressed a need to bolster autonomy as a regulator and enhance consumer protection. Kim Ki-sik, a new chief regulator of financial institutions who took office Monday, succeeded the role of Choe Heung-sik, who offered to step down on March 12. Ex-governor Choe‘s resignation came amid growing allegations of irregularities and abuse of power in the process of hiring entry-level employees at Hana Financial

Market April 2, 2018

This is the 53rd in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. — Ed.Profitability is undeniably the key prerequisite for a firm seeking an initial public offering on the second-tier Kosdaq market.Showing a stable income has long been the clearest signal for market operator Korea Exchange and other relevant financial authorities to predict an IPO-aspirant company’s stock performance.But with changes in the speed and characteristics of the tech-savvy mar

Industry April 1, 2018

LG CNS has been selected as the most preferred bidder for a 2.2 billion won ($2.1 million) project to outline technological infrastructure for a next-generational e-procurement system by the Public Procurement Service, according to the firm Thursday.Through the bid, the information technology arm of LG Corp. will be engaged in a project for information strategy planning, a first step to revamp the state-run e-procurement system, locally dubbed “Nara Jangteo.”  A screenshot of "Nara Jangteo," Kor

Technology March 29, 2018

The number of marginal companies stuck in the financial quagmire with little room for profitability growth has been on the rise, further bogging down the economy as it anticipates rate hikes, the Bank of Korea said on Thursday. Korea refers to firms with interest costs outweighing operating profits for at least three consecutive years as “marginal companies.”The number of such firms in 2016 came to 3,126, taking up 14.2 percent of all Korean non-financial firms subject to external au

Market March 29, 2018

Direct sales from Korean online fashion stores to Japan jumped nearly 60 percent in 2017 compared to 2015, data showed Wednesday. (Yonhap)The total value of fashion products sold to Japan in 2017 came to 90.5 billion won ($84.4 million), according to Statistics Korea. The figure rose 13.3 percent on-year and 57.4 percent compared to 2015. Fashion products -- encompassing clothes, shoes, bags and accessories -- took up 65.5 percent of Korea’s entire online direct sales to Japan. Of the total volu

Industry March 28, 2018

South Korea‘s nominal gross national income per capita came to $29.745 as of 2017 upon the sharpest on-year rise in six years, while the national economy grew by 3.1 percent, preliminary data by the Bank of Korea showed Wednesday. Such robust macroeconomic readings indicate Asia’s fourth largest economy is on track to be placed on par with developed nations, giving the country more room to carry out stronger measures for social welfare, according to the central bank. In 2017, Korea&l

Economy March 28, 2018

Banking units in South Korea wholly owned by foreign financial giants are expected to send about 35-40 percent of their net profit to their respective parent companies outside Korea through dividends. The banking entities have said the dividend payouts stemmed from a surge in net revenue and adequate capital buffer in 2017. In a board of directors’ meeting on March 14, Standard Chartered Bank Korea increased its dividend propensity to about 40 percent of net income in 2017, from 35.6

Market March 27, 2018

Fine dust that engulfed the Korean Peninsula in recent days and the following government contingency measures have stirred sharp upward moves Monday in the stock prices of South Korean producers of home appliances like air purifiers and humidifiers. Air purifier maker Coway, listed on the top-tier Kospi, jumped 3.2 percent from the previous trading day. Another purifier maker Dayou Winia, trading on the second-tier Kosdaq, climbed up 6.5 percent. The share price increase was also seen for other

Market March 26, 2018

The state-run Korea National Oil Corporation has tapped Yang Su-yeong as the new chief executive officer. On Thursday, Yang began his three-year term until March 2021. He was the favorite candidate of the two suggested early in March by a committee for public institutions management affiliated to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. Yang gained presidential approval for the KNOC top post, following the Energy Minister’s recommendation of the candidates. KNOC CEO Yang Su-yeong (KNOC)Formerly a v

Industry March 26, 2018

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews on promising startups in the financial technology industry. This is the 12th installment. - Ed.Regulatory hurdles were high for local financial technology venture firm QARASoft, as its investment platform, the first of its kind in South Korea, was suspended shortly after its launch last year.QARASoft’s now-defunct platform, called “QARA,” connected individual asset managers with funds pooled -- or borrowed -- from peer-to-pe

Market March 25, 2018

The new chief executive of NH Investment & Securities said in a press conference Friday that he would bolster the securities firm’s investment banking division, in a move to maintain growth that began to take shape in the past few years on the back of business diversification. Jeong Young-chae, who took office as CEO of NH Investment & Securities on Thursday, revealed that the firm plans to reap 190 billion won ($175.6 million) in net profit this year solely from its IB business, a

Market March 23, 2018

SK Innovation on Thursday released a new promotional clip made using the hyperlapse technique combined with satellite images of the earth. The Hyperlapse technique refers to a method of time-lapse photography designed to create motion shots, by moving a camera between each shot and combining the snaps into a clip. SK Innovation’s clip features over 1,800 satellite images depicting business areas of the South Korean refiner, and uses 30 photos per second. A screen grab of SK Innovation’s new 1-mi

Industry March 22, 2018