Lendit, a peer-to-peer lending platform operator in South Korea, has extended a combined 101.8 billion won ($95.4 million) in nearly 7,300 consumer loans as of Monday to midrange borrowers seeking lower interest rates, according to the fintech startup Monday. After its 33 months of operation, Lendit marked the first local P2P lending platform operator fully devoted to consumer loan products to see the accumulated volume of loans top the 100 billion won mark, the company said. Borrowers from

Market Feb. 19, 2018

Raonsecure, a South Korean biometric authentication firm, has teamed up with Seoul-based blockchain developer The Loop, to develop an authentication system for online financial services.The firms signed a memorandum of understanding on Feb. 12.  Through the partnership, Raonsecure is expected to build a biometric authentication system on a decentralized platform provided by The Loop.Raonsecure follows the “fast identity online” security standard, which uses fingerprint, iris and

Market Feb. 19, 2018

Traffic volume rose sharply on expressways and highways in South Korea on Saturday, as hordes of travelers hit the road to return home at the end of the three-day Lunar New Year holiday.As of 1 p.m. Saturday, the 420-kilometer trip from the southeastern port city Busan to capital Seoul would take seven hours and 40 minutes via highways, about two hours longer than on a typical weekend, according to an estimate from the state-run Korea Expressway Corp. Over a 50-kilometer stretch of highway from

Social Affairs Feb. 17, 2018

South Korea’s top 100 listed firms in terms of market capitalization saw their net and operating profits surge nearly 50 percent in 2017, on the back of a global tech super cycle that buoyed local manufacturers, data showed Wednesday. The firms on either the top-tier Kospi and second-tier Kosdaq recorded a total of 121.7 trillion won ($112.4 billion) in net profit and 155.6 trillion won in operating profit, up 48.5 percent and up 45.8 percent on-year, according to data compiled by local market t

Industry Feb. 14, 2018

A scene that may seem weird or unique to foreign bystanders is the common ritual in South Korea to celebrate the Lunar New Year: younger family members make a full bow, or saebae, to their elders, as they receive envelopes -- of cold, hard cash -- as gifts carrying messages of the best wishes for the future.As relatives gather for the Seollal holiday, usually at the home of the “highest-ranking” member of the extended family, they dress in neat garments, sometimes traditional hanbok, and take pa

Culture Feb. 14, 2018

Smart card manufacturer Kona I said Tuesday it has been selected as card supplier of a pilot project by US card firm Visa to develop a biometric payment card using fingerprint recognition technology. The Seoul-based firm will supply battery-free card components featuring energy harvesting technology to create pilots that capture, store and validate the card holder‘s fingerprint on the card, according to the firm. The move is expected to “endorse (Kona I’s) advanced technology a

Market Feb. 13, 2018

At the core of the success of K-pop and Korean drama series are record labels and management agencies that allow their artists’ work to be distributed to global audiences and help them earn star status through vigorous marketing.The commanding presence of such intermediaries in creating world-famous artists here may have proved successful so far, but it has also come with adverse effects and inefficiencies, such as frequent claims of artists being exploited or excessive financial burdens of agen

Technology Feb. 12, 2018

Samsung Electronics was reported to be worth 301.8 trillion won ($276.6 billion) as of the end of 2017, growing threefold compared to a decade ago, in part backed by rising value of tangible assets like facilities and real estate, according to a news report Sunday. Samsung Electronics marked the first private company in South Korea, excluding financial firms like banks, to see its total assets valued at over 300 trillion won.  (Yonhap)The value of Samsung Electronics‘ total assets in 2017 soared

Industry Feb. 11, 2018

   Having a climate with cooler summers and milder winters, as well as refreshing coastal views with creamy sand and splashing blue ocean waves, the city of Gangneung remained isolated for centuries. A 500 kilometer-long mountain range separates the coastal city from the nation’s major metropolitan cities, including Seoul. Demarcating the Korean Peninsula and stretching from Wonsan in North Korea to Busan, the mountain range Taebaek made a mountain pass rising 832 meters above sea level -- Daegw

Olympic Games Feb. 9, 2018

Akwasi Frimpong, a Dutch-Ghanaian skeleton slider, will be one of the 11 athletes representing African nations, and the only one competing for Ghana, at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games.Before he was confirmed to be competing at the Olympics last month, Frimpong, 31, was able to commute to training sessions and competitions in North America, carrying his sled and other pieces of equipment, with the help of a local dealer of Korean automaker Hyundai Motor throughout the 2017-18 season. Akwasi Fr

Mobility Feb. 8, 2018

Celltrion, a biosimilar maker listed on South Korea’s second-tier bourse Kosdaq, will begin trading on the top-tier market Kospi starting Friday, according to the Korea Exchange on Wednesday.Celltrion is the largest Kosdaq-listed share, with 31.4 trillion won ($28.9 billion) in market cap as of Wednesday. The maker of biosimilar drugs, such as Remsima and Truxima, is expected to constitute Korean markets’ composite benchmark indexes such as KRX 300 and Kospi 200. On Monday, the KRX,

Market Feb. 7, 2018

The Korea Financial Investment Association hailed Tuesday the decision by the Ministry of Finance and Strategy to suspend plans to impose capital gains tax on a wider range of foreign investors from nations that do not have a tax treaty with Korea.Kwon Yong-won, chairman of the self-regulatory organization for financial investment industry, called the decision “a cornerstone for building a stable condition for investors at home and abroad,” in a release Tuesday. “We welcome the

Market Feb. 6, 2018

The ruling Monday that reduced the sentence of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is bringing attention to Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin’s court verdict slated for next week.Monday’s verdict, which freed Lee, is expected to set the bar for how rulings on bribery charges involving family-run conglomerate owners will unfold. Lotte’s Shin, 62, will face a court verdict at the Seoul Central District Court on Tuesday on charges of bribery worth 7 billion won ($6.4 million) to a foundation

Industry Feb. 6, 2018

South Korea‘s authorities said on Tuesday they would keep close tabs on the widening volatility in the markets in the United States that have cast a shadow on stock markets here. “We will closely watch on how the US market volatility would impact local markets,” the Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol told press Tuesday.Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Choe Heung-sik also asked high-ranking officials in a meeting to brace for negative impacts, saying the constant rise in stock pri

Market Feb. 6, 2018

South Korea’s stock markets tumbled and sovereign bond yields rose sharply Monday in sync with other bearish financial markets in the United States and Asia, amid the US Federal Reserve’s signal for a March rate hike, the hawkish remarks of outgoing Fed chair Janet Yellen and the strengthening dollar. Analysts here said the impact on the market from the hawkish US Fed is inevitable, but at the same time played down possibilities of a lingering impact on the market. Korea’s top-

Market Feb. 5, 2018