Most Popular
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Russia sent more than 165,000 barrels of refined petroleum to N. Korea in March: White House
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Key suspects grilled over alleged abuse of power in Marine death inquiry
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S. Korean children, teens grow taller, mature faster than before: study
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Army takes group action against Hybe for neglecting BTS
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Marine Corps commander summoned by CIO for questioning on alleged influence-peddling case
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[Graphic News] Number of coffee franchises in S. Korea rises 13%
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Some junior doctors are returning: Health Ministry
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Ador CEO's request for exclusive right to terminate NewJeans' contract with Hybe refused in February
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Naver will consider company benefits in deciding on selling Line shares: CEO
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Woman dangling from power lines rescued by residents holding blanket
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Korea’s financial supervisor stresses ‘inclusive finance’ and ‘responsible innovation’ in age of fintech
The chief of South Korea’s financial supervisory body on Friday stressed “inclusive finance” and “responsible innovation” as the key drivers of its regulatory oversight this year as the country prepares for explosive growth in the fintech sector.Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Yoon Suk-heun called on foreign financial firms here to “bring in a new wave of financial inclusion and responsible innovation to the Korean financial industry.”Yoon was speakin
April 5, 2019
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KVIC sees record profit amid venture boom
As South Korea’s venture investment hit a record high last year, Korea Venture Investment, South Korea’s fund of funds management institute, saw a jump in revenue growth, data from the Financial Supervisory Service showed on April 4. KVIC logged operating sales of 22.9 billion won ($20.1 million) and operating profit of 6.4 billion won, growing 38.59 percent and 385.76 percent, respectively. Its revenue soared 456.01 percent to 5.3 billion won during the same period, the company&rs
April 5, 2019
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[News Focus] Inside the ‘excessive dividends’ controversy plaguing foreign banks in Korea
Global banks operating in South Korea have once again come under close scrutiny for the size of dividends they have paid their parent companies, following their recent announcement of annual earnings and dividend policies for the year. Come every year, major global banks -- namely Standard Chartered Bank Korea and Citibank Korea -- get flak for paying their parent firms generous dividends that exceed their annual net profit. And this year is no exception.While within legal bounds, their dividend
April 4, 2019
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Toss Card launched in Korea for online, offline purchases
Viva Republica, operator of South Korea’s leading mobile payment and finance platform Toss, on Thursday announced the launch of Toss Card for both offline and online use. The Toss Card connects to users’ Toss account and is linked to their commercial bank accounts, thus functioning like a debit card. It can be used across all BC Card retailers, the firm said. The card comes in two colors -- black and silver -- and is able to support a maximum of 2 million won ($1,760) per paymen
April 4, 2019
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S. Korea nears top among APEC states in use of digital finance
South Korea was No. 1 among states in the Asia-Pacific region in the utilization of digital finance such as online shopping and internet banking, data showed Tuesday.But it also showed a sharp digital divide, with relatively large differences according to age and income. According to the Asian Digital Transformation Index report published by the Economic Intelligence Unit and MasterCard, Seoul’s portion of customers with no experience online shopping stood at 24 percent. The figure was sec
April 2, 2019
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Korean branches of foreign banks see 27% hike in 2018 net profit
The South Korean branches of foreign banks here saw their net profit last year grow 27.4 percent from the previous year, on the back of robust interest income, according to tracking data from the Financial Supervisory Service released Tuesday.The 38 global banks operating here, such as HSBC Bank, raised 867.3 billion won ($764 million) in 2018, marking a 27.4 percent increase from 186.6 billion won recorded the previous year, the data showed. During this time frame, their interest-led incom
April 2, 2019
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BOK picks 2 local AMCs to manage FX holdings
The Bank of Korea has selected two domestic asset management companies to manage its foreign exchange holdings and make stock market investments in advanced economies, officials said Monday.The local AMCs will join two foreign firms which have being managing BOK’s FX holdings so far. The central bank however did not name the two firms that have been selected, in accordance with industry practices. “We will sign a consignment contract by April and put $150 million in a trust for each
April 1, 2019
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Korea kick-starts financial regulatory sandbox experiment
South Korea’s financial regulatory sandbox policy went into effect Monday, with the Financial Services Commission selecting 19 innovative fintech services for “priority review.”The Financial Services Commission’s innovative finance review panel held its first meeting to decide on the first batch of fintech services to covered by the regulatory sandbox policy.The envisioned services span diverse categories including loans (five), insurance (two), capital market (three), ea
April 1, 2019
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KB Financial chairman calls for China business expansion
KB Financial Group chief Yoon Jong-kyoo called for greater business expansion in the Chinese market, during talks at the Boao Forum, market watchers said Sunday. The chairman outlined his goals at the CEO conference of the gathering on Friday, in Hainan Island. Both South Korean and Chinese government officials and business representatives attended the conference. Choi Jong-ku, head of the Financial Services Commission, and Korea Investment Corp, CEO Choi Hee-am were present along with some 25
March 31, 2019
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Non-interest earnings make up 12% of profits generated by Korean banks
Non-interest related earnings made up just 12 percent of profits generated by local banks in 2018, much below the global average, a local think tank said Sunday. The latest findings clearly showed the high degree of dependence on interest and the need to diversify the business portfolios of lenders, the report by Korea Institute of Finance said. It said that out of the 45.8 trillion won (US$40.3 billion) in total profits reported by banks, non-interest earnings stood at 5.5 trillion won. By le
March 31, 2019
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Kumho Asiana creditors demand asset selloff, solid loan repayment plan
Despite the voluntary departure of the Kumho Asiana chairman last week, the main creditors of the conglomerate, which owns South Korea’s second-largest air carrier Asiana Airlines, have demanded that it sell off its high-value assets and draw up a solid loan repayment plan to improve liquidity. The demands were pushed by Asiana Airlines’ main creditors, including the state-run Korea Development Bank, as a condition for their continued support in normalizing the airline’s financ
March 31, 2019
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Firms delay filing of annual reports on stricter audit law
The number of South Korean firms that have delayed the filing of their annual reports this year nearly doubled compared to last year, data released by the nation’s main bourse operator showed Friday, in a phenomenon sparked by the reinforced external audit act. According to the Korea Exchange, seven Kospi- and Kosdaq-listed firms recently requested to extend the deadline for the filing of annual reports by one week to April 8, citing their failure to receive auditors’ opinions on the
March 29, 2019
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Who will be the next big name in S. Korea’s internet-only bank business?
The bid to enter South Korea’s promising internet-only bank market has turned into a one-on-one match between two leading consortia -- brokerage-led, capital-affluent Kiwoom Bank and fintech-based, innovation-focused Toss Bank.Kiwoom Bank, led by local brokerage Kiwoom Securities, touts its financial strength and a diverse shareholder base that includes telecommunications and retail companies. Toss Bank, steered by Viva Republica, operator of popular payment platform Toss, has decided to u
March 28, 2019
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[News Focus] Korea’s finance ‘regulatory sandbox’ experiment takes effect in April
South Korea’s “regulatory sandbox” policy for the finance sector will take effect next week, bringing in a system of flexible regulations with the goal of accelerating innovations in financial technology. The Special Act on Financial Innovation Support was enacted in the legislature in November last year and formally takes effect April 1. Under the legislation, the Korean government is seeking to foster emerging startups in new business arenas -- especially the fintech sector,
March 28, 2019
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Financial firms compete to take charge of Labor Ministry’s W28tr funds
South Korea’s financial firms are set to compete this week to be picked as outsourced chief investment offices in charge of the government’s unemployment and industrial accident insurance funds worth a total of 28 trillion won ($24.6 billion), sources said Wednesday. The Ministry of Employment and Labor will choose one brokerage and one asset management firm from a pool of bidders, to respectively manage a state-owned 10 trillion won unemployment insurance fund and an 18 trillion won
March 27, 2019
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KT hits snag in move to increase K bank stake
South Korea’s fair trade authorities are investigating KT for alleged collusion in a government-issued business project -- a development that could hurt the telecom company’s chances of gaining approval to increase its stake in its internet-only bank, K bank.According to industry sources Wednesday, the Fair Trade Commission is currently investigating local telcos KT, SK Telecom, LG Uplus and Sejong Telecom on suspicions of collusion in a circuit line business project.KT has notified
March 27, 2019
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Hyundai AutoEver shares to be listed on Kospi this week
Shares of Hyundai AutoEver will be traded on the country’s main stock market this week, the bourse operator said on March 27. The ICT service provider of the world’s fifth-largest automotive conglomerate will go public on the Kospi on March 28 after the Korea Exchange gave the nod to its listing. The initial public offering price was set at 48,000 won ($42.3) per share, and the listing could generate around 1 trillion won in fresh capital, according to the KRX. Hyundai AutoEver
March 27, 2019
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[Contribution] In investments, managing 'emotional returns' is key to staying on track
The Korea Herald publishes a regular contribution series written by senior investment strategists at Standard Chartered Group Wealth Management. – Ed.Early this year, our investment committee members went on the road to present our 2019 Outlook to our clients across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe, as we do every year. One of the key messages that we have constantly communicated over the years is the importance of diversification. While we get the sense that some of our investors
March 26, 2019
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Shinhan Bank’s new CEO pledges two-track globalization strategy
Shinhan Bank’s newly appointed CEO Jin Ok-dong on Tuesday pledged a two-track strategy for the bank’s global push, calling for the formation of strong business assets in key currency markets such as the US and Japan while citing plans to build a locally competitive presence in emerging markets. “I believe in a two-track strategy for the bank’s global expansion,” Jin said in his inaugural press conference at Shinhan Bank’s headquarters in Seoul. “One tra
March 26, 2019
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Mirae Asset to expand presence in Asia: founder says in letter to employees
South Korea’s Mirae Asset will make a foray into the Japanese market by the end of the year, while expanding its business in China and India, its founder said in an email to employees on Monday. “Demand for global financial products will only continue to grow,” wrote Park Hyeon-joo from New York, on his last leg of a business trip around the world, in his first letter to the employees in two years. After stepping down as chairman of Mirae Asset Financial Group in Korea las
March 26, 2019