Financial authorities in South Korea have yet to decide on whether to exempt blockchain technology from regulations on financial privacy, which may hurt Korea’s move to pursue the fintech-led fourth industrial revolution, a news report said Tuesday. Blockchain is expected to be a key feature of financial technology infrastructure in Korea, as it offers enhanced security from tampering. But it re...

South Korean stocks closed higher on robust gains of blue chip shares, including market behemoth Samsung Electronics, analysts said Tuesday, posting the second-highest closing figure. The Korean won gained against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index gained 14.23 points, or 0.65 percent, to close at 2,219.67. Trade volume was low at 290 million shares worth 4.72 trillio...

Foreign investors have snapped up South Korean bonds with their holdings exceeding 100 trillion won ($88.6 billion) again, industry data showed Tuesday. Offshore investors were net buyers of South Korean bonds worth 692.1 billion won last week, raising their holdings to 100.1 trillion won as of last Friday, according to the data and NH Investment & Securities. Foreign investors have been buying...

North Korea policies proposed by Moon Jae-in, the front-runner in South Korea’s presidential race, may have a positive impact on the sovereign credit rating of the fourth-largest economy in Asia, said a report from Moody’s on Tuesday. The international credit rating agency said South Korea could undergo a change in its geopolitical risks after the upcoming election that falls on Tuesday, conside...

South Korean stocks traded higher late Tuesday morning on the back of the robust gains of major blue-chip shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 21.66 point, or 0.98 percent, to 2,227.10 as of 11:20 a.m. Market behemoth Samsung Electronics shot up 1.03 percent, and No. 2 chipmaker SK hynix also advanced 2.41 percent. LG Electronics and LG Display gained 2.03 percent and 2....

The combined net profit of South Korean banks for the first quarter of this year surged to a six-year high, thanks to a rise in interest income and a decline in loan-loss provisions, government data showed Tuesday. Banks in South Korea posted a combined net profit of 4.3 trillion won ($3.7 billion) for the January-March quarter, up 49 percent on-year, according to the data by the Financial Super...

South Korean stocks opened higher Tuesday on the back of robust gains by tech and financial shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 15.23 points, or 0.69 percent, to 2,220.67 in the first 15 minutes of trading. The market closed Monday for Labor Day. Tech shares led the gain, with market behemoth Samsung Electronics moving up 1.79 percent and its smaller rival LG Electronic...

More than 200 South Korean children aged 7 to 13 have bank accounts with a balance of 100 million won ($88,000) or higher, with their average balance hovering well above the mean of local households' financial assets, government data showed Tuesday. According to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service, 224 bank accounts owned by children in the age bracket have a balance of 100 million won...

Nearly 90 percent of financial firms worldwide said their businesses are at risk from rapidly expanding fintech rivals and they fear losing revenue to the financial innovators, according to a new study released on Monday, in the latest sign of the growing influence of financial technology, known as fintech. The study conducted by global consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers said that many fear ...

The household net interest income has recorded a deficit for the first time since 1975, while that of local banks has shown an increase last year. According to the Bank of Korea, total household interest income has decreased to 36.1 trillion won, the lowest in 20 years. However, its interest payments on loans have risen sharply to approximately 41.8 trillion won, creating a deficit of around 5.7...

The loan delinquency rate of South Korean banks edged down in March from a month earlier as they wrote off bad loans, government data showed Monday. The delinquency rate for their won-denominated loans stood at 0.51 percent at the end of March, down 0.06 percentage point from a month earlier, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service. Loans with both the principal and interest ...

South Korea’s non-life insurers saw their profits rise due to reduced loss ratios for car insurance and the rise in medical insurance rates in the first quarter, data showed Sunday. However, criticism persisted as the insurers appear to rely on group buying schemes, which allows them to overcharge customers to sustain financial stability for coverage, observers said. The combined net profit of ...

Commercial lenders in South Korea have raised interest rates for household lending, weighing on household debt, the central bank’s data showed Sunday. Fresh household loans with rates lower than 3 percent, extended by local banks, took up 26 percent of total household loans in March, hitting a 25-month low, according to data from the Bank of Korea. The proportion of new loans with interest rate...

Chief executive officers leading South Korea's biggest businesses receive salaries that are on average 21.9-times higher than those of ordinary employees, a local market researcher said Sunday. According to FN Guide, CEOs at the 30 largest companies in terms of market capitalization, took home substantially more pay than the average worker in 2016, with the gap widening to more than 50 to 60-fol...

The combined value of shares owned by South Korea's 100 richest stockholders surpassed 100 trillion won ($87.7 billion), swelled by rising stock markets, industry data showed Sunday. Despite geopolitical risks surrounding North Korea, the nation's benchmark KOSPI index closed at a near six-year high last week. The index gained about 9 percent from the end of last year. As of last Friday, the co...