Most Popular
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Exports to US reach all-time high, widen gap with China
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Trump rekindles criticism: US forces defending 'wealthy' S. Korea 'free of charge'
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[Music in drama] Rekindle a love that slipped through your fingers
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S. Korea discussed possible participation in AUKUS Pillar 2 with Australia: defense minister
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[New faces of Assembly] Architect behind ‘audacious initiative’ believes in denuclearized North Korea
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On May Day, labor unions blast Yoon's foreign nanny proposal
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Seoul Metro to seek legal action against malicious complaints
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[KH Explains] Will alternative trading platform shake up Korean stock market?
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Illit, mired in controversy, remains on Billboard charts for 5th week
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S. Korea lowers COVID-19 warning level, lifts last-remaining antivirus mandates
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Un-real estate: Young Koreans look to make real money from virtual land
Park Seol-min, 28, half-jokingly tells his friends that he bought a 10-square-meter plot in the wealthy Gangnam area of Seoul for less than 40,000 won ($34). As you might expect, given that apartments in the area trade for more than 30 million won per square meter, there’s a catch: The plot only exists in a virtual, computerized world. Park is one of a growing number of “virtual homeowners,” who spend real money on real estate in metaverse platforms such as Earth 2, w
Aug. 23, 2021
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Seoul stocks open higher on strong export data
South Korean stocks opened higher Monday, helped by robust economic data that fueled optimism for a quick economic rebound from the pandemic. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 19.61 points, or 0.64 percent, to 3,080.12 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks got off to a bullish start as South Korea's exports jumped 40.9 percent on-year in the first 20 days of August on high demand for chips, autos and petroleum goods. Top cap Samsung Electronics added 0.6
Aug. 23, 2021
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Kyobo Life minority shareholders deny collusion with accountants
Minority shareholders of Kyobo Life Insurance denied having colluded with the company’s accountants to influence the pricing of shares as they sought to exit the company after its failed attempt to go public, one of its shareholders, Affinity Equity Partners, said Sunday. Legal representatives of the investor consortium led by the Hong Kong-based private equity firm argued in a statement that it abided by South Korea’s rules when estimating the strike price with the accounting firm
Aug. 22, 2021
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Cash-rich Hyundai Engineering makes case for IPO at W10tr valuation: analysis
South Korean builder Hyundai Engineering’s anticipated initial public offering will bring its equity value to over 10 trillion won ($8.5 billion), as its market debut plan is considered a critical step for a full-fledged family business succession in Hyundai Motor Group. A booming housing construction market coupled with its net cash -- amounting to 2.3 trillion won as of end-June -- make the case for the 10 trillion-won mark in equity value of the company, analysts said. The company, d
Aug. 22, 2021
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[ESG Talk] Embedding ESG into M&A strategy for post-COVID era
The year 2021 is seen as a period of transition as markets recover in the post-COVID rebound. Among the areas that will see an economic boost is the mergers and acquisitions market. What companies must recognize is that the M&A market in the post-COVID era is likely to unfold a slightly different reality than in the past. There will be a more explicit and extensive embodiment of environmental, social, and governance values in M&A deals. ESG and its impact on M&A The COVID-19 pande
Aug. 22, 2021
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Foreigners’ net sale of Seoul stocks worth W31tr so far in 2021
While foreign investors extended their selling spree of South Korean stocks, the amount of massively offloaded shares by them so far in 2021 has already surpassed last year’s figure during the pandemic-hit market, data showed Sunday. Offshore investors sold a net 30.73 trillion won ($26.15 billion) worth of local stocks from the calendar year to Friday, according to data compiled by the Korea Exchange. It marked nearly a 25 percent increase from 24.71 trillion won in net selling for the
Aug. 22, 2021
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Second-tier banks urged to tighten lending amid soaring household debt
South Korea’s financial watchdog has called on second-tier banks to tighten lending standards on their extension of personal unsecured loans, as part of a move to curb ballooning household debt, industry sources said Sunday. The Financial Supervisory Service had sent a message to the Korea Federation of Savings Banks on Friday urging its member companies, including savings banks and mutual financial cooperatives, to keep the maximum amount of credit loans allowed for individuals below th
Aug. 22, 2021
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Korean banks temporarily halt mortgage lending over household debt worries
South Korean banks have started to temporarily halt their home-backed loans under pressure from financial authorities seeking to rein in the nation’s snowballing household debt, sources said Friday. NH NongHyup Bank, one of the country’s top five commercial banks, decided to suspend all mortgage lending from next week until Nov. 30. Switching and renewals of mortgages will be halted as well. Extension of personal loans will be tightened as well, with customers able to borrow up
Aug. 20, 2021
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Seoul stocks slump more than 1% in US tapering worries
South Korean stocks retreated more than 1 percent Friday as concerns about the possibility of the US Fed's earlier-than-expected tapering pulled down the stock prices. The Korean won fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) dipped 37.32 points, or 1.2 percent, to close at 3,060.51 points. Trading volume was moderate at about 660 million shares worth some 16.1 trillion won ($13.6 billion), with gainers outnumbering losers 829 to 70. Foreigners sold a
Aug. 20, 2021
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KakaoBank outpaces Hyundai Motor in market cap
KakaoBank, South Korea’s largest digital-only bank, beat out Hyundai Motor, one of the world’s largest carmakers, in terms of market capitalization on Friday morning, becoming 8th most valuable company here. Shares of KakaoBank rose 1.85 percent to 92,300 won ($77.98) during the morning trade to surpass the 44 trillion won-mark before it closed at 1.09 percent lower to 91,000 won. Hyundai Motor shares, meanwhile, declined more than 1 percent to 204,000 won apiece, losing
Aug. 20, 2021
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Seoul stocks turn to losses late Fri. morning on U.S. tapering worries
South Korean stocks turned to losses late Friday morning as concerns about the possibility of US Fed's earlier-than-expected tapering pulled down stock prices. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) retreated 20.52 points, or 0.66 percent, to 3,077.31 points as of 11:20 a.m. Stocks opened with mild gains after the Kospi retreated nearly 2 percent Thursday, marking the biggest daily loss since Feb. 26 and the lowest closing price since early April. But stocks fell back below t
Aug. 20, 2021
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Seoul stocks open higher on bargain hunting
South Korean stocks opened higher Friday as bargain hunters sought oversold stocks after the benchmark index plunged by almost 2 percent the previous day. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) rose 5.68 points, or 0.18 percent, to 3,103.51 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Stocks rebounded after the Kospi retreated nearly 2 percent Thursday, marking biggest daily loss since Feb. 26, and the lowest closing price since early April. Investors remained wary for market j
Aug. 20, 2021
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Tougher regulations cast shadow over crypto markets in S. Korea
Ko Kwang-nam invested 5 million won ($4,251) in cryptocurrencies but lost about half of his holdings as the nation's cryptocurrency markets showed signs of cooling down ahead of tougher regulations. As things stand, Ko, a 30-something office worker in Seoul, is likely to lose most of holdings because he made big bets on smaller or "alternative" coins. "I am not going to cut my losses because I believe that prices will go up again if regulatory issues are over," Ko said. Ab
Aug. 20, 2021
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‘Mergepoint saga could speed up passage of e-payment act revision’
Politicians have started to look closely into a snowballing fiasco of prepaid discount service Mergepoint on Thursday, raising expectations that it could help speed up the passage of a revision to the controversial e-payment law. The revised Electronic Financial Transaction Act (EFTA) has been pending at the National Assembly for nine months. Park Wan-joo, the policy committee chairman of the ruling Democratic Party, said the government and the ruling party were taking the case very seriously
Aug. 19, 2021
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Seoul stocks dip nearly 2 pct on US tapering jitters
South Korean stocks tumbled nearly 2 percent Thursday on concerns over the US Federal Reserve minutes that hinted at the possibility of an earlier-than-expected tapering timeline. The Korean won steeply fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) slumped 61.1 points, or 1.93 percent, to close at 3,097.83 points. The figure marks the index's biggest daily loss since Feb. 26, and the closing price marks the lowest since early April. Trading volume was mode
Aug. 19, 2021
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NH NongHyup to work with Samsung Electronics for digital transformation
South Korea’s NH NongHyup Bank said Thursday it is collaborating with Samsung Electronics to accelerate digital transformation of its financial businesses. One of the country‘s top commercial banks and the global tech behemoth signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday that will help NH NongHyup efficiently utilize key emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and the metaverse. Designing digital, yet consumer-friendly brick-and-mortar branches, de
Aug. 19, 2021
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HHI acquires Doosan Infracore after Chinese arm dispute resolution
Hyundai Heavy Industries Group has closed an acquisition deal of a 30 percent stake in South Korean machinery manufacturer Doosan Infracore for 850 billion won ($722.5 million), a filing submitted to the Financial Supervisory Service showed Thursday. The business conglomerate‘s midtier holding company Hyundai Genuine has bought 23.4 million common shares in Doosan Infracore from the debt-saddled Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, which will use about 690 billion won in proceeds t
Aug. 19, 2021
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Retail investors’ ownership of Samsung Electronics stock doubles
Amid massive foreign sell-offs of Samsung Electronics, South Korea’s most valuable company, domestic retail traders’ stock ownership in the tech giant doubled this year, surpassing 13 percent for the first time, data showed Thursday. Individual investors’ stock holdings of Samsung accounted for an all-time high of 13.08 percent of the total as of Wednesday. The previous record -- set at end-December last year -- was 6.48 percent, according to data compiled by the Korea Securit
Aug. 19, 2021
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Residents' FX deposits fall in July
Foreign currency deposits at banks in South Korea fell in July from the previous month as individuals withdrew their FX holdings, central bank data showed Thursday. Outstanding foreign currency-denominated deposits held by residents amounted to $92.13 billion as of end-July, down $910 million from June, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). Residents include local citizens, foreigners staying here for more than six months and foreign companies. The data excludes interbank foreign currency depo
Aug. 19, 2021
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Banks' loan delinquency rate falls in June
The delinquency rate for South Korean banks' won-denominated loans fell to a record low in June due to a decline in overdue corporate loans, the financial regulator said Thursday. The rate for bank loans more than 30 days overdue stood at 0.25 percent at the end of June, down from 0.32 percent the previous month, according to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Compared with a year earlier, the rate was down 0.08 percentage point in June. The delinquency rate for corporate loans declined
Aug. 19, 2021