The growth of financial technology is a credit negative for Korean banks, global credit rating agency Moody said Thursday, claiming that it will undermine the already-dwindling profitability of brick-and-mortar lenders. The New York-based crediting agency said Korea's push for fintech, envisioned partly by soon-to-launch internet-only banks and recently-launched crowdfunding operations, will trigger fiercer market competition in the Korean financial industry scene.“These initiatives, which are p

Jan. 29, 2016

The United Asset Management Co., a specialized firm in taking over bad loans held by financial companies, Thursday said it capped the first batch of its investment targets, with the sort-out process for the second batch also in the pipeline. UAMCO said it had sealed an agreement with first two main creditor banks -- the state-run Korea Development Bank and KEB-Hana Bank, for the takeover of bad debts extended by two firms in workout deals. The names and details on investments and mergers will be

Jan. 28, 2016

The Bank of Korea’s monetary policy board Thursday froze the base interest rate at a record-low 1.5 percent, citing soaring household debt, volatility in the China market and low crude prices. The central bank also announced that it slashed its growth outlook for 2016 to 3 percent from 3.2 percent. In its previous quarterly revision, released in October, the central bank lowered the forecast to 3.2 percent from 3.3 percent.Caption: Bank of Korea Gov. Le Ju-yeol opens a policy meeting at the bank

Jan. 14, 2016

South Korea is facing an increasing level of oil money exit risks in its stock markets, with the crude-producing economies bracing against falling global oil prices and struggling Chinese economy, a Korean brokerage house said on Wednesday. According to a recent report compiled by Shinhan Investment Corp., the oil producing economies’ total investment in Korean stocks on Nov. 30, 2015, slipped to 30.7 trillion won, down 10.6 trillion won or 25.7 percent from July 31, 2014. “The biggest exit came

Jan. 13, 2016

Erik StoelErik Stoel, marketing director of British American Tobacco Korea, has been appointed its new chief executive, the company announced Tuesday.Stoel will take office on Jan. 1, replacing the incumbent CEO Guy Meldrum who has been transferred as head of BAT Australasia. “Over the past three years, in his role as marketing director of BAT Korea, Mr. Stoel has made a substantial contribution to the company by strengthening the company’s flagship brand Dunhill to establish BAT Korea’s stronge

Industry Dec. 29, 2015

Yim Jong-yongFinancial Services Commission Chairman Yim Jong-yong pinpointed household and corporate debt as the biggest potential problems for the Korean economy, calling for “fierce reforms” to guard against them. “The debt problem, (particularly) of households and corporates, is the biggest risk to our economy,” the chief financial regulator said in his year-end press meeting in central Seoul, Tuesday. Korea’s economy faces multiple challenges, including an uncertain global economic outlook,

Dec. 29, 2015

The number of companies which went public this year on the main KOSPI and tech-heavy KOSDAQ markets reached the highest in 13 years, data showed on Wednesday.As of Tuesday, a total of 119 companies have listed on the stock markets, 17 on the benchmark KOSPI and 102 on the secondary KOSDAQ, according to Korea Exchange. By the end of this year, nine more companies will join the IPO march, two on the KOSPI and seven on the KOSDAQ.This 2015 figure is the largest since 2002 when 178 firms went public

Dec. 23, 2015

Despite households worsening ability to repay debt, Korea should avoid implementing hasty control over the debt to prevent the nation‘s economy from entering recession, Bank of Korea said Tuesday.The central bank said that slower-than-expected improvement in household income is failing to keep up to pace with fast-rising household debt. However, the BOK said stronger intervention to slash household debt can impede growth by imposing pressure on the market, especially the property market. (Yonhap

Dec. 22, 2015

Credit card holders are reluctant to use the cash advance service due to the high interest rates and alternative loan services, central bank data revealed on Monday.In the January-August period this year, the number of cash advance transactions by noncorporate credit card users stood at 66.5 million, down 8.5 percent from last year. Cash advance service, a type of card loan that allows cardholders to withdraw quick-and-easy cash from an ATM and pay back later, is now losing steam due to its high

Nov. 23, 2015

(123RF)The chaebol families of Shinsegae Group and Doosan Group earned fast fortunes on the stock market following the government approval of their bids to run duty-free shops in Seoul. Shinsegae chairwoman Lee Myung-hee and her chaebol family made a total of 100 billion won ($85.5 million) in just two days prior to the government announcement, with a 16 percent jump in the retail giant’s stocks. On the second day of those two days, Shinsegae stock prices jumped as high as 12.06 percent.Of the 1

Nov. 17, 2015

The monthly export prices fell to a nine-month low in October on the back of a stronger won against the greenback, the South Korean central bank said on Tuesday. The October export price index fell to 82.12, down 3.5 percent from a month ago, and down 6.2 percent from a year ago, Bank of Korea data revealed. This is the sharpest fall since January with 4.3 percent. The October import price index also fell to 78.42, down 3 percent from a month ago, posting the fastest monthly drop since January’s

Nov. 10, 2015

Officials from Ministry of Health & Welfare, KNIH, U.S. NIH, and NCC pose after signing a letter of intention to cooperate in precision medicine research in Washington last week. (NCC)The Korean National Cancer Center joined hands with the U.S. National Institutes of Health to launch a large-scale precision medicine research cohort to combat cancer, the NCC said Wednesday.The cancer research cohort aims at conducting joint precision medicine research on cancer and the Middle East respiratory syn

Technology Oct. 23, 2015

About 63 percent of South Korean wage workers earned less than the average annual salary in 2014, indicating the country’s widening economic polarization. According to the joint report by Rep. Yoon Ho-joong of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy and the Korea Taxpayers Association released Tuesday, the average annual salary of South Korean earners in 2014 stood at 31,724,658 won ($26,386.58). The average monthly pay was slightly above 2.64 million won. Yet a total of 10,225,4

Sept. 8, 2015

The Korea Forest Service joined hands with citizens and entrepreneurs to bring green forests to hectic urban societies, spurring sustainable urban living in Korea. KFS, the state agency for afforestation and forest resources, has been seeking ways to secure more green spaces around the living spaces in urban areas, which fall far below the global standards. Korea’s minimum area of urban living forest per capita turned out to be approximately 8.5 square meters, lower than the World Health Organiz

Sept. 3, 2015

Korea’s monthly travel deficit in July soared to a 7-year high, as the Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak held back foreign travelers from visiting the country, central bank data showed on Wednesday. According to Bank of Korea’s report on the July balance of payments, the travel account logged a $1.45 billion deficit. This is the largest deficit since July 2008, when the global financial crisis pushed up the travel account deficit to $1.65 billion. An increase in the travel account defici

Sept. 2, 2015