Articles by Son Ji-hyoung

Son Ji-hyoung
consnow@heraldcorp.com-
Urban forests key in fight against fine dust
Urban forests have played a key role in improving the quality of life for those living in metropolitan cities by tackling urban heat island effects and fine dust in South Korea, where more than 90 percent of its population reside in cities.Forests in Korea help decrease the amount of fine particles by more than 1 million tons per year, according to the Korea Forest Service. But the capital city Seoul, home to nearly one out of five people living here, is suffering from a shortage of urban forest
Industry Sept. 27, 2017
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Are NK risks denting consumption, domestic economy?
Signs of downward turns in consumption, the domestic economy as well as the financial market seem to be apparent, amid the saber-rattling between North Korea and the United States, which has heightened tension to the degree of a “declaration of war” on the Korean Peninsula.The main bourse index in South Korea slumped for the sixth consecutive trading day Tuesday with tech giants taking losses, while South Korea’s Composite Consumer Sentiment Index fell for two consecutive month
Market Sept. 26, 2017
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[Exclusive] Former Alipay Korea country manager to helm Bithumb: source
Jung Won-shik, former country manager of Alipay Korea, has become the new chief executive of BTC Korea, the operator of South Korea’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, a source familiar with the matter told The Korea Herald.“(Jung) had been scouted as CEO of BTC Korea since Sept. 4,” said the source, who declined to be named. The source also said Jung’s arrival at BTC Korea was part of the company’s “first batch of a management team made up of key
Market Sept. 26, 2017
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[단독] '정원식 전 알리페이 한국 지사장, 빗썸 대표 내정'
정원식(46) 전 알리페이 한국 지사장이 한국 최대 규모 가상화폐 거래소인 빗썸의 대표로 영입되었다고 한 소식통이 전했다. 익명을 요구한 소식통은, 정 전 지사장은 “9월 4일부터 이미 빗썸 대표에 내정되어 있다”고 말했다. 소식통은 또한 빗썸이 9월 핀테크, PG(전자결제), 보안 등 각 분야의 전문가들 뿐아니라 금융당국 출신 인력 등으로 구성된 전문경영인체제팀을 구축했다고 밝혔다. 이에 대해 빗썸 측은 “(정 전 지사장이) 내부에서 대표직 등으로 논의, 확정된 바가 없는 상황”이라고 밝혔다. (사진=링크드인)정 전 지사장은 서울대학교 대학원 경영학과 석사학위를 받았으며, 올해 2월까지 1년여간 알리페이 한국 지사장을 역임했다. 이전에도 후지쯔, 텔랩스 등 다국적 핀테크 관련 회사에서 임원급으로 일한 바 있다. 최근 정 전 지사장은 가상화폐 관련 행보를 보여 왔다. 정 전 대표는 14일 빗썸이 주최한 ‘2017 가상화폐포럼’에 모습을 드러내는 한편, 24일에는 코엑스 인터콘티넨
한국어판 Sept. 26, 2017
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Half of stock trades made within day: data
Nearly half of the entire trade volume in South Korea’s stock market this year until mid-September stemmed from day trading, indicating individual traders’ growing tendency to seek instant profit from stocks with high price volatility, data showed Monday. From January to Sept. 15, day traders bought or sold some 48 percent of shares, or 89.5 billion shares, on the first-tier and second-tier markets, according to data by the sole market operator the Korea Exchange. This comes in contr
Market Sept. 25, 2017
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[Herald Interview] Hacker-turned-CEO brings digital currency offline
The Korea Herald is publishing a series of interviews on promising startups in the fintech industry. This is the first installment. -- Ed. While cryptocurrency exchanges among those in their 40s and 50s deal with larger volumes, the older generation more often than not face inconveniences in trading their digital currencies.“Some traders often found themselves in trouble,” Kevin Cha, founder and chief executive of digital currency exchange Coinone, told The Korea Herald in an interview. The inte
Sept. 19, 2017
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Korea to benchmark Japan’s forestry job creation
With South Korea aiming to quadruple its forestry employment, Japan’s policy -- which has sparked an interest among the young generation -- could be the thing to aim for. The high-level dialogue Monday between Korea and Japan held at the Korea Forest Service headquarters in Daejeon offered a nation suffering from chronic unemployment a chance to benchmark Japan’s track record of a recovery in forestry employment, the officials said.The two-hour meeting was held in light of the Korean government
Industry Sept. 18, 2017
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Possible FOMC tightening to ease uncertainties: analysts
The United States Federal Open Market Committee’s decision this week to take another step back from yearslong quantitative easing is likely to ease uncertainties for the financial markets in South Korea, according to multiple analysts. The FOMC’s highly-anticipated decision to shrink the balance sheet, backed by signs of pick-up in US consumer inflation, will “lift some uncertainties out of the market,” wrote Kim Yu-kyum, an analyst at Cape Investment & Securitie
Market Sept. 17, 2017
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Markets’ 10-day closure to be first in over 30 years
The Korea Exchange, South Korea’s sole securities market operator, is bracing for the 10-day closing of the market next month, the longest in more than three decades.The main bourse and the secondary bourse are scheduled to be dormant from Sept. 30 to Oct. 9 for the weekends and national Chuseok holiday. This is the third time for the market to close for 10 days since Kospi was launched by KRX in 1983.In 1983 and 1984, Kospi did not open from Dec. 25 to Jan. 3 the following year to allow t
Market Sept. 17, 2017
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[News Focus] Korea unshaken by bitcoin plunge, looming China crackdown
South Korea’s cryptocurrency exchanges largely appear unshaken despite the latest drop in bitcoin price fueled by the Chinese government’s reported plans to shut down domestic bitcoin exchanges, which experts here say would more likely stabilize, rather than stumble, the market. The Korea Composite Bitcoin Price, based on prices of a bitcoin in major exchanges in Korea’s Bithumb, Korbit and Coinone, came to 4,351,533 won ($3,842.1) as of 4 p.m. Thursday, down 5.9 percent
Market Sept. 14, 2017
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UNSC’s vote on NK to pose little impact on stocks: analysts
A vote by the United Nations Security Council to implement further sanctions on North Korea would have limited impact on South Korea’s stock market, analysts here said Monday, amid signs of geopolitical risks abating on the market.The stock market in Korea bounced back from Friday losses. The first-tier Kospi closed at 2,359.08, up 0.66 percent, while the secondary Kosdaq rose 0.34 percent.Shares of tech giants and financial sectors saw an upturn. Handset maker Samsung Electronics jumped 1
Market Sept. 11, 2017
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Korean banking giants lag behind in global capital standard
South Korean banks failed to make it into the global top tier in capital volume last year, data showed Monday.According to an estimate by Korea Ratings, none of the country’s banking groups were among the top 60 in terms of core capital as of the end of 2016.Five banking groups -- KB Financial Group, Shinhan Financial Group, Hana Financial Group, Woori Bank and the state-run Korea Development Bank -- were part of the top 100, but none made it on the top 50 list.The estimate was based on a
Market Sept. 11, 2017
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[Kosdaq Star] Minwise’s foray into fintech buoys foreigner appetite
This is the 41st in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- EdThe blockbuster debut in July of Kakao Bank, an online-only bank launched by messaging app giant Kakao, has driven a surprising stock race among fintech companies listed on the nation’s stock market. And Minwise, a digital security service provider based in Seoul, has been one of a few beneficiaries. More than two years after going public on South Korea’s secondary bourse
Market Sept. 10, 2017
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Sweeping changes expected in state-run bank leadership
South Korea’s top state-run financial bodies are expecting leadership changes, with candidates -- who worked for the former Roh Moo-hyun administration -- awaiting presidential approval. The Financial Services Commission Chairman Choi Jong-ku recommended Lee Dong-gull, a business administration professor at Dongguk University, to head the Korea Development Bank on Thursday.During the first 18 months of the Roh administration, Lee served as a vice chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commi
Market Sept. 7, 2017
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Korean banks’ overseas performance jumps nearly 50%, boosted by interest revenue
South Korean banks saw a nearly 50 percent increase on-year in net profit from offshore banking units in the first half of this year on surge in interest revenue, while the reliance on the overseas business dropped to a third over the cited period, data showed Wednesday. The net profit of all 184 offshore banking entities during the first half came to $461.2 million, up 48.7 percent from a year prior, according to data by the Financial Supervisory Service. In the first half of 2016, net revenue
Market Sept. 6, 2017
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Same day, different holiday: Mid-autumn festivals across East Asia
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With teammate's help, inconsolable shooter regroups in time to win bronze
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The many regional flavors of songpyeon, a Korean holiday dessert
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NewJeans hits 1 bln streams mark on Spotify with debut album
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Traffic heavy on expressways following Chuseok
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Households in capital areas hold 70 pct larger assets than non-metropolitan families: data
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Jungkook of BTS sweeps iTunes’ Top Songs charts in 100 different regions
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Inflation driving up costs to eat out