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

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

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

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

A technician at South Korean battery maker Samsung SDI will join an international motorcycle race slated for early summer next year. Kim Sun-ho, assistant manager at a battery production line, is one of the three players in Team South Korea and one of 60 competitors from 20 countries who will take part in the International GS Trophy 2018 in Mongolia sponsored by BMW Motorrad. The nine-day challenge involves a 2,000-kilometer off-road motorcycle race for seven days,  Samsung SDI battery technicia

Technology Sept. 5, 2017

South Korea’s stock markets on Tuesday remained under the influence of North Korea’s sixth nuclear test Sunday.The main bourse index Kospi shed 0.13 percent and closed at 2,326.62, while the secondary market index Kosdaq took a 0.33 percent loss.Both markets opened higher Tuesday, but swung back to negative territory with foreign sell-offs emerging from late morning trade. The Kospi opened 0.37 percent higher, while the Kosdaq was up 0.69 percent at 9 a.m.  The Kospi suffered fo

Market Sept. 5, 2017

Markets in South Korea took a downturn Monday in the wake of the most powerful nuclear bomb test by North Korea on Sunday, drawing a mixed forecast on the aftereffect from local analysts.The main bourse index Kospi closed at 2,329.65, down 1.19 percent, while the tech-heavy secondary Kosdaq tumbled 1.68 percent to 650.89. 　 Market bellwether Samsung Electronics‘ stock price fluctuated, starting 2.02 percent lower in the opening and closing at 0.95 percent lower.Of the Kospi-listed top 20 p

Market Sept. 4, 2017

Security tension is most likely to return to focus in South Korea’s stock markets this week following the North’s sixth nuclear test Sunday, further dampening investors’ sentiment.A 5.7 magnitude tremor was detected in northeastern North Korea on Sunday at around 12:29 p.m., which North Korea claimed to be a test of a hydrogen bomb that can be loaded into its intercontinental ballistic missile.“The news would bring noise in investor sentiments and stock markets in South K

Market Sept. 3, 2017

A gold-embellished, red-lacquered pailou, or Chinese arch, looms over a street on the shore of South Korea’s port city of Incheon.The blue-colored board attached to the 11-meter high structure reads Zhonghuajia, Chinese for ‘Chinese avenue,’ marking the entrance to Incheon Chinatown, the largest Chinatown in the nation. For over 130 years, Incheon Chinatown has been standing as the only officially recognized one of its kind in Korea since 1884, when Joseon Dynasty leased parts of Incheon to Qing

Culture Sept. 1, 2017

Beats, melodies, or words flow into your ears uninterrupted, and no one can touch what you picture with the sounds. Earphones and headphones divide a solitude space among multitudes on a busy street, mass transit or in a room full of people. With the ability to escape unwanted noise, earphones have long become a natural necessity in modern everyday life.(123rf)Portable devices like the Walkman began to nurture the culture of earphones in South Korea in the 1980s. For decades, the compact devices

Technology Sept. 1, 2017

Hyundai Steel completed a seismic retrofit for a school free of charge Tuesday in an increasingly earthquake-prone zone in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Hyundai Steel staff and executives including Executive Director Ham Young-chul (fourth from right) and the Principal of Naenam Elementary School Kim Nak-gon (fifth from left) pose for a photo at a ceremony to celebrate the completion of a seismic retrofitting project Tuesday. (Hyundai Steel)The Incheon-headquartered steelmaker, the sec

Industry Aug. 30, 2017

Stock markets in South Korea recouped earlier losses Tuesday, after being rattled yet again by another North Korea missile test in the morning, while local currency and short-term bonds remained weak.Korea’s primary stock market index Kospi closed at 2,364.74, down 0.23 percent from Monday. The index had tumbled by 1.58 percent at the lowest in late morning trade, but the daily loss began to gradually narrow in the afternoon. The secondary Kosdaq market gained 0.16 percent, after seeing 0.

Market Aug. 29, 2017

This is the 40th in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- EdAmotech’s unhindered rally over the past two weeks seemed to mark a successful consequence of the partmaker’s decadelong efforts to expand into the electric car part business. The company’s stocks listed on the second-tier Kosdaq market closed at 33,750 won ($29.96) on Friday, up 26.9 percent from two weeks prior and up 53.8 percent from the end of last year. The Frid

Market Aug. 27, 2017

With Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong sentenced to five years behind bars Friday for bribery, embezzlement and flight of capital, Samsung Electronics shares dropped over 1 percent.Samsung Electronics closed at 2,351,000 won ($2,080), down 1.05 percent compared to Thursday’s close. Samsung C&T, the de facto holding company of the group and one of the focal points of the corruption scandal, shed 1.48 percent.Meanwhile, other listed Samsung affiliates saw gains. Samsung Engi

Market Aug. 25, 2017

Kakao Bank solidified its position as South Korea’s leading direct bank in its first month of operation, data showed Thursday, although concerns persist over customer service scams and loopholes in authentication. As of Wednesday, Kakao Bank, the second online-only bank to open in Korea following K bank, attracted some 2.9 million bank accounts, through which customers made deposits and savings worth a combined 1.8 trillion won ($1.6 billion) and took out loans worth 1.3 trillion won. Thes

Market Aug. 24, 2017