Japanese cryptocurrency exchange operator BITPoint Japan has launched a website in South Korea through a joint venture, stepping into a market that accounts for as much as 15 percent of global cryptocurrency transactions. Transactions made in Korea are worth 2 trillion won ($1.86 billion) per day on average. The joint venture, named BITPoint Korea, was founded in August by BITPoint Japan and Ko...

Shin Chang-jae, Kyobo Life Insurance chairman and chief executive, will be awarded the French Legion of Honor Thursday for his contribution to fostering cultural exchanges between France and South Korea, the firm said Wednesday. Shin will receive the Chevalier merit from French ambassador to Korea Fabien Penone at French Embassy in Seoul. Shin, 64, was recognized for establishing the Daesan Fou...

South Korea's financial authority on Wednesday announced that it will forgive up to 6.2 trillion won ($5.7 billion) worth of bad debt, in the latest measure to help hard-pressed people who cannot pay back their debts. The move, which will affect 1.59 million debtors, is aimed at reducing the nation's nonperforming consumer loans, as the Bank of Korea is expected to raise its key interest rate in...

Seoul stocks opened higher Wednesday on China's decision to partially lift its ban on group tours to South Korea. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index rose 1.12 points, or 0.04 percent, to 2,515.31 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Cosmetic and other shares related to China gained ground as China's National Tourism Administration made a decision to allow offline tourist agencies in...

South Korean funds for stock investment in Asia's emerging economies have posted the highest returns among local overseas equity investment funds this year, a market tracker said Wednesday. The average return of equity investment funds for Asian emerging markets came to 37.4 percent as of Monday, the biggest yield among overseas stock funds with net assets of 1 billion won ($920,000) or more, ac...

North Korea's latest missile launch is expected to have a limited impact on South Korea's financial market, but authorities vowed to take swift actions, if necessary, to cushion any fallout from the latest provocation, Seoul's top economic policymaker said Wednesday. Earlier in the day, North Korea fired an apparent long-range missile from an area north of Pyongyang, resuming its provocations af...

South Korea's state-run pension fund has posted exponential growth since its inception about 30 years ago, but it still has a long way to go in order to serve its intended purpose, analysts said Tuesday. South Korea adopted the state pension program in 1988 to guarantee income for the elderly after retirement, and to provide coverage for disabilities and surviving family members. According to d...

After Barclays created structured debt security products called exchange-traded notes in 2006, the Korea Exchange in November 2014 opened markets to trade the structured products to meet growing demand for high-return investments amid low key rates and an aging society. Three years later, the market operator has seen visible growth of its ETN market, on the back of the sole market operator’s eff...

This is the 45th in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- Ed Mid-stage osteoarthritis treatment developer TissueGene’s market cap rose by more than 2 trillion won ($1.84 billion) within three weeks of making its debut, becoming the fifth-largest firm on South Korea’s second-tier Kosdaq market Friday. The stock performance of the Maryland-headq...

Financial authorities started to investigate financial companies in relation to the accounts under borrowed names allegedly belonging to Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, an issue raised during the parliamentary audit last month. The Financial Supervisory Service on Friday said that it has since earlier this week been carrying out inspections on all the banks and securities firms which opened accoun...

Korea’s second-tier Kosdaq market is continuing to soar, exceeding the 800-marker for the first time in more than a decade on Friday. The Kosdaq index rose 4 points (0.50 percent) to 800.80 as of 9:32 a.m., surpassing 800 for the first time since Nov. 7, 2007. The index opened at 797.97, jumping 1.17 points (0.15 percent). The Kosdaq ended up closing at 792.74 on Friday, down 4.06 points, how...

South Korean stocks finished slightly lower Thursday as investors took a wait-and-see stance amid the lack of momentum, analysts said. The Korean won rose against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index inched up 3.36 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 2,537.15. Trade volume was slim at 248.4 million shares worth 5.2 trillion won ($4.3 billion), with gainers outnumbering...

South Korea‘s top financial watchdog on Thursday unveiled measures to enhance external auditors’ independence, by making it mandatory for auditors to add risk assessments on auditors’ reports. A task force under the Financial Services Commission, steered by the watchdog‘s vice chairman Kim Yong-beom, said that from 2019, an accountant in an auditor’s report must include key audit matters such as...

The ratio of South Korea's short-term foreign debt to its foreign reserves hit the highest level in two years in the third quarter, central bank data showed Thursday. The country's short-term external debt -- with a maturity of one year or less -- totaled $119.8 billion as of the end of September, up $2.5 billion from three months earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea. The end-Sep...