South Korean financial firms are accelerating their push into Japan, with Mirae Asset, Hanwha and Toss moving to acquire local brokerages within weeks, betting on a surge in retail investing and sweeping capital market reforms. The three acquisition plans announced in October signal growing interest in Japan's financial market as households shift savings into investments and the government pushes to revitalize the country's capital markets. The deals also highlight different strategies among Kor

KB Kookmin Bank has secured a mandate to lead a 10.7 trillion won ($8 billion) syndicated loan for a Brookfield-backed AI computing infrastructure project that will supply Naver Cloud, in what the bank called South Korea's first GPU financing and largest-ever syndicated loan arrangement. The loan is part of a project valued at about 13 trillion won. Brookfield will establish a special purpose company, tentatively named Asset Co., to acquire GPUs and other AI computing assets. Asset Co. will supp

KB Financial Group posted record earnings for the first nine months of 2026, retaining its lead over domestic banking rivals as surging fee income from securities trading and investment products boosted profits. The group said Thursday its cumulative net profit rose 13.1 percent on-year to an all-time high of 5.79 trillion won ($4.33 billion) for the January-September period. Third-quarter net profit, however, slipped 4.3 percent from the previous quarter's record to 1.91 trillion won as weaker

Woori Bank and Samsung Electronics have removed another layer from mobile payments: travelers no longer need cash, a card or even a separately issued mobile card. "No card, no cash, no (additional) app," Woori Bank CEO Jung Jin-wan said Wednesday at a press briefing on the overseas expansion of Samsung Wallet Money. By "no app," Jung meant users do not need a separate banking or payment app beyond Samsung Wallet. Samsung Wallet Money, a prepaid payment service launched by Woori and Samsung Elect

Cyberattacks have hit more South Korean financial firms, with brokerage Daishin Securities reporting a data breach affecting more than 38,000 customers, while cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb and asset manager Mirae Asset Global Investments also confirmed security intrusions. The incidents extend a weeks-long wave of cyberattacks across the financial industry, raising concerns over security vulnerabilities and prompting the country's financial watchdog to call for stronger defenses. Daishin Secur

Six years, three delays and now another wait? South Korea is due to start taxing cryptocurrency income in January, but exchanges, investors and lawmakers are again asking for more time. "Even the experts don't know how we should pay the tax," said Cho Sang-hyuk, who runs the Fireant Crypto community and is campaigning for a delay. "I've paid for consultations with tax accounting firms, but they still tell me we'll have to wait until the rules take effect." Cho filed a petition calling for a two-

Woori Financial Group reported Friday a cumulative net profit of 2.66 trillion won ($2 billion) for the first nine months of 2026 as underlying income grew, though one-off gains from insurance acquisitions in 2025 mean the figure was down 4.9 percent year-on-year. Excluding bargain purchase gains related to last year's insurance acquisitions, profit rose 18.7 percent. Third-quarter net profit fell 15.7 percent from last year's record quarter, but at 1.05 trillion won, it was its second-highest e

Hanwha Life-backed Nobu Bank has topped Indonesia's QR payment market with an estimated 21.5 percent share by transaction volume, outpacing larger rivals despite its relatively modest size in the country's banking sector. Bank Indonesia separately identified Nobu as the largest provider of merchant-presented QR payment services by transaction volume in a March report. The figures reflect its presence in digital payments, although Nobu remains relatively small compared to Indonesia's major commer

Hana Bank has emerged as the clear leader in deposit accounts held by foreign nationals in South Korea, according to exclusive regulatory data offering a glimpse into how lenders are positioning themselves in the country's expanding foreign banking market. Hana held 4.2 million deposit accounts belonging to foreign individuals as of Sept. 21, far ahead of Woori Bank's 2.56 million, according to Financial Supervisory Service data obtained by People Power Party Rep. Park Sung-hoon and shared exclu

South Korea's financial regulators believe a potential US listing of SK hynix subsidiary Solidigm would violate restrictions on dual listings, Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Lee Chan-jin said Monday, though authorities have yet to determine whether they can intervene. "Both the Financial Services Commission and the FSS believe it runs afoul of dual-listing restrictions," Lee said during a parliamentary audit. His remarks came in response to Rep. Park Seong-hoon of the People Power Party, who

South Korea's biggest banks are preparing to boost security spending following a wave of data breaches, with Shinhan Bank and Woori Bank reversing course after cutting this year's budgets by double digits. The attacks exposed customer information through systems used by employees and loan agents, as even banks that had increased their security budgets suffered breaches. Shinhan earmarked 40.59 billion won ($30.4 million) for information security this year, the least among the five major lenders

South Korea's manufacturing employment rose for the first time in 27 months in September despite a slowdown in overall job growth, government data showed Friday. Manufacturers employed 4.36 million people last month, up 16,000 from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. The increase was the first since June 2024, ending 26 consecutive months of job losses. The sector had shed 38,000 jobs in August and 68,000 in July. "Employment fell in automobiles and textiles, but in

Industrial Bank of Korea Chairman and CEO Chang Min-young (eighth from left), IBK Vietnam General Director Park Kyung-il (far right), State Bank of Vietnam Deputy Gov. Pham Quang Dung (seventh from left) and other officials pose at a ceremony marking the launch of IBK Vietnam in Hanoi, Tuesday. The Korean lender established the subsidiary as Vietnam's 10th wholly foreign-owned bank following a nine-year approval process. IBK Vietnam began operations on Sept. 25 after receiving regulatory approva

South Korea's gross domestic product per capita is projected to exceed $40,000 for the first time this year, according to the International Monetary Fund, which also sharply lowered its forecasts for the country's government debt burden. The IMF's October World Economic Outlook database puts Korea's GDP per capita at $43,512 this year, up 19.5 percent from an estimated $36,408 in 2025. The forecast brings the milestone forward by two years from the fund's April projections, which placed this yea

Shinhan Financial Group is set to acquire Lotte Insurance for 693.3 billion won ($516 million), ending a prolonged sale process and significantly expanding its presence in Korea's non-life insurance market. Shinhan said Tuesday it signed an agreement to purchase a 77.04 percent stake in Lotte Insurance from private equity firm JKL Partners. Following regulatory approval, the group plans to acquire the remaining shares and merge the insurer with its existing nonlife insurance subsidiary, Shinhan