Shinhan Financial Group has become the first Korean financial group to establish a holding company in Indonesia, consolidating its banking, financing and securities businesses as it seeks to strengthen its foothold in Southeast Asia's largest economy. The group launched Shinhan Financial Group Indonesia by converting Shinhan Bank Indonesia into an operating holding company, it said Tuesday. The bank acquired controlling stakes of 50 percent plus one share each in Shinhan Indo Finance and Shinhan

Kakao Bank launched banking services for foreign residents Monday, opening more than 50 financial and lifestyle features through the same app used by Korean customers as it seeks to close a longstanding gap in digital banking access. The initial rollout lets eligible foreign residents open accounts, receive debit cards and make overseas remittances entirely through the app. Kakao Bank plans to gradually expand the service to savings, lending and other products already available to Korean custome

Overseas selling pushes Samsung's foreign ownership back to 2008 financial crisis levels despite record earnings, while SK hynix holdings also fall below 50 percent Foreign ownership of Samsung Electronics has fallen to its lowest level in nearly 19 years as record quarterly earnings fail to halt overseas investors' retreat from South Korea's biggest stock. Foreign investors held 46.38 percent of Samsung shares as of Thursday, according to Korea Exchange data. The stake touched 46.37 percent on

South Korea's central bank and three state lenders recorded more than 1 million hacking attempts in the first nine months of the year, surpassing the total for all of 2025. The tally reached 1,024,478 through September, 9.6 percent more than last year's 934,858, according to data released Sunday by Rep. Kang Min-kuk of the People Power Party. The number of attempts per year has climbed from 358,800 in 2020. The institutions reported no breaches resulting from the attempts between 2020 and Septem

South Korea's two biggest chipmakers are losing a major source of buying support as their share repurchases wind down, putting the focus on whether strong earnings can bring other investors back into the stocks. Franklin Templeton portfolio manager Yi Ping Liao said SK hynix's stronger commitment to returning cash gives it an edge as corporate buying fades. "That does not mean the stocks have to fall, but from that point the market needs other investors to step in," said Liao, a vice president a

Global investment banks revised up their forecasts for South Korea's economic growth this year and next, as a semiconductor export boom strengthens the outlook. Eight major global investment banks projected average growth of 3.5 percent for this year at the end of September, up from 3.3 percent a month earlier, according to figures released Wednesday by the Korea Center for International Finance. JPMorgan raised its estimate to 4 percent from 3.8 percent, the highest among the eight banks. UBS l

The 31st Busan International Film Festival opened Tuesday at the Busan Cinema Center, with actors and filmmakers walking the red carpet to kick off the 10-day event. Running through Oct. 15, the festival will screen 247 films from 59 countries. Kim Jong-kwan's "The Table: Day and Night" served as the opening film, with Kim Min-ha, one of its lead actors, hosting the opening ceremony. The competition section for Asian cinema returns for its second year, with 13 films from across the continent vyi

Bukang-i, the shark that has spent nearly three weeks in a canal at Busan's North Port Waterfront Park, has been identified as a female dusky shark about 3 meters long, researchers said Tuesday. The National Institute of Fisheries Science confirmed the species after analyzing close-up footage that showed a pronounced ridge between its first and second dorsal fins. Researchers initially considered it likely to be either a copper shark or a dusky shark after the animal was spotted Sept. 18. The cl

Seoul police began protective measures for actor Yoo Hae-jin on Tuesday after protests outside his home and online threats over his role in "The Assassin(s)," a film accused by conservatives ciritcs of distorting history. Seongbuk Police Station said it acted at his agency's request, providing him with a smartwatch, registering him in the emergency response system and stepping up patrols around his home. No dedicated protection officers have been assigned. Earlier Tuesday, Seoul's police chief s

South Korea's proposed bank-led approach to won-backed stablecoins could give institutions with established payment networks little incentive to build alternatives, global industry executives said at a Seoul roundtable Wednesday. "If you give licenses to tier-one banks, as most regulators are inclined to do, there's little incentive to push the boundaries in building out infrastructure compared with giving them to a fintech," said Anthony Koo, head of payments at Singapore-based stablecoin issue

Hana Bank and BNK Financial Group reported data breaches Friday, extending a string of hacking incidents following customer information leaks at Shinhan Bank and KB Kookmin Bank. Hana said hackers accessed its sales support system, known as ODS, exposing personal information belonging to 89 customers. The data included resident registration numbers, names, addresses, contact details and employer names. "The system is separate from internet and mobile banking transaction systems," the bank said,

Hana Financial Group opened its new headquarters in Cheongna-dong, Incheon, Friday, bringing financial and technology teams together to strengthen collaboration among affiliates and to accelerate its adoption of artificial intelligence. About 2,200 employees from the holding company and 10 major affiliates began moving into the headquarters in September. The complex will house about 4,000 financial and IT personnel, including staff at its existing data center, Hana said. The opening completes th

Hanwha Life Insurance agreed to buy a controlling stake in Acuon Capital for 440 billion won ($325.4 million), filling a gap in its financial services portfolio as it expands beyond insurance. Hanwha Life will take 50.54 percent of the lender, while a fund managed or established by Centroid Investment Partners will buy a further 49.39 percent, according to a regulatory filing Wednesday. Hanwha Life owns 15 percent of Centroid, making it the private equity firm's second largest shareholder. Acuon

South Korea raised its tax revenue forecast to a record 478.6 trillion won ($353.5 billion) this year, as an artificial intelligence boom fuels chipmakers' profits and a stock market rally lifts trading-related collections. The government expects to collect 63.2 trillion won more than projected in its supplementary budget, the Ministry of Finance and Economy said Wednesday, citing that the semiconductor boom and stock market rally had been difficult to anticipate during budget planning. The revi

South Korean banks could give customers half an hour less at the counter each day under a tentative labor deal aimed at cutting employees’ working time. The agreement, reached Monday after five months of talks between the Korean Financial Industry Union and employers, would push branch opening to 9:30 a.m. from next April while keeping the 4 p.m. closing time. The aim is to bring pre-opening duties into regular working hours. The trade-off is less time for branch visits — with no guarantee yet t