Reeling from diminishing demand for cross-border business and tourism in the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea’s hotel industry has been undergoing a drastic transition in recent months. Landmark hotels in Seoul are turning into residential apartments and offices through redevelopment projects as owners look for a more lucrative business. At the same time, others are looking to upgrade their accomadations to ultraluxury brands, both foreign and local, according to a local real estate profe

Stocks that began trading through blockbuster initial public offerings this year might see a downturn in stock prices as lockup periods that hindered large shareholders from selling expire this week, according to market insiders Sunday.　 A stock lockup is a device to prevent large shareholders from selling their shares too quickly and causing a sudden change in stock prices after a company goes public. Institutional investors are expected to trade roughly 11 trillion won ($9.3 billion) worth o

The risk of Korea entering a long-term economic recession is relatively low as Asia’s fourth-largest economy is likely to gradually recover from the pandemic under the “living with COVID-19” strategy, experts said Tuesday. “Many worry that the Korean economy would suffer long-term recession due to huge government debt. But the country is on the move to actively recover from the pandemic by taking its first step, lowering the social distancing measures,” said Lee K

Squid Game Coin, a digital token based on the popular Netflix original Korean drama series of the same name, collapsed to zero on Monday after its creators took off with the approximately 2.5 billion won ($2.13 million) invested in the coin, according to news reports. The crypto coin once surged to as high as 3.4 million won before its unexpected but eventual collapse Monday, according to Coin Market Cap, a global cryptocurrency tracker. Ten minutes after it reached its peak, the cash invested

Hybe, the K-pop corporation behind BTS, released a statement Friday that it has nothing to do with a cryptocurrency called Army Coin and warned it take legal action against the crypto exchange for violating portrait rights. “We have received information that Army Coin has been listed on Bitget, a crypto exchange located in Singapore. However, we have nothing to do with the crypto whatsoever,” Hybe said in a statement. Hybe stressed that the crypto agency has used BTS photos to prom

Global credit rating agency Moody’s said Friday it has placed the credit rating of Citibank Korea on review for a downgrade citing the bank’s decision to close its retail banking business. The agency had kept the bank’s credit rating at A1, the same as estimates from February 2019. It signaled Citibank Korea’s current a3 Baseline Credit Assessment would be on review for a downgrade as well. “The review for a downgrade is triggered by the bank’s plan to exit

Descendants of South Korea’s conglomerate founders have inherited more shares and strengthened their control on the companies in recent years, data showed Wednesday, indicating a generational power transfer within the family-controlled businesses. According to local corporate tracker CEO Score, of all family-owned shares from 60 conglomerates, the percentage of the children’s shares in value surged to 43.6 percent as of October, up 9.7 percentage points from 33.9 percent in 2019. T

Global credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings said Wednesday it raised the credit outlook of Hanwha General Insurance from negative to stable, citing its prospects for future high earnings. The agency kept the insurance company’s credit rating at A, the same as estimates from last year. “We project Hanwha General Insurance, together with Hanwha Life Insurance, to strengthen their abilities to pay off debt through high earnings in the next two years. The affiliates will be abl

South Korea‘s initial public offering market that hit a record high in the first half has been suffering plunging profit rates since July, market insiders said Sunday. According to Korea Exchange, the country’s stock market operator, stocks of 40 companies sold through public subscriptions saw an average of 27.5 percent in profit from July through Friday. The figure has nearly shed half compared to the 53.8 percent average profit rate of 52 companies’ stocks that went public

Eight out of 10 young Koreans are currently investing in stocks, funds, cryptocurrencies and other assets, and their main purpose behind making such investments is to buy a home, a survey showed Thursday. According to the survey conducted by insurance agency Rich Planner Consulting Co. on 1,000 Koreans in their 20s and 30s, 88.2 percent of them answered they are investing in stocks. Nearly 35 percent said they are trading cryptocurrency. For the purpose of investment, 42.2 percent of young in

Global credit appraiser Fitch Ratings said Wednesday that it would maintain South Korea’s stable credit rating and keep its economic growth projection positive, citing the country’s economic resilience. During a webinar hosted by Fitch on assessing regional outlooks, Jeremy Zook, a director at Fitch Ratings, reaffirmed the credit rating for Asia’s fourth-largest economy at AA-, the fourth-highest level in the agency’s system, in line with its July projection. It has rema

Legally suggested brokerage fees were lowered around 50 percent starting Tuesday, over implementation of the related law revised to reduce burden on soaring housing prices. For those selling or buying a house worth more than 1 billion won, real estate agents can receive commissions up to 5 million won, 4 million won down from up to 9 million won, according to new guidelines. For “jeonse” and monthly rent contracts worth also over 1 billion won, agents can demand brokerage fees up to

South Korea’s Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki voiced concerns about the US’ request that Korean chipmakers share information about their supply chains, during his meeting with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in Washington on Thursday, Eastern time. Hong said, “We do admire the US government’s attempt to resolve global competition to secure a foothold for supply chains,” but at the same time relayed Korean chipmakers’ concerns about sharing private information

Rainbow Bridge World, the South Korean entertainment agency behind all-female band Mamamoo, said Friday that it has filed a registration statement with the country’s financial watchdog and will go public on the nation’s secondary bourse, Kosdaq, in November. According to the statement, the agency aims to issue 1.25 million shares. It plans to offer new stocks for public subscription at a price between 18,700 won ($15.80) and 21,400 won a share. The book-building process, where an u

A 12-week forum organized by The Korea Herald, the nation’s largest English newspaper, kicked off Wednesday to offer insights into fast-changing global businesses and markets in the pandemic era. Billed as “Eurasian Economic & Cultural Forum 2021,” the series brings diplomats, CEOs and experts from Europe and Asia together to build ideas for cultural and business transformations, and to seek collaborations for shared interests and goals. The forum, in its first year, fe

The Export-Import Bank of Korea said Wednesday it signed an memorandum of understanding with Angelicoussis to provide financial assistance for South Korean shipbuilders securing fresh orders of eco-friendly fleets from the Greek shipping company. Aimed at supporting Korean shipbuilders in securing overseas orders, Korea Exim Bank Chairman Bang Moon-kyu visited Angelicoussis headquarters in Kallithea on Friday, according to officials. The financial assistance will be carried out to Korean build

More South Koreans are dipping into their retirement pension pots to buy homes in expectation of future gain amid soaring housing prices, causing concern over the availability of secure retirement income, a lawmaker said Tuesday. The number of people who pulled out their money from their retirement accounts early stood at 71,931 in 2020, up 79.4 percent from the 40,091 tallied in 2016, according to Financial Services Commission data submitted to Rep. Chun Jae-soo of the ruling Democratic Party

The wealth gap among young Koreans has widened, with data showing that familial transfer of wealth, not income differences, are aggregating the divide, a lawmaker said Monday. According to Statistics Korea data of two groups of Koreans between ages 20 to 30, the upper 20 percent of young Koreans accumulated 35 times more wealth than the lower 20 percent last year. The wealth gap increased from 776 million won ($650,000) in 2019 to 846 million won in 2020, according to Kim Hoe-jae, a member of

Toss Bank, South Korea’s third internet-only bank, commenced full operations on Tuesday, highlighting its user-friendly financial services that differentiate itself from rivals quickly expanding their presence in the emerging market. Under the slogan of “New Banking, New Bank,” the online-only lender showcased its convenient deposit banking and loan service fit for as many users as possible, including thin filers with little credit history and low-credit borrowers. “Ev

South Korea’s stock market slumped in September on the back of the debt crisis involving Evergrande Group, one of China’s biggest property developers, and a hint by the US Federal Reserve that it would begin tapering. According to the Korea Exchange, the country’s stock market operator, the benchmark Kospi lost 4.08 percent to 3,068.82 points during September. The secondary tech-heavy Kosdaq shed 3.88 percent to close at 1,003.27 points during the same period. Kospi’s