Amid the recent market frenzy surrounding cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, the volume of deposits and withdrawals made through bank accounts for virtual coin trading has surpassed 64 trillion won ($57.85 billion), data showed Tuesday.  During the first quarter, nearly 64.2 trillion won flowed in and out of real-name bank accounts from commercial lenders, including Shinhan Bank, NH Nonghyup Bank and internet-only K bank, for digital token investments through South Korea’s four major c

A 170-square-meter land in Myeong-dong, central Seoul, where South Korean beauty brand Nature Republic’s flagship store is located, has been named the most expensive real estate property in the country for the eighteenth consecutive year, data showed Monday.  The prime plot in the middle of the downtown shopping district was appraised at nearly 200 million won ($179,800) per square-meter, up 3.8 percent from 190 million won estimated a year earlier, according to data released by th

South Korea’s top financial regulator said Thursday it will host a special session ahead of the upcoming P4G Seoul Summit to discuss the finance industry’s role in the global fight against climate change. The event will be held virtually on Saturday at 8 p.m. under the theme of “Role of Finance in Post COVID-19 Green Recovery,” convened by Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo, Environment Minister Han Jeoung-ae, Korea Development Bank Chairman Lee Dong-gul

Line Plus, a subsidiary of the Naver-owned Line Corp., said Thursday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with NuriFlex, a global provider of blockchain-based payment solutions, to develop a transaction platform for central bank digital currency targeting Latin American and African countries. Under the business partnership, the two companies will set up the envisioned payment system in a way that complies with Latin American and African states’ financial regulations and provid

The South Korean government said Wednesday it will expand financial support for domestic companies in green sectors to make inroads into the global market, in partnership with the Green Climate Fund. Launched in late 2010, the South Korea-based United Nations climate fund aims to channel money from industrialized nations to developing countries to help them tackle climate change-related problems. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and Yannick Glemarec, executive director of the GCF, agreed to inc

South Korea’s market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service said Tuesday it has ordered the state-run Industrial Bank of Korea to compensate up to 80 percent of the losses from the lender’s misselling of problematic funds structured by Discovery Asset Management.  The dispute arbitration committee under the FSS set the reimbursement rate for individual investors, who signed up for Discovery funds through IBK, ranging between 40-80 percent, the FSS said in a statement.  Th

Citibank Korea has signed a memorandum of understanding with Yanolja to support the local accommodation booking platform’s overseas business activities, officials said Monday.  Under the agreement, the lender’s US parent company Citigroup will offer its global networks to Yanolja which aims to expand its client base not only in advanced markets such as the United States and Europe, but also emerging markets like Southeast Asia and India. Yanolja currently offers a cloud-base

Standard Chartered Bank Korea said Sunday it had launched a digital asset management service within its mobile banking application that helps its customers build a retirement portfolio. Through the new mobile platform, dubbed “retirement planning on the palm of your hand,” subscribers to SC Bank Korea’s mobile banking application can create a comprehensive financial plan to achieve retirement income goals. Customers can also receive useful information on how much money they mi

Swiss banking giant UBS said Thursday it has appointed Chang Sei-yoon, the incumbent head of the global markets division at UBS Securities Seoul, as its new country head for the group’s operations in South Korea.  “(Chang) has contributed greatly to UBS‘s growth in Korea and has a deep understanding of the Korean market and clients,” said Edmund Koh, president of UBS Asia Pacific, citing Chang’s more than 25 years of expertise in Korean financial markets. 

Gold prices in South Korea have continued to gain as investors seek to park their money in safer destinations amid escalating inflation concerns, while high-risk cryptocurrency Bitcoin saw its price drop, data showed Wednesday.  On Tuesday, the price for a gram of gold rose 0.56 percent from the previous session to 68,200 won ($60.50) on the local bourse, maintaining an upward trend for the fourth consecutive day, according to the Korea Exchange. The figure was the highest since it hit a

South Korea is one of the unhappiest countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, largely because of its long working hours and high poverty rate for senior citizens, state-run think tank the Korea Development Institute said Wednesday.  The country’s happiness level between 2018 and 2020 on average stood at 5.85 points out of 10, placing Korea at No. 35 out of the OECD’s 37 members. Only Greece and Turkey were unhappier with 5.72 points and 4.95 poi

Responding to the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, South Korea’s middle-income households turned out to have reduced private spending more sharply than those in the upper and bottom income brackets, state-run think tank Korea Development Institute said Monday.  The nation’s middle class, which generally refers to households belonged to the third highest income quintile that earn 40 percent to 60 percent of the median income, saw its consumption expenditures shrink 6

Because of rising food prices, Lee Jung-min, a 30-year-old Seoul resident, has recently turned to home gardening to substitute buying vegetables from supermarkets. One of her main crops is green onions. By slicing off the roots of leftover green onions and putting them into a pot filled with soil and compost, Lee has successfully regrown a number of green onions enough for her to eat for a month. “I was shocked by the price of green onions, which surged to nearly 6,000 won ($5.31) ear

Transforming South Korean economy into a fairer and more transparent one was what President Moon Jae-in had in mind when entering office in 2017.  To soothe the public enraged over high-profile corruption involving the former president, his political archrival Park Geun-hye, Moon and his campaigners unveiled a series of economic policies pursuing the income-led and innovation-based growth, painting the rosy picture on mitigating the nation’s widening wealth disparity.  Now wi

A nonfungible token of the historic match between between South Korean Go master Lee Se-dol and Google’s artificial intelligence Go player AlphaGo has been auctioned off as a digital content on OpenSea, the world’s largest marketplace for NFTs, officials said Monday.  A nonfungible token is a digital recreation of media contents such as videos and photos that is traded via the blockchain. Upon the purchase through the internet auction site, investors can declare ownership of

Standard Chartered Bank Korea said Monday it had launched a new digital platform within its mobile banking application to provide wealth management information, targeting the under-40s.  Branded as Wealth Care Lounge, the app-based information channel introduces recent investment trends, money management tips, advice from experts on financial planning and information regarding upcoming finance webinars.  The bank also set up its own KakaoTalk Channel as well as webpage on Naver Pos

The partial reactivation of short selling in South Korea, which kicked off last week, weakened investor sentiment among day traders, but the overall impact on the market was limited, according to industry sources on Monday.  The key stock index maintained its upward trend. Short selling is a trading tactic where investors immediately sell borrowed stocks on a bet that share prices will fall, allowing them to profit by later repurchasing the stocks and returning them to the lender. 

Citibank Korea, the South Korean unit of Citigroup, has started to look for buyers for the lender’s consumer banking operations, industry sources said Sunday. The Korean subsidiary recently conveyed its willingness to receive letters of investment intent to a number of potential buyers interested in the lender’s retail banking unit, through its merger and acquisition division as well as Citigroup Global Markets Korea Securities -- the US banking giant’s local subsidiary in cha

Behind the bustling Chungmuro Station in Jung-gu, central Seoul, a quiet alley within Pil-dong, a small neighborhood on the northwestern edge of Mount Namsan, is catching the eyes of people seeking Instagrammable spots. Walls and building facades painted with cartoon characters and illustrations as well as uniquely themed sculptures are nestled along the alleyway, turning the place into an art festival. Named Pil-dong culture and arts street, or Yesultong, the area has been filled with ar

   Citibank Korea, the South Korean unit of Citigroup, has pledged to continue its role in supporting the country’s financial system, regardless of its parent company’s plan to withdraw retail banking operations in the nation, the lender said Thursday. Last month, the US banking giant announced that it would exit its consumer banking units in Australia, Bahrain, China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Taiwan and Thailand, as part of its