YG Entertainment -- recently shaken by a police investigation into its former CEO Yang Hyun-suk -- is expected to return an investment worth 67 billion won ($56.5 million) related to redeemable convertible preferred shares to French luxury giant LVMH next month, local reports said Monday. According to reports citing financial industry sources, the repayment date set for LVMH’s holdings of 1,359,688 redeemable convertible preferred shares of the entertainment agency is slated for Oct. 16. L

South Korea’s tax burden per capita will stand at an estimated 7.5 million won ($6,300) next year, slightly up from this year, and is poised to grow through 2023, according to data released by the government Sunday. The data comes amid growing concerns about a heavy tax burden in relation to the government’s expansionist fiscal operations, including efforts to change the tax system. The tax burden per capita, which stood at an estimated 7.4 million won this year, will increase by nea

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles to look into the weakening of the global economic framework in light of fading liberalism and the rise of trade protectionism and nationalism. This is the second installment. -- Ed.The World Trade Organization was birthed in 1995 as an advocate of free trade, persuading global economies to lower trade barriers through yearslong rounds of negotiations. Though it has slowly been losing its clout in recent years, the WTO continued to shine as a be

The combined net profit of South Korea’s major brokerages for the first half of the year inched up 5.7 percent on-year, data released by the Financial Supervisory Service showed Tuesday, marking a new record high. According to the financial watchdog, the combined net profit of 56 brokerages for the January-June period came to 2.8 trillion won ($2.35 billion), slightly up from the corresponding figure of 2.7 trillion won from the same period last year, which was also then a record high. The

In the hours following the South Korean Supreme Court’s decision to reject an appeal by the Financial Service Commission on imposing disciplinary actions on Samsung BioLogics, the biopharma firm’s stocks rallied on Tuesday.The biopharma arm of Samsung Group closed 1.25 percent higher from the previous trading session at 283,500 won ($237.58). 　 The Securities & Futures Commission, a legal watchdog under the FSC, filed an appeal at the Supreme Court in May, after the lower co

Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors said Monday that they will invest in Ionity, a joint venture by the world’s leading automobile giants to build a pan-European high-power charging network for electric vehicles.Hyundai Motor Group, parent firm of the nation’s top two automakers, has acquired a 20 percent stake in the joint venture in an effort to demonstrate its commitment to clean mobility, the firms said. Details such as the value of the deal were not provided.  Ionity

In line with President Moon Jae-in’s tour of Southeast Asia this week, South Korean business leaders and ranking officials visited Myanmar, the reclusive country bordering China -- that is opening up now. Several of them chose to visit Myanmar exclusively –- from Tuesday to Thursday -- skipping Moon’s other destinations such as Thailand and Laos. Eyeing its economic potential and geographical attractiveness, they clinched new deals and partnerships with the country called

South Korean financial institutions KB Securities and JB Asset Management said Wednesday that an Australian borrower of their private equity real estate fund breached contracts by not carrying out investments as promised.According to them, Australian investor LBA Capital used the money from JB Australia NDIS Fund for some real estate transactions different from the original agreement. The fund was initially intended for investments in businesses related to the Australian government’s housi

South Korean financial consumers chose Mirae Asset Daewoo as the nation’s top brokerage this year, a survey by the Korea Finance Consumer Federation showed Wednesday, as it outperformed competitors on criteria related to stability.The survey, conducted biannually by a major civic group for financial consumers here, involved more than 5,000 consumers and 56 local brokerages.  The civic group also took the firms’ financial soundness and business decisions into consideration.&

South Korea’s lackluster initial public offering market is set to gain momentum in October, according to a local brokerage firm Wednesday, with some big names gearing up to get listed. “Companies that went public on the tech-heavy secondary Kosdaq bourse in August generated an average return rate of minus 18 percent, overall below the average return on the Kosdaq market, which shed 3 percent throughout the month,” analysts at SK Securities said. “Big firms such as Lo

Eyeing the fast-growing pet industry, Korean venture capital firms have been expanding their investments in developers and manufacturers of products related to pet technology this year. Pet technology refers to technologies or products designed to help owners care for their pets through apps, e-commerce and online services.  Accelerator New Paradigm Investment, a subsidiary of venture capital firm TS Investment, invested in blockchain-based pet identification app BlockPet last month, accord

A local equity fund, in which South Korean President Moon Jae-in invested last week to show his confidence in domestic firms likely to benefit from Japan’s export curbs, has amassed more than 40 billion won ($33 million) as of Friday, fund operator NH-Amundi Asset Management said Sunday. The fund dubbed the “NH-Amundi Victorious Korea Equity Fund,” was launched on Aug. 14 with about 30 billion won initial capital. It invests in local companies that manufacture industrial equipm

Chiefs of major South Korean commercial banks will join President Moon Jae-in as part of his economic delegation on the Myanmar leg of his trip to three Southeast Asian countries next week, sources said Wednesday.Heads of commercial banks here, Shinhan’s Jin Ok-dong, KB Kookmin’s Hur Yin and Industrial Bank of Korea Chairman Kim Do-jin, will accompany Moon on his visit to Myanmar scheduled for Sept. 3-5, spokespersons for the firms confirmed to The Korea Herald. Moon’s entire t

South Korea’s consumer sentiment came to 92.5 in August, the lowest indicator readout since January 2017, data released by the Bank of Korea showed Tuesday as global trade issues continued to weigh on the economy. According to the central bank, the composite consumer sentiment index dipped 3.4 points on-month to well below the baseline of 100, which means consumers are decidedly pessimistic compared with average readings between 2003 and 2018. The BOK cited a number of risks to explain the

The ongoing US-China trade war is developing into a worst-case scenario, according to a report published by a local brokerage on Monday, citing that China has begun settling into a trade war of attrition. According to Hana Financial Investment analyst Kim Kyung-hwan, the global market is now exposed to further uncertainties stemming from the trade feud, as it is on the verge of entering a new stage, while negotiations between the two largest economies remain largely stalled.  “With Ch

The average debt-to-equity ratio of South Korean firms listed on the main bourse Kospi increased 4.44 percentage points from the end of last year, data released by the Korea Exchange and the Korea Listed Companies Association showed Monday, indicating higher degrees of debt financing and weakened financial health. According to the data, 636 Kospi-listed firms saw their average debt ratios inch up 4.44 percentage points to 108.75 percent from the end of last year, as of late June.  Those in

A day after South Korea announced its decision to scrap a military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said Friday that the government will make efforts to minimize any negative impact this might have on the economy. On Thursday, Seoul announced it would terminate the General Security of Military Information Agreement amid an ongoing trade dispute with Japan. Hong said the “pact was deemed not beneficial to the country.”Wi

South Korea’s financial institutions issued 3.2 trillion won ($2.7 billion) worth of high-risk derivatives-linked securities last year that did not guarantee the return of the investor’s original investment, according to data from the Korea Financial Investment Association released Thursday.The volume of such DLS issued increased 29 percent on-year from 2.9 trillion won in 2017 and hit a record high, feeding concerns over South Korean investors’ growing appetite for high-risk,

Addressing growing calls in South Korea to ease firewall and outsourcing regulations, senior officials from global financial institutions on Wednesday highlighted the need to allow firms more choice in setting the scope of their data protection. Growth prospects of the financial sector have apparently been curbed by “stricter-than-necessary” legal barriers that restrict the transfer of information between certain financial parties and outsourcing regulations set by the financial auth

Marking one year since Mirae Asset Group Chairman Park Hyeon-joo became global investment strategy officer of the firm’s brokerage unit Mirae Asset Daewoo, the brokerage’s overseas businesses reported robust earnings for the first half of the year. According to an earnings report recently released by the brokerage, the combined net profit of Mirae Asset Daewoo’s overseas branches reached 82.7 billion ($80 million) in the January-to-June period, up nearly 70 percent compared to