The head of South Korea’s financial watchdog pledged Tuesday that he will complete an inspection into the troubled funds and products that led to investors suffering hefty losses in recent years. The vow follows public criticism that the Financial Supervisory Service failed to screen and prevent fiascos including Ponzi schemes carried out by hedge funds and local financial institutions in recent years. The FSS has yet to decide on the reimbursement plans regarding the troubled 2019 German

Naver and Kakao, tech stocks that had moved the market during the COVID-19 pandemic, have recently become big disappointments to investors, having lost over a combined 63.3 trillion won ($44.4 billion) in market value since the beginning of the year. South Korea’s No. 1 search engine operator Naver has fallen 57 percent since the first trading day of the year. Its shares fell from 376,000 won on Jan. 3 to 160,000 won on Friday, pulling its market cap down from 62.9 trillion won to 26.2 tr

The chief of South Korea’s central bank hinted at more rate hikes to come on Friday to combat high inflation, while stressing that the possible currency swap deal with the US is only a short-term solution. “We believe that we need to maintain our stance to raise rates going forward in order to prevent entering a stagnant state of high inflation,” Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong told lawmakers during a parliamentary audit. “The BOK has so far carried out a series of s

Apple Pay will start its Korean services next month or at least early December, according to recently leaked documents stating terms and conditions for Hyundai Card customers. The screen captures of digital documents labeled “terms and conditions” in Korean said that “the purpose of this document is to regulate the conditions and procedures of the rights between our customers and the company, obligations and responsibility and more for the usage of Apple Pay services provided

South Korea’s top financial regulator said Thursday that it is actively considering to disclose the identity of illegal short sellers amid growing criticism that the practice has been disrupting the local stock market. The remark comes amid growing anger from retail investors that have been witnessing the value of their stock investments dropping sharply in recent months. Many are blaming illegal short selling, claiming that they are the victims in a market vulnerable to such practices by

South Korea has spent nearly 68.5 billion won ($48.1 million) in total to fight and settle investor-state dispute settlements since 2013,#including its battle with US-based private equity firm Lone Star, data showed Wednesday. The majority of the money was spent to hire overseas attorneys or pay compensation in a total of 10 cases overseen by the US-based International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes and other dispute settlement bodies, data from the Ministry of Justice, National T

Countries with high income inequality and national debt have reported more COVID-related deaths in the first year of the pandemic, a report showed Tuesday. Of the 38 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member nations, those with a high Gini coefficient -- a gauge of economic inequality such as levels of income -- and high national debt saw the most deaths from COVID-19 in 2020, a report released by the Korea Institute of Public Finance said. “Our research showed that if

Four out of 10 households in South Korea are projected to be single-person by 2040, with the portion of families of four or more – once the most common form of family here – shrinking to 10 percent, a report showed Monday. According to a report compiled by KB Financial Group, the number of single-person households was 7.1 million, or 33.4 percent of the total, last year. And the figure is expected to reach some 9 million by 2040, taking up 37.9 percent of the total households here.

Standard Chartered Bank Korea and Toss Securities are discussing ways to compensate customers who suffered losses due to a faulty won-dollar exchange rate posted on their mobile trading apps, officials said Thursday. The won-dollar exchange rate on Toss Securities’ mobile trading system was frozen at 1,298 won per US dollar from 1:50 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. on Wednesday, when the actual rate hovered around 1,440 won. SC Bank Korea, the London-based financial giant’s Korean unit, which pr

Samsung Group’s insurance units signed a deal worth $650 million with US-based private equity firm Blackstone to expand its global alternative asset portfolio, the Korean insurers said Wednesday. Samsung Life Insurance and non-life insurer Samsung Fire ＆ Marine Insurance will invest in overseas real estate, infrastructure and private equities managed by Blackstone through the latest deal. The investment will be managed by Samsung’s asset management arms Samsung Asset Management and

GS Engineering and Construction has partnered up with German chemical giant BASF to jointly modularize a carbon capture solution, which would work as the framework for their future projects, the South Korean firm said Tuesday. The latest deal would focus on co-developing and translating BASF’s OASE blue technology -- an optimized large-scale post-combustion capture technology -- into a modular carbon capture solution, according to GS E＆C. OASE blue enables its user to selectively capture

South Korea’s Mirae Asset Global Investments is pulling out of a 4.1 trillion won ($2.86 billion) deal to acquire IFC Seoul, a landmark complex in Yeouido, western Seoul, from Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management, industry sources said Monday. In May, Mirae Asset was picked as the preferred bidder to acquire the IFC Complex, which consists of three office towers, after fierce competition with a consortium led by retail giant Shinsegae Group. “Mirae Asset has filed a dispute s

BUSAN -- Blockchain industry leaders seeking to merge entertainment with technology are looking closely to the power of fandoms, believing that it could reshape the ecosystem, according to speakers at the 2022 Upbit Developer Conference on Friday. “Hybe's business model is based on fans promoting artists,” Hybe America President Jason Jaesang Lee said during the second day of this year’s conference held in Busan. “Fans becoming promoters for our artists is a powerful g

BUSAN -- The chief of Dunamu, the operator of Korea’s No. 1 cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, chose the firm’s non-fungible tokens venture with the K-pop powerhouse behind boy band BTS as its most anticipated project, at this year’s Upbit Developer Conference held Thursday. “Crypto exchange operators face many restrictions when expanding blockchain businesses,” Dunamu CEO Lee Sirgoo said in a press conference held on the sidelines of the UDC in Busan. “For us,

A Seoul court on Thursday ordered Namyang Dairy Products shareholders to sell off its controlling shares to local buyout firm Hahn ＆ Co., brushing off the troubled dairy company’s claims that its stock transfer deal with the private equity fund had been “rigged.” The Seoul Central District Court sided with Hahn ＆ Co. after the buyout firm last year filed a lawsuit against Namyang shareholders, including its Chairman Hong Won-sik for failing to abide by a binding contract to se

The Upbit Developer Conference, the nation’s largest annual blockchain developer conference, will kick off Thursday, addressing the latest issues and trends in the blockchain industry, the company said Wednesday. The two-day event hosted by Dunamu, the operator of South Korean crypto exchange Upbit, will be held at the Busan Port International Exhibition ＆ Convention Center in person after two years of pandemic disruptions. The theme of this year’s gathering is “Imaging Your B

Saudi Arabia’s two major public investment funds have arrived in South Korea to look for local startups to add to their portfolios, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday. Jada, a fund-of-funds set up by Saudi sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund, and fellow state-run Saudi Venture Capital will cooperate with the Seoul government to find Korean “unicorns” or startup companies with a value of over $1 billion to invest in. The investment funds arrived in Seoul on

The Upbit Developer Conference, the nation's largest blockchain developer conference, will be back in person this year after two years of pandemic disruptions. According to Dunamu, the operator of South Korean crypto exchange Upbit, on Tuesday, the 2022 UDC will be held in Busan from Sept. 22 to 23, with 50 speakers and over 3,000 attendees set to join the event. Launched in 2018, the annual gathering has attracted more than 617 companies and 15,100 visitors. This year’s event will cove

The sharply weakening value of the Korean currency has raised alarms among onlookers in recent weeks as it could lead to higher trade deficit, taking a toll on the nation’s economy, sources said Monday. The Korean won was trading at 1,391.9 won against the US dollar around 2 p.m. on Monday, inching toward the symbolic 1,400 won-mark that had been only surpassed during past financial crises. The local currency fell below 1,400 won against the US greenback in December 1997 and November 2008

Some 10,000 unionized financial workers held their first strike in six years on Friday, but the rally may have backfired on them, as their absence at work had minimal impact on customer services, sources said Sunday. The Korean Financial Industry Union affiliated with the Federation of Korean Trade Unions, one of the country’s two umbrella unions, carried out a one-day general strike and demonstration at Gwanghwamun Square, central Seoul, calling for a 5.2 percent wage hike and the adopti